Dublin to Wicklow and Glendalough Guided Tours with Horse Riding

Posted By : Tracey_C
Wicklow Mountains National Park ⛰️ is gorgeous. The beauty is indescribable and within the park is the Glendalough Monastic Settlement with 6th century ruins of St. Kevin's monastery and the stunning upper lakes which are hidden in the valley between the mountains. If you do the horseback riding you will have about 1.5hrs to see the park which does allow for time to see most of the main landmarks. I could have spent all afternoon exploring the trails here, the weather was fabulous the day we went. Our tour guide Kevin was great, very laidback and helpful. The horse riding portion of this excursion is your typical "follow along ride", nothing too spectacular, but I enjoyed slowing it down for the afternoon and just taking in the fresh air, sights and sounds of the Irish countryside. I was totally amazed at the rocky terrain these horses had to navigate along the trails.
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Posted On : 2024-07-02 16:38:52

Posted By : Kristin_L
The horse riding was wonderful- beautiful scenery, nice horses and great guides. Holly was delightful. Driver and guide for the rest of the day was equally terrific. Scenery through the mountains was amazing and he was very knowledgeable about everywhere we went, kind and humorous.
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Posted On : 2024-06-29 05:15:59

Posted By : Megan_B
Loved the horse back riding! I was nervous because I hadn’t done it in so long but they gave me a gentle giant beautiful horse named Cracker. The trail was beautiful through the forest too. After riding we had a great day driving through the countryside with beautiful views. Ended with a nice walk/hike with more pretty views and history lesson.
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Posted On : 2024-06-26 05:17:08

Posted By : Seaside12891352504
I was SO looking forward to this and I was actually really disappointed. Our driver made the trip with his in depth knowledge of the area and the historical facts but other that, it was very meh and kinda a waste of time. I was most looking forward to the horses but I felt like I was getting yelled at the whole time by Joe and another lady. Addie was the most pleasant of all but the others made me feel like they just hated tourists and wanted it to be done and over with. Joe kept asking us if we were having fun but the man, who has apparently been doing this for decades, never smiled or really made us feel welcome. He was pretty pushy and aggressive at some points. Someone went to the Toilet and the door was broken so I was holding it close for them- he told me move on and I said someone was inside and he said there’s another bathroom at your next stop. Then I heard him tell the driver he should take the sign down so no one uses it- so you can’t accommodate someone needing to use the bathroom after 3+ hours of driving and horse back riding? Really? It’s an 8 person group- Not a hord of people. The sight seeing was beautiful but we didn’t really stop except for one spot and it was only for 5 mins. And the the last stop was over an hour in Glendalough for the ruins that didn’t really need an hour, in my opinion. This kinda felt like a tourist trap as the horse back riding was a walking trail ride and through the woods- not very many mountain views at all and also only an hour and a half to 2 hours of the 8 hour trip. But horse back riding is main advertisement so why not allow it to be the main event? Again, the driver was amazing and he was the highlight of the trip for sure. I don’t doubt this review will be read and dismissed based on the fact you can’t teach an old dog new tricks but, Joe, if you’re reading this, being nice doesn’t cost anything. If you’re sick of dealing with beginner tourists on horses, I suggest you retire.
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Posted On : 2024-06-25 16:24:53

Posted By : David_R
Enjoying the horseback riding through the forest. Wonderful tour guide in our van. The tour through the Wicklow mountains was beautiful!
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Posted On : 2024-06-24 16:40:36

Posted By : Alexandria_B
BLUF/TLDR - skip the horseback riding, do the rest. The stable is full of rude people.

I am writing this review on my wife’s account (I’m her husband), and need to split this review into 2 sections:
horseback riding and everything else.

I would like to start off by saying our tour guide (handsome English chap with gray hair and beard, can’t remember his name) was absolutely phenomenal, 11/10 literally amazing and it makes me sad I’m rating this tour low because he doesn’t deserve that negativity. Without the stables it would be 5/5 mostly because of him!

This is a 2 star review due really only to the horse stables. My spouse and I have owned horses for 10 years together. She is essentially a Hun and was born in the saddle, riding since she was 5. We are both western riders who have owned a ranch, driven cattle, chased down loose horses etc. I bring this up solely bc we had to note this on the paperwork that the stable people then verified and asked us about.

We were immediately treated like people with 0 experience which I understand bc of insurance, but that doesn’t excuse how damn rude the staff was. My wife has tiny feet and large calves and struggled to find boots that fit. The staff got mad at her, except for Carolina who was very nice, and rushed her and essentially forced her to take muck boots 4 sizes too big because her shoes didn’t have a heel cut. My wife multiple times said “these are too big, my feet will fall out” and her safety concern was entirely disregarded.

My wife also rides English, and has competed in hunter paces and jumping. She is not new to this, if she has safety concerns they’re legit.

Then we get to the barn with the horses, who were clearly well taken care of. I’ll give them that. That’s where the positivity ends.

Long story short - the staff were rude, kept yelling at us to short reign our horses, told us not to pass riders, then yelled at us for not passing, yelled at us for not talking enough (no one else was a native English speaker and the one dude we worked with had an Irish accent so thick I couldn’t understand him ((I speak Irish-Gaelic mate))

The scenery itself was beautiful if you’ve never ridden through the woods.

THIS HORSEBACK RIDE DOES NOT TAKE YOU THROUGH WICKLOW NATIONAL PARK OR THE PEAT BOGS. The ride is definitely fudged to seem way more than it is. It’s a horseback ride in the country into the woods in a boggy area with a couple good views.

If you ride regularly: DO NOT DO THIS YOU WILL BE BORED

if you are a first time rider: DO NOT DO THIS THESE PEOPLE SUCK and you risk ruining falling in love with horseback riding.

lastly - skip the riding, do the tour. The tour was absolutely fantastic and extremely enjoyable. Driving into the mountains and experiencing the bogs was absolutely the highlight of trip to Ireland.

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Posted On : 2024-06-17 15:25:34

Posted By : Nikhil_B
Johnnie was a fantastic host! And the people running the horseback part of the excursion were very professional, firm, and kind. They made everyone feel comfortable and safe but also pushed them to go a little outside their comfort zone. The views were beautiful. Cracker is the best horse that ever lived.

County Wicklow is gorgeous.
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Posted On : 2024-06-17 05:21:05

Posted By : Michelle_V
I feel I was matched well with my horse. The guide took me for some wonderful cantering along the tree-lined paths.. photo stops meant I have great reminders of a lovely day out
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Posted On : 2024-06-14 14:51:14

Posted By : Anjali_A
Kevin was beyond great as a guide! All the stops were great especially the horse riding (Thanks to Joe and Aidine)
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Posted On : 2024-06-12 14:31:25

Posted By : Heather_R
The tour guide was amazing and funny. The pick up point was easy to find. The areas we drove through were absolutely beautiful. Would definitely tour with them again.
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Posted On : 2024-05-31 12:55:22