Belfast: Giants Causeway & Castles Full-Day Tour

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/11

Duration8h 30m

GroupUp to 150

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Four castles, 40,000 basalt columns, and a Game of Thrones filming location in one day from Belfast

You start at Carrickfergus Castle with its 800-year history and harbor views, then spend the day driving the Antrim Coast through nine valleys, past Game of Thrones filming locations, and two more castles before reaching Giant's Causeway with its 40,000 basalt columns. Lunch at Hedges Hotel is included, and the coach handles all the driving while a guide provides live commentary. You're back in Belfast by evening.

8h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Antrim Coast and Castles

Visit Carrickfergus Castle
Drive along Antrim Coast
View Glenarm Castle
Pass Carnlough Harbour
Travel through Glens of Antrim
Stop at Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge viewpoint
Walk the Dark Hedges
Drive past Old Bushmills Distillery
Explore Dunluce Castle
Visit Giant’s Causeway

The Experience

So you're standing at Carrickfergus Castle at the start of the morning, and your guide is already pointing out the statue of King William III and the harbor views, and you realize this isn't going to be a rushed tick-the-box kind of day. The castle's been standing since 1177 — over 800 years — and you can walk the stone walls and battlements at your own pace, or skip inside if you want the full medieval experience. Either way, you've got time to grab a coffee and settle in before the coach heads north along the Antrim Coast.

The drive itself is half the tour. You pass through villages like Ballygally with their colorful cottages, then the landscape opens up — golden beaches, towering cliffs, the Atlantic spreading out in front of you. The guide's doing live commentary the whole time, so you're not just looking at scenery; you're learning the stories. You'll see Glenarm Castle sitting in its green hills overlooking the bay, and then Carnlough Harbour, which Game of Thrones fans will recognize as Arya's escape route in Season 6. It's one of those moments where the real place is quieter and more beautiful than the show made it look. After that comes the Glens of Antrim — nine valleys rolling down from the plateau to the coast, each one a different shade of green depending on the light and the weather.

The Dark Hedges stop is where the tour gets its photo moment. Three hundred years of beech trees forming a tunnel over the road, and yes, it's the Kingsroad from Game of Thrones, but it's also genuinely strange and beautiful in person — the kind of place where the light filters through in a way that makes your phone camera work harder than it should. You get time to walk it, and then lunch happens at the Hedges Hotel nearby, so you're eating with the view still in your head. After that, Dunluce Castle appears on its cliff like something from a legend — it's the House of Greyjoy if you care about that, but the real draw is the North Atlantic below it and the ruins themselves, which you can explore or photograph from the outside depending on how much climbing you want to do.

Giant's Causeway is the final stop, and it lands differently than you'd expect. Forty thousand basalt columns, all interlocking, all formed by volcanic activity thousands of years ago. The legend says Finn McCool built it, but the geology is just as wild. Entry is free, and you've got real time to walk among the columns, not just snap a photo from the car park. The coastal drama is still there — the cliffs, the Atlantic, the sense that you're standing on something genuinely old and strange. By the time you're heading back to Belfast, you've covered castles, valleys, two Game of Thrones locations, and one of the world's most unusual geological sites, all without having to navigate or worry about timing.

What’s included

Your day includes transport by air-conditioned coach, stops at Carrickfergus Castle, the Dark Hedges, Dunluce Castle, and Giant's Causeway, lunch at Hedges Hotel, and live commentary from your guide throughout the journey.
Entry to Giant's Causeway is free and included; entry to Carrickfergus Castle and Dunluce Castle are optional.
You'll also pass Glenarm Castle, Carnlough Harbour, the Glens of Antrim, Carrick-a-Rede viewpoint, and Old Bushmills Distillery.

Good to know

Moderate physical level

Operated by Citysightseeing Belfast

Is this one for you?Right for travelers based in Belfast who want to see the Antrim Coast's main landmarks without driving themselves or planning stops — the fixed itinerary and coach transport handle both. Plan for a full day out, which is what makes fitting five major sites and lunch into one trip possible.