Dingle Peninsula - Ireland 2014 - page 351

▲ Oceanworld
This aquarium offers a little peninsula history, 300 different species of fish in thoughtfully
described tanks, and the easiest way to see Fungie the dolphin: on video. Walk through
the tunnel while fish swim overhead. You'll see local fish as well as a colorful Amazon
collection. Thepenguinexhibithasadozenofthelittletuxedotorpedoesdartingunderwa-
ter and splashing up onto their fake Arctic ice block. The aquarium's mission is to teach,
and you're welcome to ask questions. The petting pool is fun. Splashing attracts the rays,
which are unplugged.
Cost and Hours: €13, families-€36, daily 10:00-18:00, shorter hours off-season, cafet-
eria, just past harbor on west edge of town, tel. [phone], www.dingle-oceanworld.ie .
Dingle Brewing Company
This brewery opened in 2012 on the site of the old creamery building, which happens to
sit atop a spring providing “the purest water in Kerry.” They brew Tom Crean's Premium
Irish Lager, named for the local Antarctic explorer-hero (see sidebar, later). You're wel-
come to take their self-guided tour, reading storyboards explaining their brewing process
as you go.
Cost and Hours: €7, includes sample pint, daily 12:00-18:00, 200 yards up Spa Road
on way to Conor Pass, tel. [phone], www.dinglebrewingcompany.com .
▲ Short Harbor Walk from Dingle
This easy stroll along the harbor out of town gives you a chance to see Fungie and takes
about 1.5 hours round-trip. Head east from the old roundabout (just past O'Flaherty's pub)
and walk uphill past the Esso station. Just after Bambury's B&B, take a right, then im-
mediately bear left (toward the cell-phone tower). You'll head downhill and soon spot an
Irish Coast Guard station beside the bay. Turn left at the station, climbing the steps over
the low wall and following the seashore path to the mouth of Dingle Harbor (marked by
an empty shell of a tower—some 19th-century fat cat's folly). Ten minutes beyond that
is a two-story (white with red trim) lighthouse. This is Fungie's neighborhood. If you see
tourist boats out, you're likely to see the dolphin. The trail continues to a dramatic cliff.
▲ Bike and Hike to Eask Tower
Here's a good compromise for those wanting more exercise than the mellow harbor walk
to the lighthouse (above), but less sweat than biking the entire 30-mile Slea Head Loop
(described on here ) . Lazybones can skip the bike portion of the following excursion and
just drive to the trailhead. Rent a bike in town and pedal west past the aquarium, going left
attheroundaboutthattakesyouoverthebridgeontoR-559towardSleaHead.Afterabout