The Kerry coastline consists largely of a series of bays and peninsulas, starting at Bantry Bay, on the Cork county border, in the far south and reaching
round to the Shannon Estuary in the north. In between, in ascending order, we have the rugged 'Beara' (half Cork, half Kerry), Kenmare River Estuary and the 'Ring of Kerry' (the Iveragh), separated from the Dingle Peninsula by Dingle Bay.

Tralee, the Kerry county town is situated at the narrow neck of the Dingle Peninsula. Perhaps its most famous son was St. Brendan, the navigator but it is best known for hosting the annual Rose of Tralee contest. It is a great town in itself with a fascinating county museum, an interesting art gallery, a National Folk Theatre (the Siamsa Tire), Blennerville Windmill and a host of super pubs, restaurants and hotels - not least the Brandon Hotel, our tour base, at the centre of the town.

The Brandon is a friendly, elegantly furnished hotel which caters for both local and visiting trade, with two restaurants, a lounge/bar and a state of the art Health & Leisure club - 'Sanctuary Spa' offing a range of indulgent, relaxing treatments. The 186 en-suite bedrooms are cosy with TV, direct-dial telephone, hairdryer and hospitality tray.

Tralee is also the perfect base from which to explore North Kerry. We spend a day on Dingle which really does have some of the most beautiful scenery in Ireland, from Inch Strand to Slea Head, the dramatic Blasket Sound and, of course Dingle town itself. We follow the north coast through the seaside resort of Ballybunnion and along the edge of the Shannon Estuary, into Co Limerick to visit the wonderful Foynes Flying Boat Museum - the home of Irish Coffee and, back in Kerry, we explore the other side of Dingle Bay, from Killorglin (home of the Puck Fair) as far as Cahirciveen.