Wicklow Mountains Shore Excursion - Rail Tour from Dublin

About

This shore excursion is built specifically for cruise passengers docking in Dublin who want to make the most of a day in Wicklow. The mix of train and touring coach means you cover a lot of ground comfortably, and you’re back at Dublin Connolly station by around 16:45.

The day starts at Dublin Connolly station, departing at 09:40. The train heads south along the coast, giving you long views of the Irish Sea before swinging inland toward the mountains. At Arklow, you transfer to a touring coach for the journey through the Vale of Avoca to the village of Avoca - also known as Ballykissangel. There’s time here to watch the local hand weavers at work or call into FitzGerald’s Bar for a pint.

From Avoca, the tour continues to Glendalough, the ancient monastic settlement at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains National Park. The medieval monastery was first established in the 6th century, and the remains are remarkable - the round tower, the stone church ruins, and the two lakes in the glacial valley behind it all combine to make this one of Ireland’s most visited and most photographed sites.

The return leg is by train back to Dublin Connolly, arriving at approximately 16:45.

What’s Included

• All admissions
• Train and coach transfers
• Meals

Local Tips

At Avoca, the mill is the main event. Avoca Handweavers has been weaving on this site since 1723 - the co-operative was originally set up to clothe the copper miners working the hills above the village, and the looms are still running today. You can watch the weavers at work. Fitzgerald’s Bar is the pub the BBC show called Fitzgerald’s - it was actually the Fountain Bar before Ballykissangel filmed here, took the television name, and kept it. A real pub with a real pint.

At Glendalough, walk between the two lakes. The Green Road runs from the visitor centre along the Lower Lake, past the round tower, through the woods, and out to the beach at the foot of the Upper Lake - about 3km return, flat the whole way. This is the walk that takes you past nine of the major monastic ruins and gives you the glacial valley properly. The round tower is thirty metres of mica-slate and granite, with its door three and a half metres off the ground - the height was deliberate; when the Vikings came looking for monastery silver, the monks pulled the ladder up behind them.

Timing at Glendalough matters. The site is busiest between half ten and early afternoon. If the coach schedule gives you early or late access, you’ll have a fundamentally quieter experience. The actual village with the pubs and food is Laragh, 1.5km east of the monastic site - Lynhams of Laragh has been serving walkers and visitors since the 1770s, and the Wicklow Heather next door is the more serious dinner option.

On the train south. The Dublin-Rosslare coastal line runs close to the water south of Bray, giving you sea views that most visitors miss entirely. The Wicklow coastline between Bray and Wicklow town is worth watching from the window.

Nearby on IrelandMe

• Avoca - Ireland’s oldest working woollen mill since 1723, in a wooded valley where two rivers meet; the Vale of Avoca river walk starts at the village and follows the water south to Woodenbridge
• Glendalough - St Kevin’s 6th-century monastic city in a glacial valley; come early or late to beat the day-tripper coaches and walk the Green Road between the two lakes
• Laragh - the working village behind the Glendalough visit, where the Military Road ends at a junction of three mountain roads and Lynhams has been a pub since the 1770s