For this tour, I travelled to Northern Ireland to see the Giant’s Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. The bus started early in the morning so that we could see all the attractions during the day. Departing from central Dublin, we drove up to the Irish border, which is very much like a straight road, apart from the road sign informing travellers that kilometres are changing to miles. Throughout our drive to Belfast, our guide told us some Irish history, especially the history between Ireland and Northern Ireland, before stopping briefly at a station for shopping for some food and using the restrooms.
Once in Belfast, we the bus picked up some more passengers for the day and then headed out towards the Dark Hedges. On the way, we heard some more of the history of Northern Ireland before arriving at the Hedges to take some pictures. Most of the trees lining the road have fallen over the centuries but the remaining trees still form an impressive lane. After the Hedges, we drove to Dunluce Castle to take some more pictures while our guide told us the story behind this castle ruin and why parts of it had fallen into the sea.
Departing the castle and a short drive later, we arrived at the Giant’s Causeway for the first main attraction of the day. The weather started picking up at this point, but fortunately we had almost two hours to walk around, so the rain eased up towards the afternoon. If people don’t mind walking, there is a path up on the cliff from where you can see the entire Causeway before descending but you can also take a shuttle bus down the road for one euro. Bringing some rain gear and good shoes is recommended because of the weather and slippery steps but otherwise the sight is well worth it.
After seeing the Causeway we again drove a short distance to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. There is a bit of a walk down to the bridge and our guide told us to go to the bridge right away to avoid the line, since people are crossing the bridge in both directions and the staff only admits eight people at a time. Luckily the weather had cleared up again and we could see down to the clear waters below as well as to the Sheep Island off the coast.
Leaving the bridge, we arrived at Cushendun a few minutes later. We were told that on a clear day you could see all the way to Scotland from this town and even though the weather wasn’t as clear as we had hoped, we could still see a small part of the coast in the distance. The weather had cleared and on our drive through the Glens of Antrim we managed to even see a rainbow outside the bus’ window.
Our last stop for the day was at Belfast where we had about an hour to walk around and do some shopping before heading back to Dublin for the end of the tour. Overall people enjoyed the tour and had a great time with our guide, who kept the bus entertained throughout the day. This tour is sure one of the things you will remember about your visit to Ireland.
M.V
*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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We departed central Dublin early in the morning and headed out towards the western coast of Ireland. On the way, our guide told us about some of the sights in Dublin as we left the city and then kept on telling about the history of the country dating back to the very beginning, as well as pointing out interesting sights as we made our way to Athlone for some snacks and restrooms.
Our first stop for the day was the city of Galway, where we had about an hour to explore the city and do some shopping. Our guide also told us some of the history behind the city and the people living there. Galway is an old coastal city and people seemed delighted in getting to explore it by themselves after the guide had shown us around parts of the city.
After leaving Galway, the bus headed for the Wild Atlantic Road to show us some of the countryside before arriving at the Burren, where we stopped for a moment to walk around, take some pictures of the bizarre rocky landscape and the baby cliffs besides the Atlantic.
After some driving up from the Burren, we arrive at the main attraction of the day, the Cliffs of Moher. We were given plenty of time to walk on and explore the cliffs as well as visit the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre for more information on this location and its history. Plus, the ticket for the visitor centre was included in the tour, so we didn’t have to spend time standing in line for the tickets and had more time to see the cliffs and what the centre had to offer. The weather was windy but otherwise clear, although our guide told us we should normally prepare for rain by bringing some raingear.
Once we had seen the Cliffs of Moher, we headed back on the Wild Atlantic Way to start our return to Dublin. On the way, we drove through a variety of small towns and villages while our guide kept us entertained by telling more of the history and stories behind these towns. This drive gave us the opportunity to also see more of the green countryside of Ireland and all of the Irish landscape.
Our last stop for the day was at the Kilmacduagh Monastery, where we were given a few minutes to walk on the grounds and take some photographs of the old buildings and the leaning monastery tower before heading back to Dublin through more of the Irish countryside.
We arrived back in Dublin sometime at eight in the evening and as we were driving towards the city centre, our guide pointed out some of the things we could do while in Dublin, such as visiting the Dublin museums, as well as good places to eat and spend the evening after the tour or the day after, which was a welcome end to the tour, which people are sure to remember as a great part of their visit to Ireland.
M.V
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7:15 am: Starting from Dublin City center, heading to Belfast, UK.
