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From Dublin: Giant's Causeway,Dark Hedges & Belfast Day Trip
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From €75 per person
This day trip takes you north from Dublin through some of the most spectacular scenery on the island, with a driver-guide providing commentary on the history and legends of the Antrim coast throughout the journey.
Your first major stop is the Dark Hedges - an atmospheric avenue of ancient beech trees that became famous worldwide as the Kingsroad in Game of Thrones. It’s genuinely striking in person, particularly in the morning light. From there you head to the Giant’s Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where you can wander among 40,000 basalt columns at your own pace. Entry is included. If you want to stretch your legs further, the clifftop walking trails offer wide views over the Antrim coast and out to sea.
The day also includes free time in Belfast city centre, where you can visit City Hall, explore the Cathedral Quarter, or simply find a good coffee and soak up the city.
Approximately 12 hours in total. Lunch and personal expenses at your own cost. Departs from Dublin city centre.
Make the most of your free time in Belfast. The city centre is compact and walkable - you can get from City Hall to the Cathedral Quarter in about 10 minutes on foot. The Crown Liquor Saloon on Great Victoria Street is owned by the National Trust and run as a working pub; the Victorian tilework and snugs are genuinely worth seeing if you have the time. Kelly’s Cellars on Bank Street goes back to 1720 and is two minutes from the Cathedral Quarter - it’s where Henry Joy McCracken and the United Irishmen plotted the 1798 rising, and you’d never know it from the outside.
Look out for the Peace Walls if you’re moving around Belfast during your free time. The Falls and Shankill run parallel for about a mile in the west of the city, and the walls and gates built in 1969 are still standing. You don’t need a tour to see them - a black taxi driver is the most direct way to understand what you’re looking at.
Take the clifftop trail at Giant’s Causeway if the weather holds. The main path to the columns is straightforward but the clifftop route above gives you a completely different perspective over the coast. It adds maybe 20 to 30 minutes and the views are worth it. You can loop back down to the columns and still have time at the visitor centre.
Arrive at the Dark Hedges early in the route. The beech-tree avenue is best in the morning light before the day-trippers stack up. If this tour visits it first on the way out from Dublin, you’ll likely get a quieter experience. The stop is a photo opportunity rather than a long visit - work quickly, then step to the side of the avenue and take in the full canopy without the crowd.
If you have any time near the Causeway, Bushmills is three kilometres down the road. The Giant’s Causeway and Bushmills Railway runs narrow-gauge along the old tramway bed between the two - twenty minutes, two miles, more fun than it has any right to be. The distillery in the village has been making whiskey on the same stretch of water since 1784, though the licence on the bottle dates to 1608. If you want a meal near the Causeway rather than waiting for Belfast, the Bushmills Inn restaurant does an all-day menu noon to four. Book ahead in summer, as the inn fills with day-trippers.
Bring GBP as well as euros. Most of the day is spent in Northern Ireland, where pounds sterling are the currency. Food, drinks, and any paid activities in Belfast or at the coast are priced in GBP. Cards are widely accepted, but it helps to have some cash for smaller purchases.