Belfast giants causeway

[boykin]

Family is taking British isles cruise in May and was wondering if we need two hours at the causeway. Most coach tours allow two,hours and I'm worried we will get bored and should maybe hire a private tour instead. Thoughts?

[bubblesqueaker]

I live in NI and personally I think 2 hours is a bit long. There is a visitors centre and then the causeway itself. It takes about 15 minutes to walk down to the seafront where the feature is. If you are really interested in a museum type thing then yes, 2 hours is fine. If you're like me "right, saw that - next" then no.

[bubblesqueaker]

If you are doing a tour see if they include Carrick-a-Reed rope bridge. This is pretty cool.

[need2cruisesoon]

Family is taking British isles cruise in May and was wondering if we need two hours at the causeway. Most coach tours allow two,hours and I'm worried we will get bored and should maybe hire a private tour instead. Thoughts?

 

We did the Causeway as part of our independent tour. I spent a total of 5 minutes where the bus drops you off, basically if you love rocks then perhaps 15 minutes.

If I to do again I would bypass this point of interest altogether. yes hire a private tour operator.

Here it is:

Edited January 6, 2016 by need2cruisesoon

[dsrdsrdsr]

I'd say if you want to see the Giant's Causeway, two hours would be needed. There's a big exhibition that can easily take half an hour to an hour, it's a good twenty minutes round trip to walk down to the causeway and back, and there's a lot to see (including a audio tour) when you're there.

 

If you're not really interested, you can do it in less.

 

The advantage of a private tour may be if you want to walk over the rope bridge. You may be able to get there at a different time from everyone else, and it's definitely better when it's not crowded.

[4774Papa]

We spent about an hour and a half there and enjoyed every minute. We walked down from the visitors center and walked back. The scenery was wonderful. I think 15 minutes is absurd, but an hour and a half is fine.

[Davebhoy]

We were up at the Causeway in October.

 

Walking down to the Causeway from the visitor centre and car park is easily 20 minutes (longer if you stop and listen at the main points on the audio guide) or a bit longer doing the clifftop route (fantastic for seeing the