Dingle peninsula -- continuing my west coast planning

shashie50 · Veteran Member

Dingle peninsula -- continuing my west coast planning

Melissa5 · Guru

i am in ireland now and we loved heaton's guesthouse in dingle. it is just outside of the main part of dingle town yet within walking distance to town. great breakfast and great hosts. bye.

wojazz3 · Guru

Hi Marsha. The Shores in Castlegregory. Accept no substitute. Lovely place.

Bill

oopsy · Senior Member

I second Bill's recommendation for The Shores. We stayed there based on his glowing reviews and were blown away by how beautiful the house is, how beautiful the setting is, how amazing the breakfast was, and how very pleasant Annette is. I can't imagine we would stay anywhere else were we lucky enough to return to the area some day. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful place!

oopsy

Irisheyes · Senior Member

We stayed two nights at CASTLEWOOD guest house, which is right next door to Heatons. It is only about a year old. We loved it and highly recommend it. The dining room overlooks the bay, the breakfasts are fit for a king, and we loved the cozy and very comfy beds. It WAS expensive though. Within walking distance to Dingle town.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Marsha,

There are many great places to stay in Dingle. What is your price for lodgings? That might help narrow it down. Late October will be quiet on the peninsula. Tralee is about 1 1/2 hours from Dingle town. Contact the tour operator in advance.

Michele

shashie50 · Veteran Member

Thanks everyone!

Yes, Michele, I guess I should have said I'm on a bit of a budget. I haven't looked around enough to see how much things have gone up since 2003, but I think I'm looking for something more in the e30-35 pps range. More "comfy" than "luxury."

Gotta say, when I go to the websites and read the breakfast menus, my stomach starts growling. If I do end up splurging on something extra-special, at least I will know where to do it! The recommended places look wonderful.

Marsha

Michele Erdvig · Host

Marsha,

35-45 euro is a more realistic price now for a good B&B. The Shores is 30-40 (depending on season) and an excellent value for what you get. It is on the north shore of Dingle near Stradbally so is not right near Dingle town. Annette cooks dinners for her guests on week nights and it is worth a trip to Ireland just to partake of the feast. I can't recommend it highly enough. If you need to be near Dingle town there are plenty of good places there too. Heaton's and Castlewood are probably out of your budget. Go to my lodgings page for more suggestions.

Michele

susan · Senior Member

Hi Marsha
We stayed 1 night at The Shores and 2 nights at Emlagh lodge in Dingle www.emlaghlodge.com
Emlagh lodge is in your budget 30-35 and is very nice.It is not as fancy as The Shores but the location ,view and a very good breakfast I think make it a great value.
Susan

shashie50 · Veteran Member

Thanks for the suggestions. I think that's what we will do. Our nights on Dingle will be Sat-Sun-Monday, so we will stay in Dingle town Sat-Sunday and at The Shores on Monday. That should mean we will be there on a night that dinner is available.

I think I want to be in Dingle town at least one night to go on the Sciuird Tour. (I will contact them ASAP.) If we can do that on Saturday, maybe we will move to The Shores for 2 nights. Hmmm...

I'm looking forward to it SO much! Thanks everyone

Marsha

China Cat · Veteran Member

we stayed 2 nights at The Shores, and also did the Sciurid tour. I don't think you will have an problem booking the tour. And the morning tour (was it 10 or 10:30, now I forget) is late enough that you can have breakfast at the Shores, and go through the pass to town in time to meet up.

I will say that staying at The Shores meant we drove through Conor Pass 3 times. The first time was the foggiest, and was a little frightening. By the 3rd time it was almost no big deal.

Let me echo what everyone has said about having Annette cook dinner. Its a lovely experience. SHe makes a nice meal, her teenage daughter did all the serving. The dining room is very pleasant. Also, she has some of the most interesting china to serve it on. We kinda wanted to do it again our second night, but she didn't seem to be cooking that evenng.

Also, the Scuirid tour is very, very good. Michael really knows his stuff. My mom is an anthropologist, and it is the rare guide who can actually impress her, and he did. he was up on some of the latest DNA studies they are doing at Trinity college, and all kinds of other information. My only disappointment, is it didn't seem like we saw very much. I think this is because there is no attempt to stick to a schedule, so if the group has a lot of questions, you can stay in one place for a while. Now, I think this is a nice thing, and I wouldn't have minded, except one member of our tour would wander away while the guide was speaking. Then he would come back and ask a question about what was just said! or he'd ask an incredibly ridiculous question. For example, we were looking at one of the ruined fortress towers. You know, one of those large stone castles, in the middle of a field, that was blown up by Cromwell. And the guy asked...."so, where do they get the stone, do they ship it in from somewhere?" The guide was flabbergasted...he looked around at the incredibly stony landscape, and then very calmly said "finding stone was never a problem for the Dingle inhabitants. In fact, they had trouble figuring out what to DO with it all." Later on, the same guy asked a lot of questions about the Gallarus Oratory, because he was going to "build one of these in my backyard"...seriously....I'm not kidding.

Anyways, I highly recommend the tour. very informative. I just hope you have a better group than I did.

shashie50 · Veteran Member

Thanks for the info about the tour time and the drive from The Shores. I am completely convinced that we should stay there at least one night and have dinner. I'm considering staying all 3 nights, but I'm not sure. Your info will help me in my decision-making.

I'm wondering if, late in October, the 4 of us might make up the whole group -- wouldn't that be nice? I read about the tour several years ago and have wanted to take it ever since. I can't imagine anyone standing in the west of Ireland asking where the stone came from. Talk about oblivious!

I took a day trip bus tour of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher once, and the bus was only half full. Everyone was great about getting back in on schedule, and as a result we made lots of extra stops. Even the guide seemed to be enjoying it more!

Thanks for the input! Marsha

China Cat · Veteran Member

you could well find the tour not full. In early July (I think it was the 5th or 6th) there were 8 or 9 of us on the 14 person van. which is good, because those vans are a bit crowded when full. A couple of people getting off a tour bus asked about taking the tour but decided not to, since it didn't go all the way out to Slea head. but there was room for them if they had wanted to go.