Hop on a ferry from tiny Dunquin Harbor, accessed by its steep, winding road and you could be on Great Blasket within 20 minutes (weather permitting). Our star system does not denote hotel amenities but it does denote the Great Blasket is the principal island of the Blaskets, County Kerry, Ireland. If you’re kicking it off from Dingle, follow the signs for Slea Head Drive R559. before closing, Admission €5 adults; €4 seniors; €3 children; children 7 and under free; €13 families, Frommer's EasyGuide to Amsterdam, Brussels and Bruges, Frommer's EasyGuide to Florence and Tuscany, View our full list of Attractions in Dingle Peninsula. These are the deserted Blasket Islands off the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry. If you fancy adding Dunbeg Fort onto your Dingle Peninsula itinerary, fire away! © Copyright © 2020 The Irish Road Trip | All Rights Reserved, 17 Swanky Airbnbs With Hot Tubs In Ireland That You Can Rent With Friends, 49 Best Things To Do In Donegal In 2020 (Hidden Gems And Tourist Favourites), Group Accommodation Ireland: 21 GORGEOUS Gaffs You Can Rent With Mates In 2020, 42 Brilliant Things To Do In Kerry This Summer (Mountains, Beaches, Pubs + More), 20 Swanky Castles Hotels In Ireland Where You Can Spend A Night, 21 Underrated Towns In Ireland Perfect For A Mighty Weekend Away This Autumn, Northern Lights in Ireland 2020: Your Guide to Seeing the sky above Ireland Sing, Drive on the left side of the road… hopefully, this goes without saying, ONLY pull in and park at designated points (don’t be the tool that stupidly pulls in at a bend and jumps out of the car), Keep an eye out for lay-bys (points in a road that allow drivers to pull in to let traffic pass at narrow sections of the road), If there’s a sheep in the middle of the road, don’t panic – stick on your hazard lights and wait for it to move. It’s believed that the Gallarus Oratory dates back to the 11th or 12th century. On a clear day, you’ll get a gorgeous view out towards the Blasket Islands from here. Jewels in the sea . If you take the walk on the right, be careful – hopefully, it goes without saying that the cliffs are unguarded and you need to be cautious.
God, that picture above isn’t great quality-wise…. If you visit, look out towards the sea and you’ll see the outline of ‘Fear Marbh’ (‘Dead Man’ in English).
It’s a short spin from our last stop and you’ll need to take a sharp turn to the left to get to it. Here are five tips that are applicable to all of Ireland, not just the Dingle Peninsula or the Wild Atlantic Way: Nope! This is a lovely centre - there was lots to see and it was very informative. See it all in a stunning 13km (8-mile) walking route that stretches to the west end of the island, passing sea cliffs and beaches of ivory sand. The two most notable are the Beehive Huts and Dunbeg Fort. You don’t want to be that person. Blasket Island Ferries (085 775-1045; blasketisland.com) operates between Dunquin Harbour and the Great Blasket Island from April to September.
\n Welcome to one of the world's best roadtrips: the Causeway Coastal Route. Below, I’ll do my best to tackle as many of these questions as possible.
For hundreds of years these were home to an isolated community with a rich tradition of storytelling and folklore—all in traditional Gaelic, of course—that was well documented in the late 1800s. Each of the Blasket Islands boasts some fascinating feature or fact: Inishvickillane has its own herd of red deer and a puffin colony; Tearaght is the proud possessor of Europe’s steepest funicular track and Ireland’s most westerly lighthouse; Inishnabro has its Cathedral Rocks: spectacular rock formations that resemble a Gothic cathedral; Inishtooskert is known as “the Sleeping Giant” due to its somewhat eerie silhouette when viewed from the mainland.
