3 Days in Dublin: The Day-Trip Itinerary
Three days based in Dublin covers Howth and Glendalough exactly as the 2 day version, then adds a full day at Newgrange and the Boyne Valley. Coming from the 2 Days itinerary, this nests that same plan and adds one guided-access prehistoric site that needs booking well ahead of the other two.
| Day | Day trip | Travel time from Dublin | Don’t miss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Howth | About 30 min by DART | The Howth Head cliff walk |
| 2 | Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains | About 1h20 by bus | The free monastic site by the Lower Lake |
| 3 | Newgrange and the Boyne Valley | Guided tour only, no walk-up | The passage tomb older than Stonehenge |
Book these before you go
- Newgrange access through the Bru na Boinne Visitor Centre, 3 to 7 days ahead in peak season: book direct at heritageireland.ie , or a small-group day tour on Viator
- Glendalough and Wicklow half-day tour, if you want a guide instead of the public bus: GetYourGuide
- A bed near Temple Bar or St Stephen’s Green for all three nights: compare rooms on Booking.com
Day 1: Howth, the easy warm-up
Morning: Take the DART from Connolly, Pearse or Tara Street, about 25 to 35 minutes to Howth, running every 30 minutes and covered by a Leap Card zone fare. No booking, no tour bus, just a train ticket. Walk the Howth Head cliff path for sea views over the Irish Sea; the full loop takes about 1.5 to 2 hours at a normal pace.
Afternoon: Drop down into Howth harbour for fresh seafood, a bowl of chowder runs about EUR 8 to 12, and browse the weekend market if your day trip lands on a Saturday or Sunday.
Evening: DART back into the city centre and have dinner in Dublin proper; Howth itself goes quiet after dark.
Day 2: Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains
Morning: St Kevin’s Bus leaves St Stephen’s Green North for Glendalough, about 1 hour 20 minutes each way, EUR 14 one way or EUR 23 return. The monastic site itself, the Round Tower and the ruined churches by the Lower Lake, sits inside Wicklow Mountains National Park and is free to walk; the OPW car park costs EUR 4 a day if you are driving instead of taking the bus.
Afternoon: Walk one of the marked trails into the mountains from the Upper Lake, lake and valley views the whole way, or stick to the flatter monastic-site loop if a hike is not the plan for today.
Evening: Catch the return bus, 18:00 on weekdays or 19:00 on weekends, back to St Stephen’s Green, or stay on a full-day guided tour if that is what you booked, those run closer to 9 hours round trip.
Day 3: Newgrange and the Boyne Valley
Morning: Newgrange is guided-tour-only through the Bru na Boinne Visitor Centre ; a shuttle bus takes you from the centre to the passage tomb itself, no independent walk-up. Book 3 to 7 days ahead in peak season, June through August, 1 to 2 days ahead the rest of the year.
Afternoon: The tomb predates Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids by centuries, worth the advance planning on its own; many tours bundle in Knowth or the Hill of Tara if you have a full day rather than a half day.
Evening: Coach day tours run about 8 to 9 hours round trip from Dublin; you are back in the city with time for a normal dinner.
Planning a longer trip
Three days covers Howth, Glendalough and Newgrange. If you want Galway, the Cliffs of Moher or Belfast too, extend to the 4 Days itinerary, check the full Dublin Day Trips guide , or read the flagship Glendalough page. For the city itself, a different trip from this one, see the Dublin travel guide and the 3 Days in Dublin city itinerary.