The Slea Head Drive is one of the best road trip to take while in Ireland and can easily rival the more famous Ring of Kerry. We drove into the area to stay in a cute bed and breakfast near Dingle the night before and spent the evening going to some of the bars in town. With the hearty Irish breakfast the next morning, we were ready to start our drive. Finding the sign out of Dingle pointing us in the direction of the drive was easy, and from there the way around is simple. The 30 miles of narrow roads hugging the Irish coast offer beautiful views of the ocean and some of the famous nearby islands, such as Blasket Islands.
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There are several stops on the way to feed sheep, rams, and horses for small fees which help support the local sheepherders in the area. Each sheepherder can have up to 250 sheep that they herd. You may notice that that the sheep have different colored markings on them with spray paint, and this is to help remind which sheep belong to which herder in case they roam too far.
The ancient beehive formation, also known as clocháns, are seen dotting the hills. The architecture was adopted to protect the people from the heavy winds. You can visit a number of them at different locations throughout Slea Head drive. As we walked through the houses, we had to mind the short doorways to avoid hitting your head. Soemtimes we found little shelfs in the wall, but for the most part the rocks had been perfectly stacked together without a single hole to allow wind in without using any clay, mud, or other binding agent in between the stones.
The most rewarding aspect of the drive is the endless views of the sparkling blue water next to the rolling green hills while driving the winding roads. No matter where we stopped, there was something to enjoy. Finding little pullouts that we felt safe enough to stop in was hard at times, but not impossible. At least we had some amazing weather to enjoy on our one day doing the drive.
Some of the more well known scenic spots to stop at are Ventry Bay, Dunberg Fort, Dunquin pier (famous picture spot of Slea Head drive), and Gallarus Oratory. Take the exit for Dun Chaoin for a popular turnout to see the houses dating back to the famine dotted across the hills. On the way back to Dingle, we could see the Sleeping Giant and the Three Sisters out our windows.
If you have a bit more time in the area, then consider including a drive through Connor's Pass, climbing up to Pedlar Lake and other short hikes, or spending some time in Dingle, maybe trying some of the best ice cream I have ever had at Murphy's.