My adult daughter and I are traveling to Ireland for 12 days in May. We are not renting a car, but have signed up for small group tours to west coast and two one day tours from Dublin. We would like to spend a day outside Dublin walking/hiking 10-15 km. The guidebooks mention Howth. We are going on a one day tour to Wicklow Mountains so maybe not that area. I would welcome other suggestions that we could take public transportation to for a day of walking. Thx in advance!
We have stayed in Dun Laoghaire, which is a short ride on the DART commuter train. Dun Laoghaire is on the water, so the beach is nice for walking. Also, you could check out the James Joyce tower and museum:
I was in Dublin last year and loved Howth. Beautiful views and walk. As I recall I used a bus and train combination. Easy and fun.
Thank you all for your responses- much appreciated!
Even though you’ve scheduled something in the Wicklow mountains you should give consideration to the walk from The Bray to Greystones cliff walk.
This link provides travel options to and from.
http://visitwicklow.ie/item/cliff-walk-bray-to-greystones/
Gorgeous hike.
Agree with Claudia. The Bray to Greystones hike is quite nice.
Might also mention that except for some very pretty walks in the immediate vicinity of Glendalough we were pretty disappointed with hiking in the Wicklow mountains on our last trip. Seemed that just when we were settling into a pretty forest walk we'd emerge into an area that was being clearcut and we'd have to turn around. The logging activity was not exactly what we were expecting in the National Park.
There are some very nice walks at Glendalough for all fitness levels, including a long loop (about 9 miles as I recall) that parallels the rim of the valley, partially along a boardwalk thru a boggy area, that features spectacular panoramic views over the valley and the lakes. Saw lots of wild goats and red deer along the way.