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Blasket Island Tour: Scenic Dolphin, Whale Watching and Island Exploration
4.8
13 Ratings
Ceantra
Embark on a thrilling adventure with our Blasket Island Tour, featuring scenic dolphin and whale watching, as well as island exploration. Discover stunning landscapes, diverse marine wildlife, and the captivating beauty of the Blasket islands archipelago and Dingle Bay.
Embark on a thrilling adventure with our Blasket Island Tour, featuring scenic dolphin and whale watching, as well as island exploration. Discover stunning landscapes, diverse marine wildlife, and the captivating beauty of the Blasket islands archipelago and Dingle Bay.
Duration:
7 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Great Blasket Island - Our tour boat leaves from Ventry pier at 10am. We head out into Dingle Bay towards the Blasket Islands keeping an eye out for common dolphins and Minke whales along the way. We also sometimes see bottlenose dolphins, Risso’s dolphins and basking shark (in season). We arrive at Great Blasket Island at approx. 11 am and tie up…
- Great Blasket Island - Our tour boat leaves from Ventry pier at 10am. We head out into Dingle Bay towards the Blasket Islands keeping an eye out for common dolphins and Minke whales along the way. We also sometimes see bottlenose dolphins, Risso’s dolphins and basking shark (in season). We arrive at Great Blasket Island at approx. 11 am and tie up to our mooring off the White Strand. We disembark passengers by licenced Zodiac dinghy / tender to the Great Blasket Island slipway. Passengers have 3 hrs. to enjoy the island either hiking the loop walk (1.5 hrs), swimming in the pristine waters off the beach or just relaxing and watching the seals off the rocks. There is a small island tea room and access to toilets. We pick up passengers again at 2pm and continue on our marine eco tour around some of the outer Blasket islands where you can see puffins, lots of other sea birds, fantastic landscapes and seascapes and hopefully pods of dolphins and the occasional humpback whale as they migrate past our shores.
What's Included
- Guided cultural and historical tour
- Deserted village exploration
- Great Blasket Island
- OPW-certified guides
- Guided cultural and historical tour
- Deserted village exploration
- Great Blasket Island
- OPW-certified guides
What's Not Included
- Snacks
- Snacks
Additional Information
This experience merges a 4 hr. expedition to watch dolphins and whales with a 3 hr. layover on Great Blasket Island. Your time will be allocated between a 1 hr. ocean voyage, 3 hrs. spent on Great Blasket Island, and a subsequent 3 hr. eco-friendly marine exploration of the surrounding islands, where we’ll be on the lookout for dolphins, birds, and…
This experience merges a 4 hr. expedition to watch dolphins and whales with a 3 hr. layover on Great Blasket Island. Your time will be allocated between a 1 hr. ocean voyage, 3 hrs. spent on Great Blasket Island, and a subsequent 3 hr. eco-friendly marine exploration of the surrounding islands, where we’ll be on the lookout for dolphins, birds, and hopefully whales (although sightings can’t be guaranteed!). Given favourable weather and calm seas, we promise a fantastic time amidst stunning landscapes and diverse sea creatures in and around the Blasket Islands archipelago and Dingle Bay.
- Passengers must arrive at the departure point 15 to 20 minutes before departure time of 10:00 am in order to park car on pier
- The boat departs at 10 am and under no circumstances will the boat wait for passengers
- Put on suitable warm, windproof clothing and for Safety meeting.
- Not suitable for children under 10 yrs.
Location
Ventry pier, Ventry Harbour, Co. Kerry
4 miles west of Dingle town, on the Slea Head drive, road R559. Turn left on the slip-road by the cottages opposite Quinn's pub, Ventry - Ceann Trá.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(13 Ratings)
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Lindam101112
Oct 6, 2024
Amazing day--Start to Finish - We had a wonderful 18 days in Ireland--such a beautiful country--but the highlight of the trip was this tour. We were blessed with gorgeous weather--but we were scheduled for a day which was supposed to have bad weather--they contacted us and requested to change for a better experience--we could also cancel at no charge if that didn't work. Amazing customer consideration. Our guide was great--so much information. Blasket Island was great-we hiked around the hill and picnicked up top. Coffee at the cafe and a NPS history session. Then out into the Atlantic where we saw three types of whales--the Humpback, The Minke and The Fin Whale--also two types of Dolphins, Tuna leaping to catch fish and lots of birds. An amazing day start to finish
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dclopton
Oct 2, 2024
Well worth the time and fare - After the tour was canceled on Sunday due to high winds and terrible rain, we booked the next day. Because of a tidal serge,
we could not get to the Blasket Islands to wander around. The tour guide asked if we would take the 4 hour tour of whale/dolphin watching. We took the afternoon cruise to see seals, common and bottlenose dolphins along with several types of sea birds. The scenery was gorgeous especially around Blasket Island. The guide, John, was knowledgeable and friendly. The captain, Vincent, was capable and worked hard to find the dolphin pods. The trip was well worth the time and fare.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Henrikkg6699ny
Aug 4, 2024
A highly recomandable trip - We were on an excellent trip to Great Blasket Island 23. of July. The Island itself was exciting and really worth a vist.
