Giant's Causeway

Overall this was a great tour and well worth the money. Our guide, Wayne--aka "Mr. Lucky"--was informative, entertaining and always looking out for us. "Mr. Lucky" truly earned his name by (in addition to his exemplary safety record which he emphasized by once again not crashing the bus!) making the Irish rain cease as soon as we got to our stop at the bridge. BTW for those who are not in the best of shape, the walk (climb!) to the rope bridge will test your muscles. There are some fairly steep inclines and steps--worth it but be forewarned. My calves were mooing for a couple of days afterwards.
Fortunately, at the Giant's Causeway there is a bus that will take you down and back up for 1 pound each way. Wayne should mention this. You have to get the bus to the Causeway in the parking lot of the visitors' center, which he can't go into with his bus so maybe that's why he didn't say anything, but you don't have to pay the ridiculous amount at the visitors' center to catch the bus outside. We found out about the bus while having lunch at the restaurant where our bus stopped to let us off. We were very glad we did! The Giant's Causeway was pretty amazing and you can walk out as far as you want on the rocks. But the walk down and back is 15-20 minutes in each direction with uphill going back. Many people walked down and took the bus back up.
One of the highlights for us was the time we spent in Belfast. Wayne arranged for a separate taxi tour of the areas affected by "the Troubles." We were divided into small groups and, for 10 pounds each, given a tour by someone who lived through it. This is a sobering tour and if you are not up to reflecting on the horror of religious strife, hang out in the recommended pub instead. But walking around the Shankill, viewing the murals and hearing the history of the area was well worth the hour or so of our time.

Doing what: Giant's Causeway Day Trip from Dublin

Really good trip.
The tour guide: Noel looked after us well.
The Giant's causeway was awesome, as was the scenic drive through the Glens of Antrim - one of the top coast drives in the world, We stopped at various places (castles and a distillery) on the way for picture stops.
Luckily, the weather was on our side - not sure how it would have turned out if it rained. On a clear day, you can clearly see Scotland across the water.
Leave enough time for the Giant's Causeway visitor centre. It's interesting and the gift shop is good too.
The rope bridge is quite an experience! It's quite a walk from the coach and the cost of crossing is extra to the tour (it being a National Trust owned site). It's further than we thought and the walk was a little too far for the end of a long day.
This was a great adventure with magical sights - would recommend to everyone!

Doing what: Northern Ireland including Giant's Causeway Rail Tour from Dublin

Gorgeous scenery! My favorite of our trip to Ireland! Loved the Giant's Causeway and the Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge (even if it was chilly and rainy!)

Doing what: Northern Ireland including Giant's Causeway Rail Tour from Dublin

Amazing trip to Giant's Causeway, tour guide was very interesting and helpful. A very long day but well worth it. Thank you to the guide and everyone who helps to make it so brill.

Doing what: Giant's Causeway Day Trip from Dublin

Our tour guide was great! Dave told a lot of stories and shared information on Northern Ireland's turbulent past. Giant's Causeway was beautiful. I definitely recommend this trip!

Doing what: Giant's Causeway Day Trip from Dublin

Best tour that we did while on our 10 trip to Ireland.
Easy access from Dublin, comfortable coach ride for 2 hrs to Belfast.
DO NOT DO THIS TRIP WITHOUT THE BLACK TAXI TOUR!!!! (they also give you the option of the Titanic memorial exhibition) Black taxi trip fabulous learning trip for the history specific to the area, and it was enlightening to me that so many of the 20-somethings and younger had never had this history as part of their history curriculum...It is really astounding! Very sobering, and thought provoking! Our driver has lived through these "troubles" all his life, so the history was first hand and personally experienced by him and his family!
Giant's Causeway absolutely beautiful and not to be missed!
For "Game of Thrones" readers or watchers, see the areas used for the filming first hand!

Doing what: Northern Ireland Day Trip from Dublin: Belfast Black Taxi Tour and Giant's Causeway

Amazing trip to Giant's Causeway and the Titanic Museum. The Causeway was fascinating and we totally enjoyed climbing around on the formations! The trip to the Causeway along the shoreline of Northern Ireland was beautiful. The Titanic Museum was modern and interesting. Would have liked to have seen more of the artifacts recovered from the ship, but enjoyed the history of the ship building. The amount of time at the museum was not really enough to enjoy all of the exhibits/films. Our tour guide Rob was very knowledgeable. We did have a little problem hearing over the speaker system and the bus seats were a little crowded and uncomfortable. It is a long day, but the scenery and the Causeway are well worth it!

Doing what: Titanic Visitor Experience and Giant’s Causeway Day Trip from Dublin

Guides on train and bus, very good. Lunch at brewery, pretty bad. Of the three of us, no one had a very good meal. My Irish stew was mostly mushy potatoes. Could have used a bit less time at Giant's Causeway and a bit more for those crossing the rope bridge later. On balance though, an enjoyable day. Liked the fact that some of tour was on train, not just a whole day on a bus.

Doing what: Northern Ireland including Giant's Causeway Rail Tour from Dublin

Glorious day trip. Could have used more time at each stop because it was so interesting. But that would have made for a very late day. Guide and driver excellent. Museum wonderful. Engineer sister was fascinated. Had to drag her through the museum or we would still be there. Giant's causeway wonderful. Blue trail has a bus available for the trip back up.

Doing what: Titanic Visitor Experience and Giant’s Causeway Day Trip from Dublin

It was raining (what else is new in Ireland?!?) that day when we took this trip. When we got to the parking area where the rope bridge was, the attendant said "People say it's very windy...I say it's just breezy!" Well, I held on to that rope like I was holding on for my dear life! But I did it! This is truly a trip of a lifetime. Giant's Causeway is a site to behold and downtown Belfast is full of history to absorb. Joseph, our tour guide, was very nice and helpful...and a very good singer too!!!

Doing what: Giant's Causeway Day Trip from Dublin

Absolutely marvellous. Well worth the trip. Comfortable travelling and the Giant's Causeway is amazing.

Doing what: Giant's Causeway Day Trip from Dublin

Our trip to the Giant's Causeway, Carrick a Rede Rope Bridge and The Bushmills Distillery was absolutely fantastic. The train and coach trip was relaxing and scenic and our guide was informative and jovial.
David and Terry

Doing what: Northern Ireland including Giant's Causeway Rail Tour from Dublin

Fantastic and Informative day trip to the Giant's Causeway and Carrick Rope Bridge. Worth every cent.

Doing what: Giant's Causeway Day Trip from Dublin

We traveled with a group of 9 individuals of all ages. Loved the Giant's Causeway portion, the beautiful countryside and the time spent at the bridge. The lunch at the Bushmill Distillery was a huge disappointment. It was merely a lunch stop with a cafeteria offering of low quality food. If the time was spent going on the tour then the food would not have been an issue. Our group felt that stopping at a better place for lunch and avoiding Bushmills or having enough time for the tour built in would have been a much better experience. We have all used Viator tours in other countries and were a little disappointed by this. This trip makes for a long day, a great adventure and really needs to have outstanding guides to keep everything together. Our driver and guide were not the most inspiring (as all of our other Viator tour guides HAVE been) and we wished they would have been more on their game. All in all we have a lot of great photos, great memories and cannot wait to return to Ireland.

Doing what: Northern Ireland including Giant's Causeway Rail Tour from Dublin

It was worth getting to Carrick-a-rede and the Giant's Causeway. Learnt a lot about Ireland's history and the Troubles in North Ireland, but did get a sense that the history was a bit biased. The stop in Belfast was a waste of time.

Doing what: Giant's Causeway Day Trip from Dublin