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Howth y Malahide in italiano
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From €59 per person
This full-day private tour heads north from Dublin along the coast of Dublin Bay, taking in Malahide and Howth over eight hours. It’s conducted in Italian - a genuine comfort for Italian-speaking visitors who want to understand what they’re looking at rather than just photographing it.
The first stop is Malahide Castle, which the Talbot family called home for more than 800 years. What started as a basic fortification grew over the centuries into a building that mixes medieval and Georgian styles in a way that makes more sense once your guide explains the timeline. The castle comes with a well-known reputation for ghost stories - your guide knows them all - and the grounds include a butterfly house and resident peacocks. En route you’ll pass through Malahide village, St Anne’s Park and Portmarnock beach.
At Howth, there’s an optional cliff walk from the Summit down to the village, with wide views across Dublin Bay and the Wicklow Mountains in the distance. Down at the fishermen’s harbour, seals often swim alongside the boats at feeding time. You’ll also stop to see Howth Castle, closely associated with the legendary Irish pirate Gráinne Mhaol - one of the most compelling figures in Irish history, and one whose story tends to stick once you’ve heard it properly. The whole day runs in a private, air-conditioned vehicle from your hotel door.
Meeting point: Outside your hotel at 9:30am
Malahide Castle is busier on weekend afternoons. If you’re visiting in summer, the grounds tend to fill up from around midday. Starting the tour at 9:30am as scheduled means you’ll reach the castle while it’s still relatively quiet, which makes the ghost stories easier to imagine.
The cliff walk at Howth is optional, but worth doing if your group is up for it. The walk from the Summit down to the village is not a strenuous hike - it’s more of a path with a decent gradient - but the views over Dublin Bay from the top are the best you’ll get anywhere north of the city. On a clear day you can pick out the Wicklow Mountains to the south.
Howth Harbour at feeding time is memorable. The seals that gather around the fishing boats aren’t a guaranteed sighting, but they’re common enough that it’s worth asking your guide what time the boats typically come in. The harbour also has some good fish-and-chip spots if you’re thinking about lunch.
The story of Gráinne Mhaol and Howth Castle is one of Ireland’s best. The connection between the pirate queen and Howth is a local story that tends to land very differently once you’re standing in front of the castle where it supposedly happened. Ask your guide to tell the full version rather than the summary.
Casino Marino is one of Dublin’s most underrated stops. It’s a small neoclassical building that looks modest from the outside but has an interior that consistently surprises people who weren’t expecting much. The photo stop here is brief, but the building is worth a proper visit on another day if you find yourself curious.