Where to stay in Wicklow

Pick your base

A Dublin day trip or a Wicklow stay?

Glendalough has a bus connection from Dublin, so you can visit for the day. Take St. Kevin's Bus Service to visit the monastic site and spend time in the valley. If that is the only Wicklow visit planned, keeping the Dublin room can be simpler. Choose the return bus before choosing a walk, so there is time to get back. Avoid attaching a long mountain route to a short excursion.

Laragh suits a stay with more time for Glendalough than a day trip allows. Wicklow County Tourism places the village at the meeting of the R115, R755 and R756, with Glendalough and the Wicklow Gap to the west. Stay here to spend several days walking in the valley. Choose it for repeated walks, with each route matched to conditions and ability.

Bray and Greystones suit a stay beside the sea. Bray and Greystones are on the DART network, so they can combine time by the sea with Dublin visits. Wicklow town has a harbour and a separate rail connection. Choose these towns for time on the coast and arrange transport for inland outings. The coastal stations put you near the sea; the mountains need another journey.

Laragh for Glendalough and the mountains

Laragh is a small village in a wooded mountain valley. Nearby Glendalough has monastic remains and lakes to explore. The heritage visitor centre is a useful introduction before exploring the site. A stay in this area makes sense when those visits deserve separate outings, rather than being squeezed between an arrival from Dublin and a return the same afternoon.

Glendalough's walks include the Miners Road, Poulanass and Spinc routes. Choose the route from the official trail information for the day. Some walks stay low in the valley; others are harder hill routes. For a stay with mixed abilities, keep the monastic site and lakes as one plan and treat a longer hill route as another.

Laragh is also the point from which the county guide describes the Glenmacnass Waterfall and Sally Gap to the north, Glenmalure to the south and the Wicklow Gap to the west. Choose a direction for each outing. A car is useful when several of them are planned. Without one, keep the holiday centred on the arrival bus and the local valley with mountain-road outings left for a trip with a car.

Bray, Greystones and Wicklow town

Bray is Wicklow's largest town and a seaside stop on the DART network. That makes it useful for a stay involving both Dublin and the coast. It is less useful than Laragh for waking up close to Glendalough. Choose Bray for seaside time and rail access. Choose Laragh for the mountain valleys.

Greystones is another coastal option on the DART. Spend time around the harbour and marina, both listed by Wicklow County Council. Compare it with Bray for a coast-focused break. Use the railway to travel between Bray and Greystones. If you want to walk the cliff route, check current trail access before you go.

Wicklow town should be chosen for its harbour and town visit. Walk beside the water and spend time around the harbour during your stay. Glendalough is a different inland outing. For a holiday entirely about the lakes and mountain paths, Laragh is more direct. For a coastal town break with a countryside excursion, Wicklow town is worth comparing.

Getting there and when to stay elsewhere

St. Kevin's Bus Service connects Dublin with Glendalough, including Laragh. Use its current route information for the chosen date and choose the return before selecting a trail. Take the bus for Laragh and Glendalough. The DART serves the coast, so it belongs to a different part of a wider Wicklow trip.

Enniskerry's visitor information lists Dublin Bus route 44 from Dublin to the village. Use TFI to find the bus journey, then allow for the trip from the village to your chosen garden or walk. Nearby estate entrances can need another journey after the bus. Enniskerry suits the northern foothills, while Laragh gives the Glendalough area a more direct base. Moving between them daily is unnecessary when one area fills the visit.

Keep the Dublin base when museums and city evenings still account for most of the holiday. Stay in Wicklow for more time walking around Laragh or beside the sea in your chosen coastal town. Compare actual addresses in these areas, including the walk from the bus or train and the journey to your main sights. Choose accommodation for your dates and the part of Wicklow you want to see.