Well, since Dingle is a fishing town there isn't much of a beach there. But Inch Strand is up towards Anascul and they used to do horse racing there in, I think, August.

You CAN drive...but since thee Irish drive on both sides of the road at once I'd suggest that Jacqui do the driving if you rent a car. Another way would be train to Killarney (stop in The Laurels for a pint and perhaps some singing and the Great Southern Hotel for an Irish Coffee, the best in the world in my opinion). Then take a BUS to Dingle. Leave the driving to someone else! And trust me on this -- if you DRIVE the Conor Pass Road you'll have far, far more to do than look at the scenery!

Naytheless, go. Visit Dublin first and get the big city outa your system. Then spend the rest of your time on the Dingle Pennisula -- Ballyferriter, for instance, is Really Deep Gaeltacht.

If you do go to Dingle, look across the harbor to the tower. To the right of the tower is a fence line. Follow that fence all the way down and the white house you see is my wife's family's Olde Homesteade -- they still own it and they turn trespassers over to the Gardi.

But you can get around pretty well by train and bus -- unlike the US. You might also include Cork, Kenmare, Baltimore, Tralee and
Kinsale (not to mention Sneem and the Slieve Mish Mountains) on your trip. Of course, north of there are places like Galway, Sligo, Limerick, and Kinvara. And there's always Waterford and Wexford and Youghal and Wicklow and Cashel and the Bru na Boine and Kilpatrick
and Downpatrick and Croaghpatrick and Kildare (where you can enter the Irish National Stud!) and....

Just go. A hint: fly there on Aer Lingus.