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Private Luxury Tour of Wicklow, Glendalough & Powerscourt Gardens
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From €700 per person
County Wicklow earns its title as the Garden of Ireland, and this private tour gives you the whole thing at your own pace. You get your own expert guide and vehicle, so if there’s somewhere specific you want to stop, just say so when you book and the team will do their best to fit it in.
The route takes in Lough Tay - the dark, dramatic lake famously known as Guinness Lake - for photos and a bit of local history. Then you’re into Powerscourt Gardens, rated one of the top three gardens in the world by National Geographic. Set against the backdrop of the Sugarloaf Mountain, you’ll wander through themed areas - the Italian Garden, the Japanese Garden, ornamental lakes, and flowerbeds with plants gathered from across the world.
From there, the tour heads to Glendalough, one of the most atmospheric spots in Ireland. St. Kevin founded this monastic settlement in the 6th century, and the ruins sit in a peaceful valley ringed by lakes and forest. It’s the kind of place that stays with you.
At Glendalough, use the 80 minutes to walk between the two lakes. The valley holds two lakes - the Lower Lake near the visitor centre and the round tower, and the Upper Lake a kilometre further in. The Green Road path between them passes nine of the major monastic ruins and takes about 25 minutes one way on flat ground. It’s the single walk that gives you Glendalough properly, and 80 minutes is enough to do it and be back without rushing. Your guide will have the context for every ruin you pass.
Arrive at Glendalough before 10am or after 4pm if possible. The coach tours fill the car park from mid-morning. Since you’re in a private vehicle with your own schedule, your guide can time the drive so you arrive into a quieter valley. Early morning with mist on the Upper Lake is genuinely different from the midday rush - the round tower and the graveyard have been here since the 10th century and they read completely differently when you have them to yourself.
The Spinc ridge walk is available if you want to extend your time. The full Spinc loop from the visitor centre is 9km and takes about 4 hours - it’s the walk that climbs above the Upper Lake on a boardwalked ridge with the whole glacial valley below you. This tour’s 80-minute Glendalough stop doesn’t cover it in full, but if you’re planning extra hours or a return visit, it’s the reason to come back.
After Glendalough, Laragh village is one kilometre east. The pubs, the food, and the post-walk pint are all in Laragh rather than at Glendalough itself. Lynham’s has been the village pub here for generations - turf fire, old timber, the bar that fills up after the last walkers come down off the mountain. If you’re adding time to the tour or planning dinner before the drive back to Dublin, this is where to do it.
Book Powerscourt Gardens entrance in advance. The team will send you a link after you book the tour, and it’s worth using it early. Summer weekends at Powerscourt can queue at the gate. Enniskerry is the estate village on the approach - Poppies café on the square has been there since 1982, opens at 8.30am, and does proper soup and home baking if you want somewhere to sit before the gardens open or after you’ve walked the terraces.