Ireland's Ancient Kings: Enchanting Ruins Tour

Discover Ireland’s ancient heritage with a personal tour of Hill of Tara, Trim Castle, and Boyne Valley. Perfect for special occasions.

Duration: 8 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Hill of Tara - You’ll be guided around Tara, a sacred prehistoric burial site, and learn why it is a very important landscape in the psyche and imagination of the Irish people.
    You’ll see the oldest monument on the hill, the Mound of Hostages, that was built in the Neolithic period, and other large ritual monuments that were constructed in the Iron…
What's Included
  • Private transportation
  • Bottled water
  • Snacks
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • Guiding
  • Tea and coffee
What's Not Included
  • Lunch
Additional Information

Embark on a remarkable journey through time, exploring Ireland’s ancient kings and captivating ruins!
Are you based in Dublin and seeking an extraordinary day trip to breathtaking destinations beyond the city, where you can truly experience Ireland from a local perspective?
Allow us to be your guide, eliminating the stress of planning and navigating the…

Location
Dublin
We can pick you up from any meeting point in Dublin area or beyond (in most cases this is your hotel or it can be any other pick up point of your choice)
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(13 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Adam_s
Mar 30, 2025
Perfect day with my parents - This tour was the perfect itinerary! Tara Hill is fascinating, and our guide Diana was very knowledgeable, I enjoyed chatting with her about the area’s ancient history. The pic nic stop at Bective Abbey was such a charming treat- and seeing Trim Castle is just amazing! We had a good amount of time at each stop to really enjoy everything, and Diana was very accommodating… Thank you for a perfect day!
Review provided by Viator
Melissa_h
Mar 27, 2025
Historical hidden gem tour with an amazing tour guide! - This was a wonderful tour with Diane. She was promptly on time, and is very knowledgeable about all the historic sites and shared all the hidden secrets about Ireland. Diane took great care in showing us all the hidden gems on this tour. We thoroughly enjoyed this private tour with Diane. It was a relaxing, informative and beautiful tour. If you love history, this is the tour for you. I highly recommend Diane for any of her private tours.
Review provided by Viator
Paulff5204yl
Feb 6, 2025
Nice full day tour of Irish history - Diana contacted us and put us in touch with Ray, her colleague and fellow tour guide. We had a phone call to discuss what we wanted from the tour and make suggestions/arrangements. From Dublin, we visited Kells, Trim and Tara. Ray was knowledgeable, accommodating and friendly.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
T5732qrjillb
Jan 25, 2025
Irelands past - The tour was great for anyone who loves history. Trim castle was great and the hill of Tara with all its ancient history was wonderful. Diane is a great host with a good knowledge of the history of Ireland.i highly recommend this tour for people who want more than just the tourist spots.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
522brittanyf
Nov 3, 2024
Above expectations - wonderful experience. our guide Ray was excellent and took us to a few extra sites making it an extra special trip/day for me and my husband.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nora
Sep 20, 2024
Walking and Talking - Spending the day with Diana was an absolutely incredible experience. Although I'd been to some of the Boyne Valley sites before, Diana brought new perspectives to what we were seeing. She has a deep understanding and appreciation of Irish history and culture and takes real pleasure in sharing that. She is very smart--a PhD in linguistics!--and also incredibly personable. The French have a word for it, sympa. We stopped in a local cafe in the Boyne Valley and ended up in a great conversation with some of the people there about language and books. We hiked to the top of Loughcrew, over 900 ft up, and she never lost her breath while telling us what we were seeing :-) I cannot recommend her highly enough.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Leslierc4846ui
Jun 11, 2024
The Best Day! - The highlight of our trip to Ireland. We booked a private tour for my husband and myself through Diana’s company. Diana was very personable as well as an interesting and knowledgeable guide. She picked us up at our hotel and took us to three archaeological sites: Tara, Trim Castle and Bective Abbey. She relayed extensive history about each site, the grounds and the features as well as the ruins themselves. Up to this time we had been on 3 other tours in Ireland during our trip here. Those tour guides were fine, however, telling jokes and stories seemed to take precedent over relaying the true history of each place (along with its dark side). We had lots of time to tour and investigate each place and ask questions if we had any, whereas on prior tours, I had felt a bit rushed. And finally, Diana packed and served us a wonderful little picnic that we ate on the grounds of Bective Abbey. Thanks Diane, it was a great day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
E4856cwkaties
Jun 3, 2024
Unforgettable tour with an amazing guide! - I'm still blown away by this tour - we climbed the Hill of Tara and saw breathtaking views, plus we learned so much about the history, legends, and spiritual importance of the site. Our tour guide Diana was a wealth of information, handling every question we asked her with aplomb (and we asked A LOT of questions). Beyond her wide-ranging knowledge of Irish history and legend, Diana was a kind, funny, and unflappable companion as we navigated the sites together. We are so grateful to Gateway to Ireland for making this such an unforgettable trip!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joan
Apr 8, 2024
Terrific private tour! - Our private tour guide was Diana. She picked us up at our Hotel in Temple Bar and spent the day guiding us through some history of a few Boyne Valley Sights: The Hill of Tara, Trim Castle, and Bective Abbey. The Trim Castle Tour was given by an official guide, and was excellent. It was cold, rainy, and sometimes sunny. Diana took good care of us. This was a great way to spend a day with someone else driving and giving expert knowledge of some of the most ancient and historic sights in Ireland. The private tour was well worth the ticket price. We stopped in the village of Trim, near the Trim Castle—had a beautiful homemade soup between stops. We were in a sweet little family luncheonette with excellent service. The HOT soup and the HOT pot of Tea were greatly appreciated on this cold and damp day. (Later in the evening, after the tour, we enjoyed a Guinness😂) Diana could not have been nicer! EXCELLENT GUIDE.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shloves2travel
Oct 23, 2023
Highly Recommend, 3 historical stops - Highly recommend! Amazing day spent with the sweet, attentive, and very knowledgeable Diana. This off the beaten path tour is a delight. Diana drove/guided my husband and I to the Hill of Tara, Bective Abbey and Trim Castle. We loved every minute, making three different historical stops in total. I sincerely appreciated how Diana asked us about our interests, so that she could personalize the day. Loved having tea/coffee and scones sat on a historical wall overlooking the Bective Abbey (chair was optional) and surrounding pastoral lands. We made sure to have our tennis shoes/hiking boots on, as the grasses were wet and a bit muddy; it was great fun getting up close and personal with over 5,000 years of Irish history. Also I was impressed how communicative she was prior to the trip; I felt in good hands from the minute I booked. Would not change a thing; bravo Diana for creating a fun enlightening trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $697 (Per Group)
up to 6 guests
1 - Traveler
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).