Private day trip to Wicklow mountains from Dublin

About This Tour

Wicklow is one of those counties that surprises people who’ve only ever passed through it on the way somewhere else. Just an hour from Dublin, it’s been a favourite location for film shoots and TV series for years - and once you’re in the mountains, you’ll understand why.

This private 8-hour day trip covers three genuinely different spots. You’ll visit Powerscourt Gardens, which National Geographic has ranked among the top three most beautiful gardens in the world. Then it’s on to the Glendalough Monastery - a 6th-century monastic site set beside the lakes, with that particular quietness that old places tend to carry. And you’ll make a stop at Lough Tay, better known locally as the Guinness Lake, which belongs to the Guinness family and sits in a valley that’s well worth the detour.

Admission tickets to the attractions are included in this tour, which is a bit different from most Wicklow day trips.

What’s Included

Private transportation
Air-conditioned vehicle
Admission tickets to attractions
Bottle of water on board

What’s Not Included

Lunch
Gratuities

Itinerary

Powerscourt Gardens - Considered Ireland’s finest gardens and ranked in the top three most beautiful in the world by National Geographic. (90 min)
Glendalough Monastery - A 6th-century monastic site set between two mountain lakes, with stone ruins and woodland paths that reward a slow wander. (60 min)
Lough Tay (Guinness Lake) - A stop at this striking lake in the Wicklow Mountains, set on the Guinness family estate. (20 min)

Good to Know

This is a private tour - just your group.
Public transport connections are nearby.
Not recommended for travellers with spinal injuries or poor cardiovascular health.
Suitable for all fitness levels in general.
Conducted in English and French.

Local Tips

At Powerscourt Gardens, arrive as early as you can. The estate opens at 9.30am, and on summer mornings the first hour on the terraces is quieter than any hour after ten. The formal gardens are 47 acres - the Italian terraces, the Japanese garden, the Triton Lake with the Sugar Loaf behind it - and you need at least ninety minutes to do them properly. Admission is included in this tour. If you have a moment in Enniskerry village itself, Poppies on the square has been doing soup and home baking since 1982 and is considerably better than the estate café for a refuel.

At Glendalough, the 60 minutes goes quickly - choose your focus. The monastic site itself - the 30-metre round tower, the cathedral, the seven churches, the graveyard - is the priority. If time allows, the flat Green Road path from the visitor centre to the Upper Lake takes about 25 minutes each way and puts the whole valley in context. The actual village with pubs and food is Laragh, 1.5km east - worth knowing if you’re looking for lunch nearby. The round tower door is three and a half metres off the ground - a defensive measure against Viking raids, so the monks could pull the ladder up behind them.

Lough Tay is a roadside stop, not a walk. The best view is from the Military Road above, at the junction with the Wicklow Way. The white sand on the northern shore was imported by the Guinness family, and from the right angle the shape really does look like a pint. Your driver will know the spot - it’s a 20-minute stop and that’s all you need.

Nearby on IrelandMe

Enniskerry - The estate village where Powerscourt Gardens are; National Geographic ranked the gardens third in the world, behind Versailles and Kew, and on a clear morning before the coaches arrive that ranking makes sense.
Glendalough - A 6th-century monastic city at the foot of two glacial lakes, where St Kevin came to get away from people and they followed him anyway - the round tower, the seven churches, and the woodland paths at the Upper Lake reward a slow afternoon.