Is the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge free?
You can walk all the way to the Rope Bridge for free. It is free to walk from the Rope Bridge car park to the actual bridge. The Rope Bridge is 1km from the car park. It takes around 20 minutes to walk from the Rope Bridge car park to the bridge.
Parking at the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge is free as well. You only have to pay if you want to cross the bridge
When you get there, you will notice a wooden hut next to the car park. They make it look like you will have to pay to go pass that point. You don’t have to! If you are not planning to cross the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, just walk pass the wooden hut and keep going. It is a beautiful walk. You will see Larrybane Quarry, Sheep Island and on a good day, maybe Scotland.
Is Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge safe?
Yes, it is very safe. The Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge will be closed when wind speed is high or when they think it is dangerous to cross. Usually when the Bridge is closed, the cafe will still be opened so you can stay there and wait if you want. When the weather gets better, they will reassess and re-open the Rope Bridge.
The Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge itself is of course very safe and sturdy as well. They also have staff members standing on both sides of the Rope Bridge, controlling the number of people allowed on it.
How far is Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge from the Giant’s Causeway?
It is around 15 – 20 minutes to drive from the Giant’s Causeway to Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. Expect some delays in summer due to the number of tourists. After all, Giant’s Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge are Northern Ireland’s two most popular attractions.
If you are planning to rent a car and drive up to the Giant’s Causeway or the Bridge, please remember the country roads in Ireland / Northern Ireland are quite narrow and windy, compared to the ones in the US. And that we drive on the other side of the road. There are also quite a lot of tour buses going up and down this road. So if you are not a very experienced driver, it would be better if you just join a day tour from Dublin or from Belfast, or take public transport.
Do you need to book Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge?
Yes, they have introduced a timed ticketing system now. You can book online in advance on their website. Don’t forget to add 15 – 20 mins to your planning as you will still need to walk from the car park to the actual bridge.
Was Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge used in the Game of Thrones?
No. Some people say the bridge scene where Balon Greyjoy was killed by Euron Greyjoy was filmed at Carrick-a-Rede. No, it was not. It was a rope bridge but it was not the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. To be honest, there is a very high chance that the whole rope bridge used in the Game of Thrones was actually just CGI-ed.
The official Northern Ireland tourist information listed all the filming locations on their site. And Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge is not one of them.
If you really have to argue, yes, you can see Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge in the Game of Thrones TV shows. The Rope Bridge was in the background when they shot scenes at Larrybane Quarry. I have circled the Rope Bridge in red in the two pictures below.
Written by: Hailey W.
*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Finn McCools Tours.
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Also available: Game of Thrones tour from Dublin or from Belfast (both included Giant’s Causeway)