Castletownbere close to Bantry Bay has the advantage of its wonderful Irish Coastline location and to its back its many hills and mountain ranges which bring people back to the area time and time again, the most famous of those walking routes being The Beara Way, The Sheeps Head Way and the Mizen Peninsula all close by. For those who like to drive there is the very beautiful Ring of Beara. Being a fishing port in West Cork Castletownbere has a lot of activity on its pier to be enjoyed with fishing boats in and out.
It is just a 2 hr drive to Cork or Kerry if you would like to explore further afield. Locally you have the towns and villages of Bantry, Glengarriff, Mizen, Allihies, Baltimore and Schull to name just a few, all to be visited.
West Cork has a large number of Festivals each Summer – below we have mentioned just a handful!
Castletownbere Festival of the Sea & Regatta – August
Bere Island Walking Festival Weekends
Bantry Festivals:
The West Cork Chamber Music Festival and the West Cork Literary Festival
Baltimore Festivals:
Fiddle Fair and the Seafood Festival – May
Baltimore Pirate Festival and Baltimore Yawl Rowing Championships – June
Ballydehob Festivals
Traditional Music Festival – April
Ballydehob Jazz Festival – May