Welcome to the Dingle Way.
Tour Highlights
- Camp village and Kathleen Daly.
- Brooding mountains, lakes and beaches. Just fantastic scenery.
- Inch beach stretching 7 glorious kilometers into Dingle Bay with a backdrop of the Macgillycuddy Reeks and Carrauntohill, Ireland’s highest mountain.
- Pre and early Christianity…everywhere! Stones, rows, huts, churches, wells. Links to our very early days.
- Fresh fresh, fresh seafood!
Itinerary
Day 1 – Arrival to Camp Village
Travel to Camp via Tralee on scheduled bus service or by taxi. Camp is situated overlooking Tralee Bay to the north with the majestic Gearhane and Caherconree peaks to the east. It has been an historic crossing point of the Slieve Mish Mountains since the first settlers were here in 1700BC . Camp is a small settlement, with plenty of local colour and a short circular walk to limber up for the kilometers ahead!
Overnight accommodation in Camp village.
Day 2 – Camp to Anascaul via Inch Strand
Hike to the south on turf cutting roads, through the glorious bogland of Slieve Mish- the wilderness of the blanket bog is punctuated with conifer forest and the stacks of drying turf. Skirt Ardroe Hill, overlooking the magnificent 8km of sand dunes and beach at Inch, with views south to the Ring of Kerry and Ireland’s highest mountain range, before following the “Maum” (pass) down to Annascaul village.
Distance 18.5km. Ascents 460m. Approximate walking time 6 hours.
Optional extra hike over Brackaloon Hill, 5km (2 hours).
Overnight accommodation in Annascaul village.
Day 3 – Anascaul to Dingle
Follow Acres Hill to the staunch remains of 12th century Minard Castle, mostly destroyed by Cromwell’s army in 1650. Turn inland again on minor roads 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 Way follows mostly sheep farming country before climbing An Cnoc Maol Mor and descending the old green droving road into Dingle town.
Distance 23km. Ascents 560m. Approximate walking time 6-7 hours.
Overnight accommodation in Dingle town.
Day 4 – Dingle to Dunquin
Minor roads take you from Dingle to Ventry; beyond is some of the most spectacular scenery you could hope to find. Cross the magnificent Ventry harbour, weave through fuchsia hedges and climb an old track on the foothill of Mount Eagle past the early Christian beehive huts at Fahan. Behind are views 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, beyond is North America!
Distance 25km. Ascents 650m. Approximate walking time 7 hours.
Optional route over Mount Eagle, 7km, 365m and 3 hours
We include notes for this climb, only advisable in good weather conditions.
Overnight accommodation in Dunquin village.
Day 5 – Dunquin to Ballydavid
We recommend a visit to the Blasket Island Interpretative Centre before departing Dunquin, illustrating the harshness of life on the Blasket Islands until the last inhabitants resettled to the mainland in 1953. The route follows the Norse named Smerwick Harbour and a detour takes you to Dun an Oir, the Fort of Gold, where Italian and Spaniard soldiers were besieged by troops of Elizabeth 1 in 1580. Ballydavid is a thriving fishing harbour and a Gaelic speaking community.
Distance 16km. Ascents 180m. Approximate walking time 5 hours.
Optional route over Cruach Mharthain add 1 hour
Overnight accommodation in Boherboy near Ballydavid village or Feonanagh. (+3-5km from Ballydavid)
Day 6 – Ballydavid to Cloghane
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 takes you up; up to the saddle of Mas an Tiompain (the Pass of the Drum) below Mount Brandon, Ireland’s second highest mountain at 950m. The scenery is superb – Tralee Bay, the Magharees against the hues of the Slieve Mish mountains. The descent to Cloghane is nothing short of thrilling on a clear day, and well-earned respite is available in the village!
Distance 22km. Ascents 750m. Approximate walking time 7-8 hours.
Overnight accommodation in Cloghane village.
Day 7 – Cloghane to Camp
Back at sea level, today’s walk follows the coast, all the way around the Castlegregory promontory if you desire, or across the neck of the spit via Lough Gill, home to Bewick swans and Natterjack toads. From Castlegregory village, mudflats and turf cuttings, quiet coastal paths give way to farmland and a climb back to Camp.
Distance 22km or 32km. Ascents 30m. Approximate walking time 6 or 8 hours.
