Giant’s Causeway sits at the foot of the basalt cliffs along the coast of Northern Ireland, comprised of around an impressive 40,000 interlocking basalt columns.
While it was caused due to an ancient volcanic fissure eruption, legend has it that a local giant created the causeway to cross the sea to reach his rival in Scotland. In fact on a clear day, you can see right across to Scotland, from this impressive site!
There are a ton of tours that come here, but I’ve detailed the 5 top Giant’s Causeway tours from Belfast that are most worth your time and money. Let’s get started!
Best Giant’s Causeway Tours
Belfast - Giants Causeway, Dunluce Castle and Dark Hedges | Private Giants Causeway & Coastal Tour from Belfast in Luxury Mercedes | Giant’s Causeway Day Trip from Belfast | |
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Location: | 31 Chichester St, Belfast BT1 4LD | Hotel or Belfast cruise terminal pickup and drop-off | 22-32 Donegall Rd., Belfast BT12 5JN |
Start: | 9:15 AM | Between 6:15 AM & 2:00 PM | 8:30 AM |
Duration: | 6.5 hours | 9 hours | 9.5 hours |
Includes: | Full-day tour, professional guide, Live commentary on board, air-conditioned vehicle | Full-day excursion , air-conditioned vehicle, WiFi on board, bottled water, snacks | Full-day tour, Live commentary, air-conditioned vehicle, local guide, tour |
Quick Answer: The 5 Best Rated Giants Causeway From Belfast Tours For 2024
- Belfast – Giants Causeway, Dunluce Castle and Dark Hedges
- Private Giants Causeway & Coastal Tour from Belfast in Luxury Mercedes
- Giant’s Causeway Day Trip from Belfast
- Private Giants Causeway & Antrim Coast Tour
- Guided Day Tour of Giant’s Causeway from Belfast by Comfortable Coach
Giants Causeway from Belfast Tour Reviews
1. Belfast – Giants Causeway, Dunluce Castle and Dark Hedges
- Duration: 6.5 hours
- Departure: 31 Chichester St, Belfast BT1 4LD
- Departure Time: 9:15 AM
- Includes: All other attractions can be seen without extra charges, Professional guide, Live commentary on board, Air-conditioned vehicle
It’s no secret that Northern Ireland is one of the most picturesque places in the world, but if you really want to maximize your experience, I have just the tour for you.
Starting things off on the right foot, the Belfast – Giants Causeway, Dunluce Castle and Dark Hedges tour is ideal if you don’t want to spend all day long out exploring. Clocking in at 6.5 hours, they use a very convenient schedule and pristine organization so you see the most without wasting any time!
Starting off at 9:15 am, you’ll be back before dinnertime and still get the full experience of this mythical landscape where it feels like you’re going back into ancient times! Today we get to see not one but three of the most impressive, most visited landmarks in Northern Ireland!
With professional, knowledgeable local guides there to lead the way as well as comfortable transportation with beautiful views along the way – no need to drive yourself!
As we cruised along, our guide shared some interesting stories and background on the different landmarks so we already had a good concept of their histories before arriving.
Our first stop of the journey was the Dunluce Castle ruins which is stunning, albeit a bit creepy-looking! We learned about how it dates all the way back to the 13th century, serving as the backdrop for numerous battles and now supposedly haunted by a young woman who passed away during a storm!
We then stopped at the Dark Hedges, which was one of the most iconic film locations for Game of Thrones! We were able to take plenty of photos and videos before arriving to Giant’s Causeway, which was simply incredible!
It was crazy to see this immense natural formation – it almost looks as if each column was carefully placed in its location by hand, rather than nature doing the work for us.
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
2. Private Giants Causeway & Coastal Tour from Belfast in Luxury Mercedes
- Duration: 9 hours
- Departure: Hotel or Belfast cruise terminal pickup and drop-off
- Departure Time: Between 6:15 AM & 2:00 PM
- Includes: Full-day excursion , Air-conditioned vehicle, WiFi on board, bottled water, snacks
While most of the tours on this guide are not completely private, if you’d like to go with a large friend or family group or simply want the tour all to yourself, this next one is just what you’re looking for.
The Private Giants Causeway & Coastal Tour from Belfast in Luxury Mercedes is a bit more of an upscale experience, where the focus is on your comfort and satisfaction! If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to step into a postcard, this is just about as close as one can possibly get!
The tour starts out in the morning, but we were able to essentially pick the time that worked best for our group (within reason, of course). They will pick you up and drop you off after the tour at your hotel, your cruise terminal, or even the airport, making it incredibly convenient!
Before we started the day, our guide even contacted us to ask us about our specific interests so he could customize the itinerary around them!
The transportation was super comfy, and even included USB ports to charge our phones, wifi to stay connected, bottled water, and snacks. We arrived at the famous Dark Hedges or “King’s Road”, as you may know it if you’re a GoT fan.
Dating back to the 1700s, it looks quite imposing, though absolutely beautiful and serves as a great background for taking photos.
If you like thrills, I recommend adding on a booking to the Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge also from the 1700s, with absolutely terrifying drops! For something a bit more “calm”, the “Iron Islands” spot from Game of Thrones is also here (though in real life, it’s known as “Ballintoy Harbour”).
