Giant’s Causeway Tour from Belfast

A full day from Belfast to the Giant’s Causeway and back takes around eight hours if you want proper time at the stones and two or three stops along the coast. Six hours works if you accept one stop instead of three. Four does not work at all, whatever anyone tells you, because the driving alone is two and a half hours of it.

The Giant’s Causeway tour starts sixty miles north of Belfast. What fills the rest of the day is the Causeway Coastal Route in between, and whether you see that properly depends far more on how you travel than on how early you leave.

Three things that separate a private tour from a coach:

• Collection is from your hotel, the cruise terminal or the airport, not a meeting point in the city centre
• You set the time at each stop rather than returning to a bus on someone else’s schedule
• The route changes with the weather, the crowds and what your group actually wants

The Route North

There are two ways to reach the Causeway. The motorway takes an hour and ten minutes and shows you nothing at all. The Causeway Coastal Route takes considerably longer and is the reason most people come to Northern Ireland in the first place.

We travel out along the coast and return by the faster inland road. That way you see the scenery in the morning when everyone is fresh, and you are not facing a two-hour drive in the dark at the end of a long day.

Carrickfergus Castle

Twenty minutes out of Belfast, a Norman castle on the shore was begun in 1177 and remained in continuous military use until 1928. A short stop, and a good one first thing, while the day is still settling.

The Glens of Antrim

Nine valleys run down to the sea between Larne and Ballycastle. Glenariff is the one most visitors see, with its forest park and waterfall walks, though Glenarm and Cushendun each have their own character.

This stretch of coast road is the part people remember afterwards, so it is worth allowing time for photographs rather than driving it in one go. Our Glens of Antrim tour covers the area in more depth for anyone who wants it as the focus of the day rather than a stage of the journey.

Carnlough and Ballintoy

Carnlough is a Victorian harbour village where Arya Stark climbs from the canal in Braavos. Ballintoy Harbour, reached down a steep, narrow lane, served as Lordsport in the Iron Islands.

Both are worth five minutes, even if the television connection means nothing to you. For anyone following the series properly, our Game of Thrones tour covers the locations in sequence, and there is a full guide to where Game of Thrones was filmed in Northern Ireland.

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

A rope bridge thirty metres above the sea, connecting the mainland to a small island once used by salmon fishermen. Fifteen minutes from the Causeway, which makes the pairing natural.

Two practical points that catch people out. Entry is ticketed with timed slots and sells out from June onwards, so it needs to be booked in advance rather than decided on the day. And there is a walk of around a kilometre from the car park before you reach the bridge, on uneven coastal ground. Our Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge tour sets out what to expect.

Dunluce Castle

A ruin on a basalt outcrop between Portrush and the Causeway, with a sea cave running underneath it and a kitchen that reportedly fell into the sea during a storm in 1639. It photographs well from the road and rewards a proper look if the day allows. There is more on Dunluce Castle if you want the history before you arrive.

The Dark Hedges

A beech avenue planted in the 1770s along the approach to Gracehill House, now better known as the Kingsroad. Ten minutes, and it sits naturally on the return leg rather than the outward one.

Bushmills

The distillery holds a licence dating to 1608. Tours run about an hour and book up, so it works when planned in and does not when squeezed at the last minute.

At the Giant’s Causeway Tour

Around forty thousand basalt columns, mostly hexagonal, formed roughly sixty million years ago as lava cooled and contracted. They step down from the cliffs into the sea in a formation regular enough that the legend of Finn McCool building a road to Scotland has always been the more satisfying explanation.

It is the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Northern Ireland.

From the visitor centre, the path runs about a kilometre down to the stones on tarmac, with a shuttle bus for anyone who would rather not walk the descent. Most people spend ninety minutes here, including the walk down, time on the columns and the climb back.

Three named formations are worth finding: the Giant’s Boot, the Wishing Chair and the Organ. The clifftop Red Trail runs above the main site and is considerably quieter than the path below, though it involves the Shepherd’s Steps and takes longer.

We have written a full visitor guide to the Giant’s Causeway covering the formations, the Amphitheatre, the Chimney Pots and the story behind Port na Spaniagh, if you like to know what you are looking at before you get there.

Timings and Prices

The full day price covers up to four passengers in a Mercedes vehicle with a qualified chauffeur-guide, collection and return to your hotel or the cruise terminal, and the driver’s time throughout. Admission fees to National Trust sites are not included, and we will let you know in advance what needs to be booked.

For larger parties, we run a V-Class or multiple vehicles. Send us the numbers and dates, and we will quote against the actual itinerary.

The constraint people underestimate is the return leg. A day built to reach the Causeway with thirty minutes in hand has no room for a road closure or a queue at the visitor centre, and on this coast in July, both are likely. That margin is exactly what a private vehicle protects.

What the Giant’s Causeway Tour Includes

Collection from your hotel, the Belfast cruise terminal or Belfast International Airport. Travel throughout in a Mercedes V-Class or S-Class.

Commentary from a driver holding a professional guiding qualification through Tour Guides Northern Ireland rather than a script read from a folder. You can read about our guiding background and the company.

Lunch is usually taken at Ballycastle or Bushmills depending on the route. We will make a recommendation rather than a booking unless you ask.

For Cruise Passengers

If your ship is docked in Belfast, the Causeway is achievable on a six-hour call and comfortable on eight. Everything is timed backwards from your all-aboard time with a margin built in, and your driver tracks the schedule through the day.

Our Belfast shore excursions page covers the service, and the Belfast cruise port guide sets out realistic timings against different call lengths.

Practical Advice

• Book Carrick-a-Rede ahead. Timed slots sell out from June, and there is no walk-up availability on busy days.
• Bring layers, whatever the forecast says. Conditions on the north coast rarely match Belfast, and the exposure at the Causeway is real.
• Wear something with grip. Wet basalt is slippery, and the stones are uneven.
• Tell us if walking is difficult. The shuttle covers the descent at the Causeway, and Carrick-a-Rede has viewpoints that do not need the full path. It is much easier to plan for in advance than to discover on the day.
• Go early or late in summer. Coach traffic builds from mid-morning through mid-afternoon.

Other Options from Belfast

If the Causeway is not the priority, our day tours across Northern Ireland cover the alternatives. Closer to the city, the Belfast and Titanic tour and our private tours of Belfast work well as a half day or a poor-weather option.

Common Questions