Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
26.2km²
Area
38km
Coastline
267m
Highest point
658
People
16°C
Warmest sea
August
530km
To the mainland
When to go to Valentia Island
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (16 °C) and coolest in February (10 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Ireland
Valentia Island is an island in Ireland. It covers 26.2 km², with 38 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 267 m. About 658 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 530 km away.
Getting there
- Kerry Airport (KIR)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 65 km in a straight lineCar hire at KIR airport (Farranfore)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesValentia Island Car Ferry, Skellig Michael Tours
- 530 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Valentia Island.
- 2beaches
- 7viewpointsMiners View, Shepherds View, Viewing Deck and 4 more
- 2lighthousesValentia Front Leading Light, Cromwell Point Lighthouse
- 1ferry terminalsValentia Island Car Ferry
- 3named peaksGeokaun, Bray Head, Kilbeg Mountain
- 19ruins and archaeological sitesTetrapod Trackway, Bray Head Signal Tower, Old Watch Tower and 16 more
- 1waymarked walking routesBray Head Way
- 1campsitesValentia Island Caravan & Camping
- 2hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 6restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Valentia Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Valentia Island, each with its own numbers.
1mountainPeakyas
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 60 m above the sea. 98 % of it is below 200 m.
- 57 %0–50 m
- 41 %50–200 m
- 2 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
5 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10 |
| Night low (°C) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 |
| Sea (°C) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 |
| Rain (mm) | 159 | 129 | 109 | 87 | 96 | 92 | 108 | 115 | 114 | 141 | 160 | 169 |
| Wet days | 22 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 23 |
| Sun h/day | 1.2 | 2.3 | 4.2 | 6.6 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 6.2 | 5.8 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 0.8 |
| Wind (km/h) | 35 | 33 | 30 | 26 | 26 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 29 | 32 | 35 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.1 | −0.2 | −0.7 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.6 | −0.1 | ±0.0 |
| 2021 | −0.4 | −0.3 | −0.1 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.3 | +1.4 | +0.8 | +1.4 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.1 |
| 2022 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +1.3 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.9 | +1.6 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.1 |
| 2023 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +1.0 | +2.7 | +0.7 | −0.1 | +1.3 | +0.8 | +0.6 | −0.1 |
| 2024 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +1.0 | −0.4 | −0.8 | −0.6 | −0.4 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +0.6 |
| 2025 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +2.7 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +0.8 | −0.2 | −0.4 | +0.5 | +0.5 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Skellig Michael
Ireland0.22 km²218 m19 km away
IrelandIreland84,421 km²1,039 m230 km away
Inis MórIreland32 km²123 m142 km away
Inis OírrIreland6.2 km²57 m140 km away
Inis MeáinIreland9.8 km²79 m141 km away
Achill IslandIreland148 km²688 m230 km away
St Mary's
United Kingdom6.4 km²51 m360 km away
ArranmoreIreland18 km²16 m364 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1146838) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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