Ireland’s coastal Wild Atlantic Way consistently never disappoints for it’s epic scenery and spanning vistas. Dingle stood out to us as being just that while slightly quieter and off the beaten path from the massively big touristy spots. The Ring of Kerry, while completely spectacular and still worth the drive, must be navigated past bus loads of tourists from Dublin hoping to see Ireland in a day. The Cliffs of Moher another definite must see in Ireland but all of your photographs will involve navigating around fellow busloads of tourists. We loved Dingle for a feeling of the remote, untouched and as if someone whispered it to you as a little known secret.
Dingle became known to me and maybe you as well while watching the much loved Amy Adams film Leap Year in 2010. In this film, the Irish scenery wowed and wooed us to want to visit the Emerald Isle even more than we already had. Logistically speaking though, the film makes several serious errors in geography. Amy Adams character lands in Dingle by boat after her flight from Wales to Dublin is canceled. Dingle is located on the completely opposite western part of the country and would never be approached by boat from Wales to get to Dublin. Movie magic aside this film was still an enjoyable advertisement for Ireland. Dingle was almost an afterthought for our visit to Ireland but thanks to this film we couldn’t be happier we didn’t miss it.
Inch beach at the southeast corner of the Dingle peninsula is an enormously impressive broad beach just begging to be used in a movie. In fact it was! Ryan’s Daughter is a 1970’s film famous on Dingle for shooting it’s beach scene here on this stunning stretch of beach. Bigger than the word inch implies, the term Inch Beach is actually taken from the Gaelic word Ínse meaning sea meadow! Doesn’t that just sound even more beautiful? Summertime at this fabulous sea meadow is jam packed with holiday sun bathers. Fortunately we were able to visit in the early spring while it remained virtually empty and still quite impressive.
Slea Head Drive is a ring road that travels along the coast of the Dingle peninsula. You’ll want to take the day and be ready to pull off and enjoy quite a few landmarks of worthy note. The few we especially enjoyed were visiting the Dingle Distillery, photographing panning views of the Blasket Islands, and the much photographed quaint Dunquin Harbour. There is a lot of Ireland’s past history in this area of the country as well. Sad reminders of the years of the potato famine with abandoned cottages along the drive. Tourists may visit the Famine Cottages staged to depict what life was like for Ireland during this unfortunate time in their history.
Lodging options on Dingle include many bed and breakfasts, hostels and a few hotels thanks to the increasing number of visitors each year. We highly recommend the Milestone House for lodging if you want to explore this area more in depth than a day. These accommodations now offer 2 luxury self catering suites. The owners ran this home as a bed and breakfast for 17 years and are an absolute pleasure to deal with. It’s located directly on the Slea Head Drive and faces the Dingle Harbor. Coastal, rural views and fresh sea air are a more than comfortable way to enjoy this rural area of Ireland.
The Dingle Distillery is located outside the town of Dingle and offers tours of this fully functioning production facility. The tours last around an hour and include a tasting of their products. We can easily find Bushmills and Jameson in America but this pioneer distillery is well worth a sample of something truly unique being a little more like a craft spirit distillery overall. Make sure to book your tour ahead of time!
Harbor tours offered by Dingle Bay Boat Tours and Dingle Dolphin Tours among others offer a unique and highly enjoyable boating experience. Visit the Blasket Islands or take a private charter for seaside views of this impressive peninsula. There are plenty of dolphin sightings and stunning sunset options. An adventure the entire family will love and always remember.
We loved this quiet little corner of Ireland and know it will be a hit with you and your family as well. Have you ever visited Dingle? Feel free to comment below on what you loved about Dingle!
