Overview
Landing on Great Saltee is free – the private family that owns the island simply lets day visitors walk it – and in early summer that gets you within a few metres of nesting puffins. The Saltees are a pair of islands about 5 km off the southern coast of County Wexford, opposite the fishing village of Kilmore Quay. Great Saltee covers about 89 hectares and takes visitors; Little Saltee (37 hectares) is closed to the public. Since 1943 the Neale family have owned and run them as a bird sanctuary, and the surrounding waters are both a Special Protection Area and a Special Area of Conservation. With more than 220 bird species recorded, the Saltees are one of Europe’s more important breeding grounds for puffins, gannets, razorbills and guillemots.
History and folklore
The name Saltee comes from the Old Norse saltey, ‘salt island’, a nod to the sea spray that coats the cliffs in winter. Viking presence dates to the 9th and 10th centuries, and an Ogham stone found in 1925 hints at earlier monastic activity. By the late 12th century the islands had passed through the hands of Canterbury and later the Cistercian monks of Tintern Abbey. Over the centuries they hosted hermits, seasonal farmers and, in the 17th and 18th centuries, pirates and wreckers who worked the treacherous rocks.
They turn up in folklore too: one legend has St Patrick chasing a devil from Tipperary to Wexford, where it bit a mouthful from a mountain and spat two pieces into the sea that hardened into the Saltees. In 1798 the United Irishman Bagenal Harvey took refuge here before his capture, and in the 19th century the Parle family ran a small farming community of around 20 people, growing wheat, barley and potatoes on the thin, windblown soil.
Michael Neale bought Great Saltee in 1943 and styled himself ‘Prince Michael the First’ of the Saltees. He died in 1998, and his descendants still live on the island part of the year; a throne, flagstaff and stone obelisk on the island are kept in his memory.
Geology and landscape
The islands are built of distinctive pink Saltees Granite, formed roughly 480 million years ago when magma pushed into the older Rosslare Formation gneiss. The bedrock is Pre-Cambrian, which gives the place its weathered, rugged character – steep sea cliffs, sheltered bays and narrow coastal paths, with long views across the Irish Sea and the Wexford coast.
Wildlife
The Saltees sit on a major Atlantic migration route, so spring and autumn are busy with passage birds. The breeding season, April to July, brings the big colonies of puffins and northern gannets to the south-west rookeries, alongside razorbills, guillemots, kittiwakes, manx shearwaters, fulmars and shags. Puffins nest in burrows and are most active in the early morning, so an early sailing is the one to aim for.
Grey seals are the other headline: up to 120 gather in the sheltered bays in autumn to pup. Risso’s dolphins and harbour porpoises surface in the surrounding waters, and fin whales are seen on occasion.
What to see and do
Walking the island
A well-marked loop trail circles Great Saltee in about an hour, passing the throne of Michael the First, the stone obelisk and the ruins of 19th-century farm buildings. Expect stairs, uneven ground and cliff-edge sections, with continuous sea views and glimpses of sea caves along the way.
Birdwatching and photography
April through July is the window for puffins, with gannet activity peaking a little earlier. Bring binoculars and a zoom lens. Stay on the marked path and keep a respectful distance from every nesting site – disturbing protected birds is an offence under the Wildlife Act.
Practical information
Opening hours and admission
Great Saltee takes day visitors between 11:00 and 16:30 from April to September (the owners’ own site gives 11:30 as the start – no great difference). Little Saltee is closed. Landing on the island is free; your only cost is the ferry.
Ferry service and booking
The ferry runs from Kilmore Quay harbour through the summer, with no winter service – but the exact season varies by operator, with some running only to late August and others into September, so pin down the dates when you book. Boats are small (some carry as few as 12 passengers), so booking online in advance is essential, especially in puffin season; tickets can be booked at salteeferry.com, and you’ll need the QR code from your confirmation to board.
Schedules don’t follow one fixed timetable – they shift by operator and month. The usual shape is a late-morning outward sailing and a single return in the late afternoon (around 16:30), rather than boats running back and forth all day, so check your specific date. Fares vary too: expect roughly €40–€45 for adults and €20–€25 for children at the time of writing, and note tickets are generally non-refundable unless the crossing is cancelled for weather.
Arrival and facilities
The ferry docks about 50 metres offshore, and a small dinghy transfers you to a stone step landing. Depending on the tide you may step onto sand, seaweed or slippery rock, so waterproof footwear is essential. There are no facilities on Great Saltee – no toilets, café or bins. Use the public facilities at Kilmore Quay before you sail, bring everything you’ll need, and pack out all your litter.
Accessibility and safety
The island is not wheelchair-accessible: the trail has stairs, uneven terrain and exposed cliff edges that get muddy and slick in wet weather. Camping is prohibited, and visitors must keep away from the owners’ private residence. Keep clear of nesting birds and don’t light fires.
Getting to Kilmore Quay
Kilmore Quay is about 20 km south of Wexford town via the N25. A free car park sits beside the harbour, a two-minute walk from the ferry slip, though it fills in summer, so arrive early. Public transport includes Wexford Bus route 390 (four services daily) and train connections to Wexford from Dublin.
Nearby attractions
With time to spare, pair the island with the historic Duncannon fort and harbour, the sands of Baginbun Beach on the Hook Peninsula, or a quiet walk at Ballyhack – all a short drive from Kilmore Quay.
The Saltees ask for advance booking and a willingness to walk rough coastal paths, but the payoff is an Atlantic island where puffins nest at arm’s length and seals haul out in the bays. Check the tide chart before you pack, and take the earliest sailing you can – that’s when the puffins are out and the light is best on the cliffs.