We saw 3 Coughs close to the seal-colony made the visit even better.
On the the following whale-safari, we saw 2-3 Mink Whales and 2 flocks of Common Dolphins very close to the boat!
And a lot of birds! thausands of Manx Shearwater - (and one Balearic!) all over the sea, Puffins close, Fulmars and other good birds.
The guide (Britta) was very informing, and knew all abourt the birds at sea (and cateaceans, off course).
A highly recomandable trip. Just do it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Q2346ryjohnm
Jul 28, 2024
A first class experience - The weather forecast did not look favourable, but what a glorious day was spent on Blasket Island.
The island is steeped in history, but also so much wildlife. The beach is a haven for grey seals.
After leaving the Blasket Island, Vincent once again demonstrated his navigational skills by showing us stunning scenery and magical wildlife.
I will be back.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Semele1
Jul 11, 2024
Highlight of our trip to Dingle. - This was a great tour. The landing on the Great Blasket Island was the perfect amount of time to view the ruins, eat lunch, and complete the (shorter) loop hike on the island without hurrying. I found the island equal parts stunning and fascinating. In late May, there were a large number of seals on the beach. From the boat, we saw common and bottlenose dolphins, two basking sharks, puffins, manx shearwater, guillemots, and many other birds.
Be prepared with a packed lunch and layers, it can be quite cold on the boat.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Deniseph2522sg
Jul 9, 2024
My favorite Ireland Adventure, June 30, 2024 - GREAT tour! Amazing views, educational & fun!
Thank you Vincent for your boating expertise and for your assistance getting me on and off the dinghy (that was an adventure in itself!). I didn’t fall into the water, and I felt 100% safe!
Thank you Jonathan for all of the great information about the wildlife, landmarks, and history.
Thank you both for your knowledge and determination that made it possible for us to see the beautiful dolphin that came to check us out on the boat. They were breathtaking.
See you in 2025!!!
-Denise
Florida, USA
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Q2346ryjohnm
Jul 6, 2024
Do not give this trip a miss - I booked this trip several months ago, but the weather forecast was for increased wind speed. As a result, my trip was cancelled.
At 20.00 on the day prior to my original trip, I got a message to say that the wind was not as bad as predicted and the trip would take place.
The Blasket Island is so beautiful and it reminded me of a Caribbean island.
The wildlife trip in the afternoon was stunning - sightings of dolphins, puffins, manx shearwater, guillemots and deer.
Vincent is a very skilled captain and if there is wildlife, he will spot it in the distance.
Thanks also to Mick who arranged the trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
638gd
Jun 26, 2024
Great tour - highly recommend! - My family recently took this tour and had a great time. I'm not sure if we got lucky and happened to go on an exceptionally good day, but we saw lots of dolphins, whales, seals, several different types of seabirds, and even some deer. The staff was really helpful and I felt went out of their way to provide interesting background on the animals, geography, and history of the area. They also were very conservation-friendly which I liked. The boat was i think an ideal size, with lots of good viewing spots on the deck, as well as on an elevated viewing platform. I was a little worried there wouldn't be enough to do on the island, but that turned out to not be the case, as there were a lot of areas to hike, ruins to check out, and also some guided tours by the Ireland equivalent of the parks department. I'm sure the amount of wildlife you see can vary from day to day, but we saw a ton of it and all-in-all I was really happy with the tour and how the company ran it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
971ginette
Jun 23, 2024
Great experience - Very knowledgeable and helpful crew made this a true learning experience. Lots of interesting facts, not only on the local marine biology but also local history. Great value for a full days experience
Review provided by Tripadvisor
W7760hknancyc
Jun 9, 2024
Love nature? Book this tour! - A fascinating day on the water. If you're looking at the variety of boat tours in the Dingle area, don't hesitate to choose this one. The others are thrill rides, but this is a true nature-lovers experience with expert knowledge and respect for the wildlife. (Also you can stand and move around, and there's an indoor area if you get cold). Our naturalist, John, was incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the bird and sea life. And we saw so many puffins and guillemots on shore and in the sea - more than I expected. I decided to add the three-hour stay on Great Blasket Island in the morning and what a treat. A beautiful walk that I had to myself and incredible history told by locals. It was by far the best part of a 10-day tour of Ireland with family members. The time flew by. If I have the chance, I'll do it again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