My guide was well informed about the Irish history, told many myths and facts along the way, so we won’t get bored on our 2 hours drive to Northern Ireland. On our way, we had a quick stop at a service station, so we could buy some lunch for the day.
10:00 am: Arriving at the Titanic Museum
The Titanic Museum in Belfast is absolutely stunning. It’s an architectural masterpiece, from the inside and outside. The museum tells the story of the titanic from conception, construction and launch. It’s a must see for everyone. You don’t have to be interested in the Titanic to go there, as you learn so many interesting facts about shipping and the history of Belfast itself.
12:00: Heading to Giant’s Causeway
After our 2 hours stay at the Titanic Museum it was finally time for the stunning Giant’s Causeway.
On our way there our guide Eugene entertained us well with telling us stories about the Irish.
We made a quick stop at the Dunluce Castle to take some pictures,
before we got to the main attraction, the Gaint’s Causeway.
1:30 pm: Arriving at Giant’s Causeway
2 hours time to explore the green fields, the breathtaking stones and enjoy the view across Scotland.
I chose to go far from the tourists at first, because I wanted to enjoy my lunch all by myself at such an amazing backdrop. So I climbed down some black rocks to get the best view at the sea.
After finishing my lunch, I wanted to explore the
interlocking hexagonal basalt columns. So I walked round about 10 minutes to get there. I’ve seen similar rocks in Iceland before, but not in such an amount. The work of nature in here is incredible!
There’s not enough time to explore all of the beauty this wonderful place has to offer, you’d need a whole day to really see it all. But I enjoyed my 2 hours at the Causeway to it’s fullest anyway.
At the end, I drunk a Guiness with the guys from my bus on the terrace of a tiny restaurant at the Causeway, a beautiful way to end the amazing experience.
3:30 pm: Dark Hedges
To be honest, I’ve never seen the series Game of Thrones, so I didn’t know what to expect from the filmset.
But as we arrived there, I could understand why it’s one of the most photographed sights in Northern Ireland. The old trees seem to form a cave around the tiny street, which makes it look so gorgeous. We’ve had a 10 minutes stop there, before we head back to Belfast.
5:00 pm: Belfast City Center
We had an hour to go shopping in the city center of Belfast. I really enjoyed it, because I’ve found a Poundland in the mall. So I’ve spend my hour in Belfast doing grocery shopping, which was quite good. I bought some souvenirs for my family there as well before I went back to the bus.
7:00 pm: Arriving back home in Dublin
© Jasmine L.
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On Thursday the 15th of June 2017, we started the tour at 7 am at the Dublin City Gallery. We have been with Eugene our tour guide and Petras the driver, both of them were very nice and experienced. After a calm 3 hour drive and quick stop we arrived in Galway. There are some little shops. All the houses were colourful and I could feel the charm from Ireland. We had 1 hour to discover the city center. We had a very funny drive to the Burren through the Wild Atlantic Way.
When we arrived there, we were almost blown over the street, because it was very windy. It was a beautiful view over the ocean. The next stop was at the Kilmacduagh Monastery. It looks very nice. After this we had a ride to our main point, the Cliffs of Moher. It was really impressive. They don’t have any enclosure between you and the chasm, but exactly this makes it to an unforgettable experience
We had around 1,5 hour to walk around the Cliffs. For me it was one of the highlights in Ireland. After this we went back to Dublin.
Result: It was a really wonderful day and I will never forget it.
Written by: Lucy K
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We have been started at 7 am to our tour to the Cliffs. It was a long way to go but our tour guide told us a lot of interesting things about Ireland so it doesn’t felt that long. We had a stop in Galway where we could go to get some food and had a little walk in the city.
On our way we went on the Wild Atlantic Way and to the Burren.
After this we were finally driving to the Cliffs. We had look because the weather wasn’t too bad. So we could go around. It was a beautiful view. I really liked it. Before heading back to Dublin, we had a short stop in Loughrea, a little town with a small lake.
It was such a nice day, I would like to make the tour again with Finn McCool Tours. Thanks to Eugene our tour guide and Peter the driver. You both did a very good job.
Written by: Sarah S.
