Dingle Way

A loop of Ireland's most westerly peninsula, the Dingle Way runs 179 km around the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, starting and finishing in Tralee. Taking most walkers eight to nine days, it combines mountain passes, long Atlantic beaches and a coastline studded with ancient stone monuments.

The peninsula is rich in both scenery and history: the sweep of Brandon Bay, the pass beneath Mount Brandon, the sea cliffs of Slea Head looking out to the Blasket Islands, and hundreds of early-Christian and prehistoric sites, including beehive huts and the Gallarus Oratory. It remains a Gaeltacht, where Irish is still the everyday language.

Difficulty is moderate, mostly along old roads, beaches and boreens, with one higher crossing over the shoulder of Mount Brandon that is exposed in bad weather. Dingle town, Dunquin and other villages provide guesthouses, hostels and pubs, so the loop is walked inn to inn without camping. No permit is required, and the route is waymarked throughout.

The old roads and tracks it follows once linked farming and fishing communities around the peninsula, and the walk showcases one of the most culturally distinctive parts of Ireland. The best season is April to October; the western coast is wet and windy, so late spring and early autumn give the driest, clearest days, with the beaches at their finest and the tourist town of Dingle less crowded than midsummer.