Looking For Directions To Glendalough?
When visiting Glendalough, it is paramount that you plan out your directions to Glendalough well in advance of your journey due to the limited access to mobile phone coverage once you reach the Wicklow Mountains. Whether travelling by bus or car, you are bound to take in some of the most spectacular views the ‘Garden of Ireland’ has to offer.
As the crow flies, Glendalough is located 36km outside of Dublin City and 49km when travelling by road. Finding your way to Glendalough from Dublin is quite easy as Irish roads are very well sign posted. Below, we have listed 3 ways you can travel to Glendalough along with some additional information regarding parking in Glendalough, hotels near Glendalough and where to get petrol along your way.
Dublin City To Glendalough By Car
- Leaving Dublin City, take M11/N11 (Southbound) and continue along this motorway until you reach as an area called ‘Kilmacnogue’. Having reached Kilmacnogue, you will see a petrol station on your left hand side. This is a great spot to fill up on petrol and perhaps grab a coffee for the mountainous journey ahead – you still have about 30 minutes to go!
Bonus Notes – Glendalough Car Park do not accept cards so make sure to use the ATM to take out cash in advance!
- Immediately after the petrol station, you will take the exit signposted ‘Roundwood/Glendalough’ and follow the road around the roundabout and over the bridge. Make sure to keep following all signed marked ‘Roundwood/Glendalough’
- You will then begin your ascent up into the Wicklow Mountains for another 14kms until you reach the beautiful village of Roundwood.
- Continue through Roundwood, following the directions sign posted ‘Laragh/Glendalough’. You will stay on this raod for approximately another 7.5kms, passing Anamoe River and continuing up into the Wicklow Mountains.
- You will eventually reach the village of Laragh where you can stop for breakfast or lunch before continuing on to Glendalough.
- Entering Larragh, stay right and follow the signs for ‘Glendalough’, you have about 1km to go until you reach your destination.
Wexford To Glendalough By Car
- Take the N11 from Wexford and head north along the motorway bypassing Arklow and Gorey town.
- On your right hand side, you will see a pub called ‘Jack White’s’. Immediately after the pub, you will take the next exit sign posted ‘Ashford/Rathnew’. Once you have taken this exit, take the next exit that is sign posted ‘Ashford’
- Once you reach Ashford, you will follow the signs for ‘Roundwood’Glendalough’
- Keep following this road until you reach signs for ‘Glendalough’ and turn left.
- Continue along this road for approximately 10.5km until you reach a T junction.
- Turn left and follow the signs for ‘Laragh/Glendalough’
- You will reach a little river called Annamoe, continue passed here for another 4kms until you reach the village for Laragh.
- Entering Larragh, stay right and follow the signs for ‘Glendalough’, you have about 1km to go until you reach your destination.
If you are looking for directions to Glendalough, we suggest inputting your destination into an app such as Google Maps or Waze in order to provide up to date travel times and directions. Due to the Wicklow Mountains being a high traffic volume area, it is not uncommon to see road closures and directions as a result of events and/or weather conditions.
Parking At Glendalough
Upper Lake
There are two car parks located within the area of Glendalough, one at the Upper Lake and the second at the Brockagh Resource Center.
Access to Wicklow National Park and their Information Center is free of charge. The car parks are owned by the Wicklow County Council and you will be charged a parking fee of €4.00 per car. Please remember to bring exact change if possible, in high season the traffic into the Glendalough car park is very busy and we don’t want you to have any stress upon your arrival. Car park attendants do however carry change for notes so don’t stress if you are reading this on your way!
Brockagh Resource Center
The second car park available at Glendalough is allocated to resource center visitors. The car park is small and will only fit approximately 65 cars and is usually used for coach/bus parking. If you would like to park at the Brockagh Resource Center, we suggest calling ahead to pre-book your space. You can contact them directly on 0404-45600 or send them an email via brockaghresourcecentre@gmai.com.Pricing for this car park can change so please call ahead to confirm charges.
Bus To Glendalough
As mentioned previously, getting to Glendalough is not easily accessible without a car. That being said, there is limited availability to travel using public transport, most notably using the local bus via the Local Link service once you have reached Wicklow. It is paramount that you plan your route to Wicklow before leaving in order to coincide with the bus timetables. All timetables, prices and offers can be found on the Local Link website.
Taxi To Glendalough
If you are travelling as a small group and want a more comfortable way of visiting Glendalough from Dublin City, taxis are always an option. In Ireland the most popular app for booking a taxi to Glendalough is Free Now. Travelling from Dublin City will take you about 1 hour and 10 mins and cost approximately €88 – €120 depending on the number of people, traffic and of course the time of day.
Car Sharing To Glendalough
If a taxi is too expensive, you could potentially look at a short term car rental option such as the wonderful service that is Go Car. Sign up online and create an account prior to planning your route to Glendalough. Go Car is a service we see growing month on month here in Glendalough and we can only imagine it is due to the low cost and convenient service. Like any car rental service, make sure to bring a phone fully charged and download your directions to Glendalough in advance as service along the route is limited!