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Last Tuesday I took the Game of Thrones location tour. The trip started at 7am and the bus began to drive us to the first stop of the day; Belfast. After about 2 hours we arrived and had 40 mins time to explore the City a little and also get some snacks and drinks for the day or just have a little coffee to become awake. Then the bus driver took us to the Dark Hedges, which is a beautiful lane of beech trees. Our guide Ellen also told us that there were some scenes filmed for GoT and also some facts about the place itself. We had 15 minutes time to take pictures and enjoy this absolutely amazing nature here. Then we got in the bus again and got on the way to Dunluce Castle, where we made a little Photo Stop which was absolutely worth it – We had a stunning view! The next Stop was the Giant’s Causeway. Our guide told us some fun facts about 
the myths and some other story’s about how this sight might have been created. We had an 1h 30 min to explore this wonderful attraction and then the driver brought us to the Larrybane where several scenes in Renly’s Camp got filmed. After that we went on to the beautiful Ballintoy Harbour. Our guide Ellen explained that in this location were also some scenes for the series filmed. And then our next stop brought us to Kingsroad, which was the set for Arya’s escape in G. Then on our way back home we made stops at the pretty little village called the Cushendun and went into the Caves, where Ellen explained all about the filming here of the scene where Melisandre gave birth to the shadow assassin and even showed us videos of it. Then it was time to go and we went to our last stop in Belfast again and had a little look at the Glens if Antrim and had time to go around and stretch our legs. It was a really great day and I had an awesome time. 10/10 would recommend, A must-do for any Game of Thrones fan!
Written by: Angy S.
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Also available: Game of Thrones location tour from Belfast
The Cliffs of Moher is Ireland’s number 1 tourist attraction. It is also the first picture you see after your plane lands. You can find quite a few stunning pictures of the Cliffs of Moher at Dublin Airport. Every year, we have people coming from everywhere around the world just to see this Moher Cliffs.
So, what’s so special about it? Let’s look at it from different aspects.
1. Boring yet impressive facts
You knew this will be the first one. Every introduction starts with a bunch of figures and statistics.Cliffs of Moher is around 200 metres/ 700 feet high and 8 kilometres/ 5 miles long. It reaches 214 metres/ 702 feet at the highest point, which is just north of O’Brien’s Tower.The name Moher comes from Gaelic (like everything else in Ireland). It means “ruined fort” . The Cliffs of Moher actually means the cliffs of the ruined fort. There is, however, no more trace remaining of the fort (as it is 2000 years old already!).The above mentioned O’Brien’s Tower is a 19th century viewing tower. It is now used as an observation tower for visitors. You need to pay extra to get in though.
2. Stunning views
A selfie at the Cliffs of Moher is now one of the must-do activities. After checking-in on Facebook, Instagram etc., I would highly recommend putting down your phones and enjoy a nice relaxed walk along the cliffs top. The likes on social media is nothing when you compare them with the breathtaking panoramic views of the Cliffs itself and the Atlantic Ocean. On the edge of Western Europe, the Cliffs of Moher also has its historical significance. At least five legends of Ireland are about the Cliffs.On a clear day, from the O’Brien’s Tower, you can see the Aran Islands, Galway Bay, Twelves Pins and the Maum Turk mountains in Connemara and even the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry.
3. Nature
The Cliffs have been carved by time, weather and ocean into fantastic shapes and formations. It is home to a wide array of flora and fauna.
You can find an abundance of marine life in the water directly off the Cliffs of Moher. Apart from Seals, you can even see whales or whale sharks (usually in April and May) sometimes. Other creatures like eel, lobster and spider crab (Spider-Crab, Spider-Crab, Does whatever a Spider-Crab does… Anyone singing along?) can all be found near the Cliffs.On land, badgers, rabbits and goats are quite common found near the Cliffs. Seabirds like puffin also live on the Cliffs of Moher from March to August every year.
4. Award-winning visitor centre
The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, also known as the Atlantic Edge heritage site, has a number of prestigious awards. It is eco-friendly and innovatively designed. Both children and adults will find the pictures, exhibits and experiences inside interesting and entertaining. In this hillside dome-shaped cave, there is the Puffins cafe.
5. Thank you Hollywood
It would not be a surprise when you find out that quite a few Hollywood movies are filmed here at the Cliffs.The Princess Bride, Ryan’s Daughter, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Leap Year were filmed here. Some music videos like Westlife’s “My Love” and Maroon 5’s “Runaway” also used the Cliffs as their filming location.And of course the Irish comedy TV show – Father Ted!!
More about the Cliffs’ legends:
Cliff of the foals
Mermaid of Moher
Corpse-eating eel
Hags Head
Written by: Susan K.
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