Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Of the peninsula's 10,000 residents, 1,500 live in Dingle town (An Daingean). Its few
streets, lined with ramshackle but gaily painted shops and pubs, run up from a rain-stung
harbor always busy with fishing boats and leisure sailboats. Traditionally, the buildings
were drab gray or whitewashed, but Ireland's “tidy town” competition a few decades back
prompted everyone to paint their buildings in playful pastels.
It's a peaceful town. The courthouse (1832) is open one hour a month. The judge
does his best to wrap up business within a half hour. During the day, you'll see teen-
agers—already working on ruddy beer-glow cheeks—roll kegs up the streets and into the
pubs in preparation for another night of music and
craic
(fun conversation and atmo-
sphere).
Planning Your Time
For the shortest visit, give Dingle two nights and a day. It takes six hours to get here from
Dublin, Galway, or the boat dock in Rosslare. By spending two nights, you'll feel more
like a local on your second evening in the pubs. You'll need the better part of a day to
explore the 30-mile loop around the peninsula by bike or car (following my “Dingle Pen-
insulaLoopTrip”inthischapter). Todoanyseriouswalkingorrelaxing, you'llneedthree
nights and two days. It's not uncommon to find Americans slowing way, way down in
Dingle.
