A Guide to Visiting Newgrange: Ireland's Mysterious Neolithic Site
Step back in time by visiting the incredible Newgrange historic site in Ireland!
Older than both the Pyramids of Giza and Stonehenge, Newgrange was built around 5,200 years ago.
It’s one of three historic locations within the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Brú na Bóinne, which is located within the larger Boyne Valley.
All three are worth your time, but Newgrange is the largest and most impressive if you’re just passing through this part of Ireland on your way to Dublin.
In the guide below, you’ll find everything you need to know for a successful trip from where to find Newgrange to what to expect on the tour.
The Newgrange Neolithic site
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Getting to Newgrange
Where is the Newgrange historic site?
Newgrange is in a rural part of the Boyne Valley, about halfway between the tiny town of Slane and the larger town of Drogheda.
Newgrange and the larger Boyne Valley are only 45 minutes north of Dublin, making this a great day trip.
The Boyne Valley is an incredible destination if you’re interested in history, as Newgrange and 2 other Neolithic sites are within easy driving distance of one another.
Knowth, Howth, and Newgrange form a rough triangle on a wide expanse of what is now farmland in a bend of the River Boyne.
If you’re interested in more recent history, this area also has the beautiful ruins of Monasterboice (968) and Mellifont Abbey (1152), and the visitors center for the Battle of the Boyne (1690).
The historic site vs. the visitors center
The most difficult part of visiting Newgrange is getting there.
As we came into the town of Slane, which is northwest of the historic site, we started to follow the official site signs for Newgrange, but quickly found ourselves going in circles.
We hoped that our GPS would help out, and it assured us that we were only a few kilometers from it.
After we headed down this tiny road through vast fields, we turned a corner and there it was: this massive, grass-topped mound beyond the stone walls on that side of the road.
However, there wasn't a parking lot, and there wasn't anyone around.
Both of these seemed odd for a major historical site, so I decided to run up to the tiny wooden building at the foot of the hill to see if there was someone in there who could help me.
It turns out that we were in the right place...sort of.
We had found Newgrange, but we couldn't start the tour there.
We had to head across the River Boyne to the visitors' center to purchase our tickets and get a scheduled tour time, then a tour bus would bring us back to the historic site.
We followed the new directions and found the visitors' center about 10 minutes later.
As you can see in the map below, Newgrange is across the river from the visitors center.
It’s not particularly intuitive that the visitors center is so far from the actual historic site, so keep that in mind if your GPS app starts sending you down tiny roads that wander between sheep fields.
Purchasing Tickets
We weren’t there at a peak visitation time, so we were able to buy tickets at the information counter in the visitors center for the next available bus, which was leaving in about 30 minutes.
However, I do not recommending doing this because these tours can, and do, sell out.
NOTE: If you’re visiting during the summer season, you can book tours for both Newgrange and nearby Knowth, another Neolithic burial site, at the center, but only the Newgrange tours run in the off-season.
To ensure that you’ll get a seat on the tour bus, you will want to buy your tickets ahead of time online.
The tour sizes are very limited to keep the historic site from being disturbed, so planning ahead and getting the right tour time for your itinerary is very important.
Plan to arrive at least 30-45 minutes ahead of your assigned check in time.
Doing so gave us just enough time to go through the informative mini-museum onsite: here, you can discover more about the Neolithic people who built Newgrange, how they survived in the harsh Irish climate, theories on what the mound was used for, and information on the archeologists who excavated it in the mid-1900s.
Even though some of this was covered in the guided tour at Newgrange that you’ll take after the bus ride, it was helpful to get a deeper context of what we were about to see.
A diorama in the Newgrange Visitors Center
Ticket Options
During the main visitors season (March to November), you can take one of three tours from the Brú na Bóinne Visitors Center:
Newgrange only,
Knowth only, and
Combined Newgrange and Knowth.
The single site tours are each 2 hours, while the combined tour is 3 hours.
Each tour only holds about 14 people in order to limit the number of people in and around the historic sites at any given time.
The Tour of Newgrange: A Review
Getting to the site is an adventure in itself.
At the start of your tour, the time for which will be on your ticket, you’ll hear an announcement in the visitors' center with directions on how to meet your tour bus.
