Northern Ireland Highlights Tour: Giants Causeway, Dunluce Castle, Dark Hedges
4.6
173 Ratings
Belfast
Experience the best of Northern Ireland on a laid-back tour that includes the iconic Giant's Causeway, stunning Dunluce Castle, and the famous Dark Hedges. Spend ample time at each attraction and soak in the beauty of the Antrim countryside.
Duration:
6 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Dunluce Castle - Enjoy a 5 minute photo stop at the most amazing Castle ruin in Ireland. This stop is a dream for any photographer. You dont even need to be a photographer to take some pictures that all your friends will be jealous off
- The Dark Hedges - You’ll have chance to stop along the way to admire the Dark Hedges, a key filming location for hit TV series Game of Thrones, for 10 - 15 minutes. The trees were planted 270 years ago by the Stuart family as a driveway to their Gracehill Manor. It is now very well known to amateur photographers.
- Giant’s Causeway - Enjoy around 1.5 hours to marvel at the spectacular landscapes at the Giant’s Causeway, made up of some 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. It has often been described as the 8th wonder of the world. You will see why once you have visited the place. This is one of the world’s greatest natural attractions. According to mythology, Finn built the Causeway as stepping stones to cross the Irish sea in order to battle Benandonner, a Scottish giant. Although a giant himself, when Finn reached Scotland he saw that Benandonner was almost twice his size, and immediately retreated with his rival in pursuit. Finnâs wife disguised him as a baby, and on seeing the child, Benandonner fled home fearing how enormous itâs father must be.
What's Included
- Professional guide
- No extra charges for attractions
- Air-conditioned vehicles
- Live on-board commentary
What's Not Included
- Food and drinks
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information
An unhurried excursion offering ample time at key sights
Tick through Northern Ireland’s standouts on this 6-hour journey from Belfast. Stand in awe at the Giant’s Causeway, the single UNESCO World Heritage site in Northern Ireland; visit recognizable filming settings like the Dark Hedges and the impressive Dunluce castle. Traverse the countryside of Antrim
- Not recommended for small children. If they are very used to travelling on a bus tour (up to 2 hours between stops, up to 9 hours for the day) and very used to walking, please book 1 seat per child and bring your own child seat.
- Not recommended to those with walking disabilities (a fair amount of walking involved)
- Not recommended for participants with back problems, with heart complaints, pregnant women or other serious medical conditions
- If passengers are late to the pick up the bus will not wait for them even if they call the office before hand. Must make sure they are on time. If passengers are intoxicated at any stage of the tour they will not be allowed on/back on the bus.
- The pick up point is in the Belfast City Centre so there is no parking available for passengers to leave their cars for the entire day.
- Use the bathroom prior to coming to the pick up point. Bring a packed lunch and also wear comfortable clothing, comfortable shoes as well as a rainproof jacket.
- It is the passengers responsibility to ensure that all Visa and travel documents are in order prior to the tour. (If heading to Dublin)
Location
31 Chichester St
Chichester Street
Departure: 31 Chichester Street, Belfast (Across from the Garrick bar on the corner of Chichester and Montgomery street)*Please be there 5 - 10 min before departure time. Pick up time is 9.15am
Drop off will be at approx. 3.00-3.30pm
Please note that all times are approximate.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.6
(173 Ratings)
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Scottnpittston
Apr 17, 2024
Beautiful - The his was a very informative and beautiful tour across the Northern Ireland Coastline!! Quiggs was a great guide, gave us so much history , and was very funny!! Tomas our driver was professional and got us to where we needed to be safely and on time. Great tour all around.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
213mollyb
Feb 29, 2024
Awesome trip! - This day trip was so much fun! The causeway is incredible, definitely a must see when visiting Ireland. Visiting Belfast was also a highlight as it is a wonderful city. Luke was a fantastic tour guide. He was funny, engaging, and knowledgeable. Thanks Luke and Fred for one of my favorite days in Ireland!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Scot2104
Aug 27, 2023
A Must Do Tour! - Fantastic trip to the the giants causeway! It’s been on my bucket list and for good reason!
