Full Day Private Wicklow Tour

About This Tour

The Wicklow Mountains sit about an hour south of Dublin, and your guide grew up walking every trail and corner of Wicklow Mountains National Park. This is a private tour with a flexible start time, shaped around what you want to see - so you’re in good hands from the moment you set off.

You’ll visit Powerscourt Gardens, cross the Sally Gap mountain pass, explore the ancient monastic city of Glendalough, and stop for lunch in a proper Irish pub. It’s the kind of day that reminds you just how close some of Ireland’s best countryside is to the capital.

What’s Included

• Private transportation
• Complimentary bottled water

What’s Not Included

• Lunch
• Entrance charges to visitor attractions
• Your own refreshments
• Powerscourt Gardens entrance fee

Itinerary

1. Powerscourt Gardens - Voted the third greatest garden in the world, Powerscourt has 300 years of history behind it - great works of art, magnificent scenery, and beautiful plantings throughout. You’ll be walking in the footsteps of British royalty, American presidents, European royalty and film stars who’ve all come here. On site you’ll also find good shopping for Irish-made goods, a cafe, and a whiskey distillery. A great place to start the day in Wicklow. Entrance fee applies and is not included in the tour price. (120 min)
2. Sally Gap - One of Ireland’s highest mountain passes, famous for the views over the Guinness Lake - a landscape used in films and TV series including Braveheart, Excalibur, P.S. I Love You, and Vikings. Your guide will stop for photos along the way and share stories of the many notable people connected to the area. (60 min)
3. Glendalough - Set in a beautiful valley in the heart of the Wicklow Mountains National Park, the 6th-century monastic city of Glendalough is the best-preserved ruin from the period when Ireland was one of the last centres of Christian learning in western Europe. A guided tour of the remains is followed by time to explore the two lakes and the surrounding trails. (120 min)
4. Pub lunch - A meal in a traditional Irish pub or restaurant of your choice - your guide’s suggestion is Johnnie Fox’s, founded in 1798, known for good food, stories, and a fine selection of local beers, whiskeys and gins. Lunch is at your own cost. (60 min)

Good to Know

• This is a private tour, conducted in English
• Wheelchair accessible; public transport options available nearby
• Suitable for all fitness levels
• Not suitable for children under 12
• Flexible start time - arranged to suit your schedule

Local Tips

At Powerscourt, budget the full two hours. The formal Italian terraces take twenty minutes to walk, but it’s the Japanese garden and the pet cemetery up the back that people remember. There’s also a Wicklow whiskey distillery on site if your group wants a taste before noon. The entrance fee is not included; pay at the gate. Powerscourt is on the edge of Enniskerry, a small estate village with Poppies café on its square - open since 1982, proper soup and sandwiches, and a decent place to sit before the gardens open at 9.30am.

At Glendalough, walk the Green Road between the lakes rather than staying at the visitor centre. The flat 3 km path runs from the visitor centre along the Lower Lake, past the round tower, through the woods, and out to the boardwalk and beach at the foot of the Upper Lake. It takes you past the monastic ruins and is far quieter than the car park. The two hours you have at Glendalough are well spent this way.

The round tower at Glendalough stands thirty metres tall with its doorway three and a half metres above the ground. That wasn’t architecture for show - when the Vikings came up the valley, the monks pulled the ladder up after them. Your guide will have the stories; the landscape backs them up.

For lunch at Glendalough, Lynham’s of Laragh is the local’s choice - it’s the village pub in Laragh, a kilometre up the road from the monastic site, with food until late by Wicklow standards and a turf fire in the back bar. If you’re after something more substantial, The Wicklow Heather in Laragh is the serious dinner option, with Wicklow lamb and Irish beef - worth the extra minutes.

Book a start time that gets you to Glendalough before noon or after 3pm. In summer the day-tripper coaches fill the Lower Lake car park by mid-morning. With a private tour you have the flexibility - use it to arrive ahead of the crowds or after they’ve cleared, and the valley is a completely different experience.

Nearby on IrelandMe

• Enniskerry - the estate village beside Powerscourt, where National Geographic ranked the gardens third in the world and Poppies café on the square has been open since 1982
• Glendalough - A 6th-century monastic city at the bottom of two glacial lakes, with a round tower the Vikings couldn’t crack, the flat Green Road walk between the ruins, and Lynham’s of Laragh a kilometre up the road when you’re done