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Spanish Glendalough And Powerscourt Tour
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From €59 per person
This 8-hour tour from Dublin into County Wicklow runs entirely in Spanish, with a native-speaking driver-guide from start to finish. You’ll visit two of Wicklow’s best-known places - the ancient monastic valley of Glendalough and the award-winning gardens at Powerscourt - with an optional traditional Irish stew at Johnnie Fox’s pub to round off the day.
It’s a tour that mixes real history with fresh air and good countryside, and your guide has plenty of local knowledge to share along the way.
Maximum 52 people. Conducted entirely in Spanish.
Powerscourt Gardens - You visit the award-winning Italian and Japanese gardens at Powerscourt, with their variety of flowers, plants, and trees. Worth looking out for: the pet cemetery where animals from the early 20th century are buried, the Triton Lake with its central fountain, the dolphin pond surrounded by mature trees, and the Pepperpot Tower - which you can climb for a panoramic view. It was built in the shape of a pepper grinder and is surrounded by cannons from different historical periods.
Glendalough - The name means “valley of two lakes” in Irish, and it’s one of those places that earns its reputation. St. Kevin founded a monastery here in the 6th century after living in a cave in the area. Your guide walks you through the monastic site from the main entrance, covering the story of St. Kevin himself and the legend of King O’Toole. If you touch the stone bearing O’Toole’s name, local tradition says your sins will be forgiven. The monastery building has lost its roof over the centuries but retains a remarkable character - and the ancient gravestones here show many of the buried lived well past 100 years.
Walk to the Upper Lake - Crossing a small bridge, you follow a 1.5km path through oak trees and dense ferns - a section that was used as a filming location for the award-winning TV series Vikings, and you may well recognise it. The path leads to the Upper Lake, one of the two glacial lakes that give Glendalough its name, set in a quiet valley of dark water surrounded by green mountains. The walk is optional.
Johnnie Fox’s pub - Around 15:30, you have the option to stop at Johnnie Fox’s - one of the most tucked-away and unusual pubs in the Wicklow Mountains. The exterior alone is worth a look, and inside you’ll find thousands of vintage details on the walls and furniture, including an extensive collection of old advertising signs. The menu includes an authentic Irish stew, slow-cooked in the traditional way. Food here is optional and at additional cost.
Meeting point: 9:30 at the front door (details confirmed at booking).
Powerscourt Gardens at Enniskerry are ranked third in the world by National Geographic - behind Versailles and Kew. Allow the full time here: the Italian terraces, the Japanese garden, the Triton Lake with its fountain, and the walled garden each deserve attention. The Palladian house behind the gardens was gutted by fire in 1974 - the week after a long restoration finally finished - and the shell has been stabilised and reopened since 1996. The gardens survived the fire intact. On a clear morning, the Great Sugar Loaf frames the view to the south.
At Glendalough, the round tower doorway is three and a half metres off the ground - and that was deliberate. When the Vikings came looking for monastery silver, the monks pulled the ladder up behind them. The thirty-metre tower was built around the 10th or 11th century; the conical roof you see was rebuilt from the original stones in 1876 after a lightning strike. The cathedral, seven churches, and the graveyard still in use surround it. The Lower Lake to Upper Lake flat walk, which your guide may take you on, passes nine major ruins in about 25 minutes.
The actual village near Glendalough is Laragh, 1.5km east of the monastic site. If the group has time and hunger between Glendalough and the Johnnie Fox’s stop, Laragh is where locals eat - Lynham’s pub is the village pub, and Trinity Mountain Bothy café does proper soup, sandwiches and cake for walkers. The visitor centre café is fine but Laragh is better.
The Johnnie Fox’s stew is worth ordering if you’re hungry. The pub is in the Wicklow Mountains above the village of Glencullen, traditionally described as the highest pub in Ireland. The Irish stew is slow-cooked and the building is exactly as covered in vintage signs and odd memorabilia as the itinerary says. It’s a proper end to a day in Wicklow if you have the appetite.