geocalia
EN

geocalia

Day itinerary · 53.69° N · 6.46° W

Newgrange and Tara in a day, a good hour north of Dublin.

The Newgrange tomb with a booked ticket, lunch in Slane, the Hill of Tara in the afternoon and, if time allows, the Battle of the Boyne site.

Leaving from
Direct flight to Dublín fromBilbao 2 h 15Santander 2 h 15Madrid 2 h 30Barcelona 2 h 45Valencia 2 h 45Alicante 3 hMurcia 3 hSevilla 3 hMálaga 3 h 15Fuerteventura 4 h 30Flight times are approximate.
See the planChoose a restaurant

Part of Newgrange and the Boyne Valley

The Newgrange mound in the Boyne ValleyStanley Howe  · CC BY-SA 2.0
Total time9 h
By car1 h each way
From DublinA little over 1 h by car
TicketsOnly on heritageireland.ie
NewgrangeAdult €18 (Mar–Nov) · €10 (winter)
DifficultyEasy

The plan

The day at a glance

Any part can be swapped for another without spoiling the day.

  1. Leave Dublin 1 h by car

    M1 towards Drogheda and the turn-off for Donore

  2. 1
    Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre

    collect your ticket · exhibition included

  3. 10 min by bus
  4. 2
    Newgrange, the 5,000-year-old tomb with the solstice chamber

    shuttle with a guide · passage and chamber · no photos inside

    +353 86 355 1355

    Guide With Newgrange Tours by Mary Gibbons From €80 per person
    Book
  5. 15 min by car10 km
  6. 3
    Conyngham Arms Restaurant

    in Slane · open seven days

    C15 HN52 Slane · +353 41 988 4444

    Restaurant €€
    Book
  7. 15 min by car12 km
  8. 4
    Battle of the Boyne Visitor Centre, at Oldbridge

    exhibition free for a limited time

  9. 30 min by car30 km
  10. 5
    The Hill of Tara, seat of the High Kings

    open access · before the light fades

  11. Back home

    via the N3 and the M50; in Dublin around 18:30

Approximate cost About €100–120 per person

Adds up the activities and meals in the plan at their published prices; travel and accommodation not included.

The route

Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre

A day trip from Dublin to the Boyne Valley, where Newgrange and Knowth were built about five thousand years ago. The only thing to sort out beforehand is the ticket: Newgrange can only be visited from the Brú na Bóinne visitor centre and with a booking at heritageireland.ie, which is released 30 days ahead in season and 7 in winter, at midnight Irish time. With the ticket in your pocket, the rest of the day takes care of itself.

The day, hour by hour

8:15 · Leave Dublin. Along the M1 towards Drogheda and the turn-off to Donore; a little over an hour, estimated.

9:30 · Visitor centre. Collect your ticket and see the exhibition while you wait for your turn.

10:00 · Newgrange. The shuttle takes you to the mound with a guide. You enter the passage and the chamber; no photos inside.

13:00 · Lunch in Slane. The Conyngham Arms restaurant is open every day, Sundays too.

14:45 · Oldbridge. The site of the 1690 Battle of the Boyne, with the exhibition now free and the walled garden.

16:00 · Hill of Tara. The seat of the High Kings, with views over Meath. Free access.

17:15 · Return. Along the N3; in Dublin around 18:30.

Time45 min
The Newgrange mound in the Boyne ValleyStanley Howe  · CC BY-SA 2.0

Change the route

With young children, if it rains or if you fancy something else: another stop that fits the same day.

The great mound of Knowth surrounded by smaller mounds
If you get the daily Knowth visit in spring or autumn: Knowth, the mound with the largest collection of megalithic artGuided visit · 1 h 30 · €10 with the exhibition · one visit a day in spring and autumn · no access to the chambers
The ruins of Mellifont Abbey with its octagonal lavabo
From April to September, instead of Oldbridge: Mellifont Abbey, Ireland's first Cistercian monasteryRuins · 45 min · grounds free · octagonal lavabo and 12th-century cloister beside a stream

Where to eat

Where to eat?

Lunch is half the plan: book before you set off.

The Conyngham Arms hotel in Slane© Conyngham Arms HotelSeasonal food in the village of Slane

Conyngham Arms Restaurant

Restaurant · Slane · €€€€

What to order: lunch after Newgrange, with local seasonal produce.

Open every day
The glasshouse next to The Brabazon restaurant© Tankardstown HouseRestaurant in the garden of a Georgian house

The Brabazon, at Tankardstown House

Restaurant · Slane · €€€€

What to order: afternoon tea if you are coming from Newgrange, or dinner if you are staying on the estate.

The website does not publish opening hours; book by phone

Map

The stops, in order

With where to park at each one.

What to do Eat 88 €Stay Services

Getting there

By car or without one?

By car

M1 to Donore, minor roads between the sites and back along the N3. Drive on the left.

Without a car

The Newgrange Tours by Mary Gibbons tour leaves from Dublin, enters the Newgrange chamber and stops at Tara, for €80 all in.

When to go

When to go to Newgrange and the Boyne Valley

All year except 18 to 22 December, when normal visits are suspended for the solstice. From April to October there are more visits a day; book as soon as tickets are released.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Best timeGood timeLow season

Tips

Worth knowing first

  1. 1
    Set an alarm for midnight

    Tickets are released at 00:00, Irish time.

  2. 2
    Watch for cancellations

    Between 8:30 and 9:30 and between 15:00 and 16:00, tickets go back on sale.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Can I go to Newgrange without booking?

You can see the visitor centre exhibition, but for the mound you need a ticket, and in season they sell out.

How much does it cost?

From March to November, the Brú na Bóinne Tour with the chamber costs €18 per adult; in winter, Newgrange with the exhibition costs €10.

What about without a car?

With the Mary Gibbons tour, €80 with tickets.

More plans like this

Other days of walking and good food

The Pisquerra landform, in the Bardena Blanca
The Bardenas by 4x4 and lunch in TudelaGuided 4x4 3 h + Ribera vegetables €€€
A green TurisNat off-road vehicle fording a stream in the sierra
Cazorla: 4x4, olive oil and castleGuided 4x4 route · 4 h 30 + Tasting menu €€€€
The Bomfim 1896 dining room, with picture windows towards the quinta
Pinhão: Bomfim 1896 and a tastingTrain along the Douro + Douro cooking in a wood-fired oven €€€ + Tasting at the quinta
A museum room with a full-size chip stand and giant cones
Bruges with children: chips, a boat and swansFrietmuseum · €7 children + Boat 30 min · €9 children + Brasserie De Halve Maan €€

geocalia.com/en/ireland/bru-na-boinne/itineraries/newgrange-and-hill-of-tara
Prices, opening hours and times are approximate: check them before you go. Each place has its own page on Geocalia.

9 h plan · €40–70 pp
From Dublin · 1 h
See the plan

Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/ireland/bru-na-boinne/itineraries/newgrange-and-hill-of-tara