Home > Dublin > Wild Wicklow Tour including Glendalough from Dublin
USD $32.00
Wild Wicklow Tour including Glendalough from Dublin
Dublin, Ireland
The Wild Wicklow Tour from Dublin is the perfect introduction to Wicklow's untamed landscapes. On this Wicklow day tour you'll explore ancient monastic ruins at Glendalough, enjoy the 'craic' in a traditional Irish pub, and see where film-makers brought a little bit of Scotland to Ireland when filming scenes for 'Braveheart' at Sally's Gap.
The beautiful coastal drive from Dublin to Glendalough takes you past Dun Laoghaire Harbor, Dalkey and Killiney. These exclusive suburbs on the out reaches of Dublin are home to Ireland's rich and famous including U2's Bono, Enya and film director Neil Jordan. Then, driving through the Wicklow Mountains, you'll soon understand why this area is known as 'the Garden of Ireland’.
You'll continue on to the green mountains of Wicklow County, where you'll stop for morning tea (additional cost) at Avoca Handweavers. The oldest wool mill in Ireland, Avoca Handweavers is a great place to shop for high-quality Irish crafts.
The next stop on your Wicklow tour in Glendalough, in Wicklow Mountains National Park. Glendalough is renowned for its natural beauty and history, and is one of the most visited places in Ireland.
At Glendalough, your guide will walk with you through the 6th-century monastic settlement. You'll learn about St Kevin, the founder of the ancient monastery, and hear stories relating to the ruins scattered about the site, including the famous Round Tower. There will also be time for a leisurely stroll through the woods to Upper Lake.
Leaving the peace and serenity of Glendalough behind, you'll head off for a stop at a local pub for lunch (additional cost). Enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and good old-fashioned home cooking of a traditional Irish pub. Why not wash lunch down with a hearty pint of Guinness?
After lunch you'll begin your return to Dublin, via Sally's Gap, where scenes from Braveheart were filmed in 1995. This scenic but desolate area of wild bogland offers a stunning contrast to the Wicklow Mountains.
You'll arrive back in Dublin in the late afternoon, with drop-off either in Ballsbridge (D4) or at Trinity College.
It is a very pleasant trip, lots interesting scene to see and the driver guide is super nice. took us to lots nice places and gave us a good guided tour of Glendaloughs medieval monastic settlement, The dark Guinness lake is very interesting and gave us a try of Irish whiskey, it tasted good. We like it.
Review by: sricciuti89, June 2018
I feel like I cant even focus on the fact that all of the stop locations were fantastic due to the other problems we encountered. From the start, the mechanics of the trip were terrible. Our bus was 25 minutes late in picking us up. The bus itself was old and rickety, it kinda felt like something was going to fall apart. The seats were stained and dirty, and the AC was barely working. At our first stop, John, our tour guide, said we had 15 minutes. Well three girls went off and explored and we had to wait 20 minutes for them to come back. He didnt set an exact time and they took off exploring while the rest of us sat on the bus instead of exploring ourselves. This was our 4th tour and every other tour guide specifically said they have a time schedule to keep on and will leave people behind for not following the allotted time schedule. This may seem cruel, but guess what? Everyone was back on the bus in time. The second issue was then we were allowe 30 minutes for a coffee break, and people were still late coming back. I would have rather had 30 minutes for the first stop and then 15 for a coffee break. Then we went out of our way to pick up 5 more guests that had booked from a hotel not in dublin, and they ended up being a no show. Again, wasted time. We didnt get to lunch until after 2:20PM. The driver even said hes an hour later than all of his colleagues for lunch. After lunch we finally got to Glendalough, but we were forced to do a 30 minute tour in the graveyard where John talked and talked about the history and stuff Ill never remember. I know this can be interesting, but it could have been discussed on the bus ride instead of cutting our time off of exploring on our own. The cemetery tour should be optional, not forced. There were people on our tour that hardly spoke any English and still had to sit there and listen. We got back to dublin an hour later than scheduled. I hate to say anything bad about John, because you can really tell hes a fun loving guy who loves his job and country. Hes super nice and very friendly, but the singing along to EVERY song has got to stop. Hed ask us to listen to an Irish song, and then proceeded to sing over the loudspeaker to every song. We never heard the actual vocals or music. He even sang along to the instrumental songs! It was ridiculous. If you want to sing along thats fine, but please dont do it over the loudspeaker. On the way home, there was a good few songs he didnt sing along to, and everyone fell asleep. As soon as he started singing again, everyone jolted awake. I wanted to get off the bus and walk home. It was not the relaxing day we had hoped for. I strongly recommend a different tour company.
Review by: Brandon and Michelle D, June 2018
This was a great tour! It is guaranteed to provide you beautiful views through the Wicklow National Park. There were many opportunities to get off the bus and walk around in the mountains. Our guide, Mark, did a great job. He was very purposeful to go through and talk with each person on the tour, even though it was a larger group. That made it feel like a smaller tour group. One part of the description that confused us was when it talked about Avoca Handweavers. We understood that to mean actually seeing the handweavers, but this was actually just a rest stop/convenience shop. This wasn't a big deal, just a misunderstanding on our part. We thoroughly enjoyed this trip!
