Two nights in Dingle

What time of year are you traveling?

We are traveling the first week of July.

You should be able to do all of these and enjoy the pace.

I assume the 4 hour tour refers to the Slea Head Drive which is beautiful with lots of places to stop for views and places to tour. There are several pubs along the route including several in Ballyferriter and Tig Bhric not far from there. Depending on the weather and your preferences, you could do that the day you arrive (which might be a bit rushed) or start early on the full day (which would give you more time if you want more than 4 hours). You could do Rick’s Walk and a short harbor walk on the day you arrive.

Even if you don’t see Fungie driving along the coast is worth it..

If the weather is good, you might also drive up Conor Pass for spectacular views.

All the best,

Raymond

If you’re interested in picking up any music CD’s (long lasting memories of your trip, plus great music to play again and again), stop in at the Dingle Record Shop on Green St, and ask them for recommendations. They were helpful in us finding the right discs among their collection.

Speaking of music, if one of your nights is a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, consider attending the 19:30 performance at the 100-seat St. James’ Church. You can head to the pub(s) afterwards.

You can also take a boat from Dingle to the Blasket Islands. If you're interested in history or just want to get more knowledge of life in Ireland a century or so ago - this is well worth the time. You can book the tour at the visitor's center which is conveniently located next to the statue of Fungie.

But whatever you choose to do - have a great time!

I agree with the St James performance. We enjoyed it and then went to pubs.

My first trip, 20 years ago, I drove the Ring of Kerry without stopping to see the sights. I thought I'd like Dingle a lot more so I planned one night near Portmagee, on Kerry, and two nights in Dingle for my trip this May. I was beyond disappointed with Dingle. The place is a tourist trap. I'd say like going to a Las Vegas version of Ireland. Everything is expensive. The pubs are full of tourists. Every shop caters only to tourists. Driving the Slea Head ring was full of silly tourist traps. If you stopped at all of Rick's recommendations, you would spend a lot of money without seeing an authentic sight. I did really like the two Oratories and 12th century Norman church (all free if you skip the tourist trap parking at Galarus). I ended up spending one night, driving the ring early, then driving on to Kilkenny for the night.

Now I'd say spend time on the Ring of Kerry. It's prettier and much less touristy. Most people drive the ring without stopping to see the sights - so you end up having sights pretty much to yourself. Kerry wasn't perfect, many sights are closed to visitors (you have to look from a distance) and others have a fee and opening hours. Both ring forts near Cahersiveen are open 24 hours and free. I'd put those above anything on Dingle peninsula except maybe the oratories. The views on Kerry, in good weather, are also considerably better than Dingle and the cliffs (3 euro and only open during the day) are spectacular.

I will 'third' the St James performance. One piece of advice - get there a bit early and grab a chair upstairs in the choir loft. The pews downstairs are pretty uncomfortable.

A couple of comments. Is the 4 hour Dingle peninsula loop tour organized, or are you driving? If it's an organized tour it's probably very close to 4 hours. We were driving and took most of the day. Frankly, I could have taken a few days. Absolutely lovely. Be flexible on pubs. There's a publication that most places at which you might be staying would likely have that lists who is playing at the different pubs. Ask the folks you're staying with. By luck, we saw a guy at the Dingle Pub who was fabulous. We were intending to go home early that night, but ...