You’ll find Dunbeg For near Ventry (stop one). Ideally, you’d dedicate half a day to the drive, to allow you to hop out at will and head off exploring. Every few years a photo of a rental car stuck (literally) between the walls of the pier goes viral. By the beginning of the 20th century, however, the islanders knew their way of life was coming to an end. Our next stop is the viewpoint that offers views out towards the spectacular Dunmore Head. Go as far west as the Wild Atlantic Way will take you, and you’ll catch a glimpse of a group of fabled islands; deserted, battered by the elements, but endlessly fascinating. You can pick up maps and other information from the Blasket Centre on the mainland in Dunquin. As I mentioned earlier, the Slea Head Drive really is a handy one to follow. If you struggle with mobility or if you arrive on a particularly manky day, you can admire the view from above (be careful – the cliff here is unguarded and the long grass can fool you into thinking that you’re further from the edge than you actually are). Blasket Island Ferries Welcome. If you’re a photographer looking to get a decent angle of Dunmore Head, the little area right below the wall in the photo above is a solid spot to set up. However, there are some points of interest that people tend to miss, as they’re tucked away (like Dun Chaoin) or ever so slightly off the main road.
Click below to see all of your saved pages.
\n \t
I’ll pop more info into the FAQ section. If you arrive on a clear day, hop out of the car or off the bike and head for a saunter along the sand. You have entered an incorrect email address! Here’s a quick outline of the stops: The first stop on our drive takes us to the little village of Ventry, around 8km west of Dingle Town. This beach is around 3km long and backs up onto a small dune system and lake. There really are few places on earth like the Dingle Peninsula! You’ll find it in Dún Chaoin, not far from the pier, on the tip of the Dingle Peninsula. The Slea Head Drive is up there with the best things to do in Dingle and it’s one of the most popular drives on the Wild Atlantic Way. This is arguably the most well known of the handful of man-made tourist attraction on the Dingle Peninsula. The more time you have here the better."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Is this the same as the Dingle Loop?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Nope! The Dingle Loop is another route that takes in a greater chunk of the Dingle Peninsula. Hmm, don't know that email. With stunning views of the wild Atlantic coast and islands at the halfway point of the Slea Head Drive, the Blasket Centre is a fascinating heritage and cultural centre/ museum, honouring the unique community who lived on the remote Blasket Islands until their evacuation in 1953. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam.
Then there’s Beginish (Oileán na n-Óg), and the numerous other tiny islands that make up the archipelago. Overshadowed by the more famous Skelligs, the Blaskets are another group of mysterious, abandoned islands off the Kerry coast, but with more recent stories to tell. This is an easy to follow route but, while you tend to stumble upon many of the points of interest as your drive or cycle, you need a map (you’ll find one below) to ensure you see everything that’s worth seeing. Frommer's only recommends things we think you will enjoy and that will The white Cross on the Slea Head Drive is arguably one of the most iconic stopping points on the Dingle Peninsula. I could have popped a high-quality stock photo in here, but I just think it’d be more useful for you to see what the pull-in areas look like before you arrive at them! Hop out of the car here or off the saddle. It’s time to start the drive. There are airports throughout the Island with international arrivals. ), Think a friend might enjoy this article? Can you check it and try again? No trip to this area is really complete without an attempt to get to know them better, and a good introduction is a visit to the Great Blasket Centre on the mainland in the Gaeltacht village of Dunquin (Dún Chaoin). The individual islands have wonderfully evocative names like the Sleeping Giant and Cathedral Rocks, but the only island you can actually visit is the largest, Great Blasket, where a few crumbling buildings and skeletal edifices remain—an eerie ghost town in an outstandingly beautiful setting.
Relax and soak in the breathtaking views of the most westerly lands in Europe while listening to the calls of the huge number of breeding seabirds such as Puffins, Fulmars, Guillemots, Storm petrels and Shearwaters. We called into the centre during a recent stay in Ballyferriter. When you leave Ventry you’ll continue to spin along inland roads as you make your way to the second of our Slea Head Drive stops. Let me know below! Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. See more ideas about Island, Ireland, County kerry. It’s a gorgeous sandy blue flag beach that’s the perfect spot for a little ramble. The entire route is clearly labelled from beginning to end, so you don’t have to worry about getting lost. The Seven Hogs or Maharee Islands off the north shore near Castlegregory where two of the Maharee islands are joined to the mainland by a sandy spit.