Dingle Way Five Days Hiking

We’ll meet you at Kerry Airport or Tralee train station and take you to your first guesthouse in Dingle. The transfer takes less than an hour and once arrived you can begin to explore this wonderful fishing town. We have a relatively easy 11km circular walk around the harbour and town that shows you the highlights of the area. Dingle has an amazing selection of cafes, pubs, restaurants, craft shops and it has the liveliest traditional music scene on the Dingle Way. Capital of this Gaeltacht or Irish speaking area, it has attracted many artists, painters and writers who draw on the Celtic inspiration of our native language. Dingle is very much a food town and has some of the most interesting places to eat in Ireland. A wonderful location for your first evening of the trip.

If last night was a late one do not worry. This morning we offer the option of a transfer to Ventry. This shortens today’s walk to 16km and takes out the initial road section from Dingle. From Ventry you have a beautiful 3km beach overlooked by the ever-present Eagle Mountain. Soon after the beach the trail offers the opportunity to visit the Pre-historic Celtic museum, a small but fascinating place showcasing a large collection of artefacts from the Jurassic, Stone & Bronze ages and Celtic & Viking eras too. It also includes the only genuine fossil Woolly Mammoth skeleton in Ireland. Moving on the trail now begins to ascend and one of the most dramatic sections of the Dingle Way begins. Follow the sides slopes of Mount Eagle and sweeping Atlantic views south towards the Skellig and Valentia Islands soon give way to the mush closer Blasket Islands. You have now reached the most westerly point in Europe. The seven Blasket Islands jutting out of the Wild Atlantic are a sight that will stay with you forever. You ow descend towards Slea Head, and beautiful Coumenoole Beach is clearly in view. As luck with have it, a small cafe offers the chance to savour the magnificent panorama before embarking on the final 3km into Dunquin. Dinner is served at your guesthouse tonight and Kruggers pub, the most westerly pub in Europe offers the chance of a well-deserved drink.

Close by your guesthouse is the excellent Blasket Islands Museum and we recommend even just a short visit before setting off for the day. Today is long but there is virtually no ascent, and this will allow for good progress. Not long out of Dunquin, you come to the famous Louis Mulcahy pottery studios and a visit is well recommended. It also has a delightful cafe if you feel like a break. Across from the studio is Clogher beach, a beautiful horseshoe beach with fine clear sands. From Clogher, country roads take us to Dun an Oir, the site of a 1580 massacre between English and mainly Spanish & Italian soldiers who were supporting the local Desmond Rebellion. The site marks the start of Smerwick Harbour and for the next 7km the Dingle Way follows the coast and long sandy beaches. The local scenery is relaxed but all around are the high peaks of the Brandon Mountain Range as well as nearby Ceann Sibeal mountain, site of the recently filmed Star Wars movies. The beach brings us to the small but wonderfully situated village of Ballydavid. 

In contrast with yesterday, the first section of today is all about ascent. From sea level you ascend to 630m at the pass at Masatiompan before descending to the small village of Brandon on the other side. The views today are unparalleled and initially cover almost the entire western Dingle peninsula and then on the descent the views give way to the east and cover the entire coast as far as Tralee. The terrain today is open countryside but, on the descent, it gives way to a clear track for most of the way down the mountain. Today is the most challenging day on the trail and there is the option of a lower crossing if you prefer. Once off the mountain you reach the small village of Brandon where there is a great coastal pub and you can enjoy a fireside drink before embarking on the final few kilometres into Cloghane. A great day and a great sense of achievement can be had this evening.

If your train or plane is not until later this afternoon, you will have time to enjoy the next section of the Dingle Way to Fahamore. The inital 7km out of Cloghane are on the road so we can bring you to Fermoyle beach and you can enjoy an uninteruppted 11km coastal walk along Ireland’s longest beach. The walk finishes at Fahamore and our driver can meet you at one of the two pubs there and bring you onto Tralee or Kerry Airport at a time of your choosing. A relaxing and peaceful end to a marvellous few days hiking the Dingle Way.