Avoca Powerscourt, the house café
What to order: the quiche or the salad of the day, and a scone on the terrace.
Open daily; no garden ticket needed
geocalia
Day itinerary · 53.19° N · 6.17° W
Powerscourt in a day, gardens and waterfall a good half hour from Dublin.
Powerscourt's terraced gardens, lunch at the house café, a tour with tasting at the whiskey distillery and Ireland's tallest waterfall.
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 30
Part of Powerscourt and EnniskerryIrish pubs
Add to my trip
Total time8 h
By car30 min each way
From DublinA good half hour by car · 1 h on bus 44
TicketsGardens €14 · waterfall €7.50 · distillery €25
WalkingAbout 3 h, with slopes
DifficultyEasy
The plan
The day at a glance
Any part can be swapped for another without spoiling the day.
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Leave Dublin 30 min by car
M50 and N11, exit for Enniskerry; without a car, bus 44
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1
Powerscourt Gardens
€14 · terraces, Triton Lake, Japanese garden
- 5 min on foot
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2
Avoca Powerscourt, the house café
in the house; hot food until 16:30
Powerscourt House, Powerscourt Demesne, A98 W0D0 Enniskerry · +353 1 903 2116
Café €€Book - 5 min on foot
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3
Tour and tasting at Powerscourt Distillery
Powerscourt Distillery · 1 h with a tasting of three whiskeys · €25
+353 1 506 5656
- 15 min by car6 km
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4
Powerscourt Waterfall, 121 metres
separate entrance, €7.50
- 15 min by car8 km
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5
A walk around Enniskerry, the village of the clock tower
the clock tower and a coffee
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Back home
a good half hour to the centre of Dublin
Approximate cost
About €45–60 per person
Adds up the activities and meals in the plan at their published prices; travel and accommodation not included.
The route
Powerscourt Gardens
A day trip from Dublin to the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains: the gardens of Powerscourt descend in terraces to a lake with winged horses, with the peak of the Sugar Loaf in the background; on the same estate there is a whiskey distillery and, six kilometres away, Ireland's tallest waterfall. The plan is by car, which is what lets you reach the waterfall; without a car, do the gardens, lunch and the distillery using bus 44.
The day, hour by hour
9:00 · Leave Dublin. Along the M50 and the N11, taking the exit for Enniskerry; a good half hour.
9:45 · Powerscourt Gardens. A good two hours: the terraces, Triton Lake, the Italian garden, the Japanese garden and the pets' cemetery. €14.
12:30 · Lunch at Avoca. The house café, with a terrace over the gardens.
14:00 · Powerscourt Distillery. An hour through the production and the warehouse, with a tasting of three Fercullen whiskeys; €25. Whoever is driving should taste only a little.
15:30 · Powerscourt Waterfall. 121 metres, with meadows and picnic spots below; separate entry, €7.50.
16:45 · Enniskerry. A coffee in the village, by the clock tower.
17:30 · Back to Dublin.
Time2 h
Where to eat
Where to eat?
Lunch is half the plan: book before you set off.
Johnnie Fox's
What to order: the Guinness pie or the lamb shank, and an Irish coffee.
Kitchen open every day from 12:00 to 21:30
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?
When to go
When to go to Powerscourt and Enniskerry
From April to October, with the gardens in bloom and the waterfall open late. In winter it opens with shorter hours: start at 9:30.
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Best timeGood timeLow season
Tips
Worth knowing first
- 1Buy tickets separately
Gardens and waterfall are sold separately on the official website.
- 2Go on a weekday
On a sunny Sunday it fills up with Dublin families.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can it be done without a car?
Yes, apart from the waterfall: bus 44 reaches Enniskerry and from there you walk up to the gardens.
How much does it cost?
Gardens €14, waterfall €7.50 and distillery €25, plus lunch.
Can children go to the distillery?
The tour with pairing is for over-18s only; for the basic tour, ask when you book. With children, swap the distillery for more time at the waterfall.
More plans like this
Other days of walking and good food
geocalia.com/en/ireland/powerscourt-and-enniskerry/itineraries/gardens-whiskey-and-waterfall
Prices, opening hours and times are approximate: check them before you go. Each place has its own page on Geocalia.