Review by: Charles B, April 2018
Excellent tour
Review by: shanleyfam, April 2018
The scenery was spectacular, even in March. But the bus driver made the entire trip so special. His knowledge and explanations of Irish history made the tour very interesting. Amazingly, the driver actually brought a snow shovel with him as there was a part of the Wicklow passage that was still not clear from some unexpected winter weather. He shoveled the road so we could get through! Unbelievable service. The bus driver received applause from the passengers. Had it not been for him, we would not have made it through to Glendalough. We were mesmerized by his stories. He was such a pleasant man and the trip was wonderful.
Review by: Susie L, April 2018
Loved our guide, Mark. Only recommendation would be to see this in the Spring, Summer or Fall. We went in early April when they were having a late winter and it rained. However, it was still a lovely adventure to the countryside and seeing the coast during the bus ride to Wicklow!
Review by: heather, April 2018
This was the craziest trip and it was fun. John our bus driver was hilarious. True Irishman and man could he drive that bus. Had a great time.
Review by: Nathan A, April 2018
For any nature-lovers out there who also love Ireland, this is your tour! Both Wicklow and Glendalough are beautiful, and the history behind them is relevant to the city of Dublin, thereby heightening one's historical appreciation for the city.
Review by: guisella1209, April 2018
This tour was excellent. John was our guide. What a great tour guide he was. We couldn't have asked for better. He just loves what he does and you can really see it in his demeanor and just how happy and fun he is. The Wicklow mountains are spectacular. On the way there he took us on a scenic ride on the outskirts of Dublin were Bono, Enya, and other celebrities live. We also went to Glendalough and hugged St. Kevin's Cross. All in all a great day tour with a great guide. Highly recommend this.
Review by: brweatherholt, March 2018
The guide was amazing! Unfortunately we were unable to go to Sally's Gap due to safety issues caused by the weather, but the tour was beautiful and John, the guide, was knowledgeable and charismatic. I would 100% do this tour again.
Review by: Virginia D, March 2018
The day I went was very rainy but the tour guide Mark did a great job in dealing with the weather, sharing interesting information, and sharing his sense of humor. The rain made it memorable! Would do it again.
Review by: Olga K, March 2018
The tour was absolutely amazing! _br/_ Because of the snowy weather we couldn't go deep to the Wicklow Mountains - the roads were still too dangerous there, so our guide took us for a tour along the seashore. He was very informative and fun, and it was just pleasure to listen to him the whole day :
Review by: Grace W, March 2018
Great tour.
Review by: Mary Ann Claudine C, February 2018
Superb tour! The tour guide was explicitly informative.
Review by: Crystal D, February 2018
John was an outstanding host! He gave us lots of color and information about the area and the legends and was very fun. Would highly recommend this tour. Scenery was second to none.
Review by: Tim, February 2018
I cannot say enough about this company. My brother and I could not find where the bus stop was, so they got into contact with us and made sure that we still made the trip! Went above and beyond in that regard. In addition, John the tour guide was amazing. He provided details about where we were going and made sure that we were all having a great time on it. The tour itself is amazing, with great views of the Irish country side and a stop at a small hotel with great food. Thanks again guys for your help, you made my trip to Ireland amazing!
Review by: Pieter V, February 2018
The tour was well organised and the guide was very knowledgeable about the history of Ireland and points of interest on the tour
Review by: Marie E, January 2018
Amazing experience! I totally recommend it
Review by: DIMITRIOS D, December 2017
The bus driver-guide was amazing guy, he had great descriptions on every monument and landscape with a very good sense of humour!!_br/_ The landscape was really nice and specially the last part of the trip that you walk through the trees and the lakes are invented.
Review by: Gabriel R, December 2017
This trip was amazing and definitely worth it! Every one was really nice and helpful. The drive was safe but I am so glad a professional drove us because those cliffs uuuugggghhhh!! I am so happy my wife and I did this tour we had an amazing time.
Review by: Sarah H, December 2017
Lots of fun and terrific stops. John was exceptionally entertaining and informative. He made us all feel very welcome in his country.
Review by: Constance D, December 2017
This tour was one of the highlights of our Ireland trip!! John was so informative and entertaining we laughed and thoroughly enjoyed the day!
Review by: Pascal B, December 2017
a superb ride and the driver at the top
Review by: Samantha D, November 2017
We have an amazing time on this trip. Our tour guide Niall was wonderful and entertained us throughout the tour. Thank you for the wonderful trip and for showing us your lovely country!
Review by: Garima L, November 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Tina G, November 2017
Our favorite tour for the whole trip. John was a energetic and friendly guide who made our day. Adequate amount of time to take in each sight without being rushed. Comfortable bus and frequent breaks as well
Review by: Kathy, November 2017
Great tour guide John.. made long ride interesting with stories and music... even though weather was less than perfect sights were fabulous!
Review by: Audrey.jeanne.vollbracht, November 2017
John was our driver and he was spirited! He provided great stories and historical information along the way. There were plenty of stops for a great tour of the Irish country side.
