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.
