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Shore Tour from Dublin: Wicklow Mountains & Dublin
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From €79 per person
Your day starts at the Cruise Ship Terminal in Dublin, where you board a Paddywagon luxury coach for a panoramic tour of the city. Your guide points out the key landmarks along the way - Trinity College, O’Connell Street, the GPO, the Molly Malone statue, the River Liffey, Ha’Penny Bridge, Christchurch Cathedral, and St Patrick’s Cathedral.
From there, you head south into County Wicklow and on to Glendalough - which translates as the valley of two lakes. The Wicklow Mountains scenery has appeared in films including Braveheart and P.S. I Love You, and it’s easy to see why. At Glendalough, you get time to explore the monastic site founded by St Kevin, including its famous round tower and high cross. It’s one of the most historically significant places in Ireland and well worth the journey out from the city.
The Glendalough monastic site is at its best before the morning coaches arrive or after they leave. If timing allows, aim to be at the round tower before 11am - the car parks are still manageable and you’ll have room to look properly. The round tower doorway sits three and a half metres up the wall; that wasn’t architecture for show, it was the monks pulling the ladder up when the Vikings came up the valley.
The actual village with the food and pubs is Glendalough - or more precisely, Laragh, 1.5 km east of the monastic site. If the tour schedule gives you any flexibility around lunch, Lynham’s of Laragh and the Trinity Mountain Bothy are both better than the visitor centre café, and the walk between them takes you past the Green Road along the Lower Lake.
The flat walk from the visitor centre to the Upper Lake boardwalk is about 3 km return and passes nine of the major monastic ruins along the way. If you have 45 minutes and flat shoes, it’s the best use of your time on site - far better than queuing at the round tower for a photo and calling it done.
Don’t skip the valley for Dublin on the way back. The Sally Gap route on the R115, the old Military Road that crosses the mountains north, gives you a completely different view of the Wicklow uplands - open bog, granite outcrops, and very few other vehicles.