The first part of my trip in March (2017) I went to London, England. You can read about it here and here.
After 4 days in London (and over 75 km of walking) I needed this road trip! It was a great mix of driving and exploring. I got in to Belfast the night before around 11 pm, took a hot shower and went straight to bed. I couldn’t get my phone to charge in the car the night before and it was so late I didn’t want to disturb everyone else in the hostel room so the next morning I stayed a little longer than I’d originally hoped to get my phone up to 100%. Turns out, I just didn’t have the USB connection in all the way! Oops.
Day 5: Dark Hedges, Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge, Giant’s Causeway, Dunluce Castle, Belfast, Paddy Campbell’s Black Taxi Tour.
- Dark Hedges: First stop of the day and it was amazing! For Game of Thrones fans, it’s the setting for the King’s Road. I planned to get there early in the hopes that there would be little traffic/people and I planned correctly! About 3 cars drove along the roadway while I was there so I attempted a few self-timed jumping photos. It didn’t work out.
- Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge: I had also planned to get here early to miss the mass of people that might be visiting. Again, I planned correctly! I also didn’t have to pay the 7 GBP (bonus!) to walk across the rope bridge. The path is always free but you do need a ticket (and to wait in line) to cross the rope bridge. I was there for the pictures and got loads (yay!).
Carrick-a-rede bridge in Northern Ireland 
Views on the walk to the bridge 
Stunning - Giant’s Causeway: An unexpected (because I didn’t look it up) cost of 10.50 GBP. You can see the causeway (rocks) for free but because I drove and would have had to pay for parking I had to buy a ticket. I recommend paying the admission price anyways because of the audio guide – it is amazing! It has folklore stories, geological information, historical facts of tour guides and farmers. It’s a nice walk and, of course, the causeway is beautiful.
Giant’s Causeway 
Giant’s Causeway - Dunluce Castle: Another unexpected fee (because I didn’t look it up) of 7 GBP so I just took a few pictures and made my way back to Belfast.
Dunluce Castle - Paddy Campbell’s Black Taxi Tour: 30 GBP but TOTALLY worth it. My driver was Jerry and he was very friendly and knowledgeable. I met him at the front of City Hall: the tour is about 1.5 hours to drive around Belfast to visit murals and learn about the history of Northern Ireland. It was fascinating and I love learning!
I didn’t get to make it to the Mussenden Temple because I slept in and spent much longer at the Causeway than I had planned but I don’t regret the decision at all. I wished I’d at least taken a (free) tour of Belfast City Hall but tried to get to all my other attractions before the sun set so I left right after the taxi tour. I loved Northern Ireland and expect to be back in the future to explore more (and actually visit Belfast).
What do you recommend I see on my next visit? Stay tuned for more from Ireland!
I recommend a visit in the Titanic museum and since you are there, check out where she was built. Nobody is ever there and it’s a bit eery but totally worth it.
We were there a few years ago, and visited all of your mentioned highlights. When we visited the rope bridge we “saw” the crew of “got” filming in the background. Wrote about it too in case you are interested.
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I heard about the Titanic Museum but not about visiting where it was built! I’ll definitely add it to the list, thank you!
Also, so cool that you saw the GOT filming!! I’ll definitely check out your post
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I especially love your yellow jacket, and of course the graffiti tour – gotta love lots of history stories told my area natives!! Sounds like a great trip that I’ll def have to try out 😊
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