Dingle Way

Arrive in Tralee, a bustling market town in County Kerry, and spend the evening at your first night’s accommodation.

The Dingle Way starts and finishes in the busy market town of Tralee beside the Kerry County Museum. The first day’s walking is along the lower slopes of the Slieve Mish Mountains, with glorious views over Tralee Bay, past early Christian ruins and pagan sites towards the village of Camp, the gateway to the Dingle Peninsula.

A gradual ascent from Camp leads you along small roads and farm tracks lined with fuschia, skirting Moanlaur and the Slieve Mish mountains. Descending through woodland you rise to a saddle and with a view across Dingle Bay, you may see the peaks of the MacGillycuddy Reeks in the distance, Ireland’s highest mountains at the centre of the Ring of Kerry. 

A gentle walk brings you down toward the wildlife sanctuary of Inch Strand and then along further easy paths to the picturesque village of Annascaul.

Leaving Annascaul behind, you will pass lovely Annascaul Lake, as you then skirt Acres Hill towards  the remains of 16th-century Minard Castle, before turning inland again to the railway village of Lispole. All the way you are within scent of the seas of Dingle Bay and encircled by the Kerry Mountains. 

From Lispole, the trail climbs An Cnoc Maol Mor and descends following the old green road into Dingle town, which is steeped in Irish culture and music and where the locals still speak the native (Gaelic) tongue.

Extend your stay in Dingle and discover this thriving little fishing port and harbour, where you can enjoy some of the excellent Irish music found in many of the pubs in the town. 

Activities include:

• A visit the Dingle Aquarium
• A boat trip to meet and swim with ‘Fungie’, Dingle’s resident dolphin
• A visit to one or more of Dingle’s 52 pubs, craft shops, tea houses, book shops & restaurants
• A boat trip to the Blasket Islands

This section of the Dingle Way is spectacular, taking you via the glorious sweep of Ventry Beach and along the slopes of Mount Eagle to Slea Head. This stretch is famous for its concentration of archaeological sites. Each hour is filled with new sites, including the early Christian beehive huts at Fahan and promontory forts.

Behind are views of Ventry Harbour and south to the Ring of Kerry and Valentia Island. Ahead, the route opens up to Slea Head and the Blasket Islands. This is the most westerly point in Europe, with nothing between you and North America.

This leg of the Dingle Way takes you north along the Atlantic Cliffs where you will enjoy a great bracing day’s walk along coastal paths. A visit to the Blasket Islands Interpretative Centre is recommended before setting off. The centre illustrates the harshness of life on the islands, until the last inhabitants resettled on the mainland in 1953.

The route from Dunquin follows the coast to Clogher and on to the fort of Dún an Óir, the scene of a notorious massacre situated on Smerwick harbour. This sheltered bay is dominated by the jagged peaks of Sybil Head, the Three Sisters and Ballydavid Head.

Coming out on to the beautiful sands of Béal Bán strand, the trail follows the beach to Wine Strand, all the way to Murreagh, and on through the tiny fishing village of Ballydavid towards Cuas village.

Leaving Cuas, you commence the ascent of Brandon Head, climbing alongside the steep cliffs to a height of approximately 700m. This is one of the most remote sections of the whole walk which offers a combination of history and breath-taking views.

You are in the cradle of early Christian civilization here, with as many as sixty notable sites of cultural and religious development from the 5th to 9th centuries. Today’s hike also takes you up to the saddle of Mas an Tiompain (the Pass of the Drum) and below Mount Brandon, Ireland’s 9th highest mountain at 950m. 

The scenery is superb and the descent to Cloghane is nothing short of thrilling on a clear day, and a well-earned respite is available in the village!

Today’s walk is substantially a beach walk, along the splendid strands of the northern side of the Dingle Peninsula. Back at sea level, the route follows the coast around the Castlegregory promontory via the surfing beaches of Brandon and Scraggane Bay, to the limestone Isles of Magharee. It passes by the fishing harbour and ends in the small traditional village of Castlegregory. 

Today’s walk takes you back to Tralee, along the northern coast of the Dingle Peninsula, once again partly on beach, with the last stretch along the slopes of the Slieve Mish Mountains.

As the route from Camp to Tralee is on the same path as when you started your walk, you may wish to just walk the 6.5 miles to Camp and then catch a bus back to Tralee. This way you can enjoy the nice coastal route and immense views along Tralee Bay, before joining one of the scheduled bus services to Tralee where you will spend the final night of your walk (journey time 20 minutes).

After breakfast, you will start your journey home after a wonderful walking holiday on the Dingle Way.