Waterville, An Coireán, Co. Kerry

An Coireán · Co. Kerry

Charlie Chaplin's annual hideout, on a strip of land between a lake and the Atlantic.

Waterville is a single line of houses on a narrow neck of land, with a lake behind it and the Atlantic in front. The Irish name, An Coireán, means the little cauldron - for the bowl shape of Ballinskelligs Bay. The English name is older than it sounds; it comes from the streams that run off the hills into Lough Currane and out to sea on either side of the village.

The two things people come for are the fishing and the golf. Lough Currane has produced wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout for as long as anyone has kept records, and the Butler family of ghillies have rowed visitors out to the same lies for five generations. Waterville Golf Links, out on the dunes at the north end of the village, is one of the great links courses on the planet, and the regulars know it.

Charlie Chaplin was a regular visitor to Waterville in the 1960s and 1970s, coming with the family to fish and walk and not be Charlie Chaplin for a fortnight. He stayed at the Butler Arms. The town built him a bronze statue on the seafront, and every August a comedy film festival turns up in his honour. Stay a night, walk the prom, eat fish that was alive that morning, and you start to see what he saw in it.

Population

~555

Walk score

One seafront promenade, end to end in ten minutes

Coords

51.8275° N, 10.1736° W

01 / 10

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 The setting

A village on an isthmus.

Lough Currane on one side, Ballinskelligs Bay on the other, and a single street of painted houses stitched between them. Stand on the seafront and you can see both at once.

Stories & lore → 02 The Ring

Halfway round the Ring of Kerry.

The N70 swings down off the Coomakista pass and most coaches stop here for a sandwich and a photograph of the Chaplin statue. Stay the night and you get the place back once the buses leave.

Where to stay → 03 The links

A links course on the dunes.

Waterville Golf Links sits on a sandspit between the lake and the bay. Henry Cotton called it the finest links he had ever seen. Tiger Woods and Mark O'Meara warm up here before the Open most years.

Stories & lore →

02 / 10

The pubs.

None of these are themed Irish pubs, because they don't need to be. A few that earn the trip:

The Lobster Bar

Seafront, busy in summer

Pub & seafood

On the main street, looking out at the bay. A working bar with a kitchen behind it that takes the lobster seriously. Pints, music some nights, no nonsense.

The Smuggler's Inn

Golfers and ghillies

Bar at the inn

Tucked in beside the golf links at the north end of the village. The bar fills up after the last group comes off the course. The fishing crowd wander in from Lough Currane the same evening.

An Corcán

Where the village drinks

Local pub

Named for the Irish name of the village. The locals' room more than the visitors'. Quieter than the seafront places. A good pint and a conversation that does not feel staged.

03 / 10

Where to eat.

Place	Type	€	Local note
Dooley's	Seafood restaurant	€€	On the seafront, family-run, the dining room you book if the lobster is the point. Chowder at lunch, a proper menu in the evening. Ask what came in that morning.
The Smuggler's Inn restaurant	Restaurant at the inn	€€€	The Hunt family have been cooking here for decades. Fish from the bay, lamb from the hills behind, and a wine list that surprises you for a village this size.
The Strand	Cafe & lunch	€	Daytime spot on the main street. Soup, sandwiches, brown bread, a slice of cake. Where you end up after a morning on the lake.

04 / 10

Where to sleep.

Place	Type	Local note
Butler Arms Hotel	Hotel	The big white hotel with the round towers at the end of the seafront. Run by the Huggard family since 1916. Chaplin's hotel - the family kept his suite the way he left it. Old-fashioned in the right ways.
The Smuggler's Inn	Inn & restaurant	Twelve rooms beside the golf links, looking out over the bay. The Hunt family run the bar, the kitchen and the rooms. The breakfast is a reason to stay an extra night.
Lakelands Farm Guesthouse	Farmhouse B&B	Out the road toward Lough Currane. A working farm with a handful of rooms and a view of the lake. Ghillies will collect you from the door if the fishing is what you are here for.

05 / 10

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

A fortnight every summer

Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin was a regular visitor to Waterville in the 1960s and 1970s, arriving on the recommendation of Walt Disney, who had fished here. He stayed at the Butler Arms with Oona and the children. The villagers left him alone - the standing rule was that nobody bothered the man on the prom. The bronze statue on the seafront went up in 1998. The Charlie Chaplin Comedy Film Festival ran every August from 2011 until the festival board dissolved in 2022; check whether it has resumed before building a trip around it.

Salmon, sea trout and the Butlers

Lough Currane

Lough Currane behind the village is one of the great wild salmon and sea trout fisheries in Europe - the fish run up from the sea through the short Currane river and into the lake. The Butler family of Waterville have ghillied the lake for five generations. They know every lie, every reed bed and every rock. You can hire a boat at the pier and spend a day on the water and not see another rod.

