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Voykit pocket guide · Ireland
Glendalough
Gleann Dá Locha
Go for one day, arrive before 10:00 or after 16:00, and sleep in Laragh 3 km away: summer weekend midday parking is the whole trip.
Glendalough is a 6th-century monastic city in a glaciated valley inside Wicklow Mountains National Park, 40 km south of Dublin. The ruins are free and open 24 hours; you pay only for parking. Most people come as a day trip from Dublin, which works if you start early. Sleeping in Laragh or at the one valley hotel buys you the quiet hours at either end of the day.
- Country
- Ireland
- Local name
- Gleann Dá Locha
- Best months
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug weekends (crowds), Nov–Feb (short wet days)
- Stay
- 1 night
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- EUR
- Money
- Currency is the euro (EUR). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere, including pubs and taxis.
- Daily spend
- Budget €45–70 excl. bed · Mid €70–120 excl. bed · High €120+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Vodafone, Three and Eir run the networks; prepaid SIMs (also 48, Tesco Mobile, GoMo) sell in phone shops and newsagents, no registration fuss.
- Emergency
- Police, ambulance, fire, mountain rescue 112 · Alternative emergency number 999
- Plugs
- Types G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Type G three-pin, like the UK; European and US plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Restaurant with table service: 10–15% if service is not included.; Pub: Not expected when ordering at the bar.; Taxi: Round up.; Tour guide or driver: €5–10 per person for a day tour.; Hotel porter: €1–2 per bag.
- Water
- Tap water is safe; occasional local 'boil water' notices are posted by Uisce Éireann.
- Toilets
- Free in shopping centres, museums, pubs (as a customer) and many petrol stations; some public toilets charge 50c.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | €3–4.50 |
| Soup and brown bread | €7–10 |
| Main course in Laragh | €16–26 |
| Pint | €6–7 |
| Car parking, one day | €4 |
| Visitor Centre admission | €5 per person |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | €10–20 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- DUB · Dublin Airport
- About 1 h 15 min by car via M11/N11 and R755; no direct bus from the airport.
Typical fares
- St Kevin's Bus, Dublin (St Stephen's Green) → Glendalough
- about 90 min, twice daily; fare check
- Local Link bus 183, Wicklow → Laragh
- 4–5 times daily; fare check
- Taxi Laragh → Glendalough
- short hop, about €10–15 (check)
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
Walk. The monastic city sits by the Lower Lake; the Upper Lake is 1 km (0.6 mi) west on a lane with its own car park and a separate parking ticket. Local accommodation may offer lifts. Cycling is allowed on hard-surface roads and the marked green, purple and orange routes around the lakes; off-road mountain biking is not.Walk. The monastic city sits by the Lower Lake; the Upper Lake is 0.6 mi (1 km) west on a lane with its own car park and a separate parking ticket. Local accommodation may offer lifts. Cycling is allowed on hard-surface roads and the marked green, purple and orange routes around the lakes; off-road mountain biking is not.
See and do
Known for
- The Round Tower
- St Kevin's monastic city
- The two lakes and the Wicklow Way
- Day trips from Dublin
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Wicklow town | Local Link bus 183 from Laragh, or 25 min by car on R755 | About 45 min |
| Enniskerry and Powerscourt | Car via R755 and N11, about 45 min | About 1 h |
| Blessington | Local Link bus 183 over the Wicklow Gap, or 50 min by car | About 1 h 15 min |
| Roundwood | R755 east, 15 min by car; buses stop on the way | About 20 min |
| Bray | Car via R755 and N11, about 45 min; St Kevin's Bus stops here | About 1 h |
| Arklow | Car via R755 and N11, about 50 min | About 1 h |
Sleep
- Laragh
- Service village 3 km (1.9 mi) down the valley: most beds, most food, buses stop here.Service village 1.9 mi (3 km) down the valley: most beds, most food, buses stop here.
- Glendalough valley
- One hotel, one hostel and a B&B next to the site entrance; walk to the ruins before the coaches arrive.
- Roundwood
- About 12 km (7.5 mi) east on R755; cheaper beds if you have a car.About 7.5 mi (12 km) east on R755; cheaper beds if you have a car.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | Dia duitjeea gwit |
| Thank you | Go raibh maith agatguh rev mah agut |
| Please | Le do thoilleh duh hull |
| Where is the car park? | Cá bhfuil an charrchlós?kaw will an kharr-khlohs |
| How much is it? | Cé mhéad é?kay vade ay |
| Cheers | Sláinteslawn-che |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake, first names quickly; avoid: Over-formality; it reads as coldness
- Conversation: Banter, weather and sport; self-deprecating humour; avoid: Opening with Northern Ireland, religion or the Famine
- Pubs: Buy your round; chat at the bar; avoid: Leaving a round without buying one
- Identity: Say Ireland, or the Republic when you need to distinguish; avoid: 'Southern Ireland' and calling it British
- Driving: Lift a finger from the wheel to thank drivers who pull in for you; avoid: Stopping on narrow bends for photos
Scams and watch-outs
- Summer weekend parking fills by mid-morning; the car parks close overnight.
- No ATMs or banks in Glendalough or Laragh: bring cash.
- No camping in the valley, and no swimming in the lakes.
- Upper and Lower Lake car parks are run separately, so a ticket does not transfer.
- Parts of the upper Glenmaclure valley are army training ranges: check before hiking.
- Mountain weather changes fast; the ridge paths are boggy and unmarked in places.
Very safe for a rural site: the real risks are car break-ins at the Upper Lake car park, wet granite on the lakeside paths, and mountain weather that turns on the ridge. Tell someone your route before a hill walk.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Glendalough yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- The Round Tower
- St Kevin's monastic city
- The two lakes and the Wicklow Way
- Day trips from Dublin
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Glendalough Visitor Centre (Office of Public Works): www.glendalough.ie/heritage/glendalough-visitor-centre/
- Wicklow Mountains National Park: www.nationalparks.ie/wicklow/
- Bus Éireann: www.buseireann.ie/
- St Kevin's Bus: www.glendaloughbus.com
- Wikivoyage: Glendalough, revision 5324918 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5324918
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
GlendaloughGleann Dá Locha
Chuig an seoladh seo, le do thoil
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Glendalough or Laragh; the US embassy and most others are in Dublin.
No ATMs in Glendalough or Laragh: bring cash for parking and small cafés.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/glendalough). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.