Portmagee

Portmagee is a single row of brightly painted houses along a quay on the channel between the mainland and Valentia Island, with a bridge across. It is named for Theobald Magee, an eighteenth-century smuggler who ran contraband through the channel. Fishing is still worked from the pier, but the village's economy now turns on Skellig Michael: the landing boats leave from here, limited by permit to a small number of operators and a strict daily cap on visitors, and they sell out months ahead and cancel routinely for swell. Cheaper eco-tour boats circle the islands without landing and run more reliably. The Skellig Experience centre is across the bridge on Valentia. There is a well-known pub with music, and the village fills in summer with people waiting for boats, going out on them, or being told the sailing is off.

What you actually see

• The painted quay - a single row of colour along the channel.
• The Skellig departures - the main landing-boat port, permit-limited.
• The Valentia bridge - across to the island and the Skellig Experience.
• The working pier - fishing boats still operating alongside the tour trade.

When to go

May to September for the Skellig season; landings run mid-May to early October and cancel constantly for sea state. Book landing trips months ahead.

Honest expectations

Skellig landings sell out months in advance and cancel often - do not build a trip around one without a fallback. The village is very small with limited accommodation. Parking is tight on boat mornings.

Nearby

Valentia Island is across the bridge; the Kerry Cliffs and the Skellig Ring are close.