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Dublin Coast & Wicklow Mountains: Luxury Private Day Tour
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From €6 per person
If you’ve got one day outside Dublin, this private tour covers a lot of ground without rushing. You’ll travel with a local guide who handles all the driving - from the Victorian coastal stretch at Killiney south through Powerscourt’s 47-acre estate gardens and into the mountain valleys of wicklow.
The private format means the guide works at your pace, not a coach schedule. By the end you’ll have covered the coast, a world-ranked garden, a 6th-century monastery, and a mountain pass - with lunch and a pint built in.
Killiney - The day starts on the coastal stretch south of Dublin. Killiney Bay is often called “little Naples” for the sweep of water from the hilltop, and Killiney Hill’s 1742 obelisk marks the summit above it.
Powerscourt Estate, Enniskerry - National Geographic ranked Powerscourt’s gardens third in the world, behind Versailles and Kew. The Italian terraces, Triton Lake, and Japanese garden sit below an 18th-century Palladian mansion with the Great Sugarloaf as a backdrop. Lunch follows in Enniskerry, the pretty village on the estate’s doorstep that has appeared in several films, including Disenchanted.
Guinness Lake (Lough Tay) - A photo stop above Lough Tay, where the dark peaty water and white sandy beach at one end really do look like a pint of Guinness from the viewing point above. The colour in the valley surprises people every time.
Glendalough - Saint Kevin settled in this glacial valley in the late 6th century. The monastic city that grew around him - a 30-metre round tower (still with its original conical cap), a cathedral, and several stone churches - stands around two quiet mountain lakes.
Wicklow Gap and Hollywood - The return crosses the Wicklow Gap before dropping into Hollywood, where the Hollywood Inn has been going since 1790.
Arrive at Powerscourt early. The Italian terraces take a solid 45 minutes, and you’ll want at least 90 minutes for the full gardens. Getting there before the lunch rush means you’ll have the terraces to yourself, with the Great Sugarloaf mountain filling the view behind.
At Glendalough, walk past the round tower. Most visitors stay at the car park. The Green Road from the visitor centre follows the Lower Lake to the Upper Lake in about 25 minutes - flat gravel, far quieter, and much better for seeing the ruins in their full valley context. For a pint afterwards, Lynham’s in Laragh (1.5km east) has turf fires and a genuinely local crowd.
Hollywood has more going on than the pub. The village sits at the western mouth of the Wicklow Gap and marks the trailhead of St Kevin’s Way, the medieval pilgrim road over the mountains to Glendalough. There’s a pleasant circularity in ending your day where pilgrims once began theirs, heading the other way.