Ireland in August

Hi .....Portmagee is almost within walking distance of the Cliffs of Kerry. You can scoot across the bridge there to beautiful Valencia Island and get a boat in Portmagee for a tour either around or landing on Skellig Michael. You would be right on the insanely beautiful Skellig Ring with great access to the Ring of Kerry. Though you would need to book well in advance for Skellig Michael if you want to land and walk to the top.

Problem is its a long drive from Dublin basically burning a full day. And of course the drive back too.

When you say a Catholic cathedral.....do you mean a currently operating one ? A beautiful ruin of one like Cashel.......or the ruins of an Abbey like on the beach at Ballinskellig ?

There are lots of great places to see near Dublin....and in Dublin. The ancient burial mound at Newgrange, the monastic ruins of Glendalough and the beautiful Wicklow Mountains.

If you want the west can you fly in and out if Shannon instead ? There are amazing fares there and you save tons of driving time if you really want the west.

You can't see Ireland in 5 days and trying means you won't see much of anything. But you can experience a ton in 5 days if you limit the scope, the driving, the one night stays and really explore an area or two.

Have a great trip !

For five days, pick your top two destinations. You can’t go wrong, all of Ireland is fantastic and worth seeing, but you can’t see it all in 5 days.

We have already booked our flight into Dublin, as it was almost $600 cheaper. We arrive at 1030 Tuesday. Would it be doable to drive to Portmagee that day and spend the night in that area? And then spend the next 4 days seeing the CofK, Valencia Island, Skellig Michael, Skellig Ring, and the RofK? We fly back out of Dublin on the following Monday. Also, by doing this, would staying in the same place each night in the Portmagee area work?

Also, how do we book the Skellig Michael to land and walk it?

This website has the listing of boat captains that do landing tours at Skellig Michael. Many of them are not booking yet for 2018. http://www.skelligexperience.com/other-sea-tours/

Dublin to Portmagee is doable ....we've done it but it is a long drive. It's fun to see the country.....don't expect incredible scenery the entire way ....but it is very pretty....and keeps getting better. So weird to drive down a highway and come upon castle ruins by the side of the road like you are passing a farmhouse in the US. The road for much of the way is real highway and you'll make good time on it. Certainly well worth doing for the payoff.

Also staying in Portmagee area for the full time would provide a great, calm base to explore the amazing area. There is so much to do and staying there really allows the time to interact w the people. Know your not there for a full week but a less expensive and even more romantic option is renting a house for a week....and just not using all the nights. We rented a house in the Glen (just over the hill from Portmagee) with an insane view of Skellig Michael right on the coast - right out our window, beautiful patio overlooking the ocean, full kitchen, living room and sheep and cows as our only neighbors for $350 for the full 7 nights .... far cheaper and more comfortable than 4 nights at a B&B. We use Shamrock Cottages and look up homes in the west of Kerry on their website. Anyway just an idea.

I'd contact several of the boat operators and find out when they start booking and jump on it quickly. The slots for the landings fill up very fast. We used Paul Devane cruises and it was spectacular......the boat ride was so fun......the captain even brought us near some fisherman friends who tossed fresh catch into our boat which we could use for dinner ! The eco boats tours around the islands with no landing you have more leeway.

Good luck .....have a great time !!!!!

Thank you for the amazing advice! Could you send me a link to the house you stayed in at the Glen, that sounds like heaven! We have tried Shamrock Cottages and cannot seem to find that.

Sent a PM with the info for you. Hope it helps. Best Wishes

As always, ewewookknit has great feedback. It's 3 kilometers to The Kerry Cliffs from Portmagee.... and last time i was there (2 weeks ago) my japanese visitor and I stayed 2 hours shooting photos of rainbows and rainbows and rainbows!!

There is great accommodation in Portmagee, and Cahersiveen/Waterville/Knightstown, too...... It's recommended you don't stay much farther than that for the boat ride to Skellig.... lots of people who drive far to catch the boat, miss it!

The captains ARE taking reservations for August - at least the 4 I've talked to, are..... so DO make a reservation now if you determine your dates..... Don't be disappointed.....

I'm working on a walking itinerary for those that have a cancelled boat trip due to waves/swell..... remind me in a week or so and i'll send it to you!!

Susan
Expat living in Waterville/Skellig Coast

So, we have gotten us a rental car and plan to drive from Dublin to Valentina Island in one day. (Tuesday). We will be staying at a cottage on Valentina Island for 4 nights, then in Abbeyfeale one night. We will then drive back to Dublin (Sunday) to fly home on Monday. We have booked out Skellig Michael boat trip. You had mentioned putting together a walking tour in case the boat cannot go out due to weather. We would welcome that if you don’t mind:). Also, we would like to go kayaking somewhere around the lakes of Killarney. Any suggestions on that? Now that we have updated our itinerary, any more suggestions for our trip would be welcoming!