A Self-Guided Walking Vacation in Wales & Wicklow
Your Wales Walking Holiday
Anglesey in Wales is quite often referred to as the “Island of Romance” — and it’s easy to see why! With its standing stones, burial chambers and hill forts, Anglesey offers exhilarating scenery and very rich history.
The island has 200 kilometres (125 miles) of spectacular coastline made up of sea cliffs, dunes, and beaches that are home to a wide variety of flora and fauna.
This section of your walking tour is looked after by our partners at Anglesey Walking Holidays, with whom we work regularly and confidently.
And Your Wicklow Walking Tour
After completing your walking itinerary in Wales, you’ll hop aboard the ferry to Dublin and be whisked away to Wicklow. Wicklow is steeped in outstanding natural beauty and historical significance. It is indeed a walkers’ paradise!
The Wicklow walking tour portion of this adventure will take you along part of the Wicklow Way, which is Ireland’s oldest way-marked walking trail, pioneered by J.B. Malone over 40 years ago.
You will also visit Glendalough, which is one of the most visited sites in Ireland. As locals who live in and walk in Wicklow regularly, we love sharing this particular part of Ireland with visitors!
If you’d prefer, we also offer this tour as a Guided Wales and Wicklow Walking Holiday where we take care of every detail and guide your walks each day.
Or take a look at our other self-guided walking tours of Ireland to browse other routes and destinations. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to get in touch. We’re always happy to offer advice and help you choose the right route or location for you.
Prices / Dates
Price: €775 per person sharing
Single Supplement: +€300
Tour Dates: 1 April to 31 October
Tour Grade: Easy to Moderate
Accommodation: Guesthouse
Included / Excluded
- 6 nights bed & breakfast
- All accommodation is pre-booked in approved family-run guesthouses with all rooms en-suite.
- Maps and all waterproof route notes.
- Details on restaurants and places of interest to visit along the way.
- Luggage transfers daily while you walk.
- All information on trains or buses needed to get to your first accommodation and back at the end of the tour.
- Ferry to Dublin and back to Wales.
- Return pickups from and back to the ferry port at Dublin North Wall
- 24-7 Emergency Telephone support
- Packed Lunches
- Evening Meals
- Drinks and Snacks
- Personal Equipment
Self-Guided Walking Itinerary: Wales + Wicklow
On arrival in Bangor, you will be transferred to your first accommodation on the Isle of Anglesey, in the Llanfairpwllgwyngyll area. We will supply you with all the travel details you will need to get to your first accommodation.
From Malltraeth, your walking tour will take you into Newborough Forest, which is now a natural habitat for red squirrels. You’ll cross over from Newborough Beach to the magical island of Llanddwyn, dedicated to the Welsh patron saint of lovers, Dwynwen. From the island, you’ll make your way along a track to Llyn Rhos Ddu car park and rest your weary legs at the Marram Grass Café before being transferred back to your accommodation. Distance: 12 Km / 7.5 miles, Ascent: 100 m / 300 ft, Approximate walking time: 3 / 4 hours
You will start the day with a transfer from your accommodation to Llyn Rhos Ddu. Crossing the Braint River via the giant stepping stones, the path leads across farmland down to the Menai Straits.
You will pass Foel Farm, Anglesey Sea Zoo, and Halen Môn (Anglesey Sea Salt). The views of Snowdonia and Caernarfon Castle are quite simply stunning!
The area around Plas Trefathen is thought to have been the site of a battle between the Romans and the Druids in AD61. The Druids were the priestly and learned class in the ancient Celtic society of Western Europe, Britain and Ireland. The Romans saw them as ferocious freedom fighters rather than pious priests. Anglesey was their last stronghold.
Your walk will continue onto the lane by Llanidan Church and Porthamel Hall, ending at the quiet little hamlet of Moel y Don.
Distance: 12 Km / 7.5 miles, Ascent: 140 m / 420 ft, Approximate walking time: 3 / 4 hours
In the morning, you can enjoy an optional morning walk around Beaumaris before being transferred to Holyhead Ferry Terminal. You will arrive in Dublin Port in the afternoon, where you will be picked up and taken to your accommodation in Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains.
Your walk through Glendalough today takes you back in time with a visit to a 6th-Century Monastic City. Today, the settlement lies in ruins, but it was once the hub of learning in all of Europe. It was in this haven of peace and tranquillity that St. Kevin founded his monastery, which flourished for over six hundred years. The Gaelic for Glendalough is “Gleann Dá Locha” and translates to “The Valley of the Two Lakes”. It is these lakes that will set the scene for the rest of your walk. Distance: 11.4 km / 7 miles, Ascent: 410 m / 1230 ft, Approximate walking time: 3 / 4 hours
This walking trail is one of the "best-kept secrets" in Wicklow! It offers a stunning array of natural beauty made up of mixed woodlands, quiet country roads, open mountainside, rivers and streams.
The area was densely populated prior to the Great Famine of 1845-1849 and clear evidence of the small fields and potato furrows can still be seen to this day.
You will continue on to Trooperstown Hill where, on a clear day, it is possible to see almost all the peaks in the Wicklow Mountain range and across to the Irish Sea.
The trail continues down through Trooperstown Forest to join the Wicklow Way back to Glendalough.
Distance: 12 km / 7.5 miles, Ascent: 430 m / 1290 ft, Approximate walking time: 3 / 4 hours
After a hearty Irish breakfast, you will depart for home or to your next destination.
