I live here, and I have done the Giant’s Causeway both ways. I have driven up more times than I can count, and I have taken the coach tour. If you asked me which I would do again, I would take the tour, and I want to explain why, because it is not the answer people expect from somebody local.
Most people reading this are looking at a Giant’s Causeway tour from Dublin, so that is where I have started. The short version: it is a twelve to fourteen hour day, it is doable, and there is a better way to do it if your schedule allows.
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Driving the coast? Here is the whole Causeway Coastal Route on one map, Belfast to Derry, with every stop and what each one charges.
Why take a Giant’s Causeway tour at all?
Here is the thing nobody tells you about driving the Causeway Coast. It is one of the most beautiful roads in Europe, and if you are the one driving it, you barely see it.
You are watching for the next turn. You are wondering whether there will be parking at the next stop, and whether the car park at the Causeway will be full by the time you get there, and where everybody is going to eat, and how long you can stay before you need to move on. The scenery goes past the side window while you look at the road.
On a tour, somebody else deals with all of that. You sit and look out at it. That is the whole case, and it is a better one than it sounds.
The other half is the guide. You do not just visit these places, you get the stories on the way between them. I learned a pile about the area and its history on the day I went that I had simply never picked up living beside it, and every Game of Thrones location gets pointed out as you pass whether you asked or not.
Flying from the US?
Most Americans pay too much to get to Ireland.
I send one email a week with the best fares from US airports into Dublin, Shannon and Belfast, plus what to actually do when you land. $14.99 for the year, refunded if it does not pay for itself.
Giant’s Causeway tours from Dublin
This is a big day. Be honest with yourself about it before you book.
Dublin to the Causeway is roughly three hours each way. A Dublin day tour is typically twelve to fourteen hours door to door, most of it on a coach, and you will be leaving in the dark for much of the year.
It is genuinely doable and plenty of people are very glad they did it. But you are buying about six hours of travel to get three or four hours in the north, and the tours that also squeeze in Belfast and the Titanic Quarter are tighter again.
Compare Dublin to Giant’s Causeway day tours
My honest advice, if your schedule allows it: get the train up from Dublin, stay a night in Belfast, and go back the next day. The train runs city centre to city centre in a couple of hours, so you are not losing a morning on a coach before the day has even started. Do the Causeway from Belfast, and give yourself the evening and the next morning in Belfast itself. There is a lot more to see there than most people allow for, and you will be far less wrecked than you would be after fourteen hours on a bus.
If it has to be a day trip from Dublin, take the one that includes the Dark Hedges. That is the one that feels like a day out rather than a long drive with a rock at the end of it.
Belfast to the Giant’s Causeway: tours from the city
This is the sensible option, and the one I would book.
Belfast to the Giant’s Causeway is about an hour and a quarter each way, roughly sixty miles up the coast. A full day tour from Belfast usually runs eight to nine hours and takes in the Causeway itself plus the Dark Hedges, Dunluce Castle, Ballintoy Harbour and the coast road, with a stop near Carrick-a-Rede.
Because the driving is short, you get real time at each stop rather than a photograph and back on the bus.
What was and was not included on mine
Worth saying before you book: I did my tour a couple of years ago, around the covid period, so check the current itinerary rather than taking my day as gospel.
The Giant’s Causeway visitor centre was not included on mine. That is worth checking, because the centre is a separate paid ticket, and some tours build it in while others drop you at the site and leave the centre up to you. If the history and the geology are a big part of why you are going, either book a tour that includes it or budget for it on the day.
We did not cross Carrick-a-Rede either. The bridge was not open when we were there, so we stopped at the car park and looked down on it from the clifftop instead. I still think that stop earns its place. The weather here turns in minutes and the bridge closes whenever it is too windy, so crossing is never guaranteed on any given day, whether you are on a coach or in your own car. Plenty of people drive the whole way there and get the same view from the top that I did.
Compare Giant’s Causeway tours from Belfast
There are half day versions too, which run about five hours and concentrate on the Causeway. Those are worth it if you are short on time, but you will miss the coast road, which is half the point.
What is usually included
- Coach travel and a guide for the day
- The Causeway Coast road, which is the bit you cannot get from a car park
- Stops at the Dark Hedges and Dunluce Castle on most itineraries
- Time at the Giant’s Causeway, usually an hour to an hour and a half
Check two things before you book. Whether the Giant’s Causeway Visitor Experience ticket is included or extra, because the stones themselves are free to walk to but the visitor centre is not. And whether the tour actually crosses the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge or simply stops at the car park, because plenty do the latter and people are disappointed.
When driving yourself is the better call
I am not going to pretend the tour wins every time.
If you want to do the clifftop walk at the Causeway, up the Shepherd’s Steps and back along the top, you cannot do it on a tour schedule. An hour at the stones does not stretch that far. If you want to linger, eat where you fancy, or go at first light before the coaches arrive, you need your own car.
Anybody chasing photographs should drive too. The light you want at the Dark Hedges is early morning, and no coach is there at seven.
Everything in the full Giant’s Causeway guide applies either way, including the free walking route and where to park if you are driving.
What to bring
A coat, and a better one than you think. It is a north-facing headland on the Atlantic and it is always colder than Belfast.
Shoes with grip. The stones are wet and uneven and people turn ankles on them every year.
And a picnic. This is my standing advice for this coast and it matters more on a tour, because a full coach emptying into a small village puts a queue in every café at once. I brought one on mine and would again.
So, is a Giant’s Causeway tour worth it?
If you are not driving, it is the obvious answer and a good one.
If you are driving anyway, I would still consider it for the coast road and the guide. I have done both and the tour is the day I remember more of, which surprised me.
The only people I would talk out of it are those who want long walks, early light or their own pace. For everybody else it is good value for what you get out of it.
Planning the rest of it
The Giant’s Causeway guide has prices, parking and the free route. The Dark Hedges and Carrick-a-Rede both have their own guides, and the things to do in Northern Ireland guide covers the rest.
Coming up from Donegal or heading there after? The guide to crossing the Irish border covers the currency, speed limits and the hire car insurance trap.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a Giant’s Causeway tour from Belfast?
A full day tour is usually eight to nine hours. Half day versions run about five hours and skip most of the coast road.
How long is the drive from Dublin to the Giant’s Causeway?
About three hours each way, so a Dublin day tour is typically twelve to fourteen hours in total. I have put that number beside every other day trip from Dublin, with the real door to door times, in my honest guide to day trips from Dublin.
Is a Giant’s Causeway tour worth it?
If you are not driving, yes, easily. If you are driving, it is still worth considering for the coast road and the guide. It is not the right choice if you want long walks or early morning light.
Do tours include entry to the Giant’s Causeway?
Some do and some do not. The stones are free to walk to, but the visitor centre and its car park are ticketed, so check what your tour covers.
How long do you get at the Giant’s Causeway on a tour?
Usually an hour to an hour and a half. Enough for the stones, not enough for the clifftop walk.
Can you get to the Giant’s Causeway from Belfast without a car?
Yes. A guided day tour is the straightforward way. There are public transport routes but they eat most of the day.
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Written by
Diana Greenlee
I live in County Down and write Tales of Irish Travel. After years living abroad I came home during Covid and started properly exploring the island. I write about the history and the story behind a place, not just the place. More about me.