Dingle town sits at the foot of the peninsula that bears its name, curled around a natural harbour that has sheltered fishing boats for centuries. With a permanent population of around 2,000, it is one of the smallest towns in Ireland to have earned a genuine international reputation — and that reputation rests on a combination of things that are difficult to manufacture: exceptional food, authentic traditional music, a working harbour, a landscape of extraordinary beauty on its doorstep, and a community that has managed to absorb decades of tourism without losing its essential character. It is, by almost universal agreement among those who have visited, one of the finest small towns in Europe.

The pubs of Dingle are among the best in Ireland, and the traditional music sessions that take place in them most nights of the week are the real thing — not performances staged for tourists, but gatherings of local and visiting musicians who play because they love to play. Dick Mack's, a legendary pub that doubles as a cobbler's workshop, has been a Dingle institution for generations and its walls are covered with the signatures of famous visitors. An Droichead Beag, Small Bridge, on Main Street is another great session venue. The music typically starts around 9pm and continues until late — arrive early, order food, and settle in for the evening.

The seafood in Dingle is exceptional, and the town has a concentration of outstanding restaurants that is remarkable for its size. The fish landed daily at the town pier — pollock, mackerel, sea bass, crab, and lobster — goes directly to the kitchens of restaurants a short walk away. The Dingle Bay crab claws, served simply with brown bread and butter, are one of the great Irish food experiences. Out of the Gate, The Chart House, Fenton's, and the Dingle Cookery School are among the most celebrated, but the standard is high across the town and even the most casual café will serve excellent chowder.

The Dingle Distillery, established in 2012, was one of the first craft distilleries in Ireland and has become one of the most celebrated. Its single malt whiskey, aged in a combination of bourbon and port casks, has won numerous international awards and is now exported across the world. The distillery offers tours and tastings that explain the production process and the philosophy behind the spirit — a commitment to small-batch production and the use of local barley that connects the whiskey to the landscape of the peninsula. The distillery shop is one of the best places in Ireland to buy Irish whiskey.

Fungie, the bottlenose dolphin who arrived in Dingle harbour in 1983 and became the town's most famous resident, disappeared in October 2020 after 37 years — making him the longest-recorded solitary wild dolphin in the world. His memory is kept alive throughout the town in murals, sculptures, and the names of businesses, and the harbour where he spent his life remains one of the most beautiful in Kerry. Boat trips still run from the pier, and the waters around the harbour are rich in marine life — seals, gannets, and occasional sightings of minke whales and basking sharks are all possible from the boats. For an evening drink, Dick Mack's on Green Street is one of the most atmospheric pubs in Ireland — a former leather goods shop that never quite stopped being one, with a bar on one side and a cobbler's bench on the other.