Dublin Travel Guide
Day Trips from Dublin
Howth and the DART coast for a half-day, Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains, the 5,000-year-old tombs of Brú na Bóinne, the Cliffs of Moher and Galway, and how to choose between them.
Dublin is a superb base for exploring Ireland, because so much of the country's best scenery and history lies within a couple of hours of the city. The secret is matching the trip to your time. With a spare half-day, stay on the coast. With a spare day, go into the mountains or the Boyne Valley. With more time, head west to the Atlantic, but think about staying a night rather than rushing back.
The DART coast: half-day escapes. The DART suburban train runs along the curve of Dublin Bay, and it is the easiest way to swap the city for the sea. North, Howth is a fishing harbour on a rocky headland, about half an hour from the centre, and its 7.8-kilometre Cliff Path Loop is the best walk near Dublin, circling the head past the Baily Lighthouse with views over Ireland's Eye and the bay. Finish with seafood on the West Pier and look for seals by the boats. South, the DART runs to Sandycove, where you can see the Forty Foot, a famous year-round sea-swimming spot, and the Martello tower that opens James Joyce's Ulysses, and on to Dalkey and Killiney, charming villages with a coast road of spectacular views over Killiney Bay, sometimes compared to the Bay of Naples. North of the city on another line, Malahide has a castle set in parkland and an attractive seaside village.
Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains. About an hour south of Dublin, Glendalough is a glacial valley of two lakes in the Wicklow Mountains National Park, where St Kevin founded a monastery in the sixth century. Its ruins — a round tower, stone churches, a cathedral and carved crosses in an ancient graveyard — sit beautifully beneath wooded slopes, and walking trails lead along the lakes to the Upper Lake and waterfalls. On the way, many tours stop at the Sally Gap, a high moorland pass, or at Powerscourt, a grand estate with formal gardens near the village of Enniskerry, whose waterfall is the highest in Ireland. Coach tours run daily from Dublin, and public bus services reach the valley; driving gives more freedom, but roads are narrow. Bring waterproofs and good shoes.
Brú na Bóinne: older than the pyramids. North of Dublin in County Meath, the Boyne Valley holds the passage tombs of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, built more than five thousand years ago, before Stonehenge and the pyramids of Giza. Newgrange is the most famous, a vast circular mound with a white quartz facade and a long passage into a burial chamber, aligned so that the rising sun on the winter solstice floods the chamber with light. Access to Newgrange and Knowth is only by guided tour from the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre, run by the Office of Public Works, and places are limited, so arrive early or join an organised tour from Dublin. Many tours combine the tombs with the Hill of Tara, the ancient seat of the High Kings of Ireland.
The Cliffs of Moher and the west. The Cliffs of Moher, on the Atlantic coast of County Clare, rise to more than two hundred metres above the sea and are among Ireland's most dramatic sights. From Dublin, guided coach or rail tours make the trip in a long day of twelve to thirteen hours, usually with a drive through the limestone landscape of the Burren and time in Galway, a lively university city of colourful streets and music pubs. The tours are well run, the guides are good company, and you avoid the strain of driving on narrow roads on the left — but it is a big day, best for those with at least four days in Ireland. If you can, stay overnight in Galway or Doolin, catch a trad session and see the cliffs in the evening light.
Other good options. Kilkenny, a medieval city with a grand castle, a cathedral and a lively pub scene, is under two hours away by road or rail. Belfast, across the border in Northern Ireland, is about two hours by train and is home to Titanic Belfast, the excellent museum where the ship was built; tours often add the Giant's Causeway on the north coast, which makes for a very long day.
Tours versus going it alone. Organised day tours are the easiest way to see the more distant sights: they handle the driving, the timing and often the tickets, and the guides add stories and music. Their drawbacks are early starts, fixed schedules and limited time at each stop. Travelling independently by train and bus works well for Howth, Malahide, Dalkey, Kilkenny and Belfast, and it gives you more freedom. Renting a car suits travellers who want to explore the countryside slowly, but remember that Irish roads are narrow and winding, you drive on the left, and city-centre parking is expensive. Whatever you choose, start early in the day to make the most of the light, especially in winter.
How to choose. With two or three days in Dublin, take Howth and save the rest for the city. With four or five days, add Glendalough or Brú na Bóinne, both of which fit comfortably into a day with time to spare. With a week, head west and spend nights on the Atlantic coast. Whatever you choose, book organised tours a few days ahead in summer, pack for rain even when the sky is blue, and allow for the fact that in Ireland the journey — the green fields, the stone walls, the small towns — is part of the pleasure.