The Wicklow Mountains are right on Dublin’s doorstep, and this small group tour is one of the best ways to actually explore them properly. You’ll get a guided 1.5-hour walk in the Wicklow Mountain National Park, scenic stops along the way, and a full visit to the 6th-century monastic site at Glendalough - all with a local driver/guide who knows the area well.
What’s Included
Local guide
Driver/guide
Live commentary on board
What’s Not Included
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Food and drinks
Itinerary
Pick-up from the Molly Malone statue on Suffolk Street, Dublin city centre at 9:20am (5 min)
Guided walk at the Scalp (90 min) - Your guide takes you on a 1.5-hour walk in an area called the Scalp, overlooking the Irish coastline. The trails are good underfoot, moving through deciduous woodland and some evergreens. As you climb a little higher, a wonderful panoramic view opens up across the Irish countryside. You’ll follow part of the Dublin Mountains Way trail, taking in viewpoints of the Wicklow Mountains National Park, the Dublin and Wicklow coastline, and Dublin city. There’s also a fascinating old chimney from the Ballychorus mines, which operated here in the late 1800s.
Enniskerry Village lunch stop (45 min) - This small Victorian estate village is a lovely spot to stop. Poppies Cafe is recommended for its locally produced food and wide range of dishes.
Wicklow Mountains National Park scenic drive with stops (60 min) - The tour continues through the National Park with scenic stops along the way.
Sally Gap (20 min) - Sitting in the middle of the Wicklow Mountains, the Sally Gap is a striking, open landscape - a great spot for pictures.
Lough Tay - the Guinness Lake (20 min) - This lake, set in the Luggala Valley, is officially called Lough Tay but most people know it as the Guinness Lake. It was also a filming location for the “Vikings” series. A stop here for photos is well worth it.
St Kevin’s Monastery, Glendalough (30 min) - Your guide will bring you into the 6th-century monastery of St Kevin and share the history and folklore of this extraordinary place.
Free time to explore Glendalough Valley and its two lakes (60 min)
Meeting point: The Molly Malone statue sits outside a large stone church on Suffolk Street.
Good to Know
Specialised infant seats are available
Not recommended for travellers with poor cardiovascular health
You should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Comfortable walking shoes are recommended
Maximum group size of 16
Local Tips
Enniskerry lunch stop: The tour recommends Poppies Café on the village square, and it’s the right call - it’s been there since 1982, it knows it’s feeding walkers, and the soup and home baking are the real reason to go. Forty-five minutes is enough to eat and have a quick look at the square. Enniskerry is an estate village built around Powerscourt, and the square is small and well-kept - worth a few minutes of walking around even if you don’t go near the estate itself.
At Glendalough: The 30-minute guided section covers the monastic core - the cathedral, the round tower (the doorway is 3.5 metres off the ground, a defensive necessity when the Vikings came up the valley), and the monastic enclosure. Your free 60 minutes afterwards is when the valley earns its reputation. Walk the Green Road from the visitor centre along the Lower Lake to the Upper Lake - it’s 3 km return on a flat path and takes you past nine of the major monastic ruins. The coaches are usually gone or thinning by mid-afternoon, so the second half of your free time is the better half. Deer come out of the woods at dusk on the Lower Lake side.
What to bring: The Scalp walk is real walking - good shoes matter. The tour description says comfortable walking shoes; treat that as boots if you have them. The Sally Gap and Glendalough can be cold even in summer, so a layer is worth carrying. Food and drinks aren’t included, so bring snacks for the morning walk and budget for the Enniskerry lunch.
After the guide leaves: The Glendalough Hotel bar is ten paces from the car park and does a fine pint at five o’clock when the day visitors are clearing. If you want dinner after the tour, the village of Laragh - 1.5km east of the monastic site - has Lynham’s pub and The Wicklow Heather restaurant. Both are better than anything at the visitor centre.
Nearby on IrelandMe
Glendalough - a 6th-century monastic city at the bottom of two lakes; the round tower doorway is 3.5 metres off the ground (the monks pulled the ladder up when the Vikings came), and the walk between the Lower and Upper Lake is the one that earns the Wicklow Mountains their reputation
Enniskerry - a Victorian estate village built around Powerscourt, whose gardens National Geographic ranked third in the world; Poppies Café on the square has been open since 1982 and knows exactly what walkers need
