The Sea: Dublin's Best Coastal Walk. Dun Laoghaire to Killiney

The Sea Tour

Welcome to Dublin's Southside. This walk takes you through some of the most affluent parts of Dublin, where the accents are posh and the house prices are scary but when you see the views, you'll understand why.

I call this the Sea Tour because the whole walk is along the sea. It starts in the harbour town of Dún Laoghaire before making a quick detour into the delightful village of Glasthule, before passing what I confidently call Dublin's ugliest building on your way to Sandycove and the famous Forty Foot swimming spot.

Then it's on to Dalkey, a wealthy little village of castles & cafes. Next you'll walk up the hill to Killiney, the Sorrento of Dublin, where houses can cost €10,000,000 because of the killer views.

The Dublin Sea Tour Details

• Distance: 8km or 15,000 steps
• Time: 3 hours as a relaxed pace
• Difficulty: Easy, although the walk to Killiney is uphill.
• Toilets: Many public toilets along the route.
• Best Day: Sundays for the market in People's Park.
• Start Point: Dún Laoghaire DART station
• End Point: Killiney DART station

Dun Laoghaire

While it can be entertaining listening to visitors attempting our impossible Irish language pronunciation, since you're my readers, I'll help you out. It's pronounced "Done Leary". I'm going to use DL to save my fingers.

Done Leary Done Properly

Dun Laoghaire is a harbour town that used to be called Kingstown because an English king visited once. We changed it back to its proper name in 1920.

The port here came about as a result of a tragedy in the early 1800s. Two English military boats sank during a storm and 400 people died. They sank not far from shore, but the rocks and wild Irish winter weather prevented them from being saved. So a safe harbour was commissioned and the port of Dun Laoghaire was built.

Dublin's Costa Del Sol

In Victorian times, Dún Laoghaire was the Costa Del Sol of Dublin. City folk packed their wagons to head out here for holidays. And knowing Dublin, there was probably still traffic back then.

The Dun Laoghaire main street isn't anything special, unless you like charity shops, so we'll stick to the sea front. One quick shout out for the tiny pen shop in top floor of the utterly non descript shopping centre. I love that a pen shop not only exists, but seems busy. The owner is a character.

This was Dublin's main port for passenger ships until just twenty years ago. Today a cruise ship stops here, but it's too big to dock at the port, instead it stays in the bay and they tender the passengers in.

Get On The Water

DL is home to four yacht clubs, or you can take a boat tour with the Goat Boat. Want to try paddleboarding? Big Style can hook you up. If you’re after the newest (and most difficult) water sport, wing foiling, my good friends at Pure Magic Watersports will show you how.

We Work For Free in DL

if you need to work while in Dublin, you might as well do it in a beautiful setting. The Lexicon Library has a silent work area on its top floor with views over the water and it’s free. No WeWork fees here. Instead, we walk right in like we own the place.

Tea and Theatre

The Royal Marine Hotel in one of those seaside hotels which has slightly lost its grandeur thanks to Ryanair's cheap flights, but it's still a nice experience to do afternoon tea there, especially if you are travelling with a slightly older member of the family.

Next is one of my favourite spots in Dublin to spend an evening. The Pavillion Theatre. It's very local, where Irish artists perform in front of an Irish audience. This isn't Riverdance at The Gaiety. If you want a more local Dublin night out, you could do pre theatre dinner and attend an event here.

Coffee, Market and Ice Cream

You have to stop at Happy Out Cafe. I don't think there's a more beautiful cafe setting in Dublin and their ethos is just as impressive, they employ adults with special needs.

Across the road is the People's Park. On Sundays they have the market. Lots of local food and a very nice atmosphere. There are public bathrooms here too, always important on a walking tour.

Just about a two minute walk further down the sea wall is Teddy's Ice Cream. A Dublin institution. Ask for a 99 at Teddy's. It's a whipped ice cream cone but with a Flake chocolate bar sticking out of it. Every Irish child knows the threat of "Behave or no 99 for you" is a weak one, because the adults want it more than the kids do.

Glasthule

We’re taking a quick detour. just one street back from the water to the village of Glasthule.

Glasthule might not make the NY Times list of Dublin hotspots, and you could walk through it in five minutes. But I like to bring visitors here because it's not a tourist spot, it's just a local village going about their day.

This is what Ireland By Locals is all about.

By coming to places like this, you’ll know more about real Irish life than the tourists who never ventured past Temple Bar.

