Baltimore Harbour

Baltimore Harbour sits at the southern tip of West Cork, in the village of Baltimore, County Cork. Around 100 kilometres west of Cork city and a short drive from Skibbereen, it is a large natural harbour sheltered in part by the scatter of islands known as Carbery’s Hundred Isles, at the mouth of Roaringwater Bay.

The pier is a working waterfront where fishing boats, pleasure craft and ferries share the same moorings. Baltimore is the main departure point for boats to the nearby islands, with a short crossing to Sherkin Island and a longer sailing of roughly forty minutes to Cape Clear. Sailing, sea kayaking and whale and dolphin watching trips also set out from here, and the surrounding waters are a well-known scuba diving area thanks to the many wrecks in the bay.

Above the harbour entrance stands the Baltimore Beacon, a whitewashed stone marker locally nicknamed Lot’s Wife, which guides the channel between the mainland and Sherkin Island and gives wide views across the harbour and out towards Cape Clear. Overlooking the village itself is Dún na Séad castle, which has been restored and opened to visitors.

The village has kept an easy-going, small-scale character, with places to eat, drink and stay clustered close to the water. Its position on the Wild Atlantic Way makes it a natural base for exploring this stretch of the West Cork coast, including nearby Lough Hyne, a sea-water lake and marine nature reserve.