Tere!

Though I had been to Northern Ireland once before the trip in March, 2023, I just dropped in a county called Enniskillen which has the border with the Republic of Ireland. Therefore, I had never done any sightseeing in Northern Ireland before. Also, I wanted to visit some filming locations of “Game of Thrones”.

The places I wanted to visit most were typically Giant’s Causeway as well as the Dark Hedges which is one of the filming locations of “GOT”. Since I love abandoned castles, I hoped to see the Dunluce castle if possible. However, if I tried to go to all those places by myself even though there are only three, it seemed to take one day.

In addition, I didn’t have a valid driving licence in Europe at that time. (I have a driving licence in Japan, and yet due to the fact that I have lived in Estonia for more than one year, I was not eligible to apply for the international driving licence. Hence I went to a driving school in Estonia.) As I was not legally able to drive a car, public transports were the only option for me to travel. However, given that I wanted to take buses, I had to consider the bus routes, theri frequencies, and their time.

I wondered what to do, and suddenly I thought “Maybe I can go somewhere else on a day trip?” Then I googled and found a tour in Northern Ireland on the website called Viator.

The tour started in Belfast and took approximately nine hours, going to major sightseeing places in Northern Ireland. Looking at the itinerary of the tour, all the places I wanted to see were included.

Therefore, in this article, I will talk about the tour and the points on this tour!

Table of Contents

     1. Viator’s tour in Northern Ireland
     2. Sightseeing places in Northern Ireland
          a. The Dark Hedges
          b. Carrick-A-Rede bridge
          c. Giant’s Causeway
          d. Dunluce castle
     3. Food & beverages, toilets and the internet on the Northern Ireland tour
     ★Summary

1. Viator’s tour in Northern Ireland

Viator has multiple options for the tours in Northern Ireland, and I chose the one with which I could go to major sightseeing places including my wishes in Northern Ireland.

It cost around 40 EUR, which was not too bad.

2. Sightseeing places in Northern Ireland

On Viator’s tour I attended, we went to several sightseeing places, but here I selected a few places I wanted to go before this trip!

a. The Dark Hedges

The Dark Hedges is the filming location for “GOT”. If you google this place, it looks creepy, but it wasn’t when I went there probably because we went there at noon.

But I’m glad that I could go there, and I want to see the Dark Hedges in a dark time!

b. Carrick-A-Rede bridge

This bridge is the one this tour has its picture, but

we couldn’t go close to there.

We just saw it from far away.

This is because, according to the tour guide, you can cross the bridge only on a private tour.

I was a bit disappointed, and yet if the tour had included this option, the tour price would have been more than 40 EUR, and the tour couldn’t have finished in a day.

I want to go there on a private tour some day!

I’m pretty sure I would be a chicken there, but I want to try to cross that bridge!!

c. Giant’s Causeway

When it comes to Northern Ireland, Giant’s Causeway might be the first thing you might imagine!

It’s very famous, and a typical sightseeing place in Northern Ireland, but I had wanted to visit there for a long time! The admission fee was included in the tour fee. You can walk around there by yourself, or you can walk while listening to the guide’s talks. (The guide fee is also inclusive.) I walked with the guide. He talked about geology, anecdotes and his experience-based stories concerning Giant’s Causeway. (Since it’s located in the coastal area, and sometimes it’s very rainy and/or windy, you can borrow a headset to listen to the guide’s talk.)

Giant’s Causeway was much vaster than I thought, so I didn’t have enough time to walk everywhere. I want to go there again!

When it’s rainy, the ground is quite muddy and slippery, so it’s better to wear anti-slippery shoes which can be dirty.

d. Dunluce castle

The Dubluce castle is an abandoned castle. I love abandoned castles so much for some reason.

However, we couldn’t go that close to the Dunluce castle.

The coach stopped at the official view point where you can see the Dunluce castle. It was slightly disappointing. The coach stopped there for only 10 to 15 minutes as we just saw it from the view point.

But I could see the castle at that time, though it’s blurry and hard to see in the picture, so I’m satisfied.

On the contrary, I still want to see it more closely, so I need to try again.

3. Food & beverages, toilets and the internet on the Northern Ireland tour

This tour does not include food or beverages. It might be a good idea to bring at least a bottle of water, and yet for some people who participate in this tour might need more in summer. However, at some points on this tour, you can buy something at a store. Depending on the place, there was a convenience store called SPAR.

We spent lunch time at a restaurant in a town named Ballintoy, and they had a coach menu. (This is probably due to avoiding the congestion at the restaurant.) The coach menu had an option with which you can eat champ, Northern Irish mashed potato. I will talk about this in a different article. During lunch time, you can spend time at the restaurant, or you can stroll around there. It’s not mandatory to have lunch at the restaurant, so if you want to save money, or you are not so hungry, then you don’t need to book dishes on the tour. (The tour guide understands this so no need to worry about saying no thank you.)

In terms of toilets, I felt I could go to bathrooms at almost every sightseeing place. I didn’t have to wait patiently for peeing. 😂 However, if you arrive at a place where you have an opportunity to go to the loo, it’s probably better to go. Plus, after leaving Giant’s Causeway, you can’t get any chance to go to the loo until you arrive in Belfast. I recommend going to the loo in Giant’s Causeway as the distance is quite long to Belfast.

What is more, surprisingly, the coach didn’t have any internet access or changing ports. However, it’s understandable in a way because some buses or coaches have either or both of them whilst others don’t in any countries (even in Estonia). It wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring a phone cable to charge though. I was also fine without the internet on the coach since I could use giffgaff’s internet up to 15 GB.

★Summary

Whenever I travel somewhere I have never been, I’m like “I want to go to this place and that place.” Then after visiting them, I feel “I want to see it in a different version, or in a different season”. Then I go there again. That’s why I go to the same places repeatedly.

Honestly, I thought I wouldn’t feel I wanted to go to Northern Ireland again as I would be satisfied, but in fact I want to go there again…

As for the tour, I would recommend it if you wish to see lots of places in Northern Ireland during a short period.

Aitäh! 🙂