Overview
The Maharees, the low sandy spit that curls out into Brandon Bay, is what makes this coast work: it shelters and shapes the Atlantic swell into some of the most reliable windsurfing and kitesurfing conditions in Ireland. The bay runs along the northern edge of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, a long stretch of sand and shingle below Mount Brandon – at 952 m, Ireland’s highest mountain outside the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks – facing the Gaeltacht village of Brandon (Cé Bhréanainn) and the hamlet of Cloghane.
If you’re here to sail or kite, the Maharees is the hub and the place to base yourself. If you’re here for the view and the birds, drive out to Brandon Point at the western end. And if you don’t have a car, reconsider: public transport to this corner of Kerry is genuinely difficult, and the bay is spread over several miles of coast.
On the water
Brandon Bay earned its reputation in the early 2000s when it hosted Professional Windsurfers Association wave-sailing events between 2000 and 2002, and it has been a fixture on the Irish windsurf and kite scene since. The spots cluster around the Maharees peninsula. Sandy Bay has the gentlest water and is the usual choice for beginners; Scraggane Bay, tucked behind the spit, gives flatter water that suits intermediates working on freestyle. Which break comes alive depends entirely on the wind and swell on the day, so ask locally rather than trusting a forecast alone.
Schools around the Maharees run seasonal lessons and hire out kit. For those who’d rather fish than sail, the bay offers surf, estuary, pier and rock fishing off beaches at Brandon, Fermoyle, Kilcummin and Stradbally, and self-drive boat hire from around €40 an hour.
Families and casual swimmers do best at Sandy Bay, where the water is shallow and there’s a playground and easy parking. One practical warning that catches people out: check the tide before you set off for the Maharees beaches. At low water the bay drains to vast, soft sandflats that are hard going underfoot and can leave you a long walk from the sea.
Brandon Point and the birds
The headland at Brandon Point is a Wild Atlantic Way Discovery Point, with a car park and a viewing spot looking back across the whole sweep of the bay to the Maharees and the Slieve Mish mountains beyond. The real reason to come, though, is the seawatching. Brandon Point is one of the best seabird headlands in the country during autumn migration, when north-westerly gales push passing birds close inshore: skuas, shearwaters and phalaropes are the regulars, and a concrete shelter near the point gives you somewhere to set up a scope out of the wind. Bottlenose dolphins turn up in the surf year-round.
Walking
The Dingle Way follows this coastline through the villages, so you can pick up a stretch of it for an easy shoreline walk, or take the shorter path out to the WW2 lookout post (No. 40) above the point. The serious undertaking here is the Mount Brandon Pilgrim Path, a roughly five-hour climb to the 952 m summit from the valley villages, past a chain of small glacial lakes. It is a proper mountain day, not a stroll – see Brandon Mountains for the detail.
Getting there and practical notes
- Access: by car via the N86 from Tralee or Dingle. Coming over the Conor Pass is the scenic way in, a narrow high road with long views down over the bay. Public transport is minimal – plan on driving.
- Parking: free parking at Brandon Point and near Sandy Bay and along the Maharees coastal road, but it’s limited and fills fast in summer; the playground area is a fallback.
- Admission: free.
- Best conditions: wind sports are most reliable in autumn and winter on the south-westerlies and north-westerlies; seawatching peaks from August into October on the back of onshore gales.