Ballyferriter is a small village positioned near the tip of the Dingle peninsula, County Kerry. The town is in the Gaeltacht so you will hear Irish spoken in the shop and pubs you visit. During the summer months students young and old flock here to learn Irish.
Ballyferriter is located on the magnificent Slea Head Drive, a circular route clearly signposted starting and finishing in Dingle. The driving tour takes in a large number of attractions and stunning views. Hiking in the area is also a great way to enjoy the beautiful scenery. The Dingle Way marked walkway passes through the town. There is also opportunities to go deep sea fishing off the coast. There are fantastic vistas from the challenging golf course of Ceann Sibeál.
The local beach is Béal Bán, the beach received an environmental award recently as it became the only beach in Kerry to be named as a 'Green Coast'. The beach is also the scene of an annual horse race each June, it is one of the few surviving beach race meetings in Ireland.
Each year people come from all over Ireland and other parts to the famous Scoil Cheoil an Earraigh to perform and host master classes in traditional Irish music. It is a great time to be in the village as the pubs are teeming with musicians playing traditional Irish music day and night.
The Dingle Peninsula is jam-packed with archaeological sites, and the area around Ballyferriter is no different. To find out more about these intriguing monuments visit the museum located across from the church - Musaem Chorca Dhuibhne. The museum is open 7 days a week June to September and also at Easter. The museum has also created three heritage walks of various lengths which leave from the village and take in the local antiquities. Full colour guide maps to the three routes can be bought at the museum. Kilmalkedar Romanesque Church and Gallarus Oratory are gems on your tour.
Ballyferriter has a wide range of quality accommodation to suit all budgets, ranging from hotels and bed & breakfasts to hostels and self catering accommodation. Ballyferriter has a nice variety of pubs which are well worth a visit on a warm summers evening or a cold winters one!.
For diners there are a selection of restaurants
Nearby Sybil Point and Sybil Head are said to be named after Sybil Lynch, She was a lady from Galway who eloped with a member of the Ferriter family, after whom the village is named. It is said that she hid in a local cave to hide from her father who was laying siege to Sybil Castle (Also know as Ferriter Castle). However when the attack was over there was no sign of Sybil as she had been swept out to sea as waves had swept through the cave.