What To Do in Bantry: West Cork's Market Town
Why I Like Bantry
Bantry is pure Cork. It has just the right balance of being a real working town and not a tourist town (like Killarney). You'll get a true feeling for what it might be like to live in Ireland after your few days here.
If you prefer feeling like a local than a tourist, then Bantry is an excellent place to base yourself. It is perfectly placed for exploring the three peninsulas (Kerry, Beara, Sheep's Head) of the region. You can explore the region by day, come home, eat and drink in the town, and be well positioned for tomorrow's sites.
The town itself is a grand place to start the day quietly. Have your morning coffee in the Town Square beneath the trees, an anchor and fountain. Then walk along the seafront wall, with plenty of seating and viewing points along the way.
The Friday market is the social highlight of the week in Bantry. In this part of the world, it's rude to just hand over cash and quickly move on. Come read to chat to the local producers, and think of it more an exchange, than a business transaction.
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Bantry in Cork
Hotels in Bantry
The Maritime sits right on the waterfront with harbour views from most of its 100 rooms. Perfect if you want to watch the boats come and go with your morning coffee. The location puts you in the heart of Bantry, walking distance to everything. 👉Check availability at The Maritime
The Westlodge Hotel & Leisure Spa sprawls across lovely grounds just outside town. The kids will spend hours in the leisure centre while you enjoy the peace of the countryside setting. It's the kind of place where families actually relax on holiday.
👉Check availability at The Westlodge
Aran Lodge: 9.2 Rated on Booking.com "Deirdre and Joe were so hospitable, they went way above and beyond. The room looked over the sea and garden which was spectacular! The breakfast was amazing and Deirdre is so accommodating! She will do whatever she can to support your journey. This place feels like home- I will come again and again!"
👉Check availability at Aran Lodge
What To Do Around Bantry
Bantry House
Bantry House has Bridgerton vibes about it. A classic Irish estate house that has been in the same family for 300 years. It is worth the visit for the gardens alone, you may get lost in the maze in front of the house, while behind the house, you can look out over Bantry Bay. You'll probably find yourself gliding through the rooms in the house as if you were dancing at 19th century ball.
You can stay overnight at Bantry House.
Bantry Market
The market takes place in Wolfe Tone Square in Bantry on Fridays. It has everything you'd expect in a village market but this one is for locals, it's not a tourist market, so come and chat with the traders. For this Dubliner, the prices are very low. I stock up on jams for the year when I visit the Bantry market.
It's worth planning your trip to be here on a Friday.
Whiddy Island
By now, you'll have figured out that I love my islands. They're just so unique and are the last bits of rock before 3000 miles of the Atlantic Ocean.
Whiddy gets the gulfstream effect, so it's has its own climate and is more colorful than you'd expect from a windswept, rain soaked island on the edge of Europe.
Whiddy is just 10 minutes by boat direct from Bantry. It's 5km by 3km so a grand size to explore in a day. Staying overnight in the old schoolhouse is an option and have a drink with the locals in the Bank House bar.
Sheep's Head Loop
The least known and visited scenic drive in the area. When the Rink of Kerry gets too busy in the Summer, come to Sheep's Head instead. It starts in Bantry and is absolutely spectacular, made even more so by how empty it is. I barely saw 20 cars on my most recent drive around it. Here is more details about.
Ireland by Locals
Bantry Walking Trails
Stretch your legs on any of the 4 walking loops from Bantry. They all easy and the longest is just 5km. My favorite is the Knocknaveagh & Vaughan’s Pass. You'll get views out over Bantry Bay. You'll be encountering locals here, rarely other tourists, so be sure to stop and chat with them.
The Béicín Loop is easier and better on a wet or winter day. It's a loop around Bantry and a good way to see the town.
Bantry Bay Boat Tour
Bantry Bay is one of the longest natural harbors in Europe. Get out on a boat and explore it. Pass by the islands, see if you can spot some seals, dolphins, whales and even eagles. You might catch some mackerel, but you'll definitely learn a lot about Bantry and Ireland.
In Ireland, if someone talks a lot, we say they have a mouth like Bantry Bay. You'll understand it more by the end of the boat tour.
Walk With Alpacas
You'll meet some locals, both 2 & 4 legged, when you bring an alpaca for a walk by a waterfall in a small Irish village. This is the kind of thing I would skip seeing the Mona Lisa in the Louvre for. Such a different and fun experience. Even the drive to the small village of Castledonovan will bring you through rarely visited parts of Ireland.
You can even stay on the farm for a few nights. 20 minutes from Bantry.
Durrus Cheese
I hate cheese with a passion. Rare for an Irish person living on this dairy filled island. But for those of you who somehow love it, you need to go to Durrus Cheese. Durrus Cheese is made by mother and daughter Jeffa Gill and Sarah Hennessy, in Coomkeen just outside Durrus village.
You can visit the dairy, chat the cheesemakers and see how it's made. It's another one of these side trips that will bring you to small villages you wouldn't see otherwise.
Gougane Barra & St. Finbarr's Oratory
Gougane Barra is hauntingly peaceful. It is one of those places that if this was in Bali, you'd have every divinely annoying influencer here proclaiming its life changing spirituality. Fortunately for us, it's in wet and cold Ireland.
It was home to the Patron Saint of Cork, St Finbarr, back in the 6th century and there's been a religious site here. Picture the church on a lake in a valley in a remote Irish speaker corner of Ireland. I was here just last month. I planned to stay an hour. I stayed all afternoon.
Next time, I'll stay onsite at Cronin's Hotel and enjoy dawn here, just me and the ghost of the big man, St Finbarr.
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