Skellig Michael Travel Guide

Tourist Guide
Skellig Michael
The Skellig Rocks, with its most famous islands Skellig Michael and Little Skellig, tower out of the Atlantic Ocean seven miles west of the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry. This isolated position on the very edge of Europe was chosen by a small group of monks to be the home of their remote and inaccessible monastery, sometime between the 6th and 8th centuries.

The monks moved back to the mainland in the 13th Century, but the island remained a holy place and pilgrimage destination until the 19th Century. At this time, two lighthouses were built here and Skellig Michael then became an important part of Ireland’s maritime history.

Skellig Michael was recognised by UNESCO on its World Heritage List in 1996, owing to its outstanding natural value. Today, it’s home to a large variety of breeding seabird species whose enigmatic calls characterise the island’s sense of magic and mystery.

Visitors to Skellig Michael can’t help but be in awe of the achievement of the monks, all those hundreds of years ago, who turned this remote but beautiful island into their home for so long. It retains a special spiritual appeal, which serves as a reminder of the island’s former life as monastic abode, almost as if the monks’ spirits remained.

Rising out of the ocean, these great rocky islands are a place of solitude, wonder and beauty, a place once described by George Bernard Shaw as “incredible, impossible and mad” and “part of our dream world”.

Seagull Cottage B&B
Seagull Cottage B&B
4 out of 5
Seagull Cottage, Portmagee, Portmagee, County Kerry
The price is ฿2,828 per night from 18 Nov to 19 Nov
฿2,828
฿3,210 total
includes taxes & fees
18 Nov - 19 Nov
Stay at this 4-star B&B in Portmagee. Enjoy free Wi-Fi, free parking and breakfast (surcharge). Popular attractions Skellig Experience Centre and Bray Head Loop ...
9.4/10 Exceptional! (102 reviews)
"It was great!"

Reviewed on 27 Oct 2024

Seagull Cottage B&B
Butler Arms Hotel
Butler Arms Hotel
4 out of 5
New Line Road, Waterville, Kerry
Stay at this 4-star beach hotel in Waterville. Enjoy free breakfast, free Wi-Fi and free parking. Popular attractions The Story of Waterville Cable Station Exhibition ...
8.8/10 Excellent! (113 reviews)
Nice place
"The hotel was a modest 3 star . The location is great but the building is tired and needs updating. Breakfast was good. I just wouldn’t claim that it was a 4 star hotel, in its heyday, maybe."

Reviewed on 26 Oct 2024

Butler Arms Hotel
The Royal Valentia Hotel
The Royal Valentia Hotel
3.5 out of 5
Market Street, Knightstown, Valentia Island, Kerry
The price is ฿4,276 per night from 18 Nov to 19 Nov
฿4,276
฿4,853 total
includes taxes & fees
18 Nov - 19 Nov
Stay at this 3.5-star business-friendly hotel in Valentia Island. Enjoy free Wi-Fi, free parking and breakfast (surcharge). Our guests praise the helpful staff ...
8.6/10 Excellent! (74 reviews)
"Self contained historic hotel. Wonderful staff in dining room . Enjoyable stay on the waterfront."

Reviewed on 3 Nov 2024

The Royal Valentia Hotel
Lowest nightly price found within the past 24 hours based on a 1 night stay for 2 adults. Prices and availability subject to change. Additional terms may apply.
Stunning 1-bed Apartment Valentia Island
Stunning 1-bed Apartment Valentia Island
3 out of 5
Valentia Island, County Kerry
Stay at this 3-star apartment in Valentia Island. Enjoy free Wi-Fi, free parking and a garden. Popular attractions Skellig Experience Centre and St. Brendan's ...
2/10 (1 review)
"Booked the wrong dates and asked staright away for a refund but that wasnt a possibility even tho it was a mistake and enough time to post it up for rent again"

Reviewed on 20 Aug 2023

Stunning 1-bed Apartment Valentia Island
Lowest nightly price found within the past 24 hours based on a 1 night stay for 2 adults. Prices and availability subject to change. Additional terms may apply.

Cities near Skellig Michael