Four of Northern Ireland’s most iconic spots in a single day from Dublin - and because there’s a luggage compartment on board, you can use this as a one-way trip to Belfast if it suits your plans.
The tour gives you proper time at each stop rather than rushing through. Your guide keeps the commentary going throughout, sharing the stories and history that make each place make sense when you arrive.
What’s Included
Professional guide with live commentary throughout
Visits to Dunluce Castle, Giant’s Causeway, the Dark Hedges, and Belfast City
Luggage compartment
Drive along the Antrim coast
All other attractions can be seen without extra charges
Air-conditioned vehicle
What’s Not Included
Food and drinks
Hotel pick-up and drop-off
Itinerary
Dunluce Castle. Perched on a basalt outcrop right on the north Antrim coast, Dunluce was the seat of Clan MacDonnell from the 13th century - a place that held its ground against invaders from land and sea for hundreds of years. You’ll recognise it as the filming location for Pyke, the castle of House Greyjoy in Game of Thrones. C.S. Lewis drew on it too when he was writing Narnia. The ruins are genuinely atmospheric, with the Atlantic crashing beneath the walls. (5 min)
Giant’s Causeway. Around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, most of them hexagonal, formed when lava cooled slowly over millions of years. Local legend credits Finn McCool with building them as a bridge to Scotland, and it’s easy to see why the place sparked that kind of story. It’s the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Northern Ireland, and it’s one of those places that looks exactly as extraordinary in person as it does in photos. (90 min)
The Dark Hedges. This avenue of old beech trees planted around 1775 to line the approach to Gracehill House is one of the most photographed roads in Ireland. The branches arch overhead to form a tunnel, and on a quiet morning it has a genuinely eerie quality - helped along by the local story of The Grey Lady, said to haunt the road. Game of Thrones used it as the King’s Road; it also appeared in Transformers: The Last Knight. (20 min)
Belfast. You’re dropped off at Belfast City Hall, right in the heart of the city. From there you can explore on your own - the Albert Clock, the Crown Liquor Saloon (a Victorian gin palace worth seeing), the shipbuilding history, and the murals that tell the story of the Troubles. Belfast is unlike anywhere else on the island; it rewards a good wander. (60 min)
Return to Dublin. The tour arrives back in Dublin around 7:30 PM.
Meeting point: Outside Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Parnell Square North, Dublin 1. Be there 5-10 minutes before the 6:45 AM departure.
Return point: Outside Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Parnell Square North, Dublin 1 - around 7:30 PM and 8:30 PM.
Good to Know
Not recommended for travellers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for pregnant travellers
Not recommended for travellers with poor cardiovascular health
Infants and small children can travel in a pram or stroller
Public transport is available nearby at both ends
Maximum group size of 53
Tour operates in English
Local Tips
The luggage compartment makes this a smart one-way option if you’re continuing on to Belfast - check in to your hotel there after the drop-off rather than hauling bags back to Dublin.
At the Giant’s Causeway, you have 90 minutes which is enough to do it properly. Walk the cliff path down from the visitor centre, spend time on the columns, then back up via the Shepherd’s Steps - the loop is about 2 km. The visitor centre is paid but the basalt columns themselves are free to access. Arrive with the group and let the first wave of selfie-takers move through; five minutes of patience gives you space on the rocks.
In Bushmills village - which you’ll pass through on the Antrim coast road - the tour does not typically stop, but it’s worth knowing the layout if you’re planning to come back independently. The village sits just three kilometres from the Causeway, and the Giant’s Causeway and Bushmills Railway runs a narrow-gauge heritage line between the two from Easter to October. Sit on the seaward side.
Belfast’s free time centres on City Hall, and the Crown Liquor Saloon is the one detour worth taking on foot - a five-minute walk on Great Victoria Street, a genuinely Victorian gin palace with tiled snugs, still owned by the National Trust and run as a working pub. If you want something deeper on the city’s divided history, the Falls-Shankill murals are in the west of the city and beyond walking range in one hour, but St George’s Market on May Street is closer and the Saturday version has the best food stalls in the city.
Nearby on IrelandMe
Belfast - Where Titanic was built and launched in 1911, the Crown Liquor Saloon has been poured since Victorian times, and Kelly’s Cellars has been trading since 1720
Bushmills - The distillery village three kilometres from the Causeway, with a heritage narrow-gauge railway connecting the two and the Bushmills Inn’s peat fire for after
