Things to do in Wicklow
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Wicklow
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Quiet, cold and low priced. The Gaol and pubs carry the trip and high roads can close in ice.
The smart window. Long evenings, Mount Usher in flower and the best walking before the crowds.
High summer building to the Regatta in late July, with Brittas and the family parks in full season.
Peak month and the Regatta bank holiday. Book everything ahead and walk early.
The connoisseur month. Crowds fall, heather is out and golf and hiking are often at their best.
Dark, local and good value. Gaol Halloween events, autumn colour and the Christmas Market on the Murrough.
What's on
- Wicklow Regatta Festival 25 July to 3 August
Raft and rowing races in the harbour, golly fishing, singing pubs and a week of free family events.
- Wicklow Christmas Market Weekends in late November and December
A seasonal market at Leitrim Place on the Murrough, at the harbour end of town.
Best things to do in Wicklow
Wicklow's Historic Gaol
An interactive gaol museum telling two centuries of prison life, rebels and famine stories in the original cells.
Black Castle
Fragmentary Norman castle ruins on a rock above the harbour, free to visit and best for the view over Wicklow Bay.
Wicklow Harbour
A working fishing harbour and marina with painted piers, seals in the mouth and the town social life on the quays.
Wicklow Head
A cliff headland with twin 1781 lighthouses, seabirds and one of the best short coastal walks on the east coast.
The Murrough
A flat, free coastal wetland walk north of the harbour, rich in birds and used daily by the whole town.
Wicklow Town Heritage Trail
A signed trail of over two dozen stops linking the gaol, harbour, abbey and the Captain Halpin cable story.
Mount Usher Gardens
A 22 acre Robinsonian riverside garden on the Vartry, with champion trees, cascades and a suspension bridge.
Wicklow Brewery
A working brewery behind Mickey Finns pub, with late afternoon tours and tastings of its own ales and lager.
Where to stay in Wicklow
Wicklow Town centre and the harbour
first trip, all round base without a car
The gaol, harbour, Murrough and every restaurant within a ten minute walk, plus the station.
Rathnew and Ashford
country house comfort near town
Tinakilly at Rathnew and the inn and gardens at Ashford, five to ten minutes by car north of town.
Newtownmountkennedy and Druids Glen
resort facilities and golf
A 400 acre resort with two courses and a spa, plus a practical village hotel, north of Wicklow Town.
Rural inland: Rathdrum, Laragh and Glenmalure
walkers
Guesthouses and lodges at the trailheads for Glendalough, the Wicklow Way and Avondale.
Think twice about
- Isolated rural listings outside Wicklow Town
Not unsafe, but stranded without a car. No pavement, no late food and a dark country road between you and dinner.
- Rooms directly over town centre pubs
A noise trap on music nights, not a safety problem. Ask for a room away from the pub and the street.
Best restaurants in Wicklow
Brunel Restaurant
Country house fine dining at Tinakilly with top awards, the occasion dinner near Wicklow Town.
Bates Restaurant
Rathdrum long running dining room for char grilled steaks, homemade pasta and a daily seafood speciality.
The Chester Beatty Inn
Ashford inn kitchen doing polished Irish food with local meats and daily fish, filled with locals at dinner.
Phil Healy's Pub
The town pub locals send you to for food, with big portions, booths and a lively family run room.
Mickey Finn's
The Wicklow Brewery pub at Redcross, pouring its own beers beside gastropub food and live traditional music.
The Bridge Tavern
The all day riverside workhorse on Bridge Street for breakfast, lunch, Sunday roast and music nights.
O'Shea's Corner
A lively town centre bar kitchen with modern Irish food and the strongest recent local review profile.
Halpin's Bridge Cafe & Bistro
The town best cafe for a full Irish breakfast, burgers, salads and cakes, a minute from the Bridge Tavern.
Outdoor things to do in Wicklow
Glendalough
A 6th century monastic city in a glacial valley, plus the Spinc boardwalk and Miners Road walks above two lakes.
