KILKENNY AND WICKLOW DAY TRIP FROM DUBLIN (PADDYWAGON TOURS)

As my sisters and I were planning our trip in Ireland, we decided we wanted to end our trip with two nights in Dublin so we didn’t have to worry about traveling from afar with our luggage to the Dublin airport when it was time to fly home. We decided to use one of those days to take a day trip from Dublin so we could at least still see some surrounding sites before heading home. We chose to take the Kilkenny and Wicklow day tour from Dublin using Paddywagon Tours. Overall, we enjoyed all the sites on our tour.

The tour bus picked us up at a designated pick-up spot just a few blocks away from our hotel. We were the first ones on board so we had to spend some time as the bus went to a couple more pick-up spots. The bus only partially filled up so we had ample space to spread out during the drive. There was supposedly a wifi network on the bus, but every time we tried it, it didn’t work so don’t rely on that if you need internet access.

Our journey started south into the beautiful countryside of the Wicklow mountains as we made our way towards Glendalough. At Glendalough, we explored monastic city ruins known for the large St. Kevin’s Cross, which is 8 feet tall with the cross at 3 feet in width. It is also know for its round tower from the 10th century and the Glendalough Cathedral built by St. Kevin in the 6th century. This is also apparently where the movie Braveheart filmed its wedding scenes. It was a rainy morning when we arrived, which made for a perfect mood as we walked through the various ruins and cemetery.

We hiked on from the ruins to the Glendalough Upper Lake, which was about a 20-minute leisurely walk through woods and river banks to the lake. The first lakeshore provides a magnificent backdrop of the lake and mountain beauty surrounding it. We also wanted to check out the Poulanass Waterfalls before heading back so we had to run up those for a quick look before turning back with 20 minutes to spare to make it in time for our bus departure.

As we drove on through the Wicklow Mountains, our bus driver pointed out the bridge used in the movie P.S. I Love You…a movie that I and my sisters have never seen, but apparently of interest to many people. We traveled over the Wicklow Gap with panoramic views of the mountainous landscape. It was a beautiful drive, although we didn’t get to make any stops during this portion of the journey. So it was kind of hard to get any good photos of the landscape, but that wasn’t a priority for us on this tour. If you are hoping to stop in Wicklow Mountains, then it’d be better to go with a different tour or on your own.

Next destination was Kilkenny, the medieval capital of Ireland in the 11th century. We first explored the Kilkenny Castle from the 1100s, which is right next to where the bus dropped us off. Admission to the castle is additional and not part of the bus tour. My favorite part about exploring the castle was near the end when we entered the Picture Gallery. This grand room had a very intricate pitched ceiling featuring colorful illustrations by John Hungerford Pollen in the 1800s. I also liked the illustrations of animals and and bird heads on the cross beams. As we were pressed for time, we chose to eat a small lunch at the cafe by the interior castle exit. then wandered through the medieval streets of Kilkenny. We walked to the grand 19th century St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, and a few blocks further to the beautiful Black Abbey from the 14th century. There were a few other medieval sites that were further away that we didn’t have time to see since we had to make it back to our bus before it departed. I wouldn’t have minded spending a night in Kilkenny to see all the sites.

We then made our return to Dublin. Unfortunately, there was a couple who didn’t make it back to the bus on time and we waited for a long time before we departed, but they never showed up. The bus driver even tried to call them but no response. So we left, and we found out later that the couple had gotten confused on the time they were supposed to return and came an hour later. We had noticed others had been confused on the time too since we had some other fellow tourists ask us directly what time the bus driver said to come back when we initially left the bus. It can see how it was confusing for some because the driver said to “return 5 to 4” instead of just saying 3:55 p.m. or 4 p.m. So that’s why the couple thought he said to return at 5 p.m. I recommend getting a clear answer from the bus driver if you’re confused or unsure, and you could ask them to write the time down so there is no misunderstanding.

Overall, it was a very nice day tour from Dublin to see some beautiful landscapes and medieval sites. It was a stress-free and easy way to end our trip in Ireland. Book your tour with Paddywagon Tours.