Address: 14 Lower Albert Road
Phone: 00 353 1 2801899
http://www.wildwicklow.ieTraveler ReviewsDecent Time out of Dublin
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Oct 14, 2008
My wife and I went on this tour on Oct 12, 2008. It was nice to get out of Dublin for a day and see some more of Ireland than just the crowded streets of Dublin. Overall, the trip was enjoyable and relaxing, however, I would characterize it as anti-climactic. There is no real pinnacle to the tour that truly wowed me. I would recommend it for couples and seniors, but not so much for young singles. We drove by Bono's house which I found a waste and a few of the stops were cheesy. Also, for lunch you will stop at an Irish pub. It was super crowded when we went, as there were three seperate tour busses there stopping for lunch. Finding a place to enjoy our meal was difficult. It was also a little pricey, almost 30 Euro for an average lunch (for two). Last note, the driver brings along several bottles of Jameson which he doles out in shots. I had about 4, which was kind of nice.
Great fun, wonderful tour
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Sep 30, 2008
the tour was well organized, the guide was informative and entertaining! This is a great way to see the wicklow mountains. I encourgage you to go on this tour when in Dublin!
Fantastic tour
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Sep 28, 2008My daughter and I took this tour the 2nd week in Sept. We were visiting Dublin for just a few days and wanted to see some of the countryside. This was the perfect day tour for us. The tour bus was for around 30 people so you got to know everyone. Our tour guide Steven was very knowledgeable and lots of fun. There were about 4 stops including lunch which was perfect for a day tour. We got to see some of the country and still got home in time for dinner. It was a convienent pickup and drop -off. I would highly recommend this tour.
The best part of Dublin!
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Sep 26, 2008The best part of Dublin, in my opinion, is taking a Wild Wicklow tour and getting out of the city! We met our group and guide, Michael, in front of the Gresham hotel on Upper O'Connell St - just a few blocks from our hotel. I instantly liked our guide because he commented on our Irish last name and my red hair :-P.
We were a group of about 35 in a coach that was pretty new and comfortable. Larger than I was expecting it to be, but that was OK. Michael was both the driver and guide (which can make you a little nervous on those winding, narrow country roads when he's zipping along and running his mouth!), and he was very informative and entertaining. I'll never forget his joke about the Mercedes coach having a special "Hoff-effect" built in. Since the Germans build Mercedes and David Hasselhoff has a German name, they took his amazing ability to suck in his stomach while running along those Baywatch beaches in slow motion and applied it to the coach so that when we pass cars on those aforementioned narrow, winding roads, we can suck it in and squeeze by. Ok, it was much funnier when he told it.
Anyway, we first went through Dun Laoghaire where we picked up some more people and then stopped for a few minutes at a picturesque waterfront location for a photo op. Then we rode along, taking some tight corners and making frequent use of that Hoff-effect, and Michael pointed out some celebrities houses while telling little anecdotes about them.
Before long we stopped at the Avoca mill store for a coffee/shopping break. The store wasn't what I was expecting it to be, unfortunately. I was picturing in my head all of these wonderful traditional Irish sweaters and such, but this place had everything from children's toys to groceries to plants and more. There was a relatively small selection of wool-woven items and nothing resembling the Irish sweater I had in mind. The place is pricey, but I was determined to buy some Irish wool items for gifts for family, so I bought 4 scarves at the unpleasant price of 28 Euros each. Gah!
Then we were on our way into the countryside where the best part of the trip was! Beautiful countryside and time enough to take the billion photos I take everywhere (I'm a photographer). Michael even brought along a bottle of Irish whiskey that we all shared shots from.
As a side note, Michael enjoyed ribbing each of the nationalities on board that day and really has a knack for the comedy. Amazingly, we were the only Americans there that day, but he enjoyed harassing the Scottish, English, and Spanish more than us apparently because we didn't get much of it.
After our roaming around the countryside, we stopped for lunch at an Inn/pub place where I had a good Guinness stew, hubby had a decent pork loin, and we shared a fantastic berry cheesecake. Michael allotted us 45 min to eat which was really not enough time considering how long we had to stand in line to get our food (cafeteria style) and how long we had to search for a table (which we bused ourselves). But we managed to wolf it all down and make it back on the bus in time.
Next we went to the Glendalough monastery and park for 1 hr and 45 min of wandering among the ruins and trekking around the lakes. For a photographer like me, it was a bit of a rush, and we were the second to last people back on the bus after we busted our butts trying to get back on time. I would have liked just a bit more time there. It was lovely and very interesting, and Michael did a good job of introducing it with a little history lesson.
Then we made our way back into Dublin and that was that.
I'd definitely recommend taking this tour, and if you get Michael as a guide, you're in for a treat! You'd think doing that same tour day in and day out would get old for a tour guide, but he seemed to really love his job, and that made it all the more enjoyable for us.
Be prepared to bite some nails about the driving, though! I'm sure Michael is used to that kind of driving, but there were many occasions where I was peering down out of my window and wincing at the mere inches between the side of our coach and the side of someone else's car!
Great day tour!!
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Sep 23, 2008My daughter and I just returned from visiting Dublin for a few days. The Wild Wicklow Tour was a wonderful way to see a bit of the Irish countryside in a day. Our tour guide Steven was very entertaining and very informative about Irish History. I would highly recommend this tour for anyone wanting a fun day tour. It was well worth the money and one of the best day tours we have been on.
