“The Journey not the Arrival matters.” – T.S Eliot
We visited Dalkey and Killiney in Oct 2021. It was a great sunny day In Ireland (perfect for a day trip).
We took the Public transport (Luas) from Saggart to Connolly (Last stop of the red line).
Connolly Luas (Tram) and the Dart (Train) stations are quite near to each other.
The Dart station is in the first floor and you can take lift/escalator from the Luas Platform to reach there.
For travel, It is always advisable (not mandatory) to use a Leap card (it saves some money and no confusions taking tickets using the vending machine).
More detail about Leap Visitor card can be found here:
https://about.leapcard.ie/leap-visitor-card
If atall you don’t have leap cards, you can buy it from the shops within or nearby the Luas/Dart stations.
You can touch off your leap card in the machine provided at the entry. Don’t forget to tag off at the exit station aswell.
Connolly station:
It is the biggest train station in Ireland. There are around 7 platforms in Connolly (+ 2 Platform for Luas).
The train timings and Platforms are clearly marked on the boards. So you don’t have to panic and there are even sign boards clearly indicating the platform numbers.
We took the train to Bray from Connolly. Dalkey is the 14th stop from Connolly. Dalkey is a very small station. This is a very scenic train route.
We had covered the following places in our trip:
1. Dalkey Town:
Just outside the train station, you will see clear road markings indicating the different place names.
Dalkey town is a small and beautiful town with lots of shops including multi cuisine restaurants.
It’s also an interesting fact that many rich and famous people stay in and around Dalkey.
If you are reaching here during lunch time, make sure to have the lunch from the Dalkey town itself. You wouldn’t find more options in the other destinations during this journey.
If you are planning to have a walking tour, it will be good to get some bottles and snacks from Dalkey. There is a SuperValu available here.
2. Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre:
Dalkey Castle is one of the seven fortified town houses/castles of Dalkey. The castles were built to store the goods which were off-loaded in Dalkey during the Middle Ages, when Dalkey acted as the port for Dublin. The castles all had defensive features to protect the goods from being plundered. These are still available on the site. For more details: https://www.dalkeycastle.com/ Note: Please note that there is an entry fee of 13.95 Euros.
3. Colliemore Harbour & Dalkey island:
This was more of a walking tour.
The next destination after the castle was the Colliemore Harbour.
Please note that there are small boats available to visit the Dalkey island (Its an uninhibited island) .
This island is an ideal spot for fishing.
But these boat services are seasonal.
You can check the website to see some boat timings : http://kentheferryman.com/
4. Dillion’s Park:
It’s a great place for a small picnic, to go fishing or simply to enjoy the views of Dalkey Island and the lighthouse.
5. Vico Road to Vico Bath:
We took the Vico Road (Scenic route along the coast) to reach the Vico Bath.
You will see a lot of nice houses with great views, enroute.
Vico Bathing place is a must see in this route. Unfortunately, there are no great markings to Vico Bath. So please be a little careful else you might miss the entrance (it’s a small path going down with a bridge over the dart line) to the Bath area.
Maps Indication (Courtesy: Google Maps): https://www.google.com/maps/@53.2703705,-6.0973575,3a,75y,176.69h,75.09t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sEiB1toGZ6ntZtLD18S-cpw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
The historic Vico Baths in Dalkey is one of the most popular places to go swimming in Dublin. This historic bathing place has been delighting locals and tourists alike for many years.
Here, we are covering these places as a part of the walking tour. If you plan to visit this place directly in a car, please remember that there is no much parking available near to the bath, as the Vico road is very narrow. The best option will be to park your car somewhere near the Dalkey Town.
There is no life guard available here. So it is good to be careful while swimming. There is a small changing room but no bathrooms.
Historically, it was a gentlemen only bathing place. There were penalties for women who break the rule and try to swim there. But such things have changed now and no such rule persists today.
You would also see a Big ‘EIRE’ Sign on your walk down to the Vico Baths.
6. Killiney Hills
This park was dedicated to public use in 1887. Killiney Hill is a popular destination for walkers and hikers availing spectacular views, over the surrounding areas.
You can follow the Vico Road further to reach the entry to the Killiney Hill. Clear indication boards are available. Please remember that if you are planning to take this route, you will have to climb a large number of steps (don’t recollect the number of steps) to reach the top of the Killiney Hill. If you have small kids / or people with walking difficulties in your group, this wouldn’t be an ideal route for you. Instead you can reach the top of Killiney hill through the other side in your car. There is also a big car park available at the top.
The views from the Killiney hill top is marvellous. As soon as you reach Killiney hill top, please refer to one of the maps/boards which are erected in different places. That places will give you a fairly good idea about the various points of interest within the Killiney Hill.
From one side of the Killiney hill, you can see the Vico Road, DART Train line and the Dalkey Island.
From another side, you will see the Killiney Beach.
From another side, you will see a lot of residential areas, Motor way and industrial estates.
7) The Obelisk (within the Killiney Hills):
Don’t miss the Obelisk while you are in Killiney Hill.
Killiney Obelisk has been the subject of much attention since it was built in the 1740s. It was intended as the centerpiece of a great undertaking to plant and landscape the hill, which at first was called Obelisk Hill, and more recently has become known as Killiney Hill.
You can also visit the Pyramid, when you are in Killiney Hill.
NOTES:
- There are couple of options to reach the Killiney Hill, if you are coming in car. (One route has a height restriction in place)
- There are no much shops available in the Killiney hill. Either you have to get something from a coffee shop near to one of the car parks. Normal people try to come up to the Killiney hill with some small snacks, Pizzas, Burgers and so on.
- There is also a rest room available outside the coffee shop.
8. Killiney Beach:
You can Climb down the Killiney hill to reach the Killiney beach.
Personally, We did not like the beach.
There is enough parking space available near the Killiney Beach. There is also public toilet available (near the Killiney beach parking). The toilet is not maintained properly.
Food options:
As mentioned earlier, there are lots of restaurants in Dalkey.
Personally we had tried food from Kathmandu Restaurant and Wood Burn Pizza. The food was tasty.
There were also 3-4 Indian cuisine restaurants available in Dalkey.
Some restaurants would need prior booking.
Parking Options:
By chance if you want to visit in car, there are parking spaces available near Collimeore harbour, Castle, Killiney hill and Killiney beach.
Killiney Beach was our last destination in our journey. The Killiney DART (Train) station is just near to the Killiney Beach.
For those who wants to return back to the Dublin City Center, you can take direct train to Connolly from Killiney station.
For those who wants to explore beyond Killiney, please check out the rail network. There’s a great rail network coverage and you could pick some nice destinations.
Dalkey and Killiney Hill is infact a great one day trip from Dublin. Infact this can be covered in a half day trip aswell.
NOTE: We have covered only a few places here in this blog. Our idea was to give you a high level overview of this place. Certainly do a homework and make a proper plan. You can really craft a beautiful one day itinerary for this destination.
Happy Journey!!
