Dingle, Ireland

We spent about a day and half in Dingle, but wish we had more, it was a fantastic area that seemed very much "the real Ireland".. The town is a quant fishing village , with wonderful little restarunts and lots of local musicians performing in the pubs.. The highlight of our trip to Dingle was the Slea Head drive, which winds along the coast.. And proved to be our single best drive in our stay in Ireland.. this is not to be missed..

You can drive the whole peninsula with your rental car. There are mini-bus tours, as well, for this beautiful area. Stop at Inch Beach and walk out to the water. The sea is breath-taking, of course! The long stretch of sandy beach allows for long walks and watching the waves and sky. Then drive on to Camp and lunch at Ashe's Pub and Restaurant. On this North-South road, you drive through hills and dales, deep valleys where sheep graze and you may see a waterfall on a hillside.

This wild dolphin has been living in Dingle bay for more then 25 years and he won't leave. Some say it might have to do with the big net across the bay ;-))) Nah, seriously.

You can get on fishing boats that chase him around to see him (7 IEP). You get the money back if he doesn't appear.

And he lets people swim with him as well!!! The boats leave every morning at 8 and all you need it 10 IEP, a reservation and a wetsuit! Better value than the trips for 7 IEP! Even if you stay on the boat and not go swimming with him!

Breathtaking views, great beaches and a dolphin: Dingle Peninsula has become really really popular over the last years which makes it almost as crowded as the Ring of Kerry. For me the western coast of this peninsula is the most stunning coastline I know. Main town is Dingle.

Not hugely well-known as it is not hugely high, but the climb was really enjoyable and the view from the top beautiful from what we were told before and after, (It was cloudy for the 20mins we were at the top!)

North of the famous Ring of Kerry lies a less touristic, but (maybe) even more beautiful peninsula. Dingle is very rural, with rugged mountain passes (like Connor pass) and rough costal cliffs. It's an gaeltacht area (means that Gaelic is a living language there), but you'll get around with standard English -if you learn to undrestand that hell of an Irish accent! :)
Mt. Brandon (near cloghane) is (i think?) Ireland's highest mountain, and worth a walk. In good weather you'll have a good lookout.

We did a week hiking/cliffwalking at the Dingle Peninsula! Great. You are really a part of the country, close to farms, sheeps, dogs....!! Meet the people in the pubs, meet your fellow walkers and get soaked (at least once and try to keep it to only once).

Visit Dingle and party with the locals.
The Dingle Peninsula was one of the highlights of our trip to Ireland and our evening in the little port town of Dingle was a memorable one. This town is famous for its dolphin 'Fungie', but we were here in November so we didn't get to see him. We stayed at Murphy's B&B which was a nice place near the pier with great Irish Coffee. We had dinner at the Mystic Celt, which I highly recommend. You have to check out Dick Mack's - this place was wild - we shared the pub stools with a couple of friendly dogs and cats. We also found out that Sunday nights can get pretty wild with the locals. Check out the pubs, you'll find great fun!