If you’ve only got one day to get outside Dublin, this private tour covers a lot of ground without rushing. You’ll see the coast, the mountains, and some of the finest villages and heritage sites in the region - all with a knowledgeable local guide doing the driving and the storytelling.
Heading south from Dublin, the first stop is the coastal stretch through Dalkey and Killiney. Locals know Killiney Bay as “little Naples” for good reason - the views over the bay from here are stunning, and the village is home to some of Ireland’s most beautiful houses. You might spot a well-known face or two as you walk around.
From the coast, it’s a short drive to Powerscourt, where the gardens consistently rank among the top ten in the world. The house itself gives you a glimpse of how Ireland’s gentry lived through the centuries. Lunch follows in Enniskerry, a fairytale village that’s appeared in several films, including the 2021 production of Disenchanted.
After lunch, the route heads into the Wicklow Mountains, with photo stops along the way at the Guinness Lake, which sits deep in the valley and has a colour that genuinely surprises people when they first see it. Later in the afternoon you’ll arrive at Glendalough, where Saint Kevin’s 6th-century monastery sits beside two beautiful mountain lakes, surrounded by moss-covered trees and quiet streams.
The return journey to Dublin takes you through the Wicklow Gap, with one last stop in the village of Hollywood for a well-earned pint after the day’s adventures.
Good to Know
Tour duration is 8 hours
This is a private tour - just your group with your guide
Your guide shares tales of Wicklow’s great battles and the county’s modern film industry
Powerscourt gardens and house visit is included as a stop; entry fees may apply separately
Free cancellation available
Local Tips
At Killiney, the Vico Road walk from the village toward Dalkey takes about 45 minutes along the clifftop and is one of the best short coastal walks in Dublin - if your guide has time before Powerscourt, it’s worth asking for. The obelisk on Killiney Hill dates to 1742, built as famine relief work.
Lunch in Enniskerry works well at Poppies on the square - open since 1982, proper soup and home baking, usually quieter than the estate café inside Powerscourt house. The gardens themselves need at least 90 minutes to do the terraces and the Japanese garden properly, so arrive at Powerscourt before the lunch crowd if you can.
At Glendalough, the monastic city is the destination but the walk between the two lakes is what makes it. The Green Road from the visitor centre runs along the Lower Lake past nine of the major ruins and reaches the Upper Lake boardwalk in about 25 minutes one way - flat, manageable, and far better than standing at the round tower car park. The real village for a pint is Laragh, 1.5km east, where Lynham’s has turf fires and a local crowd.
In Hollywood, the Hollywood Inn has been going since 1790, when it was a stagecoach stop at the western mouth of the Wicklow Gap. It’s the natural end-of-day pint - stone walls, open fire, Irish classics on the menu. The village also marks the western trailhead of St Kevin’s Way, the medieval pilgrim road over the mountains to Glendalough, which gives a certain circularity to the day.
Nearby on IrelandMe
Glendalough - Saint Kevin’s 6th-century monastic city: a round tower, seven churches, and two mountain lakes; the Upper Lake walk is what turns a visit into a day
Enniskerry - National Geographic ranked Powerscourt’s gardens third in the world, behind Versailles and Kew; the village square has been a film set so often it has its own agent
Killiney - The 1742 obelisk on the hill was built as famine relief; on a clear day you can see the mountains of Wales from the summit
Dalkey - Two medieval castles on the same street, a castle island a kilometre offshore, and Finnegan’s pub where Bono drinks when he’s home
Hollywood - Mile zero on St Kevin’s Way, the medieval pilgrim road to Glendalough; the Hollywood Inn has been pouring since 1790