Where To Eat in Glasthule.

• 64 Wine for lunch and excellent wine
• Cavistons for seafood that was probably swimming this morning
• Rasam if you want to try how the Irish do Indian food
• The Eagle House for a proper pint with proper local

The Ugliest Building in Dublin

As you return to the seafront, you'll encounter a sight that defies all logic. Let me set the scene. We're in one of Dublin's wealthiest areas. Sea views for miles and yet...somehow, apartments were built where the side facing the sea doesn't even have windows! Imagine having some of the best views in Dublin and deciding "Nah, let's just stick up a wall instead."

Sandycove & The Forty Foot

The Forty Foot is Dublin's most famous swimming spot. 365 days a year you will find people swimming here, no matter how cold it is.

To prove this, it was 1C when I took these photos. I had five layers on while talking to the man in speedos in the photo below while he still was in the water. His teeth weren't chattering while we talked. I asked him, in the nicest possible way, if he was crazy and he said it was the best thing he did every day. Made him feel alive.

The Forty Foot is more than a place to shrivel body parts, it's a huge social gathering place. The swimming is just the excuse for Irish people to do what they do best, meet and have a chat. If you've seen Apple TV's Bad Sisters recently, they go swimming here in nearly every episode.

I should add that I was grateful that the gentleman was wearing speedos, because it wasn't so long ago that the Forty Foot was a male only nude swimming spot. This is an excerpt from The Irish Times about what happened in July 1974

A group of determined women invaded the Forty Foot bathing place at Sandycove, Co Dublin. Some of the placards read “we’ll fight them on the beaches, we’ll win between the sheets” Some of the men, who often swam naked at the spot and were upset by the invasion, waved their genitals at the invaders. From then on, women swam at the Forty Foot.

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James Joyce Museum

On this cold day , I sought refuge in the Martello Tower overlooking the Forty Foot. It's home to the James Joyce Museum.

You'll see these Martello towers along the Irish coast. About 50 were built. They were built to keep Napoleon at bay. You can't see from ground level, but they often have cannons able to rotate 360 rotate to fire out at sea. Napoleon never came, but we have a handy collection of buildings to house our museums.

In 1904 Joyce spent six nights here with his host, Stephen Dedalus, whom he had recently offended publicly. His stay came to an abrupt end when Dedalus fired a gun in his general direction. Joyce took the hint and ran. If he was naked, he could have jumped in the Forty Foot and blended right in.

The museum is run by enthusiastic elderly volunteers who aren't nearly as docile as they look, they guilted me into buying a Joyce book before I left.

The view from the top of the tower is beautiful with a panoramic view of Dublin. You'll love it if you enjoy quirky museums with character (and characters running them).

Dalkey

A Deep History

Dalkey is where a lot of famous Irish people & rich folk live today, but even back in the 14th century, Dalkey was a major trading port for Dublin way back in the day. The water closer to modern day Dublin Port was too shallow for the boats. So they would offload their goods at Dalkey.

This made Dalkey a target so they built seven castles to protect everything. But then someone figured out how to dredge and the boats were able to go closer into Dublin and sailed past Dalkey. The local economy sank along. It was probably a good time to snap up a fixer upper castle.

Castle Street

This is the main street in Dalkey and is a good spot to refuel. Lots of nice shops to wander through. My favorite is The Gutter Bookshop, a local independent bookshop.

There are no shortage of places to eat and drink here. I'm a simple man and love the falafel wrap at Thyme Out. But The Queens, the Club or the Dalkey Duck are other places I like to get more comfy in and Bono watch. If it's a nice day on my tour, we'll pick up a to go lunch and eat it at Dillon's Park. More on that in a minute.

Where The Houses Have No Numbers

Your first clue that this is a rich part of Dublin is when we lose our sea view because big houses with bigger gates block the view.

Look carefully and you'll notice the Irish phenomenon that once your personal net worth exceeds a certain number, ironically you stop using numbers of your house and instead give your house a name.

One Dublin wit said "never mind where the streets have no names, Bono lives where the houses have no numbers".

Celebs in Dalkey

The good thing about Ireland is that celebs like coming here because we leave them alone. Matt Damon got stuck in Dalkey for months during Covid and made the local supermarket go viral when he was spotted carrying his swimming gear in their branded bag. Tom Hanks stays at Bono's place when he came to give a talk at the Dalkey Book Festival. You know a place is nice when they have books festivals. And lobster festivals.

