6 Amazing Day Trips From Dublin, Ireland
Dublin is a wonderful city to visit, but you’ll probably find yourself wanting to get out of the city and take a day trip around Ireland’s east coast. You won’t want to miss out on any of these amazing day trips from Dublin!
After you’ve spent a few days exploring Dublin, you’ll definitely want to see the rest of the Emerald Isle. Since Ireland is a small country, it’s really easy to take a day trip to a ton of unique places. You’ll be surprised how much of Ireland you’re able to see on a day trip! You may even want to combine some of your day trips from Dublin, if you have enough time, just to make sure you see it all.
If you’re looking for a guided day tour, I recommend checking out Viator’s tours from Dublin.
The Best Day Trips from Dublin
Explore Medieval Kilkenny
Just an hour and 20 minute drive from Dublin is the medieval city of Kilkenny, Ireland. It’s main sights are Kilkenny Castle, its historic cathedrals, and its beautiful abbeys. Enjoy the Medieval Mile, a stretch of narrow lanes and historic buildings that run through the town along the bank of the River Nore.
Kilkenny grew from a monastic settlement to a thriving Norman merchant town in the Middle Ages, and some of the well-preserved medieval architecture still survives. Many of Kilkenny’s buildings are made with black stone encrusted with white fossils that was quarried locally, as well as with Kilkenny Black Marble. This gives the city the nickname “Marble City”.
Visit Glendalough and the Monastic Site of St Kevin
Glendalough, from the Irish Gleann Dá Loch meaning “Valley of two lakes”, is a glacial valley with an Upper Lake and a Lower Lake framed by towering mountains.
This was the site of a monastic settlement founded by St Kevin in the 6th century (pictured at the top of the page). An array of monuments still sit partially ruined on the grounds. These include the unique gateway that at one time was two stories tall, the 30-meter tall round tower, the large cathedral, and St Kevin’s Cross. Legend surrounding St Kevin’s Cross says that anyone who can hug around the width of the cross body and have their fingers tips touch will have their wishes granted.
Glendalough has 9 maintained walking trails for you to explore. It is free to visit the lakes and the monastic site, but you will have to pay for parking.
Drive Through the Wicklow Mountains
A scenic drive through the Wicklow Mountains National Park is an excellent experience. These picturesque views have featured in a few films, including Braveheart and P.S. I Love You.
Depending on which routes you drive, you’ll see the Powerscourt Estate and Gardens, which has the highest waterfall in Ireland; the historic Avondale House, home of Charles Stewart Parnell; the popular Glenmacnass waterfall; the Liffey Head Bog, which is the source of Dublin’s River Liffey; the views over Lough Tay; the legendary Guinness Estate, known as Luggala; the views from the top of the Wicklow Gap; and more!
Kiss the Stone at Blarney Castle
Every year, millions of visitors make the pilgrimage to Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney Stone. The stone supposedly gives the gift of eloquence, and so for over 200 years, people have been bending over backwards (literally) to kiss it.
While the castle and the stone are the main attractions at Blarney Castle & Gardens, the grounds also encompass 60 acres of lush parklands. There’s a lot to discover here, from the poison gardens to the Scottish baronial Blarney House to a series of escape tunnels.
You really could spend all day exploring Blarney Castle and its extensive grounds; but if you wanted to limit your time here and see more on your day trip, I’d recommend adding more castles to your trip— like Cahir Castle and the Rock of Cashel.
Learn the History of Cahir Castle
Located in County Tipperary, Cahir Castle one of Ireland’s largest and best preserved castles. Its name comes from the Irish cathair, meaning “stone fort,” and that’s exactly what it is. Cahir Castle sits on an island surrounded by the River Suir and maintains much of its original defense structure, including its working portcullis.
A 45 minute guided tour of the castle takes you through these defenses and shows just how difficult it was to storm the castle, although it was captured quite a few times.
After the guided tour, you’re free to explore the rooms and towers on your own. One of the towers gives a great view of the town and the river flowing around the castle.
