Has anyone here been to the Dingle peninsula?

It’s a great spot. What do you like to do and how much time do you have?

Flying into Shannon, driving to the cliffs of Moher. Then to Dingle after. Possibly a day trip to Cork. We definitely want to hit the Ring of Kerry.

Spent a week in Ireland last year in mid May. We stayed at the Skellig Hotel in Dingle. Nice Hotel located right on the bay, great breakfast and a short ride/walk into Dingle Town. Dingle was one of our favorite stops.

Highlights:
Slea Head drive- AMAZING. Hit as many pullouts as you like to take pictures. Dunmore Head is a must stop and walk to the point. Try to pet a sheep while walking the Head.
Conor Pass is another great sight, but a white knuckle drive. I loved it but the wife and kids were a little more anxious about it.
The Harbor Cruise was great as well. Took an hour or so but a nice ride around the bay and into the open sea for a bit.

Food:
James Long Pub- right on the harbor, great lunch/dinner spot

Fish Box- fried seafood, fresh off of the boat. Do not miss this. We spent a long day sightseeing then grabbed a box and sat next door in the Dick Mack's courtyard

Dick Mack's pub is next door to Fish Box, a legendary pub- VERY small but must go in for a pint of their home brew. It is also sold in most restaurants in town.

Murphy's Ice Cream - there are 2 shops pretty close to each other. Go to each one and tell the staff the other location is better- they have a great banter.

We drove the Ring of Kerry, but I felt Slea Head was more scenic. The road was closed to the Kerry Cliffs the day we passed through. Stop at the Skellig Chocolate Factory- very clean and modern chocolate shop.
Along the drive if it fits your plans- stop at the Derrynane Abbey ruins. We walked out onto the small island to see the remains of a church and small cemetery right on the beach. Very serene.

Not sure what your plans involve, but we stayed in Galway, Dingle, Killarney and Dublin. If you need any more recs I'd be glad to provide more info.

I have been abroad several times, and seen most of the US. Our week in Ireland was probably the best trip we have taken so far. I never knew how beautiful it is. The Slea Head drive/Dingle was probably the highlight of our time there. The Cliffs of Moher are amazing as well. It will be windy! I believe we saw all 4 seasons within 2 hours at the Cliffs.

Our main takeaways were: way more green that we could have imagined, sheep everywhere, the people are super friendly, and there are plenty of redheads!

Expect to talk to people extensively (which means your plans may get derailed), especially if you get rained out and hit a pub in the afternoon. The only people that talked to me in Manchester were Irish, which is totally on brand. The Craic is the best in ROI. Spend time talking to the locals, do *not* get locked in talking to your group. The Irish as so interesting, nearly no matter where they're from (except maybe Dublin), it's a crime not to listen and tell your own stories, which they want to hear.

You won't have the flexibility I had because of your van/group situation, but my cardinal rule in Ireland is that when you find interesting people in Ireland, find a way to hang around and listen to them. Fantastic stories and memories ensue. Except the Rock of Cashel. I stand there and imagine launching artillery in any given direction because I can see the target from way, way far away.

If you wanted to go north, which isn't on your plan, there are some spectacular views in between Galway and Kylemore Abbey, and I saw a lot of people going on a trek, and it looked somewhat similar to the Brecon Beacons in Wales.

If you're into soccer (football) be aware of what colors you're wearing in certain pubs. I ended up a Liverpool fan in 06 because I wandered into a Liverpool pub in Athlone in a red polo shirt as they won the FA cup. Someone handed me their baby/toddler, and I had no idea what was going on. But that kind of passion was my kind of peeps, so here I am with YNWA shite nearly 20 years later.


TCCDC, I've never though of hitting ROI during the winter, but now that I'm thinking of the smell of peat in the fireplaces, I may just do it. Thanks for the suggestion.

Go do the Dingle distillery tour. They have some nice whiskeys and a couple decent gins as well. Their copper pot stills are impressive. Also try the different chowders in the area. They are like gumbo, depending on where you are the recipes are slightly different.

I can only imagine how awful the weather is going to be.

Not the best time of year to go.