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Giant's Causeway and Northern Ireland Highlights: A Comprehensive 12-Hour Tour from Dublin
4.5
778 Ratings
Molly Malone Statue
Discover the spectacular highlights of Northern Ireland on this comprehensive 12-hour tour from Dublin. Visit the UNESCO Giant’s Causeway, explore Belfast, and see iconic Game of Thrones filming locations.
Discover the spectacular highlights of Northern Ireland on this comprehensive 12-hour tour from Dublin. Visit the UNESCO Giant’s Causeway, explore Belfast, and see iconic Game of Thrones filming locations.
Duration:
13 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Paddywagon Tours - Departing from Dublin, the tour heads north, crossing the border into Northern Ireland. A brief comfort stop ensures everyone arrives refreshed and ready for a fantastic day of sightseeing.
- The Dark Hedges - Visit Northern Ireland’s most popular natural phenomenon, the Dark Hedges. Planted in the 18th century by the Stuart…
- Paddywagon Tours - Departing from Dublin, the tour heads north, crossing the border into Northern Ireland. A brief comfort stop ensures everyone arrives refreshed and ready for a fantastic day of sightseeing.
- The Dark Hedges - Visit Northern Ireland’s most popular natural phenomenon, the Dark Hedges. Planted in the 18th century by the Stuart family to impress their guests, many will recognize it as King’s Road from the hit TV series Game of Thrones. It’s a wonderful photo opportunity and a chance to be part of a real-life set!
- Glens of Antrim - Enjoy a scenic drive through some of the Glens of Antrim on the way to the North Coast. This area is renowned for its outstanding natural beauty. Admire the panoramic views of the valleys and the charming countryside of County Antrim.
- Causeway Coastal Route - Travel along the Causeway Coast, where you can see stunning views of Rathlin Island and, on a clear day, even the Scottish coast 13 miles away. The views along this coastline are spectacular, making it one of the most visited destinations in Europe!
- Giant’s Causeway - The highlight for most, the Giant’s Causeway, is a masterpiece of perfectly shaped hexagonal columns built by the Irish giant Fionn and his Scottish rival Angus. The tour guide will share more about the Causeway and its legends. The path to the stones starts behind the center and is only a 10-minute walk! For a small fare, a mobility bus is available for those with walking difficulties. Enjoy 90 minutes to explore at your leisure, walk, hike, rest, and take amazing pictures!
- Dunluce Castle - Arrive at one of the world’s most dramatic castle ruins for a 60-minute stop. Be amazed at how this old castle hangs over the cliff’s edge. Part of Dunluce Castle fell into the sea in the 1600s, and some servants tragically died. It is believed to be haunted by these unfortunate souls. The entrance fee is included, so enjoy 60 minutes exploring and capturing incredible photos before heading to Belfast.
- Belfast - On the return journey to Dublin, stop in Belfast for some leisure time. The guide will point out some highlights of this great city as you arrive. Near City Hall, enjoy approximately 60 minutes of free time in the city center for fresh air and refreshments. Note: This is a brief visit to Belfast for those who may not have another opportunity to visit. Adequately exploring both the Giant’s Causeway region and Belfast in one day from Dublin is not feasible. For a proper experience of Belfast, at least one full day is recommended. From here, the return journey to Dublin is smooth and efficient. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!
- Paddywagon Tours Ltd - Relax on the return journey to Dublin via the motorway, expecting to arrive back in Dublin at approximately 8:30 pm after a fun-filled day!
What's Included
- USB Charging Points at Every Seat
- On-board WiFi
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Dunluce Castle Entrance Fee
- All taxes, road tolls and handling charges
- Live commentary on board
- UNESCO Giant’s Causeway access (public admission to this national monument is free of charge)
- USB Charging Points at Every Seat
- On-board WiFi
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Dunluce Castle Entrance Fee
- All taxes, road tolls and handling charges
- Live commentary on board
- UNESCO Giant’s Causeway access (public admission to this national monument is free of charge)
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Lunch
- Gratuities
- Lunch
Additional Information
Discover the spectacular highlights of Northern Ireland on this popular 12 hour tour from Dublin. Along the way you’ll enjoy wonderful visits to UNESCO Giant’s Causeway, Belfast, Dunluce Castle, Dark Hedges and experience the very best of Northern Irish scenery.
