Overview
When Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic solo in 1927, the first land he saw after 33 hours in the Spirit of St Louis was Dingle Bay. The bay (Bá an Daingin) is the great gap between County Kerry’s two peninsulas – the Dingle Peninsula to the north, the Iveragh Peninsula to the south – running roughly 40 km in from the Atlantic, about 3 km wide at its head where the River Maine enters and 20 km wide at the mouth. The harbour town of Dingle sits on the north shore. In the 19th century these waters carried a serious fishery in pilchard, herring, cod, hake and ling, with boats coming from as far as Portugal and Spain, and ring forts and early Christian sites still stand on the cliffs above.
One thing to know before booking a dolphin trip: Fungie, the bottlenose dolphin who lived at the harbour mouth from 1983 and made Dingle a wildlife-watching town, disappeared in 2020 after 37 years and hasn’t been seen since. The boats still sail, and the wildlife further out is better than one dolphin anyway.
Inch Beach
If the day allows one stop, make it Inch: a 5 km spit of sand running straight out into the bay, Blue Flag, lifeguarded in peak season. The Atlantic swell is dependable enough that surf schools – Kingdom Waves among them – teach all levels here, and Sammy’s café sits right on the strand for coffee and a burger afterwards. The roadside parking fills fast on a fine day. Dogs are welcome on a lead year-round, and off-lead from October to April.
Boats and wildlife
The boats are what earn the bay its reputation. Operators run from Dingle Marina and from Ventry Pier west of the town, and a good day brings bottlenose and common dolphins, minke whales fairly regularly, and the occasional humpback or fin whale in late summer and autumn. Puffins, storm petrels and razorbills nest on the cliffs of the Great Blasket and Inis na Bró.
Trips and prices vary by operator, so check before you book, but as a rough guide Dingle Boat Tours run a one-hour Harbour & Bay Cruise from around €19, a Blasket Island eco tour at about €74, and a two-hour fishing trip near €40 (rates at the time of writing). The longer eco tours land on or circle the islands; the short harbour cruises are the easy family option, and some boats take wheelchairs. Dingle Sea Safari run guided kayak trips on the sheltered water, gear supplied, from two-hour paddles to full days. Most boats operate April to October.
Kells Bay Gardens
Across on the Iveragh shore, Kells Bay Gardens is 17 hectares of subtropical planting looking back over the water: a waterfall, a bamboo glade, tree ferns and palms, a rope bridge billed as Ireland’s longest sky-walk, and eight dinosaurs carved from fallen trees – the reason children rate the place. Owners Billy and Penn Alexander have RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medals to their name. There are over 3 km of trails, plus a café, a nine-room hotel and free parking on site. It opens daily year-round with shorter hours from November to February; check current opening times and rates on the gardens’ website before travelling.
Walks and viewpoints
Rossbeigh, the long sandy spit reaching out from the Iveragh shore, mirrors Inch across the water and makes the obvious stop on the southern side. Behind both strands the hills climb quickly: the Slieve Mish range, Caherconree and the Brandon massif ring the bay and give the walking country its skyline. These are proper mountain walks rather than gentle strolls, so check a route guide and the forecast before heading up.
For an easier outing, cyclists can hire bikes in Dingle town and follow the quiet R559 along the coast towards Ventry, joining the Wild Atlantic Way for longer rides.
Dingle town
Hussey’s Folly, the squat tower at the harbour mouth, was built as a famine-relief work scheme and makes an easy evening stroll from the Dingle Skellig Hotel. In town, the pubs run live sessions – Dick Mack’s and John Benny’s among the best known – and there’s a working distillery in Dingle Distillery. For food, the Fish Box has built its name on the day’s catch, and you’ll find fresh Atlantic salmon, lobster and the local fish chowder around the harbour. Shore anglers still work the rocks at Ventry; licences are sold in local shops and online.
Getting there
The N86 reaches Dingle from Tralee, which is also the nearest railway station, with Irish Rail services from Dublin, Cork and Limerick. Kerry Airport at Farranfore is the closest airport, about an hour’s drive from Dingle, with Shannon the larger option; from either you’ll want a hire car, because no bus serves the bay itself, though Bus Éireann runs to Dingle town. Boat trips mostly leave from Ventry Pier and Dingle Marina.
Autumn is the season for the big animals, when minke, humpback and fin whales pass on migration – if a whale is the point of the trip, book the long boat for late in the year.
Nearby
- Great Blasket – seabird colonies and the ruins of the island village.
- Ballydavid – Gaeltacht village and gateway to the Blaskets.
- Annascaul – lake, walks and a cultural centre.
- Brandon Bay – windsurfing on the peninsula’s north side.