The Dingle Way · Stage 4
Walking time as thedingleway.ie states it for this stage; measured on the mapped line: 6 h 23. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights. Thedingleway.ie
Round the far west of the peninsula, partly on the Slea Head road, to Dunquin: 20 km, 5 to 7 hours, 370 m of ascent, graded moderate, the committee says; about 23.9 km on our line, nearly 4 km more than the committee's figure. The Slea Head road is busy: the committee asks for extreme caution. Our stage ends on the trail about 450 m from the centre of Dunquin. Beds and food are few in Dunquin: book both ahead.
Best season: All year, except 28 February. Neither the walk committee nor Sport Ireland publishes a walking season. The route is closed for one day every year, on 28 February, by agreement with the landowners; the next closure day is 28 February 2027. Book ahead, especially in summer, the committee says. In midwinter there are under 8 hours of daylight, less than the longest sections take. Before you go
Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 13 October 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Town
The largest town on the loop, with many places to stay and buses to Tralee (275) and Killarney (276). The committee lists several B&Bs on the edge of town; we have not checked them, so book with the host.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage end · overnight
Town
Dún Chaoin is spread along the road; the stage ends on the trail about 450 m from the village centre. Beds are few: the committee still lists a hostel here that An Óige no longer lists, so do not count on it, and names a few B&Bs and self-catering cottages. Food is limited: arrange dinner when you book.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Make it your trip
Advance booking is wise, especially in summer, the walk committee says, and some hosts offer luggage transfer. Sport Ireland calls overnight places plentiful, but they are not even round the loop: of the stays on the committee's list we could place only one at Feohanagh and one at Cloghane, and none at Dunquin or Castlegregory, so book those nights first. Dogs are not permitted on the Dingle Way.
The walk committee's eight sections, a night at the end of each.
Plan this journeyThe first three sections, by Inch strand and Annascaul, with buses back from Dingle.
Plan this journeySlea Head, Smerwick Harbour and the Brandon crossing in three sections.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for low point (sea level) and high point (178 m)…
Typical weather on this stage: at the lowest point (sea level) and the highest point (178 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Mixed | Mixed |
| High point, day / night | 10°/5° | 9°/5° | 10°/5° | 12°/5° | 14°/8° | 16°/10° | 17°/12° | 17°/12° | 16°/11° | 14°/8° | 11°/6° | 10°/5° |
| Low point, day / night | 10°/5° | 10°/5° | 11°/5° | 13°/6° | 15°/8° | 17°/11° | 18°/12° | 18°/12° | 17°/11° | 15°/9° | 12°/7° | 11°/6° |
| Rain, mm | 201 | 153 | 133 | 111 | 108 | 106 | 124 | 142 | 144 | 191 | 219 | 210 |
| Snow at high point | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Daylight | 8 h 13 | 9 h 54 | 11 h 46 | 13 h 50 | 15 h 39 | 16 h 43 | 16 h 19 | 14 h 45 | 12 h 45 | 10 h 46 | 8 h 51 | 7 h 46 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
Much of the Way crosses private land by the landowners' permission. To mark that, the whole route is closed for one day every year, on 28 February; the next closure day is 28 February 2027. No other closure or diversion was published by Sport Ireland, the walk committee or Kerry County Council's road closures, read 13 October 2026.
Sport Ireland: the Dingle WayNearly half the Way, 76 km, follows local roads, Sport Ireland says. On the section from Dingle to Dunquin the Slea Head road is busy, and the committee asks walkers to take extreme caution. Read 13 October 2026.
The Dingle Way: Dingle to DunquinFeohanagh to Cloghane crosses the saddle of Mount Brandon, with 655 m of ascent, graded difficult: check the forecast first. Cloghane to Castlegregory (29 km, 7 to 9 hours) and Castlegregory to Tralee (27 km, 6.5 to 8.5 hours) are the longest days. Figures from the committee's section pages, read 13 October 2026.
The Dingle Way: the sectionsThe committee's accommodation list is not all current. It still names a hostel at Dún Chaoin that An Óige no longer lists; the Dingle Gate Hostel's own site says it is closed to the public this year; and the Inch Beach Guesthouse link now leads to an unrelated site. Check each stay with the host before you book. Read 13 October 2026.
The Dingle Way: accommodationDogs are not permitted on the Dingle Way. Between Lispole and Dingle you may meet loose dogs at the house before Devane's Guest House, Sport Ireland warns. Read 13 October 2026.
Sport Ireland: the Dingle WayGetting there
Travel around Dingle to Dunquin.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
Trains run to Tralee from Dublin Heuston, and from Cork by Mallow; Tralee also has a bus station. The loop starts by Ashe Memorial Hall and the Kerry County Museum, about 700 m from the station.
Irish RailTFI Local Link Kerry runs the 273 every day from Brandon and Cloghane by Castlegregory and Camp to Blennerville and Tralee, and the 277a and 277b every day from Dingle by Ventry and Ballyferriter to Dunquin, with fewer buses on Sundays and bank holidays; its 268 loops from Dingle by Gallarus to Feohanagh. The 275 links Tralee and Dingle, and the 276 runs from Killarney by Inch and Annascaul to Dingle.
TFI Local Link Kerry: timetablesThe loop ends where it started, in Tralee: trains leave for Dublin and Cork, and buses from the bus station.
Transport for Ireland: Bus Éireann routesTake your trip with you
Prepare every day while you still have a connection, and test it offline before you set out.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
The Dingle Way walk committee divides the loop into eight sections, from Tralee by Camp, Annascaul, Dingle, Dunquin, Feohanagh, Cloghane and Castlegregory back to Tralee, with an official stage time for each, shown beside ours on every stage. Its sections add up to about 178 km (its own pages also say 176 and 179 km). Sport Ireland gives 162.9 km for the waymarked line itself: from Tralee a single stretch runs 18.5 km out to the loop's junction south of Camp, and the sections walk it out at the start and back at the end. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (relation 21664, from the planet of 11 October 2026), walked in the committee's direction with that stretch out and back: 181.3 km, the whole loop, cut at the eight section ends. Six stages are within about 2 km of the committee's figures; Dingle to Dunquin is about 4 km longer on our line (23.9 km against the committee's 20 km), and Castlegregory to Tralee about 3 km longer (29.9 km against 27 km). Two ends lie a little away from the village: Camp's is at Camp Junction, by Camp Junction House, about 1.2 km from Camp village, and Dunquin's is on the trail about 450 m from the village centre. No closure or diversion was published on 13 October 2026; the whole route closes for one day every year, on 28 February. Our climb is measured on terrain heights, so short steep steps are smoothed out.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
The Dingle Way walk committee: the sectionsMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation