My wife and I are taking the Rick Steves 14 day Ireland tour in August. The itinerary shows us with a free day in Dingle on Saturday. Although the itinerary suggests a walking tour or hiring a bicycle, we were wondering if there is anything else we might do on our free day. Any suggestions are welcome, especially if those suggestions require advanced planning. We'd much prefer to make arrangements before we leave for the tour. Thanks.....
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14745 posts
When I did this tour my travel companions and I did the walk out overlooking the bay to the lighthouse. If I had planned better I would have taken some stuff for lunch and water and kept walking! It was beautiful and the trail was very easy. We even saw Fungi the dolphin swim out to the tour boats! There are directions in the Ireland guide book on how to get to the start of the trail. It's easy.
Some on our tour wound up doing laundry this day while others did the harbor tour. There were some shoppers that infiltrated the tour so some shopping was done as well, hahahah!
Posted by
Twin Cities, Minnesota
2001 posts
It is very touristy, but I loved my boat ride out to see Fungie. Watching him swim between the tour boats was a delight. Also be sure to go to the musical performance at the church in the evening. My favorite part of Dingle was just walking around. It is a very pleasant little town even when filled with visitors.
Posted by
Colorado Springs
2988 posts
Depending upon your particular interests, you might consider catching a taxi over to the village of Anascaul where you'll find the South Pole Inn - a very convivial pub where you can grab lunch and a pint. The place was established by Tom Crean - an Antarctic explorer who accompanied Shackleton on his ill-fated journey back around 1914. Believe that he went on expeditions with other famous explorers too, but his experiences with Shackleton are the stuff of legend. The pub is basically a mini-museum, featuring photos and other memorabilia about his career in the Royal Navy and his time on the ice.
Down the street from Anascaul is Inch beach - a vast stretch of sand that seems to go on forever. It was featured in the movie "Ryan's Daughter" many years ago. You could spend all day wandering up and down the beach. Believe some enterprising soul rents horses there too.
Posted by
63 posts
Robert--Do you know the approximate cost of a taxi from Dingle to Annascaul? Also, if we spent the day there and at Inch Beach, would it be difficult to hire a ride back to Dingle in the late afternoon?
Posted by
Colorado Springs
2988 posts
I'm afraid I haven't the foggiest, but since it's only about 10 miles from Dingle I'd guess that a taxi to Anascaul would run no more than about 25-30 Euro.
I believe that Uber is available in Ireland too so that might be an option. Can book either on your smart phone or, failing that, I'm sure that someone at the pub would be happy to sort that out for you.
Likewise, at the entrance to Inch beach there are at least a couple of restaurants - am sure they'd call a taxi to get back into Dingle.
Posted by
Eugene, Oregon...Formerly Ventura, CA
2262 posts
We took a half day tour with a guide. He picked us up at the TI, drove us around Slea Head Drive, to the Gallarus Oratory, with a half-dozen stops on the way. Might be nice to spend a day away from crowds before your tour starts.
The TI in Dingle can probably arrange this for you, there are several good guides in the area.
https://www.discoverireland.ie/Activities-Adventure/dingle-tourist-information-office/63048
Posted by
22 posts
If you are there on the second weekend in August the Dingle Races will be going on. The race track is 2 km from downtown. Another option is a tour of the Dingle Distillery. You should book ahead for this. Also, some people have suggested taking a boat to the Blasket Islands https://dingleboattours.com/blasket-ferry-from-dingle-harbour.html.