Amazing Glendalough and Wicklow Gap

If I had only one word to describe County Wicklow in Ireland, that word would be: Amazing.

I know it’s such a cliché word to use – but seriously, Wicklow is one of those truly amazing places!

Every turn and around every corner of its winding mountains revealed something new and beautiful to see. We took a lot of photos but it really doesn’t do it justice. You have to see it in person if you can.

Easy Day Trip

When traveling, we prefer to do everything on our own when possible. However, for Ireland, it worked out better for us financially and in terms of time management to go with a tour company on our Wicklow and Cliffs of Moher day trips (blog post coming up about that one!)

We woke up bright and early for breakfast before joining Irish Day Tours to spend the day in County Wicklow and Kilkenny. The tour bus left Nassau Street in Dublin around 9am and we were back in Dublin in time for dinner at 7pm.

Along the way to Wicklow Mountains, our guide, Dermott pointed out important landmarks as we made our way out of the city.

What makes Wicklow great is that it’s an easy escape out of the city. Within an hour’s drive, you’ll leave the city life behind. We felt like we were transported to another world.

Glendalough

Pronounced as Glen-da-lock, (not Glen-da-low) this area of the mountains is a valley of two lakes – Upper and Lower Lake. It also has a 6th century built monastic site that you can explore.

This monastic settlement was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century and experienced countless attacks by the Vikings. It was later destroyed by the Normans which left the site as seen today.

Its Round Tower and St. Kevin’s Kitchen are two of the most iconic landmarks on the site. The tower stands at 108 feet tall and was used as refuge for the monks and a beacon for pilgrims approaching from  their long journey to the monastery.

Oddly enough, St. Kevin’s Kitchen is actually not a kitchen. It’s a 12th century church that was called a kitchen because people believed its bell tower was a chimney for a kitchen.

If you choose this tour, you have the option to get a guided tour with your guide or venture off on your own. We along with a few others chose to explore on our own.

Just be sure you can remember your way back to the visitors center parking lot! Which is another reason we only walked to the Lower Lake instead of the Upper Lake (Lower Lake is closer.)

While we didn’t visit Upper Lake (and would’ve if we had all day to spend in Glendalough), I can imagine the scenery was also beautiful like the views we had from Lower Lake. But I’m not complaining – we still got to witness some of nature’s most spectacular scenery and take epic pictures!

Wicklow Gap

I didn’t know what the big deal was online when people said a drive and photo-op at Wicklow Gap is a must until we drove the route on the Wicklow Gap Road.

Looking out our window our jaws dropped to the floor, and you can see why below.

Wicklow Gap Road is a 16 mile road running from a village called Hollywood to the village Laragh. It’s a popular route that crosses the Wicklow Mountains from east to west.

I secretly nicknamed this the “Road to Heaven.”

Winding Roads Warning

Unfortunately on the way to Kilkenny, Tristan had a spell of motion sickness and vomited all over Meshach on the tour bus.

It was so weird because Tristan is usually really great with car rides, he didn’t even get sea sick on our cruise last year.

I think his stomach couldn’t handle the winding roads on this trip because he also got nauseated on the ride to the Cliffs of Moher but we were able to keep him calm for that one (and brought an extra set of clothes just in case.)

So if you’re easily effected by motion sickness, you may want to take some Dramamine, wear an acupressure wrist band or whatever ritual you have to do for preventing motion sickness.

The roads are sometimes rough on this island.

Kilkenny

We didn’t get to see as much in Kilkenny as we wanted since we were limited on time and we spent most of it shopping for clothes for Tristan and making a stop in one of the pharmacies to get him some medicine.

Our tour guide, Dermott was really helpful in directing us where to find what we needed once we arrived in Kilkenny.

After shopping for a new shirt at Penneys for Tristan (so much affordable clothing there, I would’ve gone on a shopping spree!) and buying medicine, we grabbed a take away lunch at Supermac’s and made our way to Kilkenny Castle for a picnic lunch.

From the looks of it, Kilkenny is a very compact medieval city, you can easily get around on foot. I kind of wish we had gone inside Kilkenny Castle but hey – not everyday you can have lunch with a castle view! At least not in my hometown.

Things to Know

• Wear comfortable walking shoes, bring water and snacks (you will not have lunch until Kilkenny close to 1:30pm).
• Bathroom breaks are at Glendalough and Kilkenny so make sure you also go before the tour begins and at Kilkenny before going back to Dublin (about 2 hours drive back to Dublin.)
• Be ready for all types of weather (rain, wind, etc.) The weather really is unpredictable in Ireland like people say.
• If taking a tour with Irish Day Tours to Wicklow, the meeting point is now on Nassau Street across the street from a store called PrintSave. There is a Glendalough Tour Bus stop sign.
• Arrive at least 20 minutes early before the pick-up time.
• Don’t be alarmed if your tour bus says Collins Bus Tours instead of Extreme Ireland/Irish Day Tours – it’s the right bus. They use Collins for this day trip. When in doubt, double-check with the driver or guide to make sure you’re going on the right tour.
• Bring your anti-nausea stuff if you think you’ll ned it!
• Don’t forget your camera and a smile!

Bonus: Click here to download a free printable of our County Wicklow map!

Are you a fan of nature or do you prefer being in the city? Have you ever experienced motion sickness and how did you handle it? Comment below and share this post!