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Private Tour from Dublin to Howth's Scenic Seaside
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From €156 per person
Three hours is enough to get properly out of the city centre and back - and this route does it well. You’ll head through Phoenix Park, cross over to Bull Island, and finish up in Howth, which is one of those places that feels like a different world even though it’s only about 15 kilometres from O’Connell Street.
Your driver knows the area well and speaks English throughout. You’re collected from your hotel and dropped back when you’re ready. Groups of 1-4 travel together in a comfortable sedan, and the itinerary can be adjusted or extended through the app if you want more time somewhere.
Phoenix Park - 60 minutes
One of Europe’s largest city parks, Phoenix Park has open meadows, historic monuments, and herds of fallow deer that roam freely through the grassland. You’ll stop here for a bit of space and quiet, with views of the President’s residence (Áras an Uachtaráin) and the Wellington Monument.
Bull Island - 60 minutes
You’ll cross a wooden causeway to reach Bull Island, a UNESCO-designated biosphere sitting right in Dublin Bay. The sandy stretches of Dollymount Strand go on and on, birdlife is everywhere, and the views across the bay are wide and calm. It’s genuinely hard to believe you’re still within the city boundary.
Howth village and harbour - 60 minutes
Howth is a working fishing village with a harbour full of boats and restaurants that know what to do with the day’s catch. You can stroll along the pier, browse the shops, grab fresh oysters at one of the harbour stands, or ask your driver to take you close to the cliffside trail for views of the Baily Lighthouse. The free time here is yours to use however you like.
The Howth cliff walk is one of the best short walks near Dublin. The full loop is about 9 kilometres, but even the first stretch out past the East Pier gives you sweeping views back over Dublin Bay and down toward the Baily Lighthouse. Your driver can drop you at the trailhead if you want to do a section on foot and be picked up further along.
Seals hang around the harbour most mornings. They tend to congregate near the fish market on the East Pier, especially earlier in the day when the trawlers are coming in. It’s one of those things that doesn’t cost anything and that locals still stop to watch.
If you want to eat in Howth, build in the time. The harbour restaurants - particularly for seafood - get busy around lunch. Beshoff Bros does excellent fish and chips. If you want something more sit-down, Aqua on the West Pier has good views alongside the food. Worth mentioning to your driver so they can factor it into the plan.
Bull Island is better than it sounds on paper. It’s easy to write off a “biosphere reserve” as a nature admin sort of stop, but the strand is genuinely beautiful and almost always quiet. Low tide reveals a lot of the sand flats, and the birdlife can be spectacular in autumn and winter when the migrating waders come in.
Phoenix Park deer are most visible in the morning. The fallow deer herd - around 600 animals - tend to graze in the open meadows near the Fifteen Acres in the earlier hours. By midday they often move into the tree cover. Early starters on this tour are more likely to see them out in the open.