Why this ride
A 45 km loop that starts and ends near Dingle, about 58 min of riding. It goes by way of Ventry, Slea Head, Dunquin and Ballyferriter. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Slea Head Drive from Dingle
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 45 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 58 min
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Wild Atlantic Way
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 8 km this is Wild Atlantic Way, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 8 km
- Named road
- Wild Atlantic Way
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Dingle
Dingle is a small harbour town at the western end of County Kerry's Dingle Peninsula, with fewer than two thousand people but about as many pubs as you could want. The streets slope toward the water, shops and houses are painted in strong colours, and the harbour is full of fishing boats. This is a Gaeltacht area, where Irish is still the everyday language for many families, so you may see signs in Irish first, and the town's Irish name, An Daingean, appears on the road markers.
Read the complete Dingle write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dingle is where the day begins. Next is Ventry.
2. Ventry
Ventry is where the Slea Head loop really begins, a long curve of beach at the bottom of the Dingle Peninsula with the mountain Mount Eagle standing over its western end. The Irish name, Ceann Trá, means the head of the strand, and the beach is exactly that: a clean, wide sweep of sand, popular with families and swimmers in summer and often completely empty in the shoulder months. Dingle is only about seven kilometres east, which makes this the easy first stop of a circuit that gets wilder with every mile.
Read the complete Ventry write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ventry comes up about 8 km into the recorded legs. Next is Slea Head.
3. Slea Head
Slea Head is the western end of Europe in everything but the strict geographical sense, and on a clear day it feels like it. The road clings to the side of Mount Eagle high above the Atlantic, and to the south-west the Blasket Islands lie spread across the water, with Skellig Michael faint on the horizon when the air is very clean. The Irish name is Ceann Sléibhe, the head of the mountain, and the headland drops into the sea in a tumble of rock, bracken and stone-walled fields that look too small to farm.
Read the complete Slea Head write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least about 20 km into the recorded legs you reach Slea Head. Next is Dunquin.
4. Dunquin
Dunquin, in Irish Dún Chaoin, is the last village before the road turns north, and it has the look of a place that has been hanging on at the edge of things for a very long time. The houses are scattered down a hillside above a cove, and the pier below is reached by a steep, zigzagging track that has been a postcard staple for decades. From here the boats once crossed to the Blasket Islands, a mile or two offshore across a stretch of water that can be calm one hour and furious the next.
Read the complete Dunquin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dunquin, about halfway. Next is Ballyferriter.
5. Ballyferriter
Past Dunquin the road leaves the high cliffs and swings north into gentler country, and Ballyferriter, Baile an Fheirtéaraigh, is the first real village on that side. It sits in a green bowl of small fields between the mountain and Smerwick Harbour, and it feels like the centre of a very old district. The area has a lot of history packed into a short distance, which is part of the pleasure of riding it slowly.
Read the complete Ballyferriter write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ballyferriter sits at 26 km, late in the day. Next is Dingle.
6. Dingle
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dingle write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 45 km.
Leg by leg
Dingle to Ventry
Dingle → Ventry is 8 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ventry to Slea Head
Ventry → Slea Head is 12 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Slea Head to Dunquin
Slea Head → Dunquin is 4 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dunquin to Ballyferriter
Dunquin → Ballyferriter is 8 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ballyferriter to Dingle
Ballyferriter → Dingle is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Killarney day out · Sceilg Mhichíl · 168 km
- Dingle and Slea Head · 99 km