Edged on three sides by ocean the varied coastline of the Dingle Peninsula consists of steep sea-cliffs, broken by sandy beaches, small coves and inlets. Two large sand spits project outwards forming Inch to the south and the Maharees to the north. Three drowned valleys form natural harbours at Ventry and Dingle in the south and at Smerwick in the northwest. The eastern half of the northshore is dominated by a low coastal strip, bordered by almost continuous sandy beaches.

Two groups of islands lie off the DIngle Peninsula. The Seven Hogs or Maharee Islands lie off the north shore near Castlegregory with two of the Maharee islands joined to the mainland by a sandy spit. The world renowned remote Blasket Islands lie off the most westerly tip of the Dingle Peninsula near Dunquin.The Blaskets can be visited by boat from April to September or viewed from the dramatic sea cliffs of Slea Head and Dunmore Head, considered the most westerly point of Ireland and Europe.

The coastal climate of the Dingle Peninsula has made it popular for watersports such as surfing, windsurfing, diving as it is influenced by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream and is in the path of the prevailing southwesterly winds from the Atlantic Ocean. With lakes, inlets, salt marshes and safe harbours the area is also popular with both freshwater and sea anglers.