Day Trip from Dublin: Wicklow, The Garden of Ireland

Day Trip from Dublin to Wicklow, The Garden of Ireland

Dublin is the ideal destination for a mixed city and seaside/countryside break: within an hour of Dublin city you can be on a deserted beach, hiking unspoiled hillsides or exploring perfectly preserved megalithic sites.

Our favourite day trip from Dublin is a visit to County Wicklow. Known as “The Garden of Ireland”, it is renowned for its lush countryside, abundant trees, spectacular waterfalls and interesting places to visit.

In a one-day trip, you can visit the Sally Gap (location for The Tudors, Braveheart and P.S. I Love You), pretty Avoca village, the spectacular Powerscourt House & Gardens and Glendalough, a 6th Century monastic settlement in such pristine condition that it looks like a Hollywood set.

An incredible range of activities are also on offer in Wicklow, including hiking, angling, cycling, horse riding, canoeing, swimming (for the brave) and climbing. It’s hard to choose between the different places to visit and things to do in Wicklow, but the one absolute must-see is Glendalough.

Glendalough

A monastic settlement founded by St Kevin in the 6th Century, the surviving buildings include a superb round tower, stone churches and decorated crosses. The place is so peaceful and well preserved that you expect a medieval monk to emerge at any moment! A nearby visitor centre houses an interesting exhibition and provides good background information.

There are fabulous walking trails all around the area, leading up to two beautiful lakes – perfect picnic locations. We call this area the ‘Wicklow Mountains’, but our continental European friends correct this to ‘hills’, as the highest peak is just 925m.

Getting to Wicklow

There are lots of options for groups travelling to and around Wicklow. For smaller groups, joining one of the great guided bus tours, such as Wild Wicklow Tours, is great value for money, as you get to see lots of interesting places in one day, with friendly guides to bring the history of each place to life.

For larger groups, we can arrange coaches and guides for you – we’ve been working with the best tour guides and coach companies in Ireland for over ten years and have negotiated really competitive rates. With your own coach and guide, you can create a tailored itinerary to suit your group.

Wicklow – especially Glendalough – really is an enchanted place. Just 20km from Dublin city, but a complete contrast, this is a place where you can easily believe all of the myths and legends you’ve heard about mystical Ireland.