Walking the Wicklow Way Self-Guided
Let us spoil you with this fantastic 6-day independent walking holiday in the heart of the Wicklow Mountains, otherwise known as “The Garden Of Ireland”. We will pick you up at Dublin Airport and take you to your accommodation, situated just outside the village of Glendalough. Glendalough “Gleann Da Loch”, meaning “the valley of the two lakes”, is one of the most visited sites in Ireland and is quite simply mesmerising in its beauty! Accommodation will be at the family-run Lynham’s Hotel, where the pub has refreshed weary travellers since 1776.
Please Note: The below map is not to scale and only gives an idea of the area that you will be walking through.
Cost Options Available: Full Board or Half Board
Prices / Dates
Price:
Full Board: €969 per person sharing
Half Board: €849 per person sharing
Single Supplement: +€425
Solo traveller Supplement: +€90
Tour Dates: February to November
Tour Grade: Easy to Moderate
Accommodation: Guesthouse
Included / Excluded
- Transfers to and from Dublin Airport and transport, where required, to and from walks.
- 5 nights accommodation
- Half board or full board accommodation including 4 packed lunches.
- Maps and waterproof route notes.
- GPX Tracking Files for each day
- 24-7 Emergency Telephone support
- Half board - evening meals.
- Alcohol or Soft Drinks
- Personal Equipment
We will pick you up at Dublin Airport and transfer you to your accommodation. Your self-guided walking vacation in Wicklow starts with an optional visit to the 6th-century Glendalough Monastic City, which is situated just beside the hotel. You will have an opportunity to learn about Glendalough with an audiovisual display in the visitor's centre, followed by a tour of the historic settlement itself. Your first walk in the valley takes you up past the two lakes that give Glendalough its name and through an old Miners’ Village on to the Spinc, where you will enjoy sweeping views back down over the lakes, the monastic settlement, and the surrounding countryside. The walking trail continues down by the picturesque Poulanass waterfall and back to the hotel.
Distance: 11 km/7 miles, Ascent: 220 metres/660 ft, Approximate walking time: 5 hours
Today's walk is one of Wicklow’s best-kept secrets. The hiking trail starts in Glendalough and takes you along the Green Road into Ballard which, translated into English, means High Town. From here, you will walk to the townland of Trooperstown. Footfalls Walking Holidays office is situated here. Continue down through Trooperstown Forest to the Avonmore River, an ideal spot for some relaxation. The walking trail continues into the village of Laragh and back to the Glendalough Hotel.
Distance: 10 km/6 miles, Ascent: 240 metres/720 ft, Approximate walking time: 3 hours
Car Transfer to the start of today's self-guided walk takes you through some of Wicklow’s most attractive villages: Laragh, Annamoe, and Roundwood. Sitting 238 metres above sea level, Roundwood is one of Ireland’s highest villages. Overlooking Lough Tay and the Guinness Estate, where Brave Heart, Excalibur, King Arthur and many more famous films were shot, your walk takes you South back to Glendalough through Sleamaine and Ballinafunshoge Forest. Enjoy some beautiful views over Roundwood Village and the Vartry Reservoir on one side and Lough Dan on the other. Continue down into Oldbridge, onto Paddock Hill and into the valley of Glenmacnass before finally returning to Glendalough.
Distance: 17 km/11 miles, Ascent: 150 m/450 ft, Approximate walking time: 5 hours
A self-guided walk with a difference, today, we take you to the coastal town of Kilcoole, where you will hike along an amazing coastal walking trail. Starting from Kilcoole, you will continue along one of Ireland’s finest nature reserves, composed of wet grassland, freshwater streams and a number of marshy pools that survive the summer months. The trail above the beach presents magnificent views of the area and provides the perfect habitat for many of the region's magnificent birds and flowers. In every season, a different range of birds inhabits the reserve for breeding and feeding. The walk ends in Wicklow Town, where you will have the opportunity to do some shopping before we take you back to the Glendalough.
Distance: 14 km/9 miles, Ascent: Little to none, Approximate walking time: 4 hours
After breakfast, we will take you to the start of your walk at Drumgoff in the valley of Glenmalure, Ireland's longest glacial valley. The hiking trail takes you north along the Wicklow Way and gently winds its way up out of the valley to give you some spectacular views of the Glenmalure waterfall and the surrounding countryside. Continue back into Glendalough, where, once again, you will enjoy some stunning views as you enter the Glendalough valley.
Distance: 13 km/8 miles, Ascent: 505 m/1515 ft, Approximate walking time: 3.5 hours
After breakfast we will pick you up and take you back to Dublin Airport.
