← All Wicklow tours via Viator · From €1429 · 6 hours 
Enjoy the beauty of the Irish countryside Wicklow Private Tour
Booked securely via Viator
Check availability & prices →
From €1429 per person
Wicklow is right on Dublin’s doorstep - just south of the city - and yet it feels like a different world. The county’s 20,000-hectare national park takes you from the coast through wild mountain roads and into one of Ireland’s most historically rich valleys. This private 6-hour tour covers the highlights with a professional licensed guide who picks you up directly from your hotel or cruise ship.
You’ll travel along the coast before heading up into the Dublin Mountains and across the rugged Wicklow countryside. Four stops make up the itinerary, each with real depth to it.
Glendalough is the centrepiece - a glacial valley that’s been drawing people for centuries, ever since St Kevin founded his monastic settlement here in the 6th century. The ruins, the round tower, and the two lakes set against the valley walls make it genuinely one of the most atmospheric places on the island.
Nearby, Lough Tay - better known as the Guinness Lake - sits tucked between the mountains of Djouce (725m) and Luggala (595m), with Luggala’s granite cliffs reflected in the dark water below. It’s private land, but the view from the road is stunning.
Powerscourt Estate in Enniskerry is another stop worth the time - its landscaped gardens cover 19 hectares and were rated the third most beautiful in the world by National Geographic.
Your guide drops you back to your accommodation at the end of the day.
Glendalough - timing is everything. The valley gets busy with day-trip coaches from about 10:30am. Your guide picks you up directly, so if you can request an early start, aim to arrive at Glendalough before the first wave lands. The monastic ruins and round tower feel genuinely different when you can walk around them quietly. If there’s time, the flat Green Road between the Lower and Upper Lakes - about 3 km return - is the best thing you can do in an hour and goes past nine of the major ruins.
Powerscourt Gardens - the house is a backdrop, not the point. The estate café inside the restored house shell is handy for a coffee break, but the 47 acres of terraced gardens with the Sugar Loaf framing the southern view are what National Geographic was ranking. Spend your time on the formal terraces and the Italian garden rather than browsing the shops in the house.
Laragh village is next door to Glendalough. The actual village is 1.5 km east of the monastic site - that’s where Lynham’s pub and the Wicklow Heather restaurant are. If your guide has flexibility on lunch timing, this is a far better option than the visitor centre café at the ruins.
Wicklow town is the first scenic stop on the coast. The itinerary opens here: Black Castle on the headland dates to 1176, built by Maurice Fitzgerald as part of the Anglo-Norman coastal push, and the ruins sit open to the sea at the south end of town. The harbour gave the town its working life for centuries, and Captain Robert Halpin - born above the Bridge Tavern here in 1836 - went on to captain the Great Eastern and lay the first functional transatlantic telegraph cable. His obelisk is on Fitzwilliam Square.
Lough Tay viewpoint is a roadside stop. There’s no entry to the Luggala estate - you view the Guinness Lake from the road above. Make the most of the view south toward the valley rather than trying to find a way down. It is private land.