A course out on the dunes

Waterville Golf Links

The links course at the north end of the village dates from 1889 - built by the Atlantic cable workers - and was rebuilt by Eddie Hackett in the 1970s. Henry Cotton called it the finest links he had ever played. Payne Stewart accepted the club captaincy for 2000 before his death in October 1999; his statue stands beside the clubhouse. Tiger Woods and Mark O'Meara spend a week here most summers before the Open.

06 / 10

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

Waterville cliff road to Inny Beach Head north from the seafront, take the coast road past the golf links, and follow the cliff edge toward Inny Beach. The bay opens out to your left, the Skelligs sit on the horizon on a clear day, and Inny is a long sandy beach at the end with nobody on it. Return the same way or arrange a lift.

5 km one-waydistance

1.5 hourstime

Coomakista Pass circuit Drive the N70 six kilometres east toward Caherdaniel and stop at the Coomakista Pass (215 m). Short walk from the layby to the view point above Kenmare Bay - Deenish Island, Scariff Island, and the Skellig rocks on the horizon on a clear day. Five-minute walk; one of the best viewpoints on the Ring.

Drive + short walkdistance

1 hour including drivetime

Ballinskelligs Bay beach walk South from the village, along the bay shore toward Ballinskelligs. The sand is wide at low tide. The surf school usually has boards out. The Skelligs are straight ahead across the water.

3 km along the shoredistance

1 hourtime

07 / 10

Tours, if you want one.

The ones below are bookable through our partners - pick one that suits, or skip the lot and just turn up.

via Viator

Sustainable Ring of Kerry Rail Tour from Dublin

day trips

Take the train from Dublin to Killarney and join a full coach circuit of the Ring of Kerry - Dingle Bay, MacGillycuddy Reeks, Glenbeigh, Waterville and the Lakes of Killarney.

15 hours 30 minutes From €161

See tour → via Viator

3-Day Blarney Castle, Ring of Kerry, & Cliffs of Moher Rail tour

day trips

Three days by rail and coach from Dublin - Blarney Castle, the Ring of Kerry and the Cliffs of Moher, with B&B accommodation and a hosted train experience included.

72 hours From €1039

See tour → via Viator

4-Day Blarney Castle, Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher & Connemara

day trips

A 4-day rail and coach tour from Dublin Heuston covering Cork, Blarney Castle, Ring of Kerry, Bunratty Castle, Cliffs of Moher, Galway Bay and Connemara.

96 hours From €1321

See tour →

We earn a small commission when you book through our tour pages. It costs you nothing extra and keeps the village hubs free. All Co. Kerry tours →

08 / 10

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

Quiet. Golf season opens in March and the course has its best availability. Lough Currane opens for salmon and the ghillies are at the pier.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

The Ring of Kerry coach traffic is at its peak. Book Butler Arms and the Golf Links months ahead. The Chaplin Comedy Film Festival ran in late August but the board dissolved in 2022 - verify current status before planning around it.

◐ Mind yourself

Autumn

Sep-Oct

The best Skellig weather, fewer boats, and the Ring of Kerry with half the traffic. Sea trout in Lough Currane through October.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

Several places close for the season. The Butler Arms stays open; the Golf Links has reduced hours. Empty in a way that is either peaceful or bleak, depending on who you are.

◐ Mind yourself

09 / 10

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

Assuming the Skellig boats leave from Waterville

They leave from Portmagee, twenty minutes north. Book in advance online. Waterville is the base; Portmagee is the pier.

Building a trip around the Charlie Chaplin Comedy Film Festival without checking it still runs

The festival ran every late August from 2011 to 2022, but the board dissolved in May 2022. Check current status before booking. The statue and the Chaplin connection are year-round; the festival is not guaranteed.

The Ring of Kerry without stopping for more than a photograph

Every coach stops at the Coomakista view, takes a photo, and leaves. The cliff walk north of the village, the lake fishing, and a pint at An Corcán cannot be done from a moving bus.

Getting there.

By car

Killarney to Waterville is 1h 30m on the N70 via Killorglin and Cahirciveen - the Ring of Kerry road. Kenmare is 1h 15m the other way, over the Coomakista pass.

By bus

Bus Éireann 279A runs Killarney-Cahirciveen-Waterville several times a day in summer, fewer in winter. About 25 minutes from Cahirciveen on the N70.

By train

No train. Nearest station is Killarney, then bus or hire car.

By air

Kerry Airport (KIR) at Farranfore is the nearest - 90 minutes by road. Cork is 2h 30m. Shannon is 3h.