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Dublin: Howth Coast and Ireland's Eye Boat Tour
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From €25 per person
Howth is only 30 minutes from Dublin city centre on the DART, but the moment you step onto the boat at Howth Harbour, the city drops away completely. This 55-minute coastal cruise takes you around Ireland’s Eye - a small uninhabited island just offshore that serves as a wildlife sanctuary within Dublin Bay’s UNESCO Biosphere.
The boat circles the island at close range, giving you a proper look at the Martello tower, the sea cliffs, and the enormous freestanding rock known as “the Stack” at the island’s northeastern corner. This is where the seabirds gather in serious numbers - gannets, guillemots, razorbills, and puffins nesting on the cliff ledges in season. The skipper provides live commentary on the island’s history, its wildlife, and the local stories that have built up around it over the years.
Keep your eyes on the water and the rocks as well as the cliffs. Grey seals are a regular sight along the Howth coastline, often spotted on rocky outcrops or bobbing alongside the boat. The views back towards the mainland are striking too - Howth Cliffs rising from the sea, the Baily Lighthouse at the headland, and the sweep of Dublin Bay stretching south towards Dalkey and Killiney. At EUR25 and under an hour, it’s one of the best-value ways to experience Dublin’s coastal wildlife.
The Stack is the thing to look out for as you round the northeastern corner of Ireland’s Eye. It’s a massive freestanding column of rock that breaks off from the main island, and in season it’s absolutely covered in nesting seabirds. Nothing quite prepares you for the noise and the scale of it up close from the water.
If you want to actually set foot on Ireland’s Eye, you need the separate ferry. The landing ferry runs May to September and drops you on the island for a few hours - you can walk to the Martello tower, sit on the beach, and watch the birds from the land side. It’s a different experience from the boat tour, and the two complement each other well if you’ve got the time.
Puffin season is late April to mid-July. Outside that window the seals and gannets are still there year-round, so don’t write off an autumn or winter visit - the bay in winter light has its own appeal, and the boats run regardless of season as long as conditions allow.
The view back towards Dublin from the water is underrated. Most people focus on Ireland’s Eye and the cliffs, which is fair, but take a moment to look south across the bay. On a clear day you can pick out Dalkey Island, Killiney Hill, and the long arc of the coast stretching south. It’s a perspective on Dublin that most people who live here rarely get.
Pair this with the Howth Walking Tour. The walking tour covers the village, the abbey ruins, the pier, and the land-side history in about two hours. Doing that first - getting the story of the place from the ground up - and then heading out on the water gives you a genuinely rounded picture of Howth in a single visit.