A Visit to The Great Blasket Island
The Blasket Islands are the most Westerly group of Islands in Europe. Located on the Dingle Peninsula, they can be reached by boat that leaves from the Dingle Marina during the summer months. Whilst there are 7 islands in total it is only possible to land on one of the islands, The Great Blasket Island.
The ferries to the island can be booked online through Dingle Boat Tours. My partner and I booked around a month before our trip, but there was plenty of availability left so it’s likely that you will be able to book closer to the time if you’re looking for a last-minute adventure.
We opted for the Blasket Island Ferry, which takes you on a 50-minute boat journey to the island, where you are left to explore independently for around 3 hours. There are many other options available through the website, such as the Dingle Sea Safari, or the Blasket Eco Tour, which is a guided boat tour around all of the islands, finishing off with an hour stop on the Great Blasket Island.
We paid 60 euros per person for the whole experience, which might seem a little pricey if you are in a larger group, so there are private boat options available that might work out better value for money.
In true Irish fashion, the rain started just as we arrived at the Dingle marina to board the ferry which departed at 1 pm. Our guide Paul greeted us warmly and explained our itinerary for the afternoon. The ferry we were travelling on was carrying a combination of Blasket Eco Tour and Blasket Island Ferry groups, so some of us would be landing on the island whilst others would remain on the boat to continue their tour.
As we set off Paul floated around the boat, chatting to us about the islands and encouraging us to keep a lookout for Fungie the dolphin who lives in the marina. We spotted him briefly as we cruised out from our meeting point, cheekily hiding from the Fungie Boat Tours that had gone out especially to see him.
Once we had left the marina, the boat sped up, whizzing past rugged cliffs and hidden caves along the Peninsula. As we approached the Great Blasket Island, the sea turned to beautiful emerald green, and Paul began distributing life-jackets to those who were landing and pulling around a small motorboat that we would be using to get onto the Great Blasket Island.
We donned our life-jackets and boarded the boat. I was a little bit nervous as we perched precariously on the rubber edge, but we made it to the island with no ‘falling-in’ incidents. With wobbly sea legs, we made our way up the slip-way, past exhausted groups of people who’d had their fill of the wild and beautiful island and wished us luck as we began our exploring.
The steep and practically non-existent paths on the island, plus the fine layer of dew that was covering everything meant that our feet quickly got soaked! That didn’t lessen our excitement though, as we headed towards the large beach we had spotted from the boat to sit for a bite to eat. Getting onto the beach required some careful navigation down the rocks, but the empty stretch of sand was vast and beautiful, with the clouds hanging low over the island creating a sense of mystery.
Tra Ban or White Strand is the name of the Great Blasket Island beach and is well known for its wildlife, in particular the seals that frolic in the waters around the island. We were lucky enough to spot a number of them splashing around at a distance and spent some time watching them in awe. (Although curious, the seals were very camera shy, disappearing back under the water every time I attempted to grab a quick snap!)
Once we’d eaten and had our fill of seal watching and beach walking we scrambled back up the make-shift rock path to explore some more of the island, first heading along to explore the rugged cliffs along from the beach.
The Great Blasket Island’s untamed cliffs are majestic, with the sea swirling below and birds flying in and out of their nests on the jagged rocks. Out to sea in the distance, we could spy the spectacular Skellig Islands partially covered by heavy clouds which we knew meant rain was headed in our direction!
Our next stop was the deserted village that overlooks the sea. The Office of Public Works usually runs free guided tours of the village, but unfortunately, this wasn’t running on the day that we visited so we spent some time exploring the stone houses ourselves.
The path through the village wound up towards the crest of the hill, and we wandered up slowly, admiring the views. We weren’t prepared for the incessant midges that gnawed at us as we climber higher and higher up the steep paths.
This eventually became unbearable, and as our time on the island was drawing to an end, we decided to slowly start heading back towards our meeting point.
Our group was gradually rounded up by Paul and we once again hopped onto the motorboat (a little more confidently this time) to be guided across to the ferry by skipper Billy, who joked that he wouldn’t like to hang around for long as a storm was rolling in fast from the sea.
The journey back towards Dingle was less than tranquil as the wind picked up and the rain teased. Our ferry ploughed through the waves, as people’s faces slowly turned green. Billy the skipper expertly guided the ferry further away from the cliffs to ride along with the waves and ensure a slightly smoother trip for everyone. Just as the wind and rain were becoming unbearable, we arrived back at the marina, where we were grateful for sturdy, if not dry, land.
The Great Blasket Island trip was an experience not to be missed, and although the wild island is not for the faint-hearted, I would be keen to explore again, especially as there was lots that we didn’t get the chance to see. There is a cafe on the island which unfortunately was also closed during our visit, and I would be keen to join the OPW tour to learn the story about the deserted village.
If you are planning a visit yourself bring snacks and water, wear suitable outdoor clothing, and by no means forget to bring the insect repellent!
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