Review by: Lillian J, November 2017
I loved seeing the beautiful countryside, particularly seacove and the PS I Love You bridge, but what I did not love was hearing the driver constantly sing in the microphone and say 'Scooby dooby do' every two seconds. It was irritating and detracted from experience.
Review by: katrinamicheleking, November 2017
John was a great tour guide! Very funny and informative! He share so much about not only the variety of Irish history of each place that we stopped at as well as each place we drove by. He was also very willing to answer any of your questions to the best of his abilities also!
Review by: Ruud v, November 2017
It was an AMAZING trip, the beautiful Irish landscapes, the places we've visited and above all our busdrivertourguideentertainer John, a real born and raised Dubliner truly made the day. He tells his stories with so much passion and even sings Irish tunes for you, an amazing hilarious guy that give this tour so much extra. A trip well worth the money and time.
Review by: Barbara B, October 2017
Had a wonderful adventure. The weather cooperated. Learned a good deal from our tour guide/ bus driver Mark about historical/fun stuff only an Irish person would know. Ate delicious food at a pub en route. Great way to see the countryside from our base in Dublin!
Review by: Erika M, October 2017
We loved the wild wicklow tour so much! John, our guide was the best guide we've ever had! He told us so much not only about Wicklow county, but about Ireland in general and told us some interesting stories about his own life experiences. The tour is so well organized, everything is planned to perfection and I really enjoyed being able to stop frequently, get off the bus and take amazing photos of the county. It's a tour that I recommend everyone to do at least once and I know I am definitely going to go back to Wicklow county very soon! Thank you for the amazing day!
Review by: Molly K, October 2017
The tour guide was amazing, he interacted with everyone on the tour and was very funny. The views in the Wicklow Mountains are breathtaking and we had a lot of opportunity to get off the bus, stretch our legs and take amazing pictures.
Review by: Kimberly E, October 2017
This tour was wonderful, amazing sights and very knowledgeable and fun host John. _br/_ It was shorter tour, stuffed with incredible stops! excellent BANG for your buck! _br/_ Thanks for the great day.
Review by: Edwin J, October 2017
Nice and informative tour!
Review by: rkumar, October 2017
The tour was one of the best I have taken yet. Our bus driver John was awesome. 5 stars to John! He was a wealth of knowledge, funny and able to navigate very well. The countryside was amazing and the walks were magical. Don't miss this tour! It will make your trip to Ireland definitely memorable.
Review by: Zilvinas K, October 2017
Fabulous. Top of the top. John the driver, guide and singer is one of the best we ever met. Thanks a lot.
Review by: Misa A, October 2017
This was on my bucket list. It was amazing. You have plenty of time to explore.
Review by: Dean M, October 2017
An excellent day-trip from Dublin. The driver-guide was excellent and provided us with all the details of the mountains. The lunch location was very good and the guided tour of the monastery was excellent.
Review by: revsan007, October 2017
Our tour Guide/driver John was amazing as all the other reviews have already mentioned. _br/_ He was very fun and jovial and the trip was very informative and amazing. _br/_ Highly Recommended! Thank you for a nice day :-
Review by: sjsonger, October 2017
We had John as our guide and he was lots of fun and lots of knowledge. Great day trip.
Review by: WEIQIANG C, October 2017
Great, the guide john is fun and very engaging. he knows dublin very well. he is funny too. totally enjoyed the tour
Review by: alekseipl, October 2017
Knowledgeable and engaging guide. Very picturesque and relaxing trip
Review by: Tatiana P, October 2017
I highly recommend this trip. Wicklow is amazing and unique countryside. Great tour guide, who is same time a driver._br/_ He is very informative and will give you a lot of historical and other stories about Ireland, Dublin, Wicklow, Glendalough and Irish people._br/_ John-the tour guide, with his enthusiasm and personality made the trip enjoyable and memorable.
Review by: Sarah C, September 2017
This tour was absolutely brilliant!! Made so much better by our fantastic tour guide, John! Taking us to all the best places and giving a detailed tour! His character made the trip so much more enjoyable!
Review by: Andrew M, September 2017
Loved the views we got to see and the experience was amazing.
Review by: Eileen M, May 2017
We really enjoyed our trip from start to finish. We loved everything about it: the atmosphere, the spectacular scenery, the history, the anecdotes etc. Our guide Joe was lots of fun and kept us informed and entertained throughout the trip. He made us feel like a big family on a day-out. We stopped for coffee at Avoca and then at a hotel in Laragh for a delicious lunch. _br/_ I would definiteley recommend this excursion to anyone wishing to visit the beautiful Wicklow hills and Glendalough.
Review by: DEnnis M, May 2017
We did this tour on Friday May 5th, 2017. Our bus driver and guide was Niall O'Neill and he was a wonderful guide. He was knowledgeab le and witty. He wanted to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves and checked with everyone to make sure they had enough time at each stop. He also served as the photographer and storyteller as well. His driving skills were appreciated as well...He was very informative. . We had a beautiful sunny day and the Wicklow Mountains and lakes were beautiful. We enjoyed the monastic St Kevin's site as well....Very nice day.......
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