Lough Tay
The Guinness Lake seen from the Sally Gap road, dark water and pale shore in a bowl below Luggala mountain.
Brittas Bay
Four kilometres of Blue Flag sand and dunes south of town, the east coast best swimming beach day in summer.
Wicklow Golf Club
An 18 hole clifftop course from 1904 with sea views on every hole and visitor fees well below the famous names.
Blainroe Golf Club
A Hawtree parkland course on clifftop farmland with sea views from all 18 holes and a clubhouse over a private beach.
The European Club
Pat Ruddy championship links through big dunes, ranked among the top courses in Britain and Ireland.
Beyond the Trees Avondale
A 1.4 kilometre step free treetop walk and viewing tower above Avondale Forest Park, with a slide back down.
Clara Lara Funpark
A seasonal outdoor water and play park for children, with slides, boats, go karts and barbecue huts included.
Best hotels in Wicklow
Tinakilly Country House Hotel & Gardens
A Victorian country house built for Captain Halpin in sea view gardens, the top tier stay near Wicklow Town.
Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort
A five star resort in 400 acres with two championship courses and a spa, twenty minutes north of Wicklow Town.
The Bridge Tavern
Rooms above the town riverside pub on Bridge Street, with a praised breakfast and the whole town walkable.
Grand Hotel Wicklow
The town traditional three star hotel since the 1890s, central, friendly and the conventional car free choice.
The Chester Beatty Inn
A well run village inn at Ashford with a strong restaurant, comfortable rooms and Mount Usher a short walk away.
Parkview Hotel
A modern good value village hotel near Druids Glen, used by golf groups for straightforward rooms and parking.
Is Wicklow expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €65 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €120 a person |
| Splurge | €280 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Wicklow Brewery: a few days ahead
- Wicklow Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Blainroe Golf Club: a few days ahead
- The European Club: weeks ahead
- Beyond the Trees Avondale: a few days ahead
- Clara Lara Funpark: a few days ahead
- Wicklow Boat Charters: a few days ahead
- Tinakilly Country House Hotel & Gardens: weeks ahead
- Glendalough upper car park fills by late morning on fine weekends. Arrive before ten or go on a weekday.
- Book Brunel and Druids Glen dining ahead, and ask what wedding business is on when you book the room.
- The European Club visitor tee times are limited and need weeks, with handicap evidence.
- Book Wicklow Brewery tours, Avondale time slots and Bates or Chester Beatty Saturday dinners days ahead.
Is Wicklow safe?
- There is no Wicklow Town neighbourhood a visitor needs to avoid for safety. Ordinary town care covers almost everything.
- Black Castle and Wicklow Head have unfenced cliff edges and sheer drops. Keep back in wind and keep children in hand.
- Swim at lifeguarded beaches in season. Never swim in the harbour mouth or off the piers without local knowledge.
- Wicklow mountain weather changes in minutes. Boots, waterproofs and an offline map are not optional on the Spinc.
Wicklow travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Arriving at Glendalough at midday and judging it from the crowded lake shore. Timing is the whole game.
- Expecting public access to the Lough Tay shore. It is a private estate lake, viewed from the road.
- Basing in Wicklow Town for a Dublin trip. It is up to an hour away with an infrequent train.
- Giving the Gaol forty minutes. The prisoner stories are the product and need two hours.
Getting around Wicklow: public transport and more
- Walk Wicklow Town itself. The mountains, beaches and golf are drives of 15 to 45 minutes, so a car is the real ticket.
- Wicklow station is on the Dublin to Rosslare line, about an hour to Dublin, with a service that is useful rather than frequent.
- Book taxis ahead for mountain and brewery evenings. Rural Wicklow after dark is not a hail a cab environment.
- Mountain roads over the Sally Gap and Wicklow Gap are ungritted in winter and close in snow and ice.
Who Wicklow suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Wicklow your trip
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