Cost : €625 per person sharing

9-Day Tour Tour Dates MARCH to OCTOBER

Tour Grade 2 Easy to Moderate Accommodation Guesthouse or B&B

Tour Highlights Picturesque towns and villages Panoramic views Wonderful accommodation Traditional music and great food Stone Circles and Standing Stones Dursay Island & Dursay Sound Wonderful people What's included in your tour 8-nights B&B All accommodation is pre-booked in approved family-run guesthouses with all rooms en-suite Maps and all route notes Details on restaurants and places of interest to visit along the way Luggage transfers daily while you walk All information on trains or buses needed to get to your first accommodation, during the tour and back at the end of the tour Full back up service should you require it while on our tour

BEARA WAY

The Beara Way in full is 196 km/122.5 miles trail that is shared between county Cork and Kerry, on the most south westerly tip of Ireland, the Beara Peninsula. A rugged peninsula that reaches out into the wild Atlantic Ocean and Bantry Bay is breathtakingly beautiful, picturesque and mystical.
The trail takes you along small country roads, passing numerous monuments and sights of great archaeological interest, through small towns and villages. Warmed by the Gulf Stream, the climate is pleasant throughout the year supporting a unique combination of highly colourful flora and fauna. You will also visit the enchanted islands of Beara and Dursey.

Day 1-Travel to Castletown
Arrive at Cork Airport and take public transport to Castletown; it may be also possible to arrive in Shannon or Kerry but this will depend on time of arrival. Check with Footfalls before you book your flights. We will supply you with all the onward travel details that you need to get to your first accommodation.
You will take an afternoon/evening bus to the village of Castletown where you will stay for the next 2-nights.
Overnight in Castletown

Day 2-Adrigole to Castletown
The first day of your tour you will be transported to Adrigole and walk back to Castletown. The whole trail offers you sweeping views across Bantry Bay to Beara Island on one side and Hungry Hill and the Slieve Miskish Mountains on the other.  Travelling along a trail that flanks the southern slopes of Hungry Hill, highest mountain on the peninsula, Past Park Lough, through Comnagapple Glen back to Castletown.
Distance: 20 km/12.5 miles, Ascent: 550 m/1650 ft
Overnight in Castletown

Day 3-Castletownbere to Allihies
Walk Castletownbere to Allihies through the Slieve Miskish Mountains. Some of today’s route passes through conifer forests, about the only alternative on poor bogland to turf cutting or sheep farming. The Way crosses open hill terrain and is under the peak of Knockgour at 481m. You will pass a ringfort - an ancient farm enclosure, which would have served as a home for people and animals. Allihies is a colourful coastal village, surrounded by the remains of copper mines – crushed stones from the mines formed the beach.
Distance: 12km/7.5 miles, Ascents 220m/660ft
Overnight in Allihies

Day 4-Dursay Island-The Sanctuary of Beara
You will be transported from Allihies to Dursey Sound, where you will take a cable car across to the island, on the only cable car which crosses sea water anywhere in Ireland, the journey is only 200m.
The island is only 6.5km/4.6miles long and 1.5km/1mile wide, with a population of only six, with no shops, pubs or restaurants.
Dursey is famous for its magnificent variety of bird species and is a birdwatchers’ heaven.  The island offers a barren and charming beauty, with a rugged coastline, cliffs and a patchwork of fields divided by dry stone walls and ditches.
Dursey was awarded one of the top 10 walks in Ireland for 2010.
Distance: 14km/8.7 miles; Ascent; 240 m/720ft
Overnight in Dursey Sound

Day 5-Dursey Sound to Allihies
From Dursey Sound the trail takes you along the coastline to the small fishing port of Garnish Point.
From here the trail follows a small country road that takes you along the slopes of Canalmore and Follshauncrone Mountain. Along the way you will have stunning views across Garnish and Ballydonegan Bay and across the Atlantic to Cod’s Head. Once again this is a great area for bird watching or photography.
The final section of the trail takes you along by Ballydonegan Strand and back into the village of Allihies.
 Distance: 17km/10.6 miles; Ascent: 270m/810ft      
Overnight in Allihies

Day 6-Allihies to Eyeries
This may be a short walk day but the views along the way are incredible beautiful. You will leave the village and walk through what remains of an old copper mine, which was once the largest producer of copper in Europe.
The trail follows an old disused road that offers you views across Clough Bay, the Kenmare River and beyond to the Kerry Coastline.
If you arrive into the village early you can relax by exploring the small colourful village, by taking a walk to the beach, or sitting back and doing some reading.
Distance: 12k; Ascent 160m/480ft
Overnight in Eyeries

Day 7-Eyeries to Lauragh
After leaving Eyeries the trail takes you down to Eyeries Point to follow a beautiful coastal path by Coulagh Bay to reach Ballycrovane Harbour, near which is the site of a magnificent 4.7 m/14 ft prehistoric standing stone, an inscription in ancient Ogham writing. From here the trail turns inland to pass a charming lake called Lough Fadda (Long Lake) and on to follow a small ridge that offers a new panorama of the Kenmare River. The trail takes you through the quaint village of Ardgroom, walking parallel to the Ring of Beara road to cross the border in county Kerry and the village of Lauragh.
Distance: 24 km/15 miles, Ascent: 290 m/870 ft
Overnight in Lauragh

Day 9-Depart for home

Top Cost

If you would like more information or a detailed itinerary, please e-mail us at: info@walkinghikingireland.com

Other self-guided tours
• Aran Islands & Western Way • Beara Way • Wales & Wicklow •
• Dingle Way 8 day • Dingle Way 10 day • Glens of Antrim • Wales• Kerry Way •
• Wicklow Way 6 day • Wicklow Way 8 day • Wicklow Way 10 day •
• West Highland Way 6 day • West Highland Way 7 day • West Highland Way 10 day •