Gaint’s Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede Bridge Tour

Itinerary

The tour leaves Parnell Square North and heads northwards, crossing into Northern Ireland and to the very tip of the island itself, only a few short miles from Scottish soil (separated by water of course!).

On the way, we'll make a stop at the Dark Hedges, beech trees which, planted 350 years ago, form an eerie and atmospheric passage seemingly filled with malicious intent. You can stretch your legs, and take photos, all the while searching for the grey lady said to haunt the twisted boughs. And Game of Thrones fans will surely recognise it from the series, when Arya Stark travels from Kings Landing to join the Night's Watch.

After a total of about three hours on the road, we'll arrive at Giant's Causeway, a UNESCO world heritage site and the '8th wonder of the world'. Although the official explanation states that volcanic activity produced these striking pillars of stone, local legend states that the causeway was built by the Irish Giant Finn McCool, who was challenged to a fight by a Scottish giant, as a bridge to cross the sea to the mainland and face his adversary.

After almost two hours at the causeway, we'll head to Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, used by fishermen for the last 300 years to catch salmon in a very unique way. The reason it was possible has to do with the size of the chasm between Carrickarede Island and the mainland. Salmon got confused thinking it was a river mouth, so they would swim 'upstream' into the fishermen’s nets. This would give the local fishermen massive hauls of salmon but was detrimental to the salmon population, so now it is a tourist attraction owned by the National trust. It's 66ft long and 98ft high hanging over a chasm and can be crossed from the mainland to spend a time on the Carrickarede Island. Only for the brave!

On the way back to Dublin we'll make a stop in the other Irish capital: Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. Here you'll have time for a flying visit, take pictures of the impressive City Hall, walk down the main shopping streets, and maybe get some food.

The tour then returns to Dublin, arriving between 7:30 and 8:30.

Important Information

• Please note that Northern Ireland is part of the UK and uses Pound Sterling - as such if you want to buy anything in Belfast using cash, you will either need this currency. Or you can pay by credit/debit card.
• This tour is for groups of 12 people or less, to ensure the quality of the tour for all participants and groups.
• This tour is not generally suitable for children under 10, but if your child is very used to travelling, and able to handle the (not insignificant) amount of walking please book 1 seat per child and bring your own child seat if needed.