Howth

Howth.

Coastal walks. Secluded beaches. The best chai tea of my life. 

Howth is perfect if you’re staying close to Dublin and don’t have all day but want to get out of the city for some gorgeous scenery. Here’s all the reasons you need to make Howth your next adventure spot. 

1. Getting there is cheap, fast and easy. 

• 

• 

Starting from the O’Connolly Station in the Dublin city centre, Howth is just a short 20 minute DART ride away. While you can buy a really cheap return ticket at the station, it’s even cheaper to use a Leap card at the turnstiles if you have one. 

While it’s a little hard to tell how much money was taken off our cards (not to mention those machines are finicky and honestly stress me out), our very mathematical calculations told us that about 3.50 euros were taken off our card each way. So that’s 7 euro total (or $7.53 for all my U.S. friends.) 

This is a fairly affordable trip considering how much travel usually costs. I mean how far can a $7.53 Uber even take you? (The answer is not that far.)

2. Coastal views and hikes, baby

Howth is Ireland’s version of California.

The way the town is set up from the shops along the coast to the style of the homes built on the sides of cliffs to the fact that there were even different kinds of palm trees scattered all over the place really gives off California vibes, like no other place I’ve visited. 

• 

• 

• 

The coast is beautiful and the hike we took was right along the coast similar to the way the hike in Bray was set up. You can read all about that town here. 🙂 The trail we took in Howth called Cliff Path Loop, however, unlike Bray, is a loop (as the name would suggest), which I really liked. There are also four different trails along the loop you could take depending on the level of difficulty and length you’re looking for. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We, of course, took the easiest trail – the green trail  – not because we are wimps but because we are wimps AND we didn’t have a whole lot of time. The trailhead was easy to find and trails were easy to follow. I would like to mention that we do have reason to suspect that some of the colors on the trail markers had either faded or been installed incorrectly because the colors at times did not match those on the trailhead map, but it’s okay. I promise you won’t get lost. 

One beautiful thing about Howth is that it has a lighthouse at the end of one of the trails. We strayed off our green trail for a bit to get closer to the lighthouse, which was deceivingly farther away than it looked. Before we could make it all the way to the lighthouse, though, we happened upon something, which leads me to my next point. 

• 

• 

• 

3. A secluded beach!

Yes, that’s right folks, we found the most beautiful and only secluded beach I’ve ever been on. This was absolutely my favorite part of the whole trip. And the good news is you only have to be slightly crazy to get to it. 

The trail down to the beach was pretty darn sketchy, not gonna lie. It was steep, wet, slippery and loose at some points (sorry, mom), but if you take your time and be careful, you will be fine. I mean, my friends and I all made it down and out, and I’m not known for being the most coordinated person. 

• 

• 

• 

Now once you get down there, there’s a few things you have to do:

4. Finally, chai tea. 

When we somehow made it back to Howth, hungry and exhausted we found a cute little tea shop to occupy the rest of our time in that beautiful little town. We went to The Waggy Tail Tea Rooms, which looking at the name now I think means you can bring your dog here, which only makes me love it more. 

Their chai tea is amazing, and I highly recommend you try it. 

Here’s a map, too, to show you where Howth is located in relation to Dublin. 

Howth is a wonderful little town, and I really hope all of you get the chance to visit.