St Kevins Bus

A convenient connection from Dublin CC to Glendalough. I just wish they had a couple more stops around town as well as a better service frequency, but I guess there isn’t enough demand for that.
There are bus stops right in front of the Visitor Centre in Glendalough, but also in Laragh before that, so if you’re planning on making an overnight stay, you won’t have to walk very far to and from your accommodation.
The only real negative aspect was the lack of punctuality, but other than that it’s an ok service.

This is such a good service and one I’ve been meaning to take advantage of for years.
The bus leaves Dawson street at 11:30, which was a good time for us, gave us enough time to have a little lie in, make a decent breakie to set us up for the day and then make our pack lunch.
We arrived roughly before 13:00, bought a walking map from the visitors centre and headed off on our 9 KM walked around the lakes and the Glenealo Valley. If the distances on the map are correct and I would say that they are, from the drop off point of the bus, we did 12 KM in all and boy do our legs feel it today.
Anyway I digress… so the bus then departs Glendalough at 17:30 to go back to Dublin, which gives you 4.5 hours to see the place. Which is more than enough to tootle around the monastery, the nearby lakes and waterfall. It’s just enough time to do the Spinc and Glenealo Valley (White Route) at good pace.
I was taken aback by the price of the bus ticket though, 20EUR return from Dawson street. I think this is steep, even for Dublin. But I guess if you are the only direct bus service from Dublin to Glendalough, you can get away with it. I would probably use this service more often if it was cheaper. So I dropped a star for that.
My partner made the point that if you’ve got four/​five people altogether who want to go to Glendalough, it would be just as easy and more flexible to hire a car for one day. I am inclined to agree with him.
* please check prices and timetables on their website in case any of what I’ve mentioned has changed!

St. Kevins Bus Service (SKB) does an excellent job filling in the gap left by Dublin Bus as a way to get to Glendalough, Roundtree, and Bray from City Center. As a Dublin resident with no car, it can be tough to get to the interesting stuff outside of Luas and/​or convoluted DubBus connections, especially if you want to get to some quality natural spaces.
SKB can get you to the gorgeous Glendalough Visitor Center and miles of hiking trails and St. Kevins’s Monastic City in 90 minutes and bring you back the same evening with very little bother.
The pick-​up/​drop-​off point in City Center is just off St. Stephen’s Green on Dawson St., making it über convenient to the Green Line Luas or the DubBus stops at Trinity.
Bottom Line: The wheels on the bus go round and round…

St Kevins Bus is the easiest way to get to Glendalough from Dublin city. It beats taking any other transport because it goes through the scenic countryside and drops you off in front of the attraction’s tourist centre. Unlike the public bus that takes ages and drops you off miles from your destination, this bus service allows you to get there without the stress.
St Kevins Bus departs from Dawson Street at 11.30 am in the summer months. It takes an hour and a half to get to Glendalough because it makes a stop at Roundhouse in Wicklow to pick up more passengers.
A return journey costs 20 Euro and pick-​up is at 4.30 or 5.30 pm.
I highly recommend this mode of travel. The buses are clean and air-​conditioned. There’s plenty of available seats and the journey is quiet and relaxing.