Day Three: Dingle Peninsula
The Dingle Peninsula in Co. Kerry is world-famous for its outstanding natural beauty. Specifically, Slea Head Drive is a small loop along the coast that is an absolute must-do if you visit Ireland. I had been before in October 2017 but it was cool and cloudy the whole time. I was excited to explore it in June!
Inch Beach
We left Killarney and started off toward Dingle, where we would be staying that night. On the way we passed Inch Beach, a massive beach on the Dingle Peninsula. The sand is flat and compact so anyone can drive their cars onto the beach.
Ventry Beach
We passed through Dingle town and continued on to start our drive along the Slea Head loop.
I didn’t stop at Ventry Beach on my last trip to Dingle. In fact I’d never heard of it! But in the name of spontaneity, Kristen and I decided to follow a brown sign directing us to yet another strand. You’d think once you seen a dozen beaches, they all start to look the same but they definitely don’t. Each one is uniquely beautiful.
Pit Stop to pet the animals!
It doesn’t take long once you’ve left Dingle Town to start seeing signs to feed and hold farm animals. We were enticed, naturally, and pulled over to a small farm with goats, sheep, horses, donkeys, and most importantly, mini horses! And a BABY mini horse!!! We pet and fed all the animals but in my opinion, these guys stole the show.
Photo Ops
Slea Head is great for spots where drivers can pull off the road to enjoy the views!
Coumeenoole Beach
This place is so special it’ll knock you off your feet no matter the weather. For me, this is the highlight of the Dingle Peninsula’s rugged coastline.
Even for a day this beautiful, there weren’t many people down on the beach! There were three women swimming in the shallows (which is technically not allowed according to the signs). But if I didn’t have a full day of driving ahead of me, I would have jumped in and spent my whole day there 😀
Traffic Jam!
It’s not uncommon to come across s few rogue sheep wandering the streets!
The Three Sisters (An Triúr Deirféar)
This is a cool spot for a couple reasons. Firstly, it’s gorgeous! Secondly, it was a Star Wars filming location. That’s not really my thing but apparently all this Star Wars business has really boosted tourism in the area. And thirdly, I learned in an Archaeology of Ancient Ireland class I took last year that that beach, Clogher Strand, was a goldmine of prehistoric artefacts. Apparently the ancient peoples used that cove to fish, and many of their wicker fishing baskets were somehow preserved for thousands of years! Very cool.
Wine Strand
At the end of the day, we had energy for one last pitstop before returning to Dingle Town. Again, we just followed a random sign directing us to a strand. We pulled the car up as far as we could but you had to walk over a good ways to actually get out onto the beach. We didn’t want to stay long so we enjoyed the views from where we had parked. It was a really lovely end to the day.
Dingle
Finally we were back in town after a long day of driving and taking countless photos. We checked into our B&B and then headed off to explore the quaint fishing port town of Dingle!
Dingle is famous for it’s local dolphin, Fungi, who has become a bit of a local mascot.
And of course, a trip to Dingle wouldn’t be complete without a Murphy’s ice cream! They have unique Irish flavours like Dingle Gin, brown bread, and blackcurrant, among others.
Dingle is one of the most beloved tourist spots in the whole country, both for Irish people and international visitors. It’s really not hard to see why! I’m already looking forward to my next visit 😀