Great Blasket Islands

Posted by Matt on 08/05/15 08:44 PM

My wife and I will be in Dingle for two nights (getting in to town late afternoon the first night and then one full day) in early September. We were hoping to spend part of our full day in Dingle by taking the ferry to Great Blasket Island. The Blasket Island Ferry website says that they have discontinued the ferry from Dun Chaoin and that the only way they currently offer a trip that lands on the island is a part of their full day (7 hour) Eco-marine tour, which would take up the majority of our day and leave little time to explore the Dingle Peninsula. Does anyone know of a ferry/tour that lands on Great Blasket Island that is currently available that will give us some time to explore the island, but not take up the most of the day?

Thanks!

Posted by Pat

Killarney Co. Kerry Ireland

08/05/15 10:11 PM

75 posts

Try
http://www.blasketisland.com/

Posted by Julie

KS, USA

08/07/15 05:26 PM

676 posts

Matt, sorry I can't help you with the ferry options. But, I wanted to chime in because of your interest in the Blasket Islands. Don't miss the Blasket Island Centre. It was a fascinating stop that we really, really enjoyed. It made me wish that we had the time to actually go out to the islands. If it is at all possible for your itinerary, I would suggest that you visit the Centre before you make your way to the Island. I think you would find it very insightful.

Posted by eph910

08/08/15 11:25 AM

6 posts

Hi Matt!
Our family took the Eco-tour from Dingle Harbor July 23rd. It left at 10:00 and got back about 4:00. We landed on the island for about 50 minutes, which really wasn't enough time to do much more than a quick look around. The Eco-tour itself was great and well worth the time, but you are on the boat instead of on the island.
There was an option on the Eco-Tour to take a longer 3 hour stay on the island, which several who were seasick opted for.
I know that things start to slow down in Dingle after the summer rush, and the frequency of tours offered diminishes.
One option would be instead to take the Archeology Tour from Tim Collins. He covers the history of the islands in detail, and there are frequent stops along the coast with terrific views.
Either way I don't think you can go wrong. Both were tours were fabulous.
Cheers!

Posted by Pam

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA

08/08/15 10:18 PM

13968 posts

I second what Julie said about the Blasket Island Center. I thought it was so interesting. I did not know that a number of the islanders emigrated to Butte, Montana. Wow, what a change!