A Day on the Dingle Peninsula
The Dingle Peninsula is located in County Kerry on the Wild Atlantic Way, and is well known for its luscious beauty, with rugged cliffs and beautiful beaches. Having spent a lot of time in County Kerry, I was surprised to realise how little time I had spent on the Dingle Peninsula, so decided to take a day and explore all I could. Hopefully, this will inspire you to do some exploring of the magnificent peninsula yourselves.
Fungie the Dolphin tour
First up on the agenda was a boat trip to see Fungie the Dolphin who lives in the Dingle Marina. My partner and I booked our tickets in advance through Dingle Boat Tours for an hour guided tour around the marina in the hopes of spotting Fungie. The boat trips run throughout the Summer months, and cost just 16 Euros per person.
We boarded the boat and were given a brief history of the Dingle Marina as we headed out towards the location where Fungie was last spotted. Our guide explained to us that the tour was just a giant game of hide and seek for Fungie, if he goes left, we go left, if he goes right, we go right!
We were in a group of around 5 boats headed out to see the dolphin, and luckily he was keen to pop up and say hello. We caught many sightings of him, swimming happily along next to another boat in our convoy.
EDIT: Since the time of writing this, the Fungie Boat Tours are unfortunately no longer running as Fungie the dolphin has sadly disappeared from the Dingle Harbour, however Dingle Boat Tours are still offering a number of trips such as the Dingle Sea Safari, or visits to the Great Blasket Islands.
Dingle
Once we had finished with our boat tour, we spent a little bit of time wandering the streets of Dingle, taking in the bustle and admiring the bright shops and cafes.
Dingle is a colourful and buzzing town located right on the harbour with plenty of choices when it comes to places to eat and drink (try Harrington’s for delicious fish and chips.)
We also had a little wander along the harbour, admiring some of the boats that are moored there, but as we had lots more to see that day, we didn’t spend a huge amount of time in Dingle, and I will be back to explore further.
If you are looking for something a little different to do in Dingle, Irish Adventures offers Kayaking activities around the bay, and there is also a Gin, Vodka and Whiskey Distillery that runs activities such as a Whiskey Experience as well as tours of the Distillery.
Slea Head Drive
Located just a few minutes away from the town of Dingle on the Wild Atlantic Way, Slea Head is a stunning circular route that takes you all along the coast of the Peninsula with sea views that will take your breath away. There are also plenty of places to stop off whilst driving along the route, including the Beehive huts where you can hold a lamb and watch a sheepdog at work!
We drove along the beautiful coastal road, stopping at the viewpoints now and then to take in the impressive scenery and even found a little (very steep) path to climb down where we could spend a while watching the sea.
As you get further along the route, you can see magnificent views of the Blasket Islands, which can be reached by boat trip from the Dingle Marina.
Coumeenole Beach
Having been keen to visit this beach for a while, I was astounded at just how beautiful Coumeenole Beach was, especially when the sun shone down on the water, lighting it up and turning the sea a stunning shade of turquoise.
Although the tide was in and we couldn’t get onto the beach properly, the views from above were astounding, and we spent a while sat on the grassy hill overlooking the beach, just watching the waves.
This beach quickly became one of my favourite beaches along the Wild Atlantic Way. You can read about my other favourites here.
Dunquin Pier
Most likely one of the most popular spots to stop off at on the Peninsula is Dunquin Pier. A ‘much-photographed’ winding path leads down to the pier, where small boats used to leave for the Blasket Islands to deliver food and supplies.
The pier can get quite busy during the Summer but luckily was relatively quiet during our visit.
We had a wander down to the bottom and spent some time watching the waves, before making the (rather steep) climb back up to the top. I was keen to capture my very own photograph of the twisty path so headed up even further to the cliffs above. (Even on a quieter day there was still a small queue of people forming to grab their own shot of the pier!)
Clogher Strand
One of the nicest places I’ve ever accidentally stumbled upon, Clogher Strand is located on the far West of the Peninsula and with incredible views of the Sleeping Giant, it is not one to be missed. This beach was no stranger to the brilliant blue seas of the Dingle Peninsula, and looked good enough to swim in.
Conor Pass
We could think of no better way to round off our day than by leaving the Dingle Peninsula through Conor Pass, which is one of the highest mountain roads in Ireland.
Although it was a slight detour on the way home, we drove up the steep, winding road towards the top of the pass, and were not disappointed once we got there. The low-hanging clouds only added to our experience, and luckily didn’t obscure our views too much, meaning we were able to look out onto the incredible mountains and lakes below.
The wind was so strong we could hardly get out of the car at the viewpoints, but the scenes were no less epic from the warm comfort of the front seat.
A must-see on the Dingle Peninsula, I would also love to return to see the views from Conor Pass lit up in the sunshine.
All in all, we had a busy day but loved exploring some of the wonderful places on the Dingle Peninsula.
Have you ever visited any of these places? Let me know in the comments!
For more travel inspiration, check out my other blog posts on amazing destinations or follow me on social media for regular updates and unique travel photos.