Marvel at the Rock of Cashel
In County Tipperary sits the Rock of Cashel. According to Irish mythology, the hill this cluster of buildings sits on was taken from the Devil’s Bit, a mountain 20 miles north of here. The devil supposedly took a big bite out of the mountain when St Patrick banished him, and the devil spat that piece out here at the Rock of Cashel.
This castle is made up of a group of Medieval buildings. These include a 12th century round tower, a 12th century chapel, a 13th century cathedral, and a 15th century castle. As the seat of the kings of Munster, the Rock is also said to be the site of the conversion of the King of Munster by St Patrick in the 5th century.
You can take a 45 minute guided tour of the grounds, or you can do a self-guided tour on your own.
Read next: 10 Breathtaking Day Trips from Galway, Ireland
Where to Stay in Dublin
Find the perfect place to rest your head on your visit to Dublin, from the top rated accommodations to unique stays you can’t get anywhere else.
- Top Hotel: The Merrion Hotel
- Great Value: Holiday Inn Express Dublin City Centre
- Unique Stay: Historic Cottage B&B by the Irish Sea
More Things to Do in Dublin
Explore all that Dublin has to offer! Check out these posts for more Dublin itineraries.
- 7 Free Things to Do in Dublin, Ireland
- 1 Day of Sightseeing in Dublin, Ireland
- 8 Things to See and Do In Dublin, Ireland
- Chef-Driven Dublin Restaurants You Need to Try
Ready to visit Dublin, Ireland? Plan your trip with these tips.
- Book your flight: Find the cheapest flights using Skyscanner, my favorite flight search engine.
- Find Accommodation: You can find top hotels in Dublin using Booking.com.
- Book a day trip: Find an amazing day tour that is worth your time using Viator.
- Get a Guide Book: Check out the guide books from Fodor’s, Lonely Planet, or Rick Steves for in depth info about traveling to Ireland.
Cheers!
Paige
What are your favorite day trips from Dublin, Ireland? Let me know in the comments!
I loved this list! If you’re leaving the city by car, you could consider dinner/drinks at the Blue Light on your way back to your hotel. The Blue Light is a pub with a lot of outdoor seating that overlooks Dublin, with pretty solid (and relatively inexpensive) food–it’s one of my favorites!
Great tip! Thanks!
So many beautiful castles and beautiful scenery on these day trips from Dublin, Ireland! Of course, kissing the Blarney Stone is pretty iconic but I have to say that I really want to try to see if my arms can reach around St. Kevin’s Cross so my fingers can touch! Of course I love all the nature and all the castles, but I think what I really love is all the legends in all of these areas of Ireland
I agree! All the legends, especially ones involving castles, keep drawing me back to Ireland over and over again!
Haven’t done Rock of Cashel. One perfect excuse to head back to Ireland when the world starts to open for travel!
Absolutely! I’d love to do Rock of Cashel again because I went on a cold, rainy day and didn’t spend much time there; I’d really like to explore more.
As many years as I lived in Europe and as many times as I’ve been back since, I’ve never been to Ireland. While I’m sure Dublin would have so much for me to devour my first trip there, I think seeing the Blarney Castle would have to be at the top of any day trip list.
Blarney Castle is usually at the top of everyone’s list, and it’s a great one! Not sure what kissing the Blarney Stone will look like after COVID, but it’ll be interesting to see how things change or don’t change.
My favorite day trip from Dublin was to Howth a fishing village on the coast. There was a fabulous hike to a lighthouse with yellow grouse in the hills.
I’ve heard a lot of great things about Howth! I’ll have to check it out next time I visit Ireland.
I need to go back To Dublin and do all of this!
Last time I went we only stayed a day and didn’t have time to see much!
You definitely do then! I could spend forever just traveling around Ireland!
Ireland is certainly on my list to explore 🙂
Ireland is amazing! It’s definitely my favorite country to visit
This is such a great post! It will be so nice when we can finally travel again. Ireland has been on my bucket list forever and you definitely gave me some great locations to visit when I go one day. Thank you so much!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the post! I think we’re all going to have some pretty extensive bucket lists by the time this is all over!
It will be lovely to take those trips again. I live in Derry now but lived in Dublin as a young woman.
It will be! I can’t wait to get back out and travel again