Cahore, Wexford – An Essential Travel Guide for 2025

Cahore, a charming tiny village in North Wexford, lies down a short road just east of Ballygarrett. Barely a village at all, it consists of just one restaurant, some food vans and kiosks and a pier, but it has a definite old world, seaside feel and is worth a visit for an hour or two at least. It rarely features on social media, but are people missing out?

Read on to find out!

Public Transport: Although Gorey (25 minutes’ drive away) is serviced by bus or by train from Dublin, there is no realistic public transport option for travel to this village.

The Strand is a very fine restaurant in the middle of the village, where you can enjoy delicious food with an excellent view of the pier, as well as the Irish Sea. Food prices can be steep however – a fish and chips will set you back €22.00! There is an ice-cream cookie sandwich heavily marketed here, which we found particularly pricey, even for Ireland these days. Surprisingly, the product you get is in a wrapper and appears to be mass-produced. The Strand restaurant can be extremely busy and should be booked at least a day in advance to avoid disappointment.

If you are lucky you may find a chipper van located at the end of the cliff walk, depending on the day.

Hot Beverages: Being a tiny village, it doesn’t boast a café as such. There is one however in Ballygarrett, just a few minutes’ drive away. A kiosk, The Seabiscuit, adjoins The Strand restaurant and serves coffee, as well as pastries, sandwiches and pizza which can be enjoyed on picnic benches outside. Booking isn’t required as there are usually seats available. A takeaway fish and chip feed here is also much cheaper than in the main restaurant.

Alcohol: Although there is a bar in The Strand restaurant, it doesn’t appear possible to just have a drink there without ordering food. This means there is nowhere in the village itself to have a drink. The Schooner pub in nearby Ballygarrett is a charming place to enjoy a pint, albeit without the fantastic sea views.

The pier, while quite short, is usually bustling with activity. It is easily accessed from the small car park adjacent to the tiny pebble beach. The small bridge that leads onto the pier is a famously fantastic spot for kids to fish for small crabs.

There is a small, 500 metre long pebbled beach right at the main car park bordered by huge rocks that are obviously there to prevent erosion.

However, families and day-trippers are better advised to take the short stroll to the end of the cliff walk, where they will be greeted by the glorious and award-winning Cahore South Beach. It marks the beginning of a continuous stretch of sandy beaches reaching all the way to the Raven Point near Wexford Town. That’s an astonishing 28km of continuous beach!

During the summer the village vibrantly illuminates with laughter, as children play along the pier. In fact, we can’t imagine many nicer places on this island from which to relax and admire a golden sunset.

It gets congested on hot days as the Dubliners flock to Wexford as they often like to do! The spread-out nature of its amenities, especially the cliff walk and large open beach, means this village never gets annoyingly packed. This certainly sets it apart from many other Irish attractions. You can always find a tranquil spot, even when the area around the restaurant and kiosks becomes quite crowded.

Enthusiasts and amateurs alike can fish at will from the pier itself, or from the rocks along the cliff walk. This stretch of the coast is famously productive, with dab, flounder and bass to be caught from the shore. Bring a boat to access an even greater range of specimen, including herring, mackerel, tope and whiting.

The tiny pebble beach near the carpark is perfectly swimmable, as are the waters off the pier. There is an active slipway for boats alongside the pier, but the water is extremely clean and traffic free.

Cahore South Beach is definitely the real gem here though. This golden paradise, a wonderful and sheltered place for swimming, has all the space one could wish for. Head even further south to find the impeccable Old Bawn Beach, a sandy beauty that links up with the famous Morriscastle Strand.

Adults and children alike will enjoy fishing for crabs off the pier bridge, occupying them for at least an hour! There is no experience required and, with a little patience, kids are almost guaranteed to catch a few crabs! Though the crabs are small and not for eating, children will get a great kick out of this rarely available, wholesome and cheap activity.

The Cahore Point Trail is a spectacular 2.4km cliff walk from the village to Old Bawn Beach and provides glorious views over the Irish Sea. You will reach Cahore South Beach within 20 minutes, with the 5.8km looped walk taking around 60 minutes.

The spectacular rocky shore teems with wildlife such as cormorants and gannets, as well as seals. At the right time of the year even the now rarely seen skylark adorn the rocks. It’s certainly well worth a visit for the cliff walk alone, and it’s even dog friendly!

Cahore Point Trail Visitor’s Information