Slea Head Supreme
Oh, what bliss to travel this road in brilliant sunshine! My sister phrased it well: “The pictures are very beautiful, each one more beautiful than the next.” Slea Head Drive (G5.0) is even more beautiful than the Ring of Kerry.
The elements are the same — the quintessential green pastures separated by stone walls sloping down mountains to the partially turquoise sea and sprinkled with white rocks (sheep). Add to that rocky headlands, golden beaches, and pleasant hikes.
Author & Photographer: George Mitchell
Our recommendations are not influenced by affiliate links – we do not have any. Our advice is derived from our personal experience and knowledge based on living in Europe for seven years and studying its art, architecture and culture.
All of our recommendations are top-rated by Google Maps Ratings, which is based on everyone, not just tourists. Each place recommended in our post and custom Ireland East & South Map is appended with a Google Maps Rating (G0 to G5).
Slea Head Picture Pull-offs
You definitely should go clockwise because most buses go clockwise, the road is very narrow, and the pull-offs are on the left side.
During the first third of the road, there are very few pull-offs where there are gorgeous photo opportunities. But all the private sites have parking areas. We have a feeling that the “archaeological” sites have little to offer, so the landowners offer another service in order to charge for viewing the sites. So the fairy fort provides sheep petting for €2.30. We used each parking area to get views and photographs.
The one spectacular site we wanted to see — Dún Beag Fort — is now off limits. These ruins, dating from 500 BC, are situated on a cliff that is falling into the ocean.
Ignore the signs stating you can’t park or use the bathroom facilities unless you are a customer. Just walk into the Stonehouse Restaurant to use the toilet. If Tourism Ireland says this establishment provides bathroom facilities, then they have to honour it. No one said a word. The only bathroom facilities along this route are within bars, restaurants, et al.
The Famine Cottages also provided a Sheep Dog demo. We stopped for a photo below the road.
At the Beehive Huts, dating from 2000 BC (€3 per person), I took a photo of the rocky coastline on the east side of the parking lot.
There was a narrow spot, not an official pull-off, that provided a viewpoint of crashing waves and stone fences.
Look at the sheep pen below the last beehive stop. This is followed by the Blasket Island Viewpoint
Dunquin
I took a one-hour hike along the coast, which was pleasant but not what I was looking for. I discovered that we were right at the short but very steep walk to Dunquin Pier. The over-published picture on Pinterest and other websites does not do justice to this place.
Each view along the steep switchbacks provides more wonderful photos. It is definitely worth a 5+ rating.
If your knees can’t manage this steep slope, you can also view the scenery and the stone path from a grassy ridge along the cliff edge. On the other side need the car park is a dramatic photography spot of cliffs backed by sloping green pasture.
Blasket Island Centre
Blasket Island was inhabited until a mass exodus left too few people to sustain life on this isolated outpost. In 1953, everyone had emigrated to America or Dunquin on the main island. The Blasket Island Centre is more like a modern gallery combined with excerpts about the people who used to live there. As we had the OPW Heritage Card, we visited for a short while, but it will not be everyone’s cup of tea.
Clogher Head
Clogher Head had some of the best views of the whole road. First stop at the Clogher Viewpoint. Climb down for the Clogher Strand view. Then walk along the trail up to the head. We must have spent about an hour here and down at Clogher Strand, the golden sand beach. There were a lot fewer tourists and no tour buses. We left at 17:00 hrs.
Gallarus Oratory
It’s amazing how in the 7th century they could build a church solely with stones. The inverted boat design acts as an arch, and lintel stones are used to strengthen the door.
This OPW site is open until one hour before sunset. It is a short 5-minute walk from the visitor centre to the oratory set in an open pasture landscape.
Dazzling Dingle
The whole route took 8 hours with lots of stops and walks. We got back to Dingle for supper — before the restaurants filled up at 7 PM — and celebrated another day even better than the last.
If you do not spend time at the various sites, you can tack on Conor Pass or the Mt. Brandon region.
Final Comments on this Itinerary
This is an action-packed itinerary. Most newbie tourists head to Dingle because they have heard the name, or what I call name recognition. But to go to Dingle and not have time for Slea Head Drive is a travesty. Slea Head Drive (G5.0) is more beautiful than almost anywhere else in Ireland. The places we recommend are all highly rated by local people, as shown by the high Google Map Ratings. Remember, the most important “destination” is meeting the people.
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Itinerary Map & Resources
The Dazzling Dingle route is part of the Ireland South itinerary. If you only have a week, then be sure to include the other sights of the Ireland South itinerary, especially The Ring of Kerry and Krazy Killarney tours.
If you have more than a week, then combine this tour with places in the Ireland East, Ireland West and the Best Places for 2 Weeks in Southwest (SW) Ireland itineraries below. Or just visit some of the nearby places listed below.
Google Maps Ratings
Google Maps provides a rating from 0 to 5 for all sights, hotels and restaurants (but not cities). All of our recommendations are appended with the rating (prefixed with a G) from Google Maps. As it is based on feedback from tourists and locals, it is much more reliable than travel booking websites. We consider a score of 4 to 4.39 to be Very Good; 4.4 to 5 to be Excellent.
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