Volcanic activity shaped this wonder of the world over 60 million years ago - although locals…
Discover the spectacular highlights of Northern Ireland on this popular 12 hour tour from Dublin. Along the way you’ll enjoy wonderful visits to UNESCO Giant’s Causeway, Belfast, Dunluce Castle, Dark Hedges and experience the very best of Northern Irish scenery.
Volcanic activity shaped this wonder of the world over 60 million years ago - although locals will insist it was actually a legendary giant from Celtic mythology. Learn all about it from your guide and decide for yourselves!
Game of Thrones fans will recognise Kings Landing and House of Greyjoy at Dark Hedges and Dunluce Castle and enjoy refreshments and downtown highlights in Belfast city.
This is the most comprehensive route possible from Dublin and has proven extremely popular over the last 20 years. Booking at least 24 hours in advance is recommended to avoid disappointment!
- This tour will return to Dublin at approximately 8:00-8:30pm.
- This tour is operated by Paddywagon Tours, the market leader on this scheduled group tour route. Your bus will highly likely be a green bus or coach with “Paddywagon Tours” written on the side in yellow.
- Due to occasional roadworks in Dublin city, it is possible that your bus might not enter the street you have chosen and a tour representative may walk around to the group instead. So keep your eyes and ears out!
- Please be in place 5- 10 minutes in advance of departure.
- Seats are allocated on a first- come, first- served basis.
- Similar to the airline industry, we cannot ask drivers to wait for latecomers due to government route- license restrictions.
- Please request baby seat at the time of booking.
- Bookings made through Viator will automatically be signed up for the pickup point and collection time specified in the booking.
- If you wish to change your reservation to one of the other pick-up locations offered by Paddywagon Tours, you will need to contact us by telephone or email not later than 17:00 the evening prior so that we can guarantee the change. Please note that changes are only guaranteed once confirmed in writing by us.
Location
Molly Malone Statue
Suffolk Street
Tourist Office, Suffolk Street (Molly Malone Statue) - 07:00 am
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.5
(778 Ratings)
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Melissa_d
Feb 25, 2025
Great day in Northern Ireland - Our guide Gerry was knowledgeable, informative, and fun. He gave us great insight into the area and the history while being respectful and detailed in the history that had and is still taking place.
Review provided by Viator
Cosmog178
Feb 19, 2025
Great tour of Northern Ireland highlights - This was a great one day tour - we joined and left the tour in Belfast and were entertained by Liam the driver throughout. Highlight was the Causeway itself but we also enjoyed Dunluce Castle. The Dark Hedges was so-so but we didn’t really go on the tour for that anyway. Lunch at the pub was good food at a reasonable price.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Annelisel2000
Feb 12, 2025
Great day trip from Dublin! - This was an absolutely wonderful experience. Shay was a great driver and had great information to share. We had quite the bump in the road with getting stuck in traffic for over an hour trying to leave Dublin and he handled it very well and we were still able to do everything that was promised. Giant's Causeway is incredible and the stops along the way were great. The restaurant near the Causeway was very nice and had good food. The entire experience was very enjoyable and I would definitely do a Paddywagon tour again!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mac
Jan 20, 2025
You need to experience this... - Our driver was Shay. He was really cool and knowledgeable. This is a day excursion that you need to experience. The restaurant we stopped at for a late lunch was amazing (the Guinness pie was exceptional). Of course the Giant's Causeway was our main site, but we stopped at numerous sites before and after, and it was truly a wonderful experience. Each place had it's own charm, too.
I highly recommend Paddywagon Tours and will be a repeat customer every time I visit Ireland.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kelly_m
Jan 17, 2025
Must-See - We had a wonderful time, Shay was a great guide and he kept us on time. Beautiful weather, great food.
Review provided by Viator
859bonnieh
Dec 27, 2024
A good tour - Richard O’Brien was a great drive and tour guide, very knowledgeable and a good sense of humor.
