Experience the best that the Wild Atlantic Way has to offer and join us on a boat tour to the Skellig Islands. A World Heritage site, and so listed with Mount Everest and the Great Barrier Reef for its significance to humankind, you’ll be glad you made the trip.
The Skellig Islands float on the Atlantic Ocean, twelve kilometres off the coast of county Kerry. When you first reach the Islands you will be struck by their rugged beauty – as they scale some 700ft above you. An internationally renowned bird sanctuary, you’ll encounter a wonderful array of birdlife as you climb the six hundred steps to the peak. Here you’ll find one of the oldest and best-preserved monasteries in Europe. At the summit allow your imagination to take you back to the time of the Monks or to transport you to a ‘Galaxy far far away’.
The makers of Star Wars were so taken by the Skellig Michael that they used it as a location for 2 Star War movies The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Find out more about how the Skelligs were used in the Star Wars movies here.
How can you describe the Skellig Michael to someone who has never visited this place of peace, serenity and absolute beauty, yet with ruggedness all around you?
No one has ever painted a picture of the Skellig Michael with words, better then the famous Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw when he wrote to Frederick Jackson: “Parknasilla Hotel, Sneem, 18th September 1910.”
“The most fantastic and impossible rock in the world: Skellig Michael… where in the south west gales spray knocks stones out of the lighthouse keeper’s house… the Skelligs are pinnacled, crocheted, spired, arched, caverned, minareted; and these gothic extravagances are not curiosities of the islands:they are the islands: there is nothing else.The rest of the cathedral may be under the sea for all I know …An incredible, impossible, mad place…I tell you the thing does not belong to any world that you and I have lived and worked in: it is part of our dream world.”
“This was a brilliant experience and nothing will ever compare to the sight of Skellig Michael appearing above the mist as we headed into the fresh Atlantic from the calm waters of Portmagee harbour.”
-Farranboy62, Dublin
“We travelled to the Skelligs with Sea Quest and they could not have been more helpful. From the well-run and friendly first approach on the quayside to leaving them 4 hours later nothing could have been improved. The Captain was extremely personable and told us things of interest throughout the trip.”
-John, UK
“The islands are even more remarkable up close and in person than they are in pictures and movies. We took a boat ride around them, and it was the most rewarding investment of time we have had here in Ireland.”
-Charles M, UK
“If there is a chance still to go by boat to Skellig, this should definitely be used. Even the rocks from the ship is incredibly impressive, the monastery huts and the stairs are clearly visible. Cost: €35 per person. Highly recommended!!”
-Uetliberg, Switzerland
© 2016 SeaQuest, Valentia, Co. Kerry, Ireland
