Tralee is the county town of Kerry and the gateway to the Dingle Peninsula, and for one week each August it turns into a festival town. The Rose of Tralee, an international beauty and talent contest founded in 1959 and based on a nineteenth-century love song, draws women of Irish descent from around the world, and the whole town fills with music and crowds. Outside festival time, it is a busy, practical market town of about twenty-three thousand people, a place for supplies and a pint.
The town has some interest. At Blennerville, just outside, a restored windmill from about 1800, said to be the largest working windmill in Ireland, stands beside the old harbor from which thousands of emigrants sailed for America in the nineteenth century. The Kerry County Museum tells the story of the region, and the Siamsa Tíre theater celebrates traditional music and dance. The long beach at Banna and the sea cliffs beyond are a short ride away, and Tralee Bay sparkles in good weather.
For riders, Tralee is the start of one of the best rides in Ireland. The N86 runs west past the head of Tralee Bay and over the shoulder of the Slieve Mish mountains to Dingle town, and the classic way back is over the Conor Pass, at about 410 meters among the highest in Ireland, with sheer drops and tight hairpins. Beyond Dingle, the Slea Head loop circles the western tip, with views of the Blasket Islands and Atlantic swells. The roads are narrow, often with no edge line, and in summer tourist buses and campervans clog them, so early starts and patience are essential.
Tralee has everything: fuel, supermarkets, restaurants and hotels. Castleisland and Killorglin are smaller. The best months are May, June and September, when the light is long and the crowds are fewer. Weather on the Atlantic coast is changeable, with rain and wind a constant possibility, and fog can close the Conor Pass in minutes. In winter, storms make the peninsula wild. Sheep and cattle are often on the road, so slow down at blind corners.