Kerry Dark Sky Tourism

Stargazing to the sound of the ocean in pristine dark skies is as good as it gets.

 

The lack of light pollution in the Kerry International Gold Tier Dark Sky Reserve means you see the star constellations and planets as they were seen by your  ancestors.

 

The Reserve is a public access area covering most of South Kerry and there is no entrance fee and there are no constraints on access. This map of Dark Sky Places shows you some great places for stargazing (and which have carparking too!)

 

At various times throughout the year, we organize public events and we are involved in the annual Dark Sky Festival which takes place in the spring. Information on upcoming events can be found in our blog pages and on our social media pages. We also provide tours which are an introduction to the dark sky and can be booked anytime.  The tours last 1.5–2 hours.  We show you how to 'star hop' using the sky itself if it is a clear night or by using a printed map and a presentation if the weather is poor (the indoor portion of the tour generally takes place in Caherdaniel). Other people may join the tour you've booked unless you book a private tour.

Please contact us for more details: skelligcoastdarkskytours@gmail.com

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Some information which you might find useful:

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The Reserve takes in a large part of the Iveragh Peninsula (Iveragh is pronounced ee-ver-AH) so it is not really obvious when you arrive and when you leave! The extent of the Reserve is shown on this map.

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If you are visiting during the summer months, the skies are bright late into the evening and the days are longest around the time of the summer solstice (which was Thursday 20 June this year).  In the winter, it is dark early and the nights are long. The sky will is brighter when the moon is in the sky especially around the time of the full moon. The skies are darkest when there is a new moon (i.e. no moon is visible). No matter where you are on the planet, the moon is always in the same phase. This website showing the dates of the various moon phases.

 

The annual Skellig Coast Dark Sky Festival takes place every spring. The next festival takes place from 28–30 March 2025. The festival pages are under the 'events' tab on the website Discover Iveragh  This site has great information on natural history including the Dark Skies - Aoibheann Lambe from our team worked for University College Cork on the project that produced the website.

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For accessible archaeology on the Iveragh Peninsula, please see this map.

 

For getting around in general, we find that keying in Eircodes (the Irish equivalent of a ZIP or Post Code) is a very useful of getting around in a country with such tiny roads and lots of twists and turns - the Eircode finder is here.

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Please send us photos from you visit to the Gold Tier Kerry International Dark Sky Reserve - see our gallery for a selection of images
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