Over anything else, though, the Giant’s Causeway and Dunluce Castle are the most popular and significant, historically speaking. You get to choose your adventure, though!
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
3. Giant’s Causeway Day Trip from Belfast
- Duration: 9.5 hours
- Departure: 22-32 Donegall Rd., Belfast BT12 5JN
- Departure Time: 8:30 AM
- Includes: Full-day tour, Live commentary, air-conditioned vehicle, local guide, tour
As the longest tour on this guide, you can expect to see and learn a ton, with included roundtrip transport for completely stress-free exploring! The Giant’s Causeway Day Trip from Belfast tour is a fantastic opportunity to see these iconic spots with a humorous, knowledgeable guide!
There’s no way to make this tour even more convenient, making it ideal for the entire family, couples, or even solo travelers! If it’s your first time in Belfast, I would recommend not passing up the opportunity to see not only Giant’s Causeway but other breathtaking places.
Starting out at 8:30 in the morning, we were picked up from our hotel and all boarded the climate-controlled coach with big windows for prime viewing. Our guide was very friendly and fun, making it easy for all of us to be engaged and even make some friends with other group participants!
As we drove along the roads and enjoyed the scenery outside, our guide regaled us with entertaining anecdotes about the surrounding area, as well as plenty of myths and geological background!
We took a brief stop at the Carrickfergus Castle to admire the incredible preservation of the structure and take photos before continuing onto the gorgeous Antrim Coast Road, arriving at the stunning Carnlough Harbour!
We visited plenty of other lovely natural wonders before stopping to refuel with a delicious lunch at the Fullerton Arms in a a charming pub before continuing on to the Old Bushmills Distillery!
Then, we had around a 1.5 hours to venture around Giant’s Causeway and Dunluce Castle, which were amazing, albeit I will say I would have brought a jacket and more grippy shoes as it got a bit rainy! Last but not least was the Dark Hedges, which is when the sun started to go down, making it a bit more intimidating (and cool!).
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
4. Private Giants Causeway & Antrim Coast Tour
- Duration: 7 to 8 hours
- Departure: Hotel, cruise ship terminal, airport pickup and drop-off within Belfast
- Departure Time: Between 8:00 AM & 10:30 AM
- Includes: Bottled water, mobile wi-fi, transportation, guide
The Private Giants Causeway & Antrim Coast Tour is yet another customizable experience depending on you and the rest of your private party’s specific interests! That means you don’t have to worry about spending too much time at one spot, or skipping others that you really want to see.
You get to go completely at your own pace, staying for a longer period of time at those that you are particularly enjoying! There’s no need to worry about arriving at meet-up points on time or booking separate transportation, as they’ll pick you up from your hotel, cruise ship terminal, airport – pretty much anywhere!
Onboard, it was nice and warm on a chilly day, and also included wifi and bottled water so we were connected and could share photos and videos with those back home in real-time. Our driver was very accommodating and well-organized, offering plenty of information as we drove along, as well as answering any questions we had.
He pointed out plenty of areas of interest along the way, making it one of the most educational tours of this kind that I’d taken.
I’d say that the itinerary our guide came up with based on our interests were very well-balanced and versatile, offering a nice variety. For example, we didn’t just see natural sights or just castles. We saw the Dark Hedges, Dunluce Castle, Giant’s Causeway, Ballintoy, the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, and others.
If I can make a recommendation, it’s to not only bring a warm jacket/windbreaker but also make sure you have your camera out, because you’re going to see a ton of breathtaking places.
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
5. Guided Day Tour of Giant’s Causeway from Belfast by Comfortable Coach
- Duration: 7.5 hours
- Departure: Great Victoria St, Belfast BT1 6DY
- Departure Time: 9:00 AM
- Includes: Driver/guide, Live commentary on board, Local guide, Coach transportation, Free access to the Giants Causeway
Do you want to explore a fascinating curation of medieval, natural, and cinematic sights but are on a tight budget? Perhaps you want to save some cash but don’t want to wait forever for large groups to shuttle in and out of a coach at each stop.
If that sounds like you, check out the Guided Day Tour of Giant’s Causeway from Belfast by Comfortable Coach is just the ticket.
The only potential downside I can think of with this tour is the fact that they do not offer a hotel pickup. However, the meet-up location is super easy to access from most places in Belfast, so it’s not a big deal.
Not only that, but our group size was quite small, so we ended up saving quite a bit of time and really making the most of our day. Carefully balancing natural beauty with rich history and folklore, our guide made each location come to life with enthralling stories and historical accounts.
The journey along the rugged coastline was amazing and I was grateful that at such an affordable price, I could spend the journey appreciating the views instead of driving it myself. We first stopped at the legendary Giant’s Causeway, followed by the Dark Hedges and Bushmills Whiskey Distillery.
As a whiskey aficionado myself, it was really cool to get to see the inner workings of the distillery, learn about its history, and of course, try some samples!
One of the highlights for me was our stop in the charming fishing village of Carnlough, which is known for being a Game of Thrones film location but it’s here where we took a break for a tasty lunch. After a few more picturesque stops, it was time for us to head back to our hotels!
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
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The Belfast - Giants Causeway, Dunluce Castle and Dark Hedges is our editors Choice for the best Giants Causeway tour from Belfast