Dublin Highlights & Glendalough Day Trip
About this activity
Highlights
- Explore Dublin's historic landmarks
- Discover the beauty of Glendalough's monastic ruins
- Enjoy scenic drives through the Irish countryside
- Learn about Ireland's rich cultural heritage
- Experience a small group tour for personalized attention
Full description
Included / Excluded
- Guided tour of Dublin's top attractions
- Visit to the historic Glendalough monastic site
- Transportation in a comfortable, air-conditioned vehicle
- Meals and beverages
Itinerary
Pass by: We will collect you in style in a small group tour van. Your guide shall be waiting with a sign (Elegant Irish Tours) ready to take you off on your marvelous journey. We shall greet and meet and then inform you of the highlights of the day, the various options for lunch and some of the greatshops where you can purchase Irish arts and crafts as we drive off on this tripthat shall provide memories to last a lifetime.
Pass by: We begin our tour by taking the lovely little drive through county Wicklow knows also as the garden of Ireland. With its rolling hills, babbling brooks and romantic glens one can easily understand how this landscape was a highlight and feature of both Hollywood blockbusters P.S. I love you and Braveheart. Then it's onward to Glendalough known as the valley of two lakes, famed by St. Kevin's monastery dating back to the 6th century. The monastic site has Ireland's finest round tower and you can even try and touch your hands around St. Kevin's cross, as legend has it you shall then be married within a year. A truly wonderful place to visit! **stoppage time depends on the schedule of your liners arrival/departure**
Pass by: As we return from Glendalough to the city we will pass by some of Wicklow's finest mountains. With magnificent lakes and rolling turf hills, commonly used as a source of energy in historic Ireland. This area is every photographer's dream and symbolizes the picture postcard images that make Ireland unique. **stoppage time depends on the schedule of your liners arrival/departure**
Pass by: After lunch or a refreshment stop, if our departure has been later, we shall inspire you with the sites of Dublin's fair City. Highlights shall include O'Connell Street, the H'Penny bridge, the Temple Bar, Molly Malone statue, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christchurch Cathedral, Trinity College and of course time to enjoy some shopping on Grafton Street - home to all our finest traditional luxury stores. **stoppage time depends on the schedule of your liners arrival/departure**
Pass by: We structure each tour to make sure you are back at least 1 hour before departure. The service ends back at the dockside after approximately 8 hours on tour. If the boat is leaving earlier we will amend the itinerary as necessary.
Meeting point
Start Location
Unknown location
Important information
Know before you book
- Tour operates rain or shine; dress appropriately for the weather.
- Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
- Pets are not permitted on the tour.
Know before you go
- Wear comfortable walking shoes suitable for uneven terrain.
- Bring a light jacket or sweater, as weather can be unpredictable.
- Carry a camera to capture the scenic landscapes and historic sites.
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Accessibility
- Infant Seats Available
- Easy Public Transport
Good to know
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- At time of booking, cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
- Our tour starting time is 8:00am, or 30 minutes after your scheduled arrival.
- It is very important to leave a number which will be contactable during the tour.
Traveler reviews
This was an excellent...
This was an excellent excursion and we would certainly do it again. We went all around Liverpool and saw a lot of interesting things.
Excellent tour of the...
Excellent tour of the Irish countryside outside Dublin. Our driver/guide was extremely knowledgeable about Irish history and was (rightfully) proud of his country.
Can’t get much worse
Let me start with the warning we received at booking; that if we didn’t show up on time from our ship we would be left. We got up early to get off the ship asap. We were on time and that’s when our problems started. First, we were informed that the small group tour that we paid extra for wasn’t going to happen because the bus broke down BUT we can get on the large group bus with everyone else who paid much less. Then instead of leaving people behind like we were warned we sat, and sat, and sat for 2 hours!!!!!! Finally our tour guide decided to leave and started the drive to Glenoalough. Our driver/ guide told us all about incidental things but nothing about the history or at all educational about where we were going and why it was important. We arrived and were told we had an hour and 15 minutes but still no information about where we were why it was important to the history of the site. The welcome center wasn’t much better because everything cost to get any information. With that being said it was truly beautiful and worth a drive up there. That was as good as the day got. From there, we started the drive back to Dublin. Our guide again babbled about nothing and told us his political views. He attempted to make a shopping stop (not on the tour) for just one person on the bus. He pulled into a car park (parking lot) that he couldn’t fit the bus and was a dead end. He had to back out and work to get us out of there for 15 minutes before he got us turned around and decided stopping for just one person to go shopping off the tour schedule was not a good idea. All of us had still not eaten since before 7 if we got a chance to eat at all! He then drove around Dublin in circles, talking about different sites to see but really showing us nothing and then dropped us off and gave us an hour and 15 minutes to eat lunch and sight see. All the places he told us to walk to were way too far with the time that we had left once we were able to obtain some food around 2 PM. Please remember this is after our day started by arriving at the bus at 7:30. Lunchtime took an hour and we walked to a shop just across the street in the hour we had left. Then it took us one hour to fight traffic to back to the cruise ship and that was our day. I would never recommend this tour and would encourage you to find your own way up to the mountains to check out the Glen and then rent E bikes so you can explore Dublin on your own. Way better use of your time and money. Those were just the highlights of our nightmare of a day on what was supposed to be a small group tour.
The driver/guide was...
The driver/guide was friendly and gave us a lot of information but could have lined us up better in Dublin. Too much time in Glendalough and not enough in Dublin.
We paid for a tour guide, We got a bus driver
He spent the first half hour of our tour telling us about himself. At our first stop, he pointed us in a direction and stayed in the bus. Our group of 6 asked him to refrain from this and be a tour guide.. on the second stiop he pointed us in the right direction and said he would be back in an hour and a half. On third stop after given us a 15 minute drive through Dublin, he told us he would meet us in 2 1/2 hours. He drove us back to our meeting point