Dalkey Island

Dalkey Island is 300 metres off the coast of Dalkey, just up Coliemore Road. This is the kind of thing that I love in Dublin. You're in a major European capital city, but looking out at an island that could be in the most remote part of the Ireland.

Its tiny 22 acres has a long history. They found evidence of humans on this island from 4500 years ago! It has ruins of a 7th century church and a more recent 1804 Martello Tower. It is also a Special Protection Area for birds.

It'll be busy with people taking photos, but save your phone battery. You're about to hear about a place with better views.

Dillon's Park

Walk just a bit further up the hill to Dillon's Park where you have better views of the island and the tourists somehow miss. There might be a local or two walking their dog, but otherwise you'll have it all to yourself and it has much better views of Dalkey Island.

In the park, look for the Ancient Holy Puddle, although being Dalkey they call it a Well. Locals insist has healing properties, mainly for real estate prices.

Dinner in Dalkey

You could plan to do this walk in the afternoon, do a tour of Dalkey Castle, then watch the sunset over Dalkey Island, have dinner and a drink in Dalkey. You won’t see many tourists, just locals. Then hop on the train back into the city.

Killiney

Dublin's Sorrento

When rich Dubliners started travelling in Victorian times, they saw places like Sorrento and thought, ‘That’s quite nice". So they came home, realized that Killiney Bay had a resemblance to the Bay of Naples. This is why you'll see Italian names & styles in this part of Dublin.

Shame they couldn't import the Italian weather or football team though.

Sorrento Row

At the top of the Coliemore Road hill is Sorrento Row. Those unassuming looking townhomes are some of Ireland's most expensive properties. They don't look great from where you are now, but you'll understand why in a few minutes.

Keep following the road, then suddenly it opens up and you see the most glorious view in all of Dublin. Across Killiney Beach and over to the Wicklow Mountains.

Vico Road

Again, don't burn your batteries here, the views get even better as you walk along Vico Road. You can look down and see the train tracks. And feel a smidgen of satisfaction that all those lucky people in these amazing homes still have a train rattling their walls every 15 minutes.

Lucky Horses

A lovely thing happened on my walk this week. We stopped at one of the more opulent homes on Vico Road. My guests were taking their time, snapping photos, when I saw the homeowner come out. I was getting ready for a confrontation. But he was the nicest man. He spent 15 minutes telling us the history of the area. He even told us that his own home used to be a horse stable. Lucky horses to have that view!

Now, if you're on my guided walk, this is usually where we start heading down toward the beach. We've done nearly 15,000 steps at this point.

But if you are up for it, there's a lot more to see around here. You just need youthful knees for it.

Killiney Hill

Killiney Hill is worthy of a day trip in itself. Look for the Cat's Ladder sign. It'll take a good 20 minutes to get to the top, but if you think the views from Vico Road are good, wait until you see them from the top of the hill.

Vico Baths & Eire 7 Sign

As you walk along the Vico Road, look for a small opening in the wall and some steps. This will bring you down to the Vico Baths. A lesser visited swimming spot than the Forty Foot.

As you walk down the steps, you will see built into the cliff a sign saying "Eire". Eire is the Irish for Ireland. During World War 2, we put up these signs all along our coast to let German bombers know that this was neutral Ireland and to leave us alone.

Beach & Home

The walk ends on the beach, where you'll see more people swimming. But you'll turn right and go to the train station to bring you home. The view from the train is amazing, so look out the window as the train does in 5 minutes what it took you two hours to do.

Getting There

By DART

Take the DART from the city to Dun Laoghaire. The train creeps past Dublin Docklands, home of the European HQs of many tax wary US corporations, then under the glass sombrero looking Aviva Stadium and then a few minutes later, it's adios city and hola sea.

Local Tip. Sit in a forward facing seat on the left side of the DART for the best views

By Boat

Take the Dublin Bay Cruise from Howth. You can do my Howth Cliff Walk in the morning (those views!), then hop on the hour cruise across the bay. The boat docks right in Dún Laoghaire harbor, where the Sea walk begins.

Local Tips

• Boats run April to October, but double check!
• Book ahead if it's going to be one of our two sunny days of the year
• DART trains run every 15 minutes
• Get a Leap Visitor Card for the Dart if you're here for a few days
• This walk is best done on Sundays when the Farmers Market is on

Have Questions?

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