Day trip from Dublin

A lot depends on whether you want to see Neolithic monuments (Newgrange) OR early Christian monastic site (Glendalough) along with th Wiclow Mountains.

They are two very different experienes. I've done both and enjoyed both, but it really comes back to your personal preference of 'what floats your boat....'

For our time in the Boyne Valley we had 2 full day tours. Each one had a visit to Newgrange which worked out really well for us. I learned as much the 2nd visit as the first.

The first visit we chose a HILLTOPTREKS small group (16 people) for the Newgrange tour. This tour also got us to Monasterboice which turned out to be of great interest to us. Also, the Battle of the Boyne Visitor Center and Oldbridge were included. I think I preferred Hilltoptreks over our 2nd tour with Mary Gibbons. Hilltoptreks may be priced a little higher but it lasted longer, well until 5 PM.

We next tried a Mary Gibbons tour which is highly touted on Rick Steves forums. I found it mildly disappointing as there are several meeting points and ours was assigned to someone other than Mary. The guide was sort of professorial and into mythology. Also their coaches are large groups of people - 40 or so. I thought we were actually getting Mary which isn't the case for at least 50% to 66% of their customers. But this tour did get us to the Hill of Tara which is of course a good option. It returned to Dublin much earlier than the Hilltoptreks,

Scheduling either of the Boyne Valley tours can be a bit challenging.

I would definitely use Hilltoptreks again and would recommend everyone to give them consideration. I liked the small group much better.

I went on the same Wild Rover day tour from Dublin that you reference (Kilkenny, Wicklow and Glendalough, along with the dog and sheep trials). It was the highlight of my entire trip! For reference, I generally don't go on organized tours, but so glad that I chose this one. Kilkenny was fine but to me, nothing outstanding. But Glendalough and Wicklow were fabulous. I also very much enjoyed the dog and sheep trials. The price was great and the tour gave plenty of time at each stop. There weren't any of the annoying tour stops where you are forced into a souvenir shop, either. Our guide (Neil, I believe) was great. If I ever go to Ireland again, I will plan on taking a Wild Rover tour. For reference, I made the reservation about four weeks ahead of time.

I've been to each spot in Kilkenny, Wicklow and Glendalough. I've also been to the Boyne Valley and the Hill of Knowth, which is similar to Newgrange.

If choosing between the two, I'd go with Kilkenny, Wicklow and Glendalough. Let's walk through each. Kilkenny is the best preserved medieval town in Ireland (with Ennis in County Clare the second best). County Wicklow is beautiful. In 1999, I walked the 100-mile-long Wicklow Way (https://www.wicklowway.com/) for seven days, loving the hills and mountains and glacial trenches. You can walk for a couple hours on the trail starting in Glendalough. As for Glendalough itself, it's a stunning series of antiquities, some around a millennium old. St. Kevin's Kitchen, an ancient church, is the best. Early medieval Irish monks translated Plato, Aristotle and other ancient Greek and Roman authors: It's at Glendalough where some of that work occurred.

The Boyne is beautiful, too, but doesn't compare. However, the sight of a Victorian workhouse of the sort Charles Dickens wrote about the Muiredach's High Cross, an ancient Celtic high cross, were unforgettable, in addition to Knowth.

Go to the tourist information office in central Dublin. They'll have a ton of information on tours of both spots.

Thanks one and all for the thoughtful feedback, such a great community. In thinking about it, I'm leaning to head south for Kilkenny, Wicklow and Glendalough, very helpful.