THE SEA CRUISE

For many reasons, many people want to know more about the Skelligs! Some will want to visit Skellig Michael and climb to the monastic site some 200 metres above the sea. There are local services for this.
Some will want to visit the Skelligs and dive the spectacular cliffs underwater to 20 or 40 metres. There are local services for this also.
Others will want to cruise around the Skellig islands and view them from north, south, east and west. And this is where the Skellig Experience Sea Cruise comes in: Subject to the weather and sea conditions of the moment, daily sea cruises are available from The Skellig Experience Centre throughout the season – from April to September. This cruise – generally of two hours duration – adds an optional, extra dimension to your Skellig experience.

En route to the islands you will meet the seabirds of Skellig – gannets all season long, puffins from April to early August, as well as kittiwakes, razorbills, guillemots, manx shearwaters, fulmars… In later season keep an eye out for interesting migrants that do not reside in this area: Skuas, Great shearwaters, Sooty shearwaters…
And – although there are no guarantees - always hope to see some Bottlenose or Common dolphins, or an elusive Minke whale, or a Basking shark.
Sail slowly by Small Skellig, and try in vain to capture all its 27,000 pairs of gannets on film! You are close enough to note the great volume of hardware that gannets call nest-building material: bits of nets, ropes, weeds, and anything that floats!
Check out the rock ledges at sea level to see the island’s company of Grey seals. Low tide and sunny mornings would be their favourite occasions!

Move on towards Skellig Michael. Note the domed rooftops of the monastery buildings high up on the skyline of the 200-metre cliff. See the three ancient stone stairways leading from sea level to the monastic site. Sail southwestwards and the Skellig lighthouse comes into view – automatic now, but home to lighthouse men and lighthouse families since 1820. Imagine – on your fine summer’s day visit – the storm power of a winter’s gale that can send waves up to the lighthouse tower, which stands some 50 metres above the sea!

You will be full of Skellig questions along the way. Some Skellig questions, your captain may be able to answer; some Skellig answers you may glean yourself when you return to the exhibition; some Skellig questions have no answers at all; and these you can ponder in your imagination as you enjoy an afternoon coffee on the waterfront veranda of the Skellig Experience restaurant when the cruise is over and the day is nearly done.

ALTERNATIVE CRUISES are also available from the Skellig Experience Centre.
If the weather and conditions out at sea are unsuitable for our Skellig Cruise, there may be the option of a Skellig-related cruise within the sheltered waters of Valentia harbour and Portmagee Channel. This cruise of about one hour and 30 minutes duration will take in the monastic settlements of Illaunloughan and Church Island, as well as views of other local points of interest, the Western Union Trans Atlantic Telegraph Station, the harbour of Knightstown, Valentia lighthouse and Glanleam estate.

A SCHOOL TOUR CRUISE is also an option. This 45-minute cruise titled “A glimpse of the Skelligs and a touch of the ocean”. It takes in Illaunloughan, Long island and Bray Head, has a glimpse at the Skelligs in the distance, a look at some of the seabirds and estuary life, and heads back to base as soon as you have felt the movement of the real ocean under your feet!