Ireland's 'Wild'

Southwest Dingle Peninsula &

Killarney National Park

November 25th - 30th 2018 +/- 3 days as flights do not operate to Kerry every day

Flights should become available in December 2017

Price: £1250

Group size: 3

Price includes: All transport within Ireland, accommodation and breakfast.

Price excludes: Flights, main meal, lunch, café stops and insurance.

Costings

Flights: Circa £130 with Ryanair. Price includes check-in bag of 20Kg and Priority Boarding which

ensures you are among the first to board thereby guaranteeing your camera bag goes on with you.

Ryanair’s policy (as with easyjet) is that if there is insufficient room in the overhead lockers your

carry-on bag will be put into the hold. When I travelled at this time of the year the plane was only

half full but better safe than sorry! You will be departing from London Stansted and arriving at

Kerry. It is a condition of booking that everyone boards the same flight.

Food and drink: Ireland is not cheap but it’s not terribly expensive either. For example, a sandwich

from a supermarket costs around £3 and an evening meal £15-£20.

Both Dingle and Killarney are very popular tourist destinations and with this in mind I have decided

to hold it toward the end of November, at roughly the same time as when I visited in 2014. Aside

from the lack of tourists (especially in Dingle) the sun is nice and low for day-round photography

and there is the real possibility of "wild" weather which Ireland is famous for!

Each morning, regardless of the forecast, we will head out pre-dawn (circa. 6.30am) ) capturing

sandy bays, lakes and vistas as the sun rises. Since sunrise is at 8.15 we may not always have time

to return for breakfast (which is usually served from 7.30-9.30) and so I have arranged with the

B&Bs that a ‘breakfast tray’ either be delivered to our rooms each evening or set up in the

breakfast room enabling us to have breakfast before we head out. This, I found, worked perfectly

as there were many instances when conditions got better and better and if I had to return just to

get breakfast I would have missed many of the images you see here and which are on my blog.

Actually, to be honest I just would have gone hungry! We are, afterall, there to take pictures and I

am sure you will agree that food can wait when you have limited time. You can always pack a

snack bar and an apple!

Since most locations are within a 15-30 minute drive of our accommodation we will return to our

rooms at around 10am where we will have a 1 ½ -2 hour break and ready ourselves for the

remainder of the day where will be out until dusk. I find that this short break is worth doing since

it’s just enough time to refresh and ready yourself (perhaps, make yourself a cuppa in your room)

for the remainder of the day. Mornings can be quite frantic so you’ll be glad of it. However, saying

that, we are not running to a strict itinerary so, if we find it’s simply too much to drag ourselves

away from amazing conditions, we’ll stay out! With regards to lunch; the previous evening we will

pick up a sandwich (or anything else you wish) from a nearby supermarket or petrol station which

should keep you going until we return at, approximately, 5.30pm. I think, after all this, you will be

quite ready for a relaxing evening meal.

Killarney

Dingle

Itinerary

Below is a rough itinerary which is subject to change due to weather conditions.

Day 1. Transfer from Kerry airport to Killarney, a journey of just 20 minutes. Evening meal.

Day 2. Dawn to dusk Killarney National Park.

Day 3. Dawn to Dusk Killarney National Park. We will be leaving the following day and out in the

morning until beyond, possibly, check out time so you will need to pack in the evening, ready to

load the car first thing the following morning.

Day 4. Dawn till late morning in Killarney National Park. Make our way to Dingle (journey of

approximately 1 1/4 hours). Evening photography along the Dingle Peninsula. Check in to B&B.

Day 5. Dawn to dusk Dingle Peninsula.

Day 6. Dawn shoot Dingle Peninsula. Depart for Kerry airport.

Price includes:

• Accommodation in en-suite B&B. Sole occupancy - no single supplement.

• Breakfast.

• Transportation within Ireland.

Price excludes:

• Flights.

• Insurance.

• Meals not mentioned. This includes lunch and evening meal.

• Occasional café stops.

Dingle Peninsula at dawn

Dingle’s stormy seas

Dingle

Accommodation

At both Dingle and Killarney we will be staying in comfortable bed and breakfast accommodation

with WiFi. At both locations we will be near to the town enabling just a short stroll for our evening

meal.

There are a LOT of pubs in Ireland so there’ll be no problems finding somewhere to eat!

Equipment required

Below is a very "loose" list as to the kind of equipment needed. A full check-list will be given upon

booking.

• Back-up camera.

• 2 -3 lenses will be more than sufficient including a wide-angle and telephoto zoom.

• Polarising, ND and ND graduated filters.

• Tripod.

Fitness level

Moderate. Most of the walking will be on relatively flat ground, often photographing from quite

near the car. In Dingle there will be walks down slipways to access the beach and in Killarney rocky

lakeside shores but nothing too taxing. While in Dingle, a steep walk taking in the region of 30

minutes may be necessary for a hill-top sunrise. You must be capable of walking in the region of 1

km (in one direction) at a reasonable pace in order to access sunrise and sunset locations. This is

not fair-weather photography and there may be times when you will be standing around and

shooting in the rain. But, let me tell you, this is precisely the kind of conditions that lead to

incredible images when, perhaps, the sun appears for just a few moments and illuminates the

landscape. You’ve gotta be in it to win it!

Climate

Both Dingle and Killarney have a mild and, at times, wet climate. I will keep you up to date as we

near the trip and, of course, there are plenty of websites for you to follow.

Killarney waterfall

Killarney

Eagle’s Nest Mountain, Killarney.

Abandoned farm house in a remote valley, Killarney.