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Dublin to Belfast Black Cab, Dunluce Castle and Giant's Causeway
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From €80 per person
This is a proper day out - a 13-hour run from Dublin that takes you deep into two very different sides of the north. You travel up by luxury coach to Belfast, where small groups of around five passengers hop into black cabs for a 90-minute political tour of west Belfast guided by a local with first-hand knowledge of the Troubles.
You’ll visit the Falls Road and Shankill, see the murals that turned the city into the world’s largest outdoor art gallery, and stop at the Peace Wall - those permanent structures that first went up in 1969 and have only grown taller since. Your guide carries personal stories and local folklore that no guidebook carries. At the end of the cab tour you’re dropped at the Titanic Experience, where you can use the facilities before heading on.
From Belfast you take the spectacular Antrim coastal route - past remote glens, fishing villages and sheer Atlantic cliffs - before stopping at Dunluce Castle for 30 minutes. This 500-year-old fortress teetering on the cliff edge is one of the most dramatically placed buildings in Europe. Paid admission is included.
Then it’s on to the Giant’s Causeway, arriving around 2.30pm, where you have a full 2 hours. Those 40,000 interlocking basalt columns were formed by volcanic eruptions 60 million years ago. You can follow the trail to the Giant’s Boot, sit in the Wishing Chair, and take the Clifftop Trail for a bird’s-eye view all the way to Scotland. There’s a free shuttle train between the visitor centre and the coast. Lunch options are available on site.
Head for home with a designated rest stop on the way, arriving back in Dublin in the evening.
Dublin departure - 7:00am at The Starbucks, 1 College Green; 7:05am at Dublin Bus Office, 59 O’Connell Street, Dublin 1. Be there at least 10 minutes early - the coach can’t wait. Look for the grey coach with a silver dog logo.
Shankill, Belfast - During the Troubles, the Shankill was a stronghold of loyalist paramilitary activity where the UVF and UDA had their roots. Like the Falls, it’s covered in huge murals honouring local history. You’ll spend plenty of time out of the cab capturing images. (30 min)
Black cab political tour, Belfast - Arriving around 9:15am with a 20-minute break first. Groups of roughly five head out with a local guide in a black cab through the world’s largest outdoor art gallery. You’ll see the Falls Road, the Bobby Sands mural on the Sinn Féin building, the International Wall, and the Peace Wall. The guide’s knowledge of Belfast’s political and social history is immediate and personal. (35 min)
The Peace Wall - Built from 1969 onwards, first as temporary structures and now permanent, these walls run between Catholic and Protestant communities. They’ve grown in height, length and number since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. In Belfast, 75% of the 97 peace lines are in the north and west of the city - home to the most disadvantaged communities. Sadly, 67% of Troubles deaths occurred within 500 metres of one of these walls. (10 min)
Drop-off at Titanic Belfast - The black cab tour ends outside the Titanic Experience building, where you can use the restroom and visit the café. (10 min)
Antrim Coastal Route - A slow run along one of the world’s most stunning coastlines - rugged cliffs, small fishing villages, remote glens. Your guide will point out the Game of Thrones filming locations along the way. (pass by)
Dunluce Castle - A 500-year-old castle perched on the north Atlantic cliff edge. Used as the House of Greyjoy in Game of Thrones. Paid admission included; 30 minutes to explore the castle and grounds. On a clear day you’ll see Scotland from the walls. (30 min)
Giant’s Causeway - Arriving around 2:30pm with 2 hours to explore. Look out for the Giant’s Boot, the Wishing Chair (a natural basalt throne), and the Camel. The Clifftop Trail gives you a bird’s-eye view of the whole site and out to Scotland. Free shuttle train between the visitor centre and the coast. Lunch options available. (120 min)
Meeting point: Dublin Bus Office, 59 O’Connell Street Upper, Dublin 1 at 7:05am. Be outside at least 5 minutes before departure. Grey coach with silver dog logo.
The Belfast black cab tour: the difference between a good cab tour and an average one comes down to the guide. The best guides are people who lived through the Troubles on one side or the other and carry the weight of that in the way they tell it. Read the reviews and look for mentions of the individual guide by name - you are paying for the personal account, not just the route. The tour visits the Falls and Shankill, the Bobby Sands mural, the International Wall, and the Peace Wall: structures that first went up in 1969 and are still there more than twenty-five years after the Good Friday Agreement. If you have any time in Belfast after the cab tour ends at the Titanic Quarter, the Crown Liquor Saloon on Great Victoria Street is a National Trust-owned Victorian gin palace still running as a working pub - and Kelly’s Cellars on Bank Street has been going since 1720.
Dunluce Castle: the castle has been on this basalt stack above the north Atlantic for over 500 years, and the story attached to it is worth knowing before you walk in. In 2011 archaeologists found the remains of a planned settlement from 1608 beside the castle - a “lost town” with indoor toilets and a grid street plan, abandoned after the Battle of the Boyne. The kitchen wing is said to have fallen into the sea one night with the cooks still in it. On a clear day, Scotland is visible from the walls. Dunluce is five minutes’ drive west of Bushmills village - the Old Bushmills Distillery, with a licence dating to 1608, and the narrow-gauge heritage railway to the Causeway are both in the village if you come back for a longer stay.
Giant’s Causeway at Bushmills: two hours is enough to do the main circuit properly. The shuttle train from the visitor centre gets you to the stones, but it’s worth walking the Clifftop Trail on the way back up - the high path gives you a bird’s-eye view of the whole site that you don’t get at ground level. The stones themselves are free; it’s the visitor centre that charges.
Arriving early or late: the coach arrives around 2:30pm, which is the busiest part of the day at the Causeway. There’s nothing you can do about the timing on a day trip, but walking the Clifftop Trail puts you above most of the crowds, and the eastern end of the stones past the Wishing Chair gets thinner as you go.