53.45° N · 6.15° W
A coastal town north of Dublin with the Talbot family's castle, gardens, a butterfly house and Portmarnock beach, 25 minutes by DART and 10 from the airport.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Guided tour · 45 min to 1 h · adult €17 · the Talbot family's rooms, with the gardens and butterfly house around it
Gardens · 1 h to 1 h 30 · self-guided · Victorian glasshouse, rose garden and tropical butterflies next to the castle
Children's walk · 45 min · through the park woodland, with fairy houses, and the playground alongside
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
All year: the castle and gardens open daily from 9:30 to 17:30, except 24 to 26 December. From April to September the walled garden and butterfly house look their best and a walk along the coast is tempting; in winter, go in the morning, as it gets dark early.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Malahide is the closest you can sleep to Dublin Airport with a village, the sea and restaurants around you: ten minutes by car or the direct 102 bus. There are direct flights to Dublin from Madrid, Barcelona and many other Spanish cities. From here, the DART takes you to Dublin city centre in about 25 minutes.
You can do all of Malahide without a car: the DART arrives in the centre of the village and from the station you walk to the castle, the marina and the beach. It is a half-day outing from Dublin or a quiet night before a flight.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Malahide works very well with small children: the train arrives in the village, the castle park is big and free to wander around outside, and within the grounds there is a fairy trail, a butterfly house and a playground. The castle's guided tour lasts an hour at most, which is just right.
For a family with children of different ages, Malahide is an uncomplicated outing: twenty-five minutes by train, a family ticket for the castle with gardens around it, and the beach in the afternoon. Everything is done on foot.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: Four-star seafront hotel, a few steps from the DART station and minutes from the airport, with 201 rooms, a swimming pool and a gym.
Why we like it: Family guesthouse on Back Road, less than ten minutes' walk from the castle, with an Irish breakfast, a garden and free parking.
Why we like it: Hotel beside the Velvet Strand at Portmarnock, a short hop from Malahide, with a links golf course, a spa with seaweed baths and several restaurants.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: the quiche of the day or a soup with bread, and a scone for dessert.
What to order: the Sunday set menu, or the early menu during the week.
What to order: a pint and whichever dish of the day they recommend at the bar.
What to order: the massaman curry or the Thai-style aromatic duck.
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
53.35° N · 6.26° W
By planeCar-free
53.19° N · 6.17° W
By planeBy carCar-free
53.69° N · 6.46° W
By planeBy car
53.01° N · 6.33° W
By planeCar-freeBy car
Tips
In high season the slots fill up; booking on the official website secures the time. Tickets are not refundable, but can be changed within 48 hours of purchase.
If you fly in the afternoon, leave your bag in left luggage or at the hotel and spend the morning here: the 102 or a taxi gets you to the airport in ten minutes.
Only assistance dogs are allowed in the castle park and gardens. The beach walk is another matter.
There is more sand to walk on and the beach is wider.
Malahide is a coastal town in the north of County Dublin, at the end of a DART line, the commuter train. It has a main street with pubs and cafés, a marina on the estuary and, ten minutes' walk from the station, an enormous park with Malahide Castle, where the Talbot family lived for more than eight centuries. It is the easiest half-day trip from Dublin and, being ten minutes from the airport, a good place for the first or last night of the trip.
Start with the castle, visited with a guide in three quarters of an hour to an hour: rooms with portraits of the Talbots, period furniture and the story of a family that lived here for more than eight hundred years. Then go out to the gardens: the walled garden, the botanic garden, the Victorian conservatory and the butterfly house. With small children, the fairy trail in the woods and the playground on the west lawn will take up half a morning. Have lunch at the Avoca café, next to the castle courtyard, or go down into the town.
In the afternoon, the sea. From the centre, the coastal walk goes down Malahide beach to the Robswall rocks and continues along Portmarnock's Velvet Strand, with a Martello tower. It is flat and you can walk one way and come back by bus or on foot. If you prefer something short, stroll round the marina and the main street before the train.
With a whole day and children, add Newbridge House, a Georgian house with a farm in Donabate, the next station to the north.
Half a day is enough for the castle and gardens; a whole day, to add the coast. The castle is open every day of the year from 9:30 to 17:30 (closed 24 to 26 December), and it is best to book the visit in high season. In summer the town fills up at weekends and there are big concerts in the park, run by another company: check the dates if you want peace and quiet.
Yes, if your flight arrives late or leaves early. From Malahide to the airport is ten minutes, against a good half hour from central Dublin, and in the evening you have pubs and restaurants within walking distance. The Grand Hotel is next to the station and the sea; Castle Lodge is a family-run house ten minutes' walk from the castle.
Questions
By DART from Connolly, Tara Street or Pearse, in about 25 minutes, or on buses 32 and 42. From the airport, bus 102 goes direct.
Adult €17, children aged 4 to 17 €9, seniors and students €12, family of two adults and two children €48. The castle visit is guided.
At least two hours for the castle and gardens, and half a day if you add the town. With the coastal walk, a whole day.
Not to the castle and its gardens: only assistance dogs. On the beach and the coastal walk, yes, on a lead.
Yes: it is about ten minutes by car and has hotels, pubs and restaurants within walking distance, unlike the hotels in the airport area.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/ireland/malahide
