Skellig Michael tours|Portmagee

Portmagee and Skellig Michael tours

Portmagee is a beautiful fishing village located in south west Kerry just off the Ring of Kerry and the connection point to the island of Valentia. Access to Valentia Island is via a bridge. The bridge was built in 1970 and named in memory of a young farmer from Cahirciveen. He was  captured and judged by a military court before being executed in 1942. The young man was Maurice O’Neill; hence the name of the bridge the “Maurice O’Neill Memorial Bridge”. Portmagee is the gateway to Skellig Michael tours, which operate from April to October.It is the tours to Skellig Michael that bring thousands of visitors annually to the village of Portmagee.

Portmagee the name

The name of Portmagee is derived from a notorious smuggler from the 18th century Captain Theobald Magee. Magee was an officer in the army of King James. He then retired to become a merchant operating between France, Portugal and Ireland. The rugged coastline of south west Kerry was a perfect location to trade in contraband spirits, textiles and tea and tobacco was almost impossible to police and hence very lucrative.

Theobald married a Bridget Morgell, who was the widow of a rich Dingle merchant and also the daughter of the then representative for Dingle, Thomas Crosbie. There is some suspicion that Magee’s death in a Lisbon monastery was due to some exile imposed by the powerful MP. However, his wife and sons continued the family business of smuggling.

Portmagee top tourism town 2012

Portmagee was awarded the top tourism tour in Ireland in 2012. This highlights the standing of Portmagee within the hospitality and tourism industry. Portmagee has loads to do and see. Also Portmagee has restaurants cafes shops etc, but the jewel in its crown is Skellig Michael. Skellig Michael is a UNESCO world heritage site and you quite simply have to see it once you are in Portmagee.

Skellig Michael Tours

Portmagee in the mornings is a hive of activity with crowds of people and the small street full of cars as people are trying to get a boat to take them out to the Skelligs.

People shouting and callings names and as they are almost ready to depart and the low humming of the engines as they warm up for this fantastic tour that lies ahead of you.

Skellig Michael Cruises

Skellig Michael cruises allows you the opportunity to see the Skellig Rocks from this unique perspective. Many people who come to Portmagee are unable to climb Skellig Michael for a variety of reasons; young families, age, disability or time constraints etc. Our Skellig Michael Tours operate 3 times daily and the duration of each boat tour is 2.5 hours. So if you do not want to be disappointed Book your Skellig Michael tours today here.

 

Paul Devane

 

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Our Skellig Michael tours | Boat trips to Skellig Michael

Skellig-Michael-cruises-skellig michael tours portmagee

Skellig Michael tours | Boat trips to Skellig Michael

Skellig Michael tours season is quick approaching, many of your out there are booking your holidays or already have them booked to Ireland. Many of you have decided to take a Skellig Michael tour, as it has been on your Bucket list for a while now. There is no denying a boat trip to Skellig Michael is an unforgettable experience.

Skellig Michael

Skellig Michael is the site of a Monastic Settlement dating back to the 6th century, while one can find legendary accounts of Skellig Michael which date to pagan times, back in 1400 BC.

Of course Skellig Michael is a World Heritage Site on of three in Ireland. Here is a UNSECO quote from 1996 on why it deemed Skellig Michael worthy of such an accolade. “The Committee decided to inscribe the nominated property on the basis of cultural criteria (iii) and (iv) considering that the site is of outstanding universal value being an exceptional, and in many respects unique example of an early religious settlement deliberately sited on a pyramidal rock in the ocean, preserved because of a remarkable environment. It illustrates, as no other site can, the extremes of a Christian monasticism characterizing much of North Africa, the Near East and Europe.”

 UNESCO WHC, 1996

Our boat tours to Skellig Michael

We here at Skellig Michael Cruises offer you trip of a life time to go around both Skellig Michael and the small Skellig. We run three times daily from the beautiful fishing village of Portmagee, just off the famous Ring of Kerry and is now a part of the world’s longest touring route the Wild Atlantic Way. We are delighted to announce here at Skellig Michael Cruises, that after a fantastic year last year. Such was the demand for our unique trip to Skellig Michael we have extended our fleet, with the purchase of another boat which has meant we have doubled our capacity. We now cater for 24 people on each of our trips to Skellig Michael.

