Wild Atlantic Way – Cork & Kerry Food Trail

While travel to Ireland is not included in this holiday, we would be happy to help you arrange the best way on to the Island, with ferry ports at Dublin and Rosslare providing easy access. We can also offer this trip on a fly-drive basis, with airports at Cork and Dublin and car rental at each. 

Your hotel in Co Cork

Your tour begins at a classic country house hotel that enjoys something of a legendary reputation. And, as you’ll find across Ireland, the quality of the welcome and friendliness of the people are simply world-class. Settle in here to wonderfully comfortable accommodation in a superb rural setting, looking forward to a first fine dinner of your trip.

After breakfast, perhaps take a guided tour of some of the 300 acres of private grounds that surround your hotel, much of which provides produce for the kitchen. In the afternoon, a hands-on treat awaits in the form of a cookery class alongside fellow guests and your experienced hosts. Often inspired by your hosts’ travels both inside and outside Ireland, meeting producers and artisans, classes change regularly and are always an exciting and colourful way to make additions to your own kitchen repertoire.

We advise a light breakfast this morning before you wave goodbye and make the short drive to Cork City. Here, you’ll meet an experienced local guide and embark on a food trail around one of our favourite places in Ireland. Steeped in rich history throughout, the island city of Cork is home to some of the country’s friendliest folk as well as many superb tasting opportunities. Discover stories of the city’s past while tasting your way around the 18th-century English Market and a range of cafes and specialist restaurants. Later, tour southwest for a short distance on the Wild Atlantic Way, to the staggering coastal location of Inchydoney Island.

Your Accommodation in West Cork

In a quite breath-taking location by a vast stretch of Blue Flag beach, your accommodation in West Cork is a tranquil retreat of endless romance and relaxation. Combining fine bedrooms containing every modern feature and the sound of the ocean as you nod off, with extensive spa facilities and superb dining, this is a wonderful place to spend a day or two. Take an outdoor yoga class before breakfast, or a treatment in the afternoon, and walk off dinner with a sunset stroll on the amazing beach – what could be better?

There’s no distance involved today, so you could take a local taxi to the energetic nearby town of Clonakilty. One of West Cork’s gems, this cosmopolitan seaside town has always punched well above its weight, undoubtedly influenced by its status as birthplace of Michael Collins, whose heritage centre and house are must-sees. While in the town, you’ll pay a visit to the home of its second most-famous export, Clonakilty Black Pudding Visitor Centre. This fun interactive experience tells the story of its origins in a secret 19th-century recipe and gives you the opportunity to sample some of the delicious products – with vegetarian white pudding, vegetarian sausage and cheese also on the menu. Later, make your way to the town’s fascinating distillery, imaginatively housed in a disused bank and creating award-winning spirits. Enjoy a ‘Spirits Explorer Experience’ private tour here, guiding you through the origins of Clonakilty whiskey, gin and vodka, followed by a tutored tasting of gin, vodka and three different whiskeys.

Make a leisurely start to the day over a fine breakfast and a last stroll on those nearby golden sands. Then, take a slight detour off the coastal route, heading northwest to Co Cork’s own buffalo farm. Home to some 700 buffalo, the family-owned farm produces a range of award-winning cheeses, including mozzarella, ricotta, burrata and Greek and Cypriot-style. You’ll enjoy a private tour of the farm to meet the buffalo and take lunch of some of the farm’s finest products. Later, make your way back towards the coast and into the Kingdom of Kerry for your one-night stop in delightful Kenmare.

Your Accommodation in Kenmare

Just on the edge of town, pleasingly set away from the hubbub, your accommodation in Kenmare is a family-owned hotel home to cosseting rooms, a lively bar and a good restaurant serving a dependable menu of Irish classics.

After a fine Irish breakfast, set off early for a fabulous day’s touring on the Southwest coast along the famous Ring of Kerry.  More formally known as the Iveragh Peninsula, the Ring of Kerry predates the Wild Atlantic Way by hundreds of years and has seemed always to attract visitors to this part of Ireland, eager to take in its inviting towns, its fabulous – often deserted – beaches, and to experience its fabulous rocky coastline and world-class vistas. Just as importantly, the Ring of Kerry provides fascinating insight into Ireland’s heritage, where Iron-Age forts rub shoulders with ancient monasteries and a landscape formed during the last Ice Age some 10,000 years ago.

Along the way, at Derrynanel, just 50km from Kenmare, you’ll be met by the infectious host of your Atlantic seaweed walk. ‘Find, forage and feast,’ discovering the health-giving properties and sheer deliciousness of Duileasc, sea-lettuce and Carrageen moss, learning as you go how to get the best from this most natural product, all amidst the breath-taking scenery of the Kerry coastline. A real foodies’ day out!

Tour over, continue along the Ring and onto the Dingle peninsula, to your final two nights, in the town of Dingle itself.

Your hotel in Dingle 

Right at the heart of Dingle, your hotel is a stalwart of hospitality here, pleasingly traditional in its bar and restaurant, yet with beautifully upgraded rooms. It’s a great sport from which to explore this most captivating of Irish towns.

You could easily spend the morning simply wandering the streets of Dingle, browsing the many individual shops and galleries, stopping for a pint at any one of the unique Irish pubs – some of which double as, variously, a hardware store, a leather goods workshop or a general greengrocer’s – enjoying freshly caught seafood, superb ice cream and, of course, the craic. 

But be sure to save yourself for the afternoon, when you’ll meet a local guide and set off to devour Dingle on a fun food tour of the town. There’s a number of fine artisan producers here, as well as superb daily-caught seafood and a host of terrific cafes and restaurants, where you’ll sample some of the best food Co Kerry has to offer.

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast at your hotel before getting back on the road and heading home. Wherever your final destination, we’re happy to help in making the most convenient plans to get there.