This is one of the most popular day trips from Dublin, and it’s easy to see why. In a single day, you travel from the capital all the way to Northern Ireland’s most spectacular coastal scenery, visit locations made world-famous by Game of Thrones, and get free time to explore Belfast before heading back south.
The centrepiece is the Giant’s Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where roughly 40,000 interlocking basalt columns rise from the sea like stepping stones built for a giant. The geological story behind them is fascinating, but the ancient legend of the warrior Finn McCool building a path to Scotland is far more entertaining, and your guide will make sure you hear both versions. You get a solid two hours here, which is plenty of time to walk the coastal path, scramble over the columns, and visit the interactive exhibition at the visitor centre.
Before reaching the Causeway, the coach stops at the Dark Hedges, an avenue of gnarled beech trees planted in the 18th century that became instantly recognisable as the King’s Road in Game of Thrones. The atmosphere is genuinely otherworldly, especially in the morning light. You’ll also stop at Dunluce Castle, a medieval ruin perched on the edge of a sheer cliff that looks like it was designed for a film set rather than actual defence.
The Belfast portion of the trip gives you time to wander through the Titanic Quarter, grab a coffee in the Cathedral Quarter, or simply soak in the energy of a city that has reinvented itself remarkably over the past two decades. The return journey passes through some beautiful rolling countryside, and most guides keep the entertainment going with stories and music along the way.
What’s Included
Return coach transport from Dublin city centre
Professional guide with live commentary throughout
Stop at the Dark Hedges
Entry to Giant’s Causeway and visitor centre
Photo stop at Dunluce Castle
Free time in Belfast
What’s Not Included
Meals and drinks
Entry to Belfast attractions such as the Titanic Museum
Tips for the guide
Good to Know
This is a long day at roughly 12 hours, so bring snacks and water for the road
Wear comfortable walking shoes and a waterproof layer - the Antrim coast can be exposed and breezy
The Dark Hedges are a short walk from the coach drop-off point on a quiet country road
Photography enthusiasts will want a wide-angle lens for the Causeway columns
The tour runs in all weather conditions, and the Causeway looks spectacular in rain and sunshine alike
Local Tips
Use your Belfast free time on foot, not a taxi. The Titanic Quarter waterfront walk is a flat, free 3-kilometre loop from the Lagan Weir past the Titanic Belfast building, the SS Nomadic, and the Glass of Thrones stained-glass windows. You can do it comfortably in an hour and still have time for a coffee - the Cathedral Quarter is 15 minutes’ walk from the Titanic Quarter if you want a different view of the city.
The Giant’s Causeway is best before 10am or after 4pm. Two hours puts you there mid-morning when the coaches stack up. Walk the cliff path in the opposite direction from most people - head left from the visitor centre towards the Shepherd’s Steps rather than straight to the columns - and you’ll have a stretch of coast mostly to yourself before looping back.
Bushmills is three kilometres from the stones and the village the coaches drive past without stopping. The Old Bushmills Distillery runs tours all day and the licence dates to 1608. If you have an independent day after this tour, The Bushmills Inn is the place to stay - gas-lit snugs, peat fire, and a Friday or Saturday evening session. The narrow-gauge heritage railway from Bushmills to the Causeway and back is twenty minutes each way and more fun than it has any right to be.
Dunluce Castle is only a photo stop, but it earns one. The castle sits on a basalt stack five minutes’ drive west of Bushmills and the kitchen reportedly fell into the sea one night with the cooks still in it. That may be apocryphal, but the cliff edge definitely isn’t - stay back from it and look west for the best shot.
The Dark Hedges are near Ballymoney. The beech avenue on Bregagh Road near Armoy is twelve kilometres from Ballymoney town - get there before 9am or after 6pm if you don’t want the full internet crowd. Joey’s Bar on Seymour Street is fifty yards from the Joey Dunlop Memorial Garden - the TT champion is buried in Ballymoney and the pub his family still runs is worth a stop if you’re in the area.
Bring pounds sterling as well as euros. You cross into Northern Ireland for most of this tour, where GBP is the currency. Most major tourist sites take cards, but smaller cafés and village shops sometimes don’t, and the ATMs at the Causeway can have queues.
Nearby on IrelandMe
Belfast - the city that built the Titanic and the pubs that survived everything else - worth staying a night to see it properly
Bushmills - the distillery village three kilometres from the Causeway; the Bushmills Inn’s gas-lit bar and peat fire is the overnight option the day-trippers miss
Ballymoney - the inland market town closest to the Dark Hedges; Joey Dunlop’s family still runs his pub on Seymour Street, fifty yards from the bronze memorial