May I interest you in a quaint holiday away from the busy and crowded Dublin? Great! That’s also what I wanted while visiting Ireland. Enter Malahide, a charming, affluent costal village. It reminded me so much of Cabot Cove from Murder, She Wrote. I felt as if any moment J.B. Fletcher was going to come riding up on her bike. The townspeople were friendly, inquiring about my holiday and offering up recommendations.
Malahide has a little of everything for everyone. I cover a lot more of that at the bottom of this, but just know that you will easily spend an entire day discovering this gem. What I enjoyed most about this was visiting the local shops (the shopkeepers are so delightful) and of course, Malahide Castle and grounds.
It was easy to cover this village by foot. I walked, a LOT in Malahide. It was hard to stop walking because every corner I turned was even more charming than the previous. It felt almost like I was stepping back in time as I heard the ocean, the murmur of children laughing and the gravel of a car parking in front of a historic mansion. It’s hilly, but I had prepared accordingly (I did a lot of hill workouts) so it wasn’t too hard to handle.
Malahide Day Trip Information
Malahide is an easy cab ride ~$30 from Dublin City Centre but you can also take a bus! There are also train routes available.
So much! If you’re ready to get out of the city, Malahide is the reprieve you want. This is a very wealthy sister city of Dublin that is oceanside and filled with beach activities, shopping, sporting clubs, chic restaurants and the highest household income in Ireland.
The Malahide castle is incredible and so is the entire property! Your Malahide day trip could easily be spent just here alone! Explore the castle, gardens, butterfly garden, walking trails and scenic grounds. There’s a great market located here that boasts of unique Irish finds from across the country. Also the property is very dog friendly. Lots of locals were having an afternoon picnic with their dogs or out for a stroll.
Everywhere you go in Ireland there’s history and incredible architecture to look at so you’re never bored. I just chose one street to walk up and kept going.
The restaurants are fabulous! There were two places highly recommended for lunch by locals (diner looked even more delicious but it was time to head back), the French restaurant, Deja vu and for seafood, Fish Shack Café. There is a huge variety of cuisines, ranging from Thai to Greek!
I felt extremely safe in Malahide, much more than Dublin (which is not to say anything bad about Dublin). The people were friendly, I ran into a woman walking along the ocean who chatted with me for quite a while about my holiday.
True to European form, lots of kids were out playing after school and no one batted an eye. After seeing that I felt like if young kids (and I mean young) were walking about without concern, so could I.
Above all else, comfortable shoes! I went bold and wore an outfit fill with neutrals. As my friend said, “White lady Carmen Santiago” was my vibe. I cannot stress enough how the weather (skies in this instance) changes in Ireland so I made sure I dressed in layers. I wore my coat half the time.
If you missed the first part of this Ireland series, you can catch up here! As always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you have for your Ireland or Malahide day trip.
Nora
It looks like you had such a lovely trip! Did you travel on your own? Who took all your photos? <3