Trip to Giants Causeway or Belfast Political tour for first time visitor?

[cruisingmimi]

HoffmanA, the Oddyssey Coach Tours also offer smaller vehicles, they can take small groups as well as larger ones. When I originally contacted Jim Monaghan, I was looking for a vehicle for about 8 of us and once I posted on the CC boards I ended up with 27 for the tour so Jim was able to provide the larger bus for us. He will pretty much tailor your tour and number of participants according to your needs. He is fantastic to work with, do send him an email.

 

website: http://www.odysseycoachtours.co.uk/

 

email: info@odysseycoachtours.co.uk

 

Jim Monaghan is the contact person

[KMR]

Odyssey Coach Tours offers two different tours that are bookable online and you do not need to recruit other people to form a group. One tour goes to the Giant's Causeway and the other one is a tour of Northern Ireland and goes to St. Patrick's Country, including the mountains of Mourne. Both tours also include a city tour. Which tour would you suggest?

[roothy123]

Odyssey Coach Tours offers two different tours that are bookable online and you do not need to recruit other people to form a group. One tour goes to the Giant's Causeway and the other one is a tour of Northern Ireland and goes to St. Patrick's Country, including the mountains of Mourne. Both tours also include a city tour. Which tour would you suggest?

 

I'm also looking for a tour, so I hope to hear of more experiences.

[cruisingmimi]

I did research on Belfast tours and did check out the St. Patrick's Country w/ Mountains of Mourne. This would have appealed to me but the overwhelming number of recommendations indicated the Giant's Causeway tour so this is the way I went. It is a highly popular attraction and in my opinion after having been there not to be missed. It is indeed spectacular to see all the rock formations, etc. Something to see. They also have a new visitor's center which was not built when we visited there. I also included other things to see along the way to make it a wonderful day in Belfast. Some of my group wanted to visit the rope swing so we allowed time for that visit. There were only about 5 that wanted to walk across but it is a nice scenic area to walk about and wait for the group to cross. We visited a couple of other nice attractions as well. I have posted what our day included but would be happy to do so again.

 

Do feel free to contact Jim Monaghan and ask him for recommendations for a day in Belfast. He was fantastic to work with on advice, time allowances, etc. Price was very reasonable as well. As KMR indicated, if you only have a couple or a few of you, Jim may be able to put together something where you do not have to organize the day yourself.

[atlasali]

Last May, we went with McComb's and did it all. Giant's Causeway, lunch and/or tour of Bushmills (some did both), saw the gorgeous countryside, took a profound tour of modern Belfast ending with a tour and description of the conflict. Our driver did not term it "the conflict". He used a euphemistic term that I cannot recall. It was a real contrast between the vibrant shopping areas with the new Titanic museum versus the gates that are closed nightly at 9:00pm and the haunting image of a precious toddler playing in front of her tidy, brick, row home with the HUGE wall looming in her backyard. When the driver first talked about the walls, I naively thought why didn't the people take them down, like Berlin. After the tour, I now see why they cannot.

 

Tip: Do not have that second cup of coffee for breakfast. Our driver skipped the usual restroom break location in order to reach Bushmills first. While it was nice to beat the crowd, I thought my bladder was going to burst by the time he stopped!

[Cotswold Eagle]

Last May, we went with McComb's and did it all. Giant's Causeway, lunch and/or tour of Bushmills (some did both), saw the gorgeous countryside, took a profound tour of modern Belfast ending with a tour and description of the conflict. Our driver did not term it "the conflict". He used a euphemistic term that I cannot recall.

 

'The Troubles', perhaps?

[atlasali]

"The Troubles", I do believe that was the term our driver used. I couldn't remember whether he said, "The Problem" or "The Trouble". Neither sounded correct. Thank you for clarifying it for me.

[melody hounddog]

Fantastic tips everyone! Thank you!

 

I think we will look for a private tour for the four of us.