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Dublin Coastal Hike, Pints & Puppies Adventure
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From €47 per person
Howth is 30 minutes from Dublin city on the DART, and this is one of the most enjoyable ways to spend a morning or afternoon there. You’ll hike the coastal cliffs with a local guide and their dog — covering paths that most day-trippers never find — while hearing the stories of the Vikings and Normans who shaped this headland, the ruins of St. Mary’s Abbey (founded in 1042), and the sea views that have drawn writers and artists here for centuries.
The route takes in Howth Lighthouse, the Martello Tower, the Baily Lighthouse, the Cliff Path Loop and the summit with its 360-degree views over Dublin Bay. Your guide makes a video memento of your journey through Howth that you can share with family and friends. A private tour option is available if you’d prefer to have the guide to yourselves. Groups are capped at 15.
The tour wraps up at the Bloody Stream, a proper local pub tucked right beneath the railway station, where a complimentary pint rounds things off nicely.
Meeting point: Howth Train (DART) Station, just outside the Bloody Stream Pub.
Take the DART — it drops you at the door. The meeting point is literally outside the train station at Howth, and the DART runs directly there from the city centre in about 30 minutes. It’s cheaper and easier than driving, and you don’t need to find parking on a busy headland.
St. Mary’s Abbey is older than most visitors realise. Founded in 1042, it predates the Norman arrival in Ireland and sits quietly above the harbour with views that make it one of the more atmospheric ruins in the Dublin region. Your guide’s stories about the abbey and its Viking connections set up the wider history of the headland well.
The cliff walk section is the heart of the tour. The hour on the cliff path is genuinely dramatic — you’re on the edge of the headland with the Irish Sea directly below, and on a clear day the horizon extends far further than you’d expect. The Baily Lighthouse, perched right at the cliff edge, is one of those views that stays with you.
The Bloody Stream is a real local pub. It’s tucked under the railway station at Howth village, and the pint you get at the end isn’t a tourist formality — it’s a genuinely good pub with a local atmosphere. If you want to sit on for a second round after the tour, you’re in the right place.
The video memento is a nice touch. Your guide films moments from the walk and puts together a short video you can share. It’s not a professionally produced highlight reel, but it’s a good reminder of where you walked — the cliffs, the lighthouse, the summit — and better than the usual phone photos people end up with.