Favorite Day Trips from Dublin

My two suggestions would be: 1. Glendalough and the Wicklow mountains, can be done on your own if you have a car or there are companies that do day-trips from Dublin. 2. Take the train or bus to Howth on the coast, it's a lovely harbor town with some cathedral ruins, a castle, and some fun pubs. The area around Dublin is very scenic.

Susan, Google New Grange (North of Dublin) and see if it interest your group. You can get a tour from Dublin. TC

I second Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains. Bru Na Boine was also interesting.

I second Newgrange/Hill of Tara tour! A ride thru the beautiful countryside AND a stone age passage tomb AND a walk around the Hill of Tara!

So appreciate the suggestions. I'm now mildly considering a rental car for two days because they are very reasonable in price, and because we added a third day in the Dublin area. I think I will be happy with 1 1/2 days in Dublin, and two full days in the countryside. However, I am scared to death for my husband to try to drive on the opposite side of the road. Aren't some things indelibly ingrained in your mind after 50 years of driving? Like driving on the "right" side of the road.

It's really not that hard to adjust to the driving. It takes a bit more caution, but that's not a bad thing. And the rural areas can be very slow driving.

Hi Susan,

I would add my suggestion to Glendalough and Wicklow. Newgrange is a very special place, its historical significance is truly amazing.

One specific tour you should consider is the Coast, Gardens & Glendalough Tour with Dublin Sightseeing. I did it and really enjoyed it. Now, if you really want to spend the day in Glendalough, it's not the tour for you. You'll have a good 90 minutes to enjoy Glendalough, and then Powerscourt Gardens aswell, which is stunning. (http://www.dublinsightseeing.ie/southcoast.aspx )

A really nice option for a day out (by yourself, not a guided tour) is to buy an all day DART ticket, and go up and down the coast. Along the DART line you have the seaside towns of Dún Laoghaire, Dalkey, Howth and Malahide - you'd have a brilliant day!

Another thumbs up for both, Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains (absolutely gorgeous) and Newgrange. Carlingford is nice as well. Been driving for over 50 years. Have driven the entire island solo. Truly not that difficult (then again I do battle daily on LA freeways so dodging sheep and lorries meant nothing to me.) I also believe as humans we easily adjust to a "monkey see, monkey do" frame of mind. So as I pulled out of the rental lot outside the airport merely followed the car in front of me. Took two times around in a round about before I got the ease of it and off I went.

My drive into the Wicklow Mountains via the Sally Gap is one of my fondest travel memories. Simply know in advance that roads (other than the major through fares (think highways) ) are small with hedges, sheep roam freely and farm equipment is often in front of you. Slow down. You are on vacation. I had no trouble with a stick shift BUT most people prefer an automatic. Be VERY clear when you reserve your automobile that you want an automatic. Also don't get a 4 door car. Waste of space and money. The small two door hatchbacks are roomier than you think and perfect for negotating the small country roads. You'll also need to understand kilometers as opposed to miles. Roads well signed. Be brave. A rental car is the best way to explore Eire.

If I wanted to drive around the Irish countryside for a few days I would probably rent a car, have driven on the left before and found it not too difficult (with an automatic), got used to it after about 1/2 hour. But for a couple of daytrips from Dublin I would be more than happy to take Sean's advice and do the tours he suggested, especially touring the coastal towns using the day pass on the DART system. I guess it all depends on how you feel about it.

We went in summer.. so weather was good.. we loved visiting Howth and walking the cliffs.. plus best mussels ever down at the docks there.. place called "The Deep"

We also took two tours.. one was Hill of Tara and Newgrange with Mary Gibbons.. excellent.. and the other tour was a Rural Pub tour.. and it was so fun.. it was lovely to visit these litte out of the way pubs.. see the countryside.. and it was a small group tour.

if you want to go inside new grange you need reservations, I think.

Thanks everyone, your suggestions make me very excited. Never occurred to me that the roads would be hedge-lined with roaming sheep, but I'm fine with that. We always rent a manual transmission, but like the suggestions of a automatic in Ireland, one less thing to worry about. I do like Sean's suggestion on taking the Dart up and down the coastline. I presume you get on and off at your leisure? I definitely will read up on New Grange, Wicklow Mountains, and Powerscourt. I really hope this driving on the left side of the road goes well on this mini-trial run, because my husband really wants to do Scotland with a car, and I have avoided taking that trip because of the car issue.

http://www.infiniteireland.com/a-comprehensive-guide-to-renting-a-car-in-ireland/ Darn good comprehensive explanation about car rental in Ireland. Love the fact you didn't think about sheep and hedges when envisioning Irish roads. If you'd like to see what roads and hi ways are like in Eire use the Google Satellite Street View image. Many roads are without hedges but you will notice most are two lane, some single lane country roads which weave through outstanding scenery. If you want a good test for driving skills none better than the visual A115 or Old Military Road that you should explore from Dublin to the Wicklow Mountains and onto Glendalough. Fabulous drive!

I found it very easy to get use to driving over here in Ireland, just take your time. I agree with everyone else in regards to the Wicklow Mountains/Glendalough. Powerscourt can be very enjoyable if the weather is nice and as long as your not going there right after the schools are let out (crazy amount of kids). Slane is the town outside of New Grange it's a great place to stop and eat and take in the locals. New Grange though amazing and a must see. Can be a bit of a pain, it's first come first served when it comes to tour times. You could easily show up and they could tell you that you have to wait for 1-3 hours for the next bus (you have to take their buses to the sites) to take you up the sites. If that happens to you, I would suggest going to the Battle of the Boyne to pass the time it's a great museum and gardens located just 20 minutes away down the same street. I just went last week for the first time to the Hill of Tara (in the snow) and it was way better then I very could of imaged it would be. It's way more then just a hill. It has a holy well, old book shop, church/graveyard and a great cafe/gift shop (locals talk highly of).

I would do Newgrange for one day and for the other I'd explore the southern DART locations. Start with Dún Laoghaire, then hike to Dalkey, then get back on the DART and get off at Bray and hike to Greystones. I prefer this to Howth because you get small quaint neighborhoods to break up the scenic hikes. You are also less exposed if it starts to rain. I actually found the Wicklow mountains to be monotonous and would not return.

IF you can find it (it's out of print), I highly recommend acquiring the Lonely Planet Walking Ireland book. It is chalk-full of great Dublin-based walks. Have fun!

-Matt