← All Wicklow tours via Viator · From €899 · 6-8 hours 
Day Trip to Glendalough and Wicklow Mountains
Free cancellation Booked securely via Viator
Check availability & prices →
From €899 per person
Wicklow sits just south of Dublin but feels like a different world - open bogland, sharp-ridged mountains, and a glacial valley that holds one of medieval Europe’s great monastic cities. This private day trip covers the highlights in one unhurried run: Glendalough, the mountain passes at Sally Gap or Wicklow Gap, Lough Tay, and Powerscourt Waterfall, with 6 to 8 hours on the road.
The tour is private, so the pace is yours - tell your driver early if there’s a stop you want to linger at.
Glendalough - The name means “valley of the two lakes” in Irish, and the glacial valley earns it. St Kevin settled here as a hermit in the late 6th century; his reputation drew followers and a full monastic city grew up around him. The 33-metre round tower, a cathedral, and seven ruined churches spread across the valley floor. From the visitor centre, the flat Green Road to the Upper Lake (25 min each way) passes the main ruins and brings you to the quieter, wider end of the valley. (180 min)
Sally Gap or Wicklow Gap and surrounds - Whichever pass your guide takes, you’re crossing open blanket bog at around 500 metres with long views in every direction. On the R759 toward Sally Gap, a roadside viewpoint looks down over Lough Tay - a small lake whose dark peat-stained water and narrow strip of white sand on the north shore look almost exactly like a pint of Guinness. The lake sits on land owned by the Guinness family trust; you see it from above, which is the right angle. The route then drops to Powerscourt Waterfall, where the Dargle River falls 121 metres over granite into a forested bowl just south of Enniskerry. It’s the highest continuous-flow waterfall in the Republic; the walk around the base takes about 20 minutes. (120 min)
Push on to the Upper Lake at Glendalough. Most visitors spend time at the main ruins near the car park and head back. The Green Road is flat, takes 25 minutes each way, and brings you to where the valley opens out properly. Worth it.
The round tower tells a story before your guide does. Look at where the doorway sits - more than three metres off the ground. When Viking raiders came up the valley, the monks pulled the ladder up and waited. The tower is 10th century; the conical stone roof is an 1876 replacement after a lightning strike.
Lough Tay is a roadside stop, not a walk. You see it from above on the R759, and that’s the right vantage - the full dark oval with the white sandy crescent at the north end. It’s private land below, so don’t plan on getting down to the shore.
Powerscourt Waterfall runs harder after rain. The drop is 121 metres and worth seeing in any season, but after a few wet days the Dargle really moves. Enniskerry village is five minutes down the road if you want coffee or lunch before the drive home.