Our tour guide was fab, knowledgeable and really funny!!
The weather stayed kind for the most part too!!
Would really recommend this!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Haritz_u
Aug 3, 2023
Entertaining and interesting - Interesting and intense in a good way since it was a half-day tour. We were given plenty of time to roam around and enjoy the views, and our guide was very attentive and informative.
Review provided by Viator
Stephen
Jun 19, 2023
Forget the rest…get the best - We booked this tour 24 hours before the date we wanted. We received and instant confirmation but being a little wary, I contacted the tour company by phone to make sure all would be right. The tour company owner Michael said he would verify all details including a pick up at the cruise terminal. 30 minutes later we received a confirmation all was well.
At 9.00 am the following morning we were warmly greeted by our driver Redmond (call me Red !!) who explained what we could do during our tour including shortening times at attractions, missing some all together If we wished ( we skipped Bushmills as we’re not whiskey drinkers) and substituted a hearty pub lunch instead. The attractions we visited were excellent and given we had a bit of time up our sleeve, Red took us on a tour of his home town Derry to finish the day.
Whilst the cost may seem high compared to doing things on a coach, if you have a party of 4 it works out very cost effective, is done at a pace you dictate and you have a lot of fun on the way.
Thoroughly recommend both the tour company and our driver Red 👍
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Debra_w
Sep 9, 2023
Nice day out - Noel our guide was very good; and the driver Igor ensured we had a safe trip. Very busy at the Causeway; but weather was great. Instructions for the meeting place were confusing.
Review provided by Viator
Denise_r
Sep 6, 2023
The site itself was... - The site itself was great! The tour guide was not good. He was often crude in his humor and vulgar in his comments. It was inappropriate especially with a child on the bus.
Review provided by Viator
Fillmoresmiley
Jul 30, 2023
Good value - The tour guide was engaging. Giant's Causeway was impressive. I would have liked to do more at Dunlace Castle then a photo op. We were able to grab a quick lunch to go at the hotel by the Causeway. The Dark Hedges we could have lived without. I like Game of Thrones but it's just a row of trees. Overall though, the tour was a good value.
Review provided by Viator
Lauraap5822rj
Sep 19, 2023
Finn McCool tour was ok - This was 1 of 2 Finn McCool tours of the total of 5 tours I did over my 2 week vacation. This was the better of the 2. I booked this one because when I booked it the description included Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge. This was a major site I wanted to experience. The day of the tour is when I found out not only were we not going to be able to cross the bridge, but we also weren't even going to stop there! The tour guide (Ryan who was very good as was our driver) was telling tales (Blarney) the entire tour so we thought he was joking. I posted the question on a Face Book page for people travelling to Ireland to ask questions. That is when I found out that the bridge has been closed to tour busses for over a year!!! I received a request from Finn McCool Tours on how hard Covid has been on their business, how they are working hard to rebuild their business, etc and to please write a review. I would think that with them trying to rebuild their business, they would have accurate information on what the tour does & doesn't cover. The guide & driver were awesome and totally made this tour passable. My overall suggestion is to confirm before booking, there are so many tour companies, you will not miss out if you don't "book right away".
Review provided by Tripadvisor
W7023dslauriew
Sep 12, 2023
Parts were good and parts weren't. - The meet up place listed for Belfast (in front of "Top Shop") doesn't exist. We we were told by locals it went out of business yeats ago.
I was disappointed that the Carrick-a-rede bridge was closed, we were not allowed to walk it. The bus didn't even stop at this location. The time at Giant's Causeway was sufficient although you need a separate ticket to get into the visitor center where the Cafe is. The stop at Dunluce Castle was ample time also. As for our driver. Handsome Thomas, & guide, Ryan. We're fantastic!! They definitely made the experience 💚☘️
Review provided by Tripadvisor
