A private, licensed guide collects you from St Stephen’s Green and takes you into County Wicklow for a 6-8 hour day that covers a lot of ground - and a lot of history. You’ll hear interesting details about both County Dublin and County Wicklow throughout the journey.
At Glendalough, your guide takes you on a short scenic walk before leading you through a guided tour of the monastic settlement, one of the most significant early Christian sites in Ireland. From there, you head up into the higher Wicklow Mountains for dramatic scenery and a stop at Lough Tay - the Guinness family’s historic property - looking down at the lake from above. Your guide covers the story of the estate and points out the various movie locations for which County Wicklow is known.
Next is Powerscourt Waterfall, at 122 metres the tallest waterfall in Ireland, with good photo opportunities from below. The day wraps up at Powerscourt House and Gardens, ranked third best gardens in the world by National Geographic, where you can tour the grounds, browse the shops, and have lunch if you’d like. Entry to the gardens is not included in the tour price, and the decision to go in is yours. There’s also a whiskey distillery on the estate for those who are interested.
What’s Included
Private air-conditioned vehicle
Licensed tour guide
What’s Not Included
Brunch
Powerscourt House and Gardens entry fee (optional, paid on the day)
Itinerary
Glendalough and Wicklow Mountains (approx. 2 hours) - Drive from Dublin to County Wicklow with commentary from your guide. Short scenic walk at Glendalough, followed by a guided tour through the monastic settlement. Then on to the higher Wicklow Mountains with views over Lough Tay and the Guinness estate, and a look at some notable movie filming locations.
Powerscourt Waterfall (approx. 1 hour) - Visit Ireland’s highest waterfall at 122 metres, with great photo opportunities.
Powerscourt House and Gardens (approx. 2 hours) - Ranked third best gardens in the world by National Geographic, the Palladian mansion sits within beautiful grounds with extensive shopping and dining. A whiskey distillery is also on site.
Scenic mountain drive (approx. 2 hours) - A drive through the higher Wicklow Mountains visiting Lough Tay on the historic Guinness country residence, with stops at movie filming locations.
Good to Know
Meeting point: St Stephen’s Green.
This is a private tour.
Not recommended for those with poor cardiovascular health.
A moderate level of physical fitness is helpful.
Available in English.
Local Tips
Glendalough is busiest between half-ten and noon when the day-tripper coaches arrive. This tour gets you there earlier, which makes a real difference - the valley before the crowds is a different place. If you have a moment between the guided tour and your next stop, the flat Green Road walk from the visitor centre to the Upper Lake takes about 25 minutes and passes nine of the main monastic ruins.
The Powerscourt Waterfall and the Powerscourt Gardens are separate sites with separate entry fees - a 6km drive apart. Your guide will manage the timing, but know that the waterfall is wilder and less curated than the formal gardens; most people who skip it wish they hadn’t.
Powerscourt Gardens are at their best from late April through May, when azaleas and magnolias are flowering across the 47 acres. The estate opens at 9:30am - early-bird visitors get the terraces before the first tour coaches.
At the gardens, the Palladian house now contains shops and a café. The house was gutted by fire in November 1974 - the week after a long restoration was completed - and the shell was reopened in 1996. It’s an interesting story if your guide hasn’t mentioned it yet.
The village of Enniskerry sits at the foot of the Powerscourt estate - a small, well-kept estate village with a square, two pubs, and Poppies café, which has been open since 1982. If the gardens let out earlier than expected, the square is a five-minute drive and a good place to sit before the return journey.
Nearby on IrelandMe
Glendalough - A 6th-century monastic city in a glacial valley with two lakes: St Kevin’s round tower, a cathedral, seven ruined churches, and walking trails from easy lakeshore strolls to proper mountain hikes.
Enniskerry - The estate village at the foot of Powerscourt, where Richard Cassels’s Palladian house (1731-1741) presides over 47 acres of terraced gardens ranked third in the world by National Geographic - and 6km up the road, the 121-metre waterfall this tour stops at.
