The Dingle Way—Slí Chorca Dhuibhne in Irish—is a 110-mile walking trail in the southwest of Ireland. It completes a circuit of the Dingle Peninsula, starting and finishing in Tralee, the capital of Kerry. This walk passes through arguably the most impressive and richest archaeological heritage of all of Ireland’s national trails. Slí Chorca Dhuibhne is also Gaelic culture at its best! Much of the walk goes through the heart of the Dingle Gaeltacht, one of the few remaining Irish-speaking areas in Ireland. Think traditional Irish music, dance, ways of life, and a vibrant culture that welcomes you at every turn. Not to mention the home-cooked traditional Irish meals and local seafood!
| Day | Walking from village to village | Miles | Accommodations |
| 1 | Tralee to Camp | 12.03 | Camp Junction House |
| 2 | Camp to Annascaul | 12.16 | Old Anchor Inn |
| 3 | Annascaul to Dingle | 14.83 | Emlagh Lodge |
| 4 | Dingle to Dunquin | 16.86 | The Stone Cottage |
| 5 | Dunquin to Ballydavid | 9.07 | Imeall na Mara |
| 6 | Ballydavid to Cloghane | 6.07 | O’ Connor’s Guesthouse |
| 7 | Cloghane to Castlegregory | 12.58 | Kelliher’s B&B |
Once again, we left the planning to the end, so we hired Claire Galvin, co-owner of Celtic Nature, to book our accommodations, arrange luggage transfers, and pack lunches. Claire and her husband, Kevin, are based in Dingle and exude personal service. Claire was available anytime we had a question or problem—she took very good care of us, and we highly recommend Celtic Nature!
In October 2023, we flew into the Kerry Airport and spent our first night at Castlemorris House in Tralee before properly starting the walk the next morning. The first day was a 12-mile walk through the picturesque village of Blennerville, the Slieve Mish Mountain range, and Finglas River – a bit marshy underfoot, especially in the soft rain. Even doing the walk was a bit of a gamble as I had badly sprained my ankle at work just 3-weeks before. But I managed to limp my way through the first day, thanks to KT tape and a trekking pole. For all our efforts, that first day, we were treated to a lovely stay at the Camp Junction House and dinner at the Junction Bar.
The next day, we walked up and out of Camp and over the Slieve Mish Mountains, the backbone of the Dingle Peninsula, to the Annascaul Village, with a brief detour to the stunning Inch Strand. Once we reached Annascaul, we visited the famous South Pole Inn, a historic pub formerly owned by Antarctic explorer Tom Crean. Crean was a member of Shackleton’s Endurance crew!
The third day of walking felt somewhat isolated as we climbed away from the cliffs and up a hillside, but it’s hard to be isolated on the peninsula. It was a bit rugged, passing by a mid-16th century Minard castle and lots of farmland with loads of, you guessed it, sheep! The walk culminated in a downhill track into Dingle Town, the most urban part of the walk. We stayed at the superbly special Emlagh House Hotel owned by Maggie Flaherty. You can not pick a better place to stay! The views are stunning; it’s quiet, clean, and comfortable, and Maggie is a real gem.
The next day’s walk is world-class as you come around the Slea Head and get your first look at the Great Blasket Islands. We were very lucky and had a class day with spectacular views! After grabbing a meal at Krugers Bar in Dunquin, the westernmost bar in Ireland, we headed for a unique stay in a traditional cottage home.
The next day, we encountered the worst weather of our entire trip. Just lashing rain from the minute we stepped out of our accommodation until we reached Ballydavid. I mean, there was so much rain and wind that we never stopped, not even to eat lunch. But of course, as we pushed through what we thought was bad weather, we walked past a foursome playing golf at Ceann Sibéal Golf Club. Even though it wasn’t a particularly long day of walking, our Gore-Tex layers were soaked through, dripping wet when we arrived at Imeall na Mara, and of course, we were early. But we were greeted so sweetly by owner Mike, who let us hang our wet outer layers in the shed, settled us into our room, and then ushered us into their lovely sunroom for a hot pot of tea and our packed lunches. Of course, it was only a short time before his wife, Phil, brought us homemade bread and butter pudding. An absolutely grand way to end a wet, cold day!
The next day’s weather was much the same as the day before, so sadly, we didn’t get to climb Brandon Mountain, and we actually took a “bump” and jumped in a taxi to Cloghane. That day, we walked out to the Village of Brandon and enjoyed a ramble. After a fun evening of storytelling and music at O’Connor’s guesthouse, we headed out the next day to Castlegregory. Most of the day’s walk takes place on Magharees Peninsula and the longest stretch of beach in Ireland — Fermoyle Strand! It was magnificent and a wonderful way to end our tour of the Dingle Way.
Although we walked so near the end of the walking season that we didn’t see any other walkers, the Dingle Way will be remembered as one of our favorite walks. Not only because we love Ireland but also because the Dingle Peninsula is wild, beautiful, and filled with remarkably friendly people.
After the walk, we grabbed a rental car and drove north to Sligo to visit our friends at Kirriemuir farm. When we visit, it feels like we’ve never left, as we pick up right where we left off on our last visit. We love this family so much and are so grateful that they’ve adopted us into their fold.
Before returning home, we made two more quick stops: County Donegal and Killarney National Park. We stayed at an Equestrian AirBnB just outside Killeybegs, in County Donegal, and adored it! But the highlight of Donegal was hiking up Slieve League, in Irish Sliabh Liag, meaning mountain of stone pillars. It’s the second-highest sea cliff in Ireland at 1,972′ and some of the highest in Europe. It was more impressive than the Cliffs of Moher. We also happened to stumble into Studio Donegal, where they were literally hand-weaving gorgeous garments and blankets. A small family-run business that is 100% hand woven, 100% hand made, 100% made in Ireland. County Donegal felt truly rugged, remote, rural, lovely, and I think about it all the time. I hope we get back there soon, as there is much more to see and do!
Our last stop was Killarney National Park and a stay at Muckross Park Hotel & Spa to soak our tired feet. We had a charming walk to the Gap of Dunloe, a ramble around Muckross house, and a great tour of the roofless Muckross Abbey – where we learned about the British roof tax. If you took the roof off, you didn’t have to pay the tax. As always, we thoroughly enjoyed the time spent in Ireland and our last respite before heading home and back to work.
It's a Gavination 