A unique Boat trip to Skellig Michael

Our tour to Skellig Michael is to allow anyone who is unable to climb the rock.There are many people who come to Portmagee unable to climb Skellig Michael for a variety of reasons; young families, age, disability or time constraints etc.  This is where we come in, we offer you choice as we depart the pier from Portmagee at 10.30, 1.30 pm and 4.30 pm on a daily basis weather permitting. The boat trip takes around 2.5 hours in total and allows you to get up close and personal with the Skellig Islands.

Dingle Day and weekend tours

Here at Skellig Michael Cruises we also offer you the opportunity to visit the beautiful fishing village of Dingle in west Kerry. We offer a day tour on Friday Saturday and Sunday, with a weekend trip departing Portmagee on the Saturday and returning from Dingle on the Sunday to Portmagee.

Book your tour today

Now that you have your Holidays booked you can book your Skellig Michael tours with us today, or your Dingle Trip.

 

 

Paul Devane

 

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The Wild Atlantic Way | Skellig Michael Cruises

The Wild Atlantic Way - Skellig Michael Cruises

The Wild Atlantic Way| Skellig Michael Cruises

I hear you ask “what is the Wild Atlantic Way?” The Wild Atlantic way is actual the longest touring route in the world. The route takes in the whole west coast of Ireland. It spans from Malin head in Donegal head to Kinsale in Cork. It bares similarities to the Garden Route in South Africa; The great ocean road in Australia and the pacific highway in the US. But the wild Atlantic way is the longest and most spectacular. The touring route is a massive 2500km.

What makes this route stand apart?

Europe’s last frontier
Rugged natural beauty
Dramatic Landscapes
World famous views and sites
Unique and ancient heritage
A living tradition and culture
Cultural festivals

As you can see from the above points there are many reasons to visit the Wild Atlantic Way with something for everyone. However in today post I’m going to concentrate on the Iveragh Peninsula, Portmagee in particular and a boat tour to Skellig Michael

The Iveragh Peninsula

Yes it is here in Iveragh that you will find all that is great about the wild Atlantic way. I may be a little biased with this opinion :) but I challenge you to come and explore my statement and I have no doubt we will be of the one mind after your visit.

The Iveragh Peninsula has the best the country has to offer, it has the most spectacular mountains, beaches, rivers, lakes and golf courses. Allied with this it has just been made a Dark Sky Reserve, the only internationally recognized gold tier reserve in the northern hemisphere. So you can only imagine our night skies here in the southwest.

However I feel the jewel in the Iveragh crown is the mystical Skellig Islands and you simply have to take a boat tour to experience this natural wonder your self.

Skellig Michael boat tours

We here at Skellig Michael Cruises have to speak of our boat tour to Skellig Michael. Skellig Michael is a designated this UNESCO World heritage site. It received this accolade in 1996 and this is what UNESCO had to say.“The Committee decided to inscribe the nominated property on the basis of cultural criteria (iii) and (iv) considering that the site is of outstanding universal value being an exceptional, and in many respects unique example of an early religious settlement deliberately sited on a pyramidal rock in the ocean, preserved because of a remarkable environment. It illustrates, as no other site can, the extremes of a Christian monasticism characterizing much of North Africa, the Near East and Europe.”

Our boat tour runs 3 times daily around the Skellig Islands, we depart the pier at Portmagee at 10:30, 1:30 4:30 daily. Please visit our booking page for the tour of a lifetime.

Portmagee

Situated on the Wild Atlantic Way Portmagee is our home here at Skellig Michael cruises and where we operate our boat tours to the Skellig Islands. Portmagee itself is a beautiful fishing village;

An interesting fact about Portmagee was once a haven for smugglers and pirates. The village is named after one of the most notorious smugglers of the 18th century, Captain Theobald Magee.

In 2012 Portmagee was awarded Irelands top tourism town, which speaks for itself. We have two outstanding bars where you can sample some delicious food and listen to Irish traditional music. We also have a wonderful restaurant cafes and shops. Allied with this we have some spectacular view points and the Skellig experience centre, which is only over the bridge and our latest edition to Portmagee is Skellig Haven Language School just a few hundred meters from the village.

So I would encourage you to book your trip to explore the Wild Atlantic Way and keep in mind that is too long and too much to do in one go if you truly want to experience correctly. I would advise you to come to Portmagee first and enjoy the village and all it has to offer you. Also of course I would say to you book your boat tour to Skellig Michael.

 

Paul Devane

 

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