Wicklow Private Day Tour

About This Tour

Every tour here is customisable. You tell your driver where you want to focus, and the day shapes around that.

Wicklow has a lot to offer. It’s known as the Garden of Ireland for good reason - the rolling hills, coastal cliffs, and quiet valleys are genuinely beautiful. Beyond the scenery, you’ve got the early Christian monastic site at Glendalough, the Powerscourt Estate with its gardens and whiskey distillery, and a stretch of coastline with some lovely seaside towns. Film buffs will recognise a few locations too - Braveheart, PS I Love You, Vikings, and Excalibur were all shot in Wicklow.

The itinerary below is a suggested route, but your driver will work with what interests you most. Not a fan of whiskey tastings? Skip the distillery. Want more time at Glendalough? Easy. This tour is designed for flexibility.

What’s Included

• Private transportation
• Friendly driver with local knowledge
• Information about locations throughout
• Air-conditioned vehicle

What’s Not Included

• Lunch (your driver can point you to a good traditional Irish pub along the way)
• Attraction tickets (can be purchased at locations or booked online in advance)
• Restroom on board
• WiFi on board

Itinerary

1. Dublin Georgian Streets - The tour starts with a look at some of Dublin’s famous Georgian townhouses - the tall sash windows, the colourful doors, the quiet squares. Your driver will give you a first-hand sense of the city’s history before you head south. (approximately 60 minutes)
2. Coastal Roads - Leaving Dublin, you’ll drive along some of Ireland’s most scenic coastal roads, with views of the sea, cliffs, and charming seaside towns along the way. It’s a good way to ease into the county.
3. Powerscourt Estate or Whiskey Distillery - Choose between exploring the magnificent private gardens at Powerscourt (over 40 acres of landscaped grounds) or visiting the Powerscourt Whiskey Distillery for an exclusive tasting experience. (approximately 3 hours)
4. Lough Tay - A scenic drive across the Wicklow Mountains to see this picture-perfect lake, famously shaped like a pint of Guinness, weather permitting. (approximately 60 minutes)
5. Glendalough Monastic Site - Step into one of Ireland’s most significant early Christian sites. You’ll find the iconic Round Tower, two scenic mountain lakes, and the remains of the medieval monastic city in the heart of Wicklow Mountains National Park. This stop usually falls around lunchtime, and your driver can suggest good spots nearby. (approximately 3 hours)

Good to Know

• This is a private tour, conducted in English
• All tours are customisable - tell your driver your priorities at the start of the day
• Not recommended for children under 10
• Suitable for all fitness levels

Local Tips

At Powerscourt Estate: the gardens at Enniskerry cover 47 acres - the Italian terraces, the Japanese garden, and the walled kitchen garden. National Geographic ranked them third in the world, behind Versailles and Kew. Budget two full hours if you want to get past the main terrace. The Powerscourt Whiskey Distillery is a short drive from the estate if you choose the tasting option instead.

At Powerscourt Waterfall: if you opt for the waterfall over the distillery, it’s 6km from the estate by a separate road with its own car park and entry. The drop is 121 metres - the highest continuous-flow waterfall in the Republic - and the pool at the base earns the detour. Twenty minutes to walk the loop; allow an extra thirty minutes for the drive each way.

At Lough Tay: this stop is best mid-afternoon when the light is on the water from the west. The viewing point above the lake is a roadside pull-in - not a long walk - and the Guinness-pint shape of the lake is genuinely striking from up here. Roundwood, a few minutes south on the R755, is the highest village in Ireland and a good coffee stop if the day allows.

At Glendalough: with three hours you can do both the monastic city and one of the valley walks. The flat Green Road from the visitor centre to the Upper Lake takes about fifty minutes return and shows you the round tower, seven churches, and the glacial lakes end to end - the whole story in one easy path. The round tower doorway at Glendalough is three and a half metres off the ground, which tells you something about what monks were protecting against when the Vikings came up the valley.

Lunch near Glendalough: the visitor centre café at Glendalough feeds the bus crowds at noon. Your driver will likely suggest heading the kilometre and a half to Laragh instead - the crossroads hamlet where the Military Road meets the Glendalough road. Lynham’s of Laragh does proper pub food and Trinity Mountain Bothy handles soup and sandwiches for walkers. Both are better value and quieter than the valley café.

Timing Glendalough: coach tours hit Glendalough between 10am and 1pm. If your nine-hour day allows some flexibility, arriving at the valley in the early afternoon means the car parks are quieter and the light on the Upper Lake in the afternoon is something worth waiting for. Ask your driver to front-load Powerscourt and keep Glendalough for after lunch.

Nearby on IrelandMe

• Glendalough - a 6th-century monastic city at the bottom of two glacial lakes; the round tower, seven churches, and a valley that earns a night’s stay, not just a morning’s visit
• Enniskerry - the estate village at the gate of Powerscourt; the gardens are 47 acres of formal terraces rated third in the world, and Powerscourt Waterfall is 6km further up the estate road
• Laragh - the crossroads village a kilometre and a half east of the monastic site; three mountain roads meet here, Lynham’s has been a pub since the 1770s, and it’s where you eat after a day in the valley
• Roundwood - claimed as the highest village in Ireland at 238 metres, on the R755 between Lough Tay and Glendalough; the Roundwood Inn has run since the 17th century and the Coach House is in the Michelin Guide