Portmagee is a small picturesque fishing village of brightly painted houses at the southwest tip of Valentia Harbour. The area was once a haven for smugglers and pirates who preyed on the trade ships from the Continent and North America. It's a little bit more peaceful today.

The village is named after one of the most notorious smugglers of the 18th Century, Captain Theobald Magee. Having served in the army of King James as an Officer, Magee 'retired' to a life of merchant shipping between France, Portugal, and Ireland. Thanks to the intricately chiseled coast around the South West, his trade in contraband spirits, textiles, and tea and tobacco, was extremely hard to police and therefore extremely profitable. He married Mrs. Bridget Morgell, the widow of a rich Dingle merchant and also the daughter of the then MP for County Kerry, Mr. Thomas Crosby. Being related to the best smuggler in Ireland can't have sat too easily on Crosby's shoulders and there is some suspicion that Magee's death in a Lisbon monastery in 1724 was due to some exile imposed by the powerful MP. After his death, his wife, and his sons are believed to have carried on the family business.

Don't miss visiting The Skellig Experience visitors centre if you can't spare the time to visit the Skellig Islands themselves. Also not to be missed is Valentia Island for very special vistas and hikes.

Valentia Island, (strictly speaking it's not an island anymore as it was connected to the mainland by a bridge in 1971) lies off the southwest coast of Kerry. The island while small in size (approx 12km x 5km) contains a number of interesting sites which when combined with the location of the island and the unique identity of the locals makes it a place well worth visiting. In summer it is best accessed via a 10-minute ferry trip from Renard (located just outside Cahersiveen). The island itself consists of two small villages Knightstown & Chapel Town. Roads on the island tend to be narrow even by Kerry standards and some of the sights to the north of the island (lighthouse etc) are best accessed on foot. This also allows you to take full advantage of the unique beauty of the area.

The Valentia Slate Quarry was opened in 1816 by the Knights of Kerry and was run as a commercial slate quarry for almost 100 years until it was closed by a rock fall at the mouth of the quarry in 1911. At its peak, it employed up to four hundred people and supplied slate to prestigious locations such as The house of Parliament in London, Westminster Abbey, and Westminster Cathedral. It is also claimed that there are 21 miles of shelving in the Public Record Office in London made of Valentia slate.

Slate products produced from Valentia slate included roofing slates, flooring slabs, fire-surrounds, snooker tables, sills, lintels, etc. Many houses locally would have been slated with Valentia slate and are still in use today. While the quarry has a very prestigious past there is not a huge amount to see at the quarry today. The quarry is also home to a beautiful grotto that was built into the face of the quarry.

In 1993 an undergraduate geology student discovered a tetrapod track on the northeast of Valentia Island. The tetrapod tracks are in layperson's terms footprints of an animal believed to have been created some 385 million years ago (give or take a year or two). The Valentia Island trackway is of international importance as it provides some of the oldest evidence of one of the first water-dwelling creatures which crawled out of the water and made the important evolutionary step toward land dwelling.

While the trackway is an internationally important site finding it is not so easy. Head for the Valentia Island Radio Station which is signposted and relatively easy to find. Next to this, you will find the trackway. Don’t expect a smooth walkway, instead be prepared for a steepish sloping path (but very manageable), and depending on sea conditions you may or may be able to get down to see the actual trackway. It is not an exaggeration to say that you will see the trackway in its original condition. No reproductive work has been carried out here. There is an information point at the entrance to the site. Please note this is an important National Heritage site and is protected by law. Serious penalties will be imposed on anyone interfering in any way with the footprints.

It is truly awesome to contemplate the fact that when these tracks were made this part of the world was south of the equator and joined to North America!

Geokaun Mountain is the highest mountain on Valentia Island and the Fogher Cliffs are sea cliffs of 600ft on its northern face. It offers beautiful views of Valentia Island, the wild Atlantic Ocean, and the mainland just off the island. The attraction includes a 1200-meter roadway/pathway from the public road to the peak, with a particularly spectacular viewing deck at Fogher Cliffs. There is a small entry charge. You can walk or drive to the summit.

Geokaun Viewing Area is a Wild Atlantic Way Discovery Point.

There are 4 viewing areas with 34 information plaques on topics relating to the views - Skelligs Rocks, Blasket Islands, The Lighthouse, Bray Tower, Tetrapod Trackway, Church Island, Beginish, Portmagee, Valentia, Whale Watching, Cable Station, Flora and Fauna, Wildlife - Chough, Puffin etc.