A Guided Walking Holiday in Cork & Kerry
Join us for a guided walking and hiking adventure in County Cork and County Kerry along part of the famous Wild Atlantic Way. The southwest of Ireland boasts jaw-dropping scenery and iconic culture steeped in history and tradition.
This walking tour begins on the beautiful, remote, and rather undiscovered Beara Peninsula. If you’re particularly interested in just walking the Beara Way, you could peruse those self-guided tour options instead.
The next section of our guided walking tour takes you over Healy Pass, a winding mountain road between Adrigole in County Cork and Lauragh in County Kerry, down to the famous town of Killarney.
The final part of our holiday will take you to the Dingle Peninsula, well-known for its stunning beauty, ancient heritage, incredible cuisine, and dedication to tradition.
Why join this Cork & Kerry walking tour?
Our guided walking holiday in Cork and Kerry showcases the best of Ireland’s deep emerald green landscape and mountain ranges, its rugged cliffs, extensive sandy coastlines, remote cottages, woolly lowland sheep, and ancient archaeology scattered amongst the hills.
In short: This walking tour encompasses the iconic imagery of Ireland herself.
You will also experience the ambience of picturesque villages, fall into conversation with the regions’ sing-song accents, and tap your toes to the well-loved traditional music while soaking up the culture of the South West of Ireland.
Looking for other routes or destinations? Explore our other guided walking tours of Ireland for inspiration. You could also take a look at our self-guided walking tours of Ireland if you’d prefer to go on your own with our support and guidance.
Please do feel free to get in touch with any questions at all. We’re always quite happy to chat about our walking routes and help you find the best holiday for you!
Guided Walking Vacation in Cork & Kerry
Prices / Dates
Price: From €1,469 per person sharing,
Single Supplement: + €395
Tour Dates 2024:
Saturday, 18th May to Saturday, 25th May– Sorry, we have no more single rooms available on this tour; we do have availability for doubles and twins.
Saturday, 10th August to Saturday, 17th August
Saturday, 7th September to Saturday, 14th September
Tour Grade: Easy to Moderate
Accommodation: Hotel & Family Operated Guesthouses
Included / Excluded
- All accommodation is approved and all rooms are en-suite.
- Meals to include: 7 breakfasts and 5 Evening Meals
- Pickup at Dublin Airport and return to Dublin Airport at the end of your tour.
- All transport to and from walks.
- Cable Car to Dursey Island and Ferry to and from Beara Island.
- Evening Meals on day 3 & 5.
- Entry Fees to Muckross House & Farm
- Picnic Lunches
Cork & Kerry Walking Itinerary
You will be collected at Dublin Airport by your Footfalls Tour Guide at 10 am.
En route to the Beara Peninsula in Cork, we will stop to visit the famous Rock of Cashel and will explore the ruins and the quaint town of Cashel for about an hour. We will stay overnight in Castletownbere.
Your first day's walk starts on Dursey Island, a small remote island that is serviced by Ireland’s only working cable car. The cable car carries six passengers or one cow at a time. Cows have priority over people here, so don’t be upset if you have to wait your turn!
Dursey Island is a wild-bird and whale sanctuary and is a beautiful haven of tranquillity. It is, therefore, a perfect start to your walking vacation.
We will stay overnight in Castletownbere.
Distance: 10.5 km/6 miles, Ascent: 260 m/750 ft
We will take a short ferry ride to Beara Island. This is an enchanted place, shrouded in ancient myth with its many stone circles and standing stones. This island is also a haven for wildlife. Our walk follows the Beara Way along quiet country tracks offering stunning views in all directions that must be seen to be believed.
We will again stay overnight in Castletownbere.
Distance: 12 km/7.5 miles, Ascent: 240 m/720 ft
Today, we will depart the Beara Peninsula and County Cork, travelling over Healy’s Pass to the famous greenery and sing-song voices of County Kerry.
In the early afternoon, we will visit Muckross House & Gardens with its working farm situated amidst the beautiful scenery of Killarney National Park.
The rest of the afternoon is left free for you to explore the town of Killarney, which will be our base for the next two days of walking.
Overnight stay, Killarney
Today's walk starts at the famous Kate Carney’s Cottage and takes us into the Black Valley. The valley is a glaciated relic whose retreating glaciers left behind incredible rock formations, a wild and rugged glen, quarry lakes, and small waterfalls. This beauty is simply indescribable.
We will join the Kerry Way walking trail that takes us through Derrynahierka Oak Forest, finishing at Galway’s Bridge on the Ring of Kerry.
We will stay overnight in Killarney.
Distance: 15 km/9.4 miles, Ascent: 280 m/800 ft
From Killarney, we will continue our walking tour on the most westerly point in Ireland: the Dingle Peninsula. The peninsula is rich in archaeological remains, sweeping green and blue coastal landscapes, music, and plenty of ‘craic’.
We will walk through traditional methods of turf cutting using the sleán (spade) in the low bog as we work our way down to walk along Inch Beach. This majestic beach was used in the making of the 1970 film “Ryan’s Daughter”.
Overnight stay in Tralee
Distance: 8 km/5 miles
Our final day of walking starts just outside the village of Cloghane on the Dingle Way, leading us through an area where turf is still harvested in the old traditional way. We will follow an old bog road to an area known as Sás Creek (Sauce Creek), a spectacular horseshoe-shaped bay surrounded by 300-meter sea cliffs.
Our walking trail continues to Brandon Point, passing the remains of some prehistoric beehive huts and settlements, before we finish our day in Brandon Village.
We will again stay overnight in Tralee.
Distance: 12.5 km/8 miles, Ascent: 516 m/1500 ft
After a hearty Irish breakfast, we depart for Dublin Airport early to arrive around 3.00 pm - 4.00 pm.
