I bet everyone is sick and tired of hearing the term “staycation” but, it’s hear to stay!

This time last year, I was touring Europe (read my blog post “Girls Trip”) with my best gal friends but unfortunately that wasn’t an option for us this year. Life has changed and we need to change with it. I would always prefer to travel abroad for my holidays, but this year I took the opportunity to explore this beautiful Island. We all have a responsibility to follow guidelines and keep each other safe and why not support local tourism and still have a holiday during this time.

I’d seen such beautiful sites on my insta feed from the Wild Atlantic Way and marked it out as my next holiday destination. I think a lot of people had the same idea and I call it the “Roz Purcell effect”. She is the staycation queen and constantly shows the beauty of Ireland.

Rossbeigh Strand

We stayed in the gorgeous village of Rossbeigh. There are some fab holiday homes here but we stayed in the “Rossbeigh Beach House B&B” I would recommend this accommodation for the views alone. The location is amazing , overlooking Rossbeigh strand with breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean. I couldn’t fault the room or the service.

We were a few minutes walk from the strand and as soon as we arrived that’s where I wanted to be. We spent the afternoon watching the tide come in and relaxing in the sun. I would have spent every day there if I could.

There was only one restaurant in Rossbeigh but it was more than enough. It was right beside our B&B so we walked down there for our dinner on Friday night. We watched the sun set over a stunning meal and a bottle of wine.

Dingle

Dingle is on everyone’s Summer bucket list and rightly so! It’s such a pretty little town with so much character.

My main reason for wanting to visit Dingle was to see the famous Fungie. The town is famous for the dolphin who resides in the harbour and there are lots of boat trips that will take you out to see him. We went with “Dingle Dolphin Boat Tours” which was 1.5 hours long but there is another “Dingle Sea Safari” which is longer and takes you a bit further to see more of the wildlife. This one sells out quite fast so better to book in advance. Wrap up warm because it’s very likely you will be cold and wet out on the boat! We caught a glimpse of Fungie, which made my weekend!

It was a rainy day so we dipped in and out of shops and restaurants. First for a warm cup of tea and a scone after the boat trip in a cute cafe called “An Cupan Tae”.

There were so many crafts shops that were lovely to explore. I loved how they were all so brightly coloured and the town popped with so much colour.

Of course, we needed coffee and I’d heard great things about “My Boy Blue”. They only serve take-out at the moment but the 3fe coffee was delish and it was the only place I could get an oat milk flat white so I was buzzed.

For a late lunch we wanted to try some local cuisine, seafood. The “Fish Box” was recommended to us, but it was packed busy so we had to look elsewhere. It’s on my list for my next visit though. Everywhere was packed actually, but we managed to get a table in “Paudies Bar, Dingle Bay Hotel”. The food was amazing and I had a pint of Guinness to go with it. It was my first time having crab claws, the perfect time to try them.

Slea Head

We were told that there was an amazing viewpoint not far from Dingle, Slea Head. It’s actually one of the most westerly points in Ireland. We didn’t do the full Slea Head drive but we did see some amazing views.

Glenbeigh

This was the next village over and I’d recommend it as a good place to stay. We came here for dinner on Saturday night and ate in a gorgeous woodfired pizzeria called “Emilies”. We liked it here so much that we stopped here for coffee on our way home.

Rossbeigh Hill Walk

On Sunday morning the sun was shining so we wanted to get out and explore the locality. We walked up into the mountainside where there was a trail laid out. It was a bit tricky as the trail was wet and slippy, but the views made up for it! We met some friendly goats and some fairies too!

Inch Strand

Known for surfing, we visited this beach for the scenes and the waves. This 5km long beach is lovely to walk and dip your toes into. We ate in “Sammys”, a restaurant, bar and cafe, before we headed home.

For the whole weekend I felt like I was in a different country. Exploring the Wild Atlantic Coast was a fab opportunity. All I would say is you need a driver (my mum) to be able to see it’s full potential as there is so much to explore . Rain or shine, it’s great to appreciate the beauty of our own little country.