You’ll then walk across the river via the metal foot bridge, and wait for the tour bus to pull around.
On the way to the tour bus loading area
Then, you’ll take the bus for a 10 minute ride to Newgrange, where you’ll meet your guide.
The process is a bit clunky, but I know that protecting and preserving this ancient site is the most important thing, and not the average visitor’s ease of use.
Your guide will give you an overview of the site, outlining the historical significance of Newgrange and a little about the people who built it.
There’s still a bit of mystery around the Neolithic builders, but the guides do a good job of sharing the most up-to-date archeological research.
After a 10 or 15 minutes of chatting about elements of Newgrange’s exterior, it was time to head inside.
The tours specifically limit the number of people who are in here at any given time, and are very strict about how long each group can stay.
Your group will filter into the inner chamber while following the guide, which is easier said than done. The entrance to the inner chamber requires adults to bend to a 45 degree angle to not bump your head and then walk several feet into the main area.
Once you reach this main inner area, you’ll be able to stand up again, but keep in mind that it is not spacious at any point.
Next, our guide spent about 20 minutes pointing out specific features of the structure.
Surrounding the main chamber were three smaller chambers, each of which was carved with elaborate zig-zags, squares, swirls, and checkerboard patterns.
They were remarkably clear considering they're over 5 millenia old!
You won’t be able to take photos inside of the mound.
One of the highlights of the tour was when the guide turned out all of the lights and then used a flashlight to show the drama of how the sunlight would filter in during the winter solstice.
Many archeologists and historians believe that Newgrange was built in homage to that very thing each year, so seeing it in action (sort of) was worth dealing with my claustrophobia that I was tamping down at this point.
And for those who are interested in seeing the real winter solstice from inside Newgrange, you can enter a lottery to be one of the lucky few who get that experience each year.
Once everyone has had a chance to view the archeological details inside the inner chamber, you’ll head back outside, again crouching to head back out the very short hall and doorway.
You’ll have a few minutes to explore the exterior of the site again, and then it’s back to the visitors center. You can then look at more of the interpretive materials or head out to your next Irish adventure.
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Final Thoughts on Visiting Newgrange
Although our experience at Newgrange started off a bit confusing what with the visitors' center mixup, I am so glad we made the effort to put it in our Ireland road trip itinerary, and I hope you do, too.
After all, it’s not every day that you can boast that you’ve explored historic ruins that date to 3200 BC!
Finish your day in the Boyne Valley with a dinner at Conygham Arms on Slane's main street, where you can have afternoon tea, salads, soup, fish and chips, and sandwiches in a cute hotel.
Stay there or opt for the incredible Clonmellon Lodge, a mini-castle, and one of the best AirBnBs in Ireland.
Tips for Visiting Newgrange
Be prepared for the weather.
You’re both indoors and outdoors at different parts of this trip, so don’t think that you can just dash inside if the weather turns.
And it will turn!
As our guide was starting to tell us about Newgrange just as we’d gotten off of the bus, the Irish weather decided to showcase its full range.
When she began talking, it was sunny and 65 degrees, but by the time we were ready to go into the mound, the temperatures had plummeted and it had started to hail.
Oh, temperamental Irish weather, you keep us all on our toes.
Wear layers, even in the summer, and have a lightweight rain jacket at the ready.
Hang to the back of the group if you’re claustrophobic.
When we headed into the mound, I was more than a little anxious since I'd read that the interior was tough on claustrophobic people.
As I'm massively uncomfortable in anything smaller than an elevator, I decided to hang back so I could be one of the last people entering the mound.
That way, I wouldn't be rushed and could easily turn around if I started to spaz.
With a little encouragement from my husband, I slowly made my way into the Newgrange mound. It was a tight squeeze all the way along the passage, and, in parts, I had to bend almost in half to get underneath the support beams.
If it hadn't been for my determination to experience the historic site, I probably would've turned around and left after the first twenty feet.
So, be warned if you, too, hate small spaces: they aren't lying when they tell you it's close quarters.
Set your GPS to the Brú na Bóinne Visitors Center instead of Newgrange.
Otherwise, you run the risk of being detoured directly to the small roads running beside and behind Newgrange rather than to the visitors center where you can park and board the offical tour bus.
