We've been twice to Ireland, both times to the Dingle Peninsula on the west coast. There are some really fantastic beaches there! The first time we went, we were blessed with a week of uncharacteristically calm, sunny and warm weather which was nice for cycling but obviously not much good for kiting. Nevertheless, Tom managed to get his first good kite surfing session at Inch Strand and, after swearing a lot, I called it a day on the water in favour of an epic buggy session. There are many awesome beaches so bear in mind that it can get very busy in summer. By contrast, most things seem to be shut between October and March so you will have the beaches to yourself but don't be surprised if the restaurant you wanted to eat at is closed!

This February, we went back to Dingle with the Turbulence guys  (great pics on their gallery) and these are the beaches we ripped on:

 Ventry

 Ventry is a SE facing bay a couple of miles west of Dingle town. There is access at the east and west ends of the bay. The western access is better for kiting as the beach is a bit wider at this end. Follow the R559 out of Ventry village for about a mile then take a left on the sharp right hand bend (very left as opposed to a little bit left - that'll make sense when you get there) and follow the road down to the beach. The sand is fine and hard so there's plenty of good buggying/landboarding to be had as long as the tide is half-low. As you can see, The Tall One was out to show us how it's done. There's some nice flat water for kitesurfing as the bay is very sheltered but do watch out for the rocky patch in line with the car park!

Brandon Bay

 Brandon Bay is MAHOOSIVE and so, i'm told, are the waves when it gets going. The huge beach curves round from NNE facing at Kilcummin to W at Fahamore and access points are well signposted all the way along. If you get stuck, I'm sure  Jamie Knox Watersports at Castle Gregory will help you out if you ask nicely.

Unfortunately we didn't get a good wind for Brandon Bay this time but even on the flat calm day we visited, there were plenty of waves for surfing. Take a look on the Turbulence gallery for Adam's fine quality comedy photo of a truly special wipeout! Some days you are blessed to be holding a camera just at the right moment...

 Inch Strand

What a beach!! There is loads of space for land kiting on Inch Strand although the sand does get soft towards the dunes so be careful on your buggy as well as with your car! For some reason, it's not marked on Multimap but there is a huge, permanent sand spit that extends out south from Inch Village and the beach is on the west facing side. You can park on the beach but be careful as there is some soft sand up closer to the dunes. Inch is a fab Kitesurfing spot with some wicked waves that will munch you and your kite if you're not careful! I think my face says it all!

Getting there

Obviously there are many ways to get to Dingle. Kerry airport isn't far so long as you can fit all your kit in a bag that will fit in a plane. If your packing is like ours and requires a van to shift it, then you will be needing a ferry from/to the handiest port. We went into Dublin on the overnight Norfolkline ferry from Birkenhead which was a surprisingly time-efficient way of doing things. There are also sailings to Dublin from Liverpool, Holyhead and Stranraer - look them up yourself! The drive from Dublin to Dingle takes about 5 hours and, thanks to EU funding, the roads as far as Limerick are pretty good and quite fast.