Overnight accommodation in Camp village.
Day 8 – Departure from Camp
Scheduled bus services from Camp to Tralee (20 minutes) for onward connections.
Prices & Booking
€210 single supplement.
What’s Included
* Seven nights Bed & Breakfast guesthouse accommodation
* Luggage transfers each day
* Detailed route descriptions
* Relevant 1:50000 maps
What’s not included:
* Other meals
* Entries or excursions
* Transfers to/from Camp
Guest Reviews
June 2021 Kitty & Agnes – Boxmeer, Netherlands
It was really wonderful. We enjoyed the walking tour very much. The B&B’s were first class and the hostesses are very kind.
Very well organized. We recommend Tailor Made Tours to several friends.
We were very lucky with the weather it only rained the first morning. We both are that enthusiastic that we are planning to come back to Ireland next year!
August 2021 – Guido & Alicia, Switzerland
We just went back from Ireland yesterday and let me tell: We really enjoyed our hiking tour around the dingle peninsula! Everything was perfect and well organized. Thank you so much.
July 2021 – Marie & Hans, Holland
Thank you for making our stay in Ireland so well. The last day we had to take the bad weather tour from Bally David. Everything we was wearing was wet. We got a lift to the pub with the owner and the dinner was super. We took a sticky tofee pudding , we were really worth it. The B&Bs were all very good. The food at Donquin was excellent.
June 2019 – Joan & Angelika, NY
Thanks for your note and even more so for arranging the trip. We had an absolutely amazing time. As you know the weather was perfect, as we we heard from everyone we met along the way very unusual and special for Ireland. This made for easy walking and brilliant scenery. It was not hard to imagine really needing “gaitors” along the way from Tralee to Camp! I think the only day that we had even the slightest bit of overcast was as we climbed Mt Brandon. This in fact, was much appreciated as the trails in the US generally have switchbacks, so the breeze and overcast skies made walking straight up just a little easier. (BTW we had full sun by the time we reached the top!) It did not keep us from dawdling a bit along the way, and we had time enough to take over 250 pics along the way to prove it! I can’t imagine deleting anything that we saw!
June 2019 – Anna & Dirk, Belgium
Just wanted to let you know that we had wonderful holidays in Ireland.
Walking “the Dingle Way” was an amazing experience- we truly enjoyed it.
This is really a gorgeous part of Ireland and the weather couldn’t be better.
May 2019 – Debbie & Peter, Auckland NZ
We did have a great trip!!!
We enjoyed hearing spoken Irish which is one of the things we felt made The Dingle peninsula particularly special. The weather was fantastic and we very much enjoyed all our hosts.
June 2019 – Ron & 5 friends, Utah USA
I highly recommend the Dingle Way. Just when you start wondering if a 15-mile day is a little much, you become immersed in the landscape, the history, people, beaches – it goes on and on. I think it’s important to realize how your mind can be engaged in what you’re seeing for the first time, and that more than makes up for any physical issues. This is not to mention getting a hot shower and a cold Guiness at the end of the day! We loved your food! Lots of smoked salmon for breakfast and seafood chowder and fish & chips for dinner.
Thank you again for arranging perfect weather, probably once in a lifetime – seemed to be the talk of the country.
May 2019 – Helen & Tony, Barcelona, Spain
I’ve been meaning to write since we got back to say how much we enjoyed our trip. We were amazingly lucky with the weather, just the one drizzly morning, and for the last three days we had glorious sunshine and even came home with a tan! All the B&Bs were great, though I would like to specially mention Ceann Sibéal at Clogher. Nothing was too much trouble, Aine came to pick us up in Dunquin as we were running late, ran us back there next morning so we could visit the Blasket centre, and left us keys to the house so we could pop in for a loo stop and a cup of tea when we walked past there again later. And, although the competition was stiff, her’s was definitely the prizewinning breakfast – including porridge with baileys!
Thanks once again for organising a very enjoyable week – and we would definitely be happy to recommend the holiday!
May 2019 – Lindy & 2 daughters, Buffalo NY, USA
Dear Deidre, The Dingle Way trip you planned with Emily was the Best Birthday gift ever…..We walked about 65 miles, enjoyed all the bed and breakfast hosts and their homes, And the weather was grand. Thanks for everything.
Location & Grade
