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Private Tour of Wicklow, Glendalough & Powerscourt Gardens
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From €650 per person
Wicklow really does earn its nickname as the Garden of Ireland, and this private tour gives you a proper look at it. You’ll have your own expert guide and a private vehicle for the day, so the pace is yours. If there are particular spots you’re keen to include, let the team know in advance and they’ll do their best to fit them in.
The route takes in two of Wicklow’s most rewarding stops. First, Lough Tay - also known as Guinness Lake - where you’ll pull over for photos and a bit of local history. Then it’s on to Glendalough, the serene glacial valley where St. Kevin founded his monastic settlement in the 6th century. The ruins are remarkably intact, and the two lakes framed by wooded hills make it a genuinely special place to walk around.
The afternoon brings you to Powerscourt Gardens, ranked number three in the world by National Geographic. Set against the backdrop of the Sugarloaf Mountain, the gardens move through Italian formal terraces, a tranquil Japanese garden, ornamental lakes and colourful flower beds - each area with its own character. It’s the kind of place where 80 minutes goes quickly.
Arrive at Glendalough in the late afternoon if you can. The tour has flexibility - if the itinerary works out so you reach Glendalough after four in the afternoon, the day-trip coaches will have cleared and you’ll have the round tower and the valley largely to yourselves. The light on the Upper Lake at that hour is the best version of the place.
Walk between the lakes, not just around the car park. The Green Road from the visitor centre to the Upper Lake is flat, takes 25 minutes each way, and passes the main monastic ruins - the cathedral, round tower, and several early church ruins. With 80 minutes at Glendalough you can do this comfortably, and the Upper Lake itself is quieter and more remote-feeling than the lower area. The round tower’s doorway sits three and a half metres off the ground - a defensive feature built when Vikings were raiding monastery treasuries up the valley.
The actual village for food and coffee is Laragh. If you need a break near Glendalough, Laragh is 1.5km east - that’s where Lynham’s of Laragh (local pub, food until evening) and Trinity Mountain Bothy (soup, sandwiches, good coffee) are. Both are better than the visitor centre café and much quieter.
Powerscourt Gardens in bloom. The Walled Garden inside the Powerscourt Estate is especially good from late spring through summer. The Italian terraces give the headline view of Sugarloaf Mountain, but the Japanese garden and the Triton Lake have their own character and are worth the extra walk. The entry fee is around €6 per person, paid on the day. The estate sits just outside Enniskerry village - Poppies café on the square (open since 1982) is a good stop before or after.
Food and a bed near Glendalough. The pubs and cafés aren’t at the monastic site - they’re in Laragh, 1.5km east, where the Military Road ends at a crossroads of three mountain routes. Lynhams has been a pub here since the 1770s. The Wicklow Heather has a dining room walled in first editions of Joyce, Yeats, and Beckett - not replicas, the real thing. Both are far better than the visitor centre café.