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Departure
We leave Bridge Street Tourist Office, (next to St Patrick's Bridge) Cork City at 8.30am. The tourist office is at 9 Bridge Street, Cork, T23 KW89 and has Paddywagon Tours signage above the door. Please wait outside 5- 10 minutes before departure or step inside to orient yourself and check in.
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Glenflesk
Our first stop in County Kerry is the small village of Glenflesk, where we may pick up a small number of additional passengers outside St. Agatha's Catholic Church — a beautiful cut-stone building dating from 1860 that's worth a glance as we pass through. There's no stop here, but watch out for the first real change in landscape as the Cork farmland gives way to Kerry mountain country. You'll feel the route shift here.
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Drive over the Cork and Kerry Mountains
The mountain pass between Cork and Kerry is one of those Irish road moments that earns its reputation. The song "Whiskey in the Jar" takes its imagery from this border country — and as you cross the county line at the highest point of the pass, Ireland's highest mountain, Carrauntoohil (1,038m), comes into view to the west. On a clear morning, this is one of the best mountain vistas in the country.
Our Cork based guide Daniel always marks the moment we cross the line: "Welcome to Kerry, folks. Officially the most beautiful county in Ireland — and if you don't believe me, just ask anyone from Kerry!" jokingly referencing the warm but intense rivalry between these two legendary counties in Gaelic football culture.
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Killarney Town and optional Jaunting Car ride
Regularly voted the most beautiful town in Ireland, Killarney sits in a valley beneath the MacGillycuddy's Reeks mountain range, surrounded by the three lakes of Killarney — Lough Leane, Muckross Lake, and Upper Lake. We pass through the valley rather than stopping on most days, but your guide will point out the lake views and the National Park as we descend.
You will enjoy 60 minutes approximately in Killarney. Guests can either choose to walk the colourful streets at leisure or enjoy an optional horse and carriage ride (the famous Killarney jaunting cars) driven by charming Co. Kerry gentlemen known as "jarveys".
Those who choose to experience the jaunting carriage ride will be taken the short distance to the entrance of Killarney National Park where they can pick up a coffee and access ATM machines. The cost to take part is usually EUR 32.00 per person but is just EUR 16.00 as a guest of Paddywagon Tours, paid directly to your guide in cash.
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Inch Beach
Inch Beach is a three-mile sandbar that juts into Dingle Bay from the southern shore of the peninsula — one of the few places in Ireland where you can stand on a beach and see mountains on three sides. The beach was used as a filming location for Ryan's Daughter (1970) and The Playboy of the Western World, and on the right day, the surf here draws swimmers and kitesurfers from across Kerry.
We stop here for fresh air and a walk at leisure. In summer months the beach café is open if you want a coffee before the Slea Head Drive. The walk from the car park to the waterline is about five minutes across sand — flat and easy, trainers are fine but heels are not.
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Slea Head Drive
The Slea Head Drive is a 48km loop around the tip of the Dingle Peninsula — one of the most dramatic coastal roads in Europe, consistently rated by travel photographers as among the most scenic in the world. The road begins at Ventry Beach, passes the 4,000-year-old beehive huts (clocháns), and winds out to Dunquin at the western tip before returning through the Gaelic-speaking villages of Ballyferriter and Ballydevlin.
The views across to the Blasket Islands are the centrepiece. The Great Blasket, the largest island, was inhabited until 1953, when its last remaining residents — fewer than 30 people — were evacuated to the mainland at their own request. The island produced three major works of Irish literature in the early 20th century, written by islanders in Irish. Your guide will tell you more on the road.
On a clear day, you can also see the Sleeping Giant — a rock formation on Beginish Island that, viewed from the right angle, appears as a figure lying on its back looking up at the sky. Our guides will point out the exact spot where it becomes visible.
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Dingle
Dingle is a Gaelic-speaking fishing town of around 2,000 people on the northern shore of the peninsula. It has 52 pubs — that count is accurate and frequently cited as the highest pub-to-person ratio in Ireland — and a food scene that has punched well above its size for decades, built on the local catch: crab, lobster, salmon, and Dingle Bay prawns.
What to do with your free time:
The town is compact and entirely walkable — you won't need to go more than 10 minutes from the drop-off point to see the main street, the pier, and the church. The waterfront on the Dingle pier is the best spot for a coffee or a pint with a harbour view.
Our local guide Michael strongly recommends Dick Mack's for a pint of Guinness or Murphy's for a scoop of Ice Cream - popular flavours include Dingle Sea Salt (Salann) and Brown Soda Bread (Arán donn)!
A note on Fungi: Dingle's most famous resident for over three decades was Fungi, a wild bottlenose dolphin who lived in the harbour from 1983 until his disappearance in October 2020. He was a local institution — visible daily, friendly with boats, and the subject of a long-running tourist trade. He's presumed to have died of old age. Locals still talk about him. There's a bronze statue of him on the pier that makes for a good photo.
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Return to Cork
We leave Dingle and aim to arrive back at Saint Patrick's Quay, Cork by approximately 19:15. Your guide will confirm the exact departure time from Dingle on the day.
This tour is exclusively in English. 