I really enjoyed this tour and thought we had plenty of time at Giant’s Causeway.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Micheletx5705jx
Feb 17, 2025
Not relaxing - Our driver Sean wasn't very attentive. He left my husband and I at the first stop, I was 2 minutes late due to a long line in the ladies room. My husband was waiting AT THE BUS! He told them where I was and Sean shut the door and left without us. A different tour company gave us a ride to the next destination where we were able to catch up to our group. You'd think Sean would have learned to make sure everyone was on board before leaving, but nope at another stop he almost left a woman who was once again in the ladies room. AFTER BEING TOLD the line was long. At our last stop he left 3 minutes early WITHOUT TAKING A HEAD COUNT! Luckily everyone was on board (I think). This made for a very stressful day making sure we were early to get to the bus because we did not trust him not to leave us behind. We booked the tour to have a relaxing way to see the sights but it was not relaxing at all.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maymichelle29
Feb 15, 2025
Do yourself a favor and pick a different tour company - We did 2 bus tours during our trip to Ireland with 2 different tour companies - 1 trip was amazing, sadly, this one wasn't. Of course the sites on this tour are absolutely stunning and the only saving grace of this day. Fromthe start, I realized there was no tour guide, just a driver, and a bit of a grumpy unfriendly one at that. We started the day at The Dark Hedges - cool of you are a GoT fan, but honestly a bit underwhelming. We then moved on to Castle Dunluce and Giants Causeway, which were both absolutely amazing!!! This is where things seem to go off the rails a bit. We were told that we were all eating at a specific restaurant and we had to pre-order through the bus driver. We were given five choices. It was the only option for food. We were also told once we got there that we would only have 35 minutes to be back on the bus. The driver was very stern and gruff about times throughout the day so we knew he would leave if we weren't on the bus in 35 minutes. Inside, we were headed into group tables and told to raise our hand when our food selection was called. Ours, of course, came out last - and it was pretty awful. They didn't serve drinks to us right away either. I left half of the meal for fear of missing the bus - and paid the way over priced 50 euro for 2 awful meals and one beverage. On our way out, we saw the bus driver at the bar with what clearly looked like a beer - that was a bit unsettling, and then after the entire bus was sternly told about timeliness for the entire day, the entire bus waited 10 minutes past the time we were supposed to meet until the driver returned from the bar. We then headed to Belfast for a very brief 45 minutes. We were just dumped in the middle of town with no suggestions or directions (like I had been when we were dropped in Galway with a different tour company the day before). There's not much you can do in 45 minutes. I would have preferred to skip the awful lunch if that meant we would have time to choose some place to eat in Belfast. The driver also told us the drive back to Dublin was 2 hours and 10 minutes and that he would be stopping to fuel, but we would not be allowed off the bus to use the facilities. It all just seemed strange and not very accommodating to passengers. If you're going to visit these attractions, which I suggest you do, I would just recommend another company.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Miaurman
Dec 10, 2024
The only thing they care about is the lunch :( - We started the tour with a visit to a castle. Unfortunately, the castle was closed and we could not enter. We then travelled to Giants Causeway, unfortunately the road had been hit with a rock slide so the only way to view the area was a 1.5 hour walk. But since PaddyWagon tour scheduled us to have lunch at some random pub we had only 1.5 hours at the Giants Causeway and another hour for lunch at a pub where I’m sure they got kick backs. We also were not refunded any money for the 7euro castle entry fee.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lauradana99
Dec 27, 2024
Bad experience from Belfast to the Dark Hedges. - Bad organization and absolutely not attentive to its customers. Meeting time after the first stage at 11:15. At 11am it's 10am my boyfriend and I were at the place where the driver had dropped us off or at the beginning of the Dark Hedges road. So on time. Evidently we didn't realize that the appointment was at the end of the road, and we arrived there 5 minutes later. And for 5 MINUTES, 5 MINUTES late, they left us standing in the middle of nowhere and in the rain. With the luggage in the bus. Absolutely incorrect and unprofessional behavior. I can understand half an hour late. Certainly not for five minutes after paying for a service. I do not tell you the difficulties to contact the agency being December 26, and the vicissitudes to recover our luggage, obviously without having been able to continue in any way the excursion. Bad experience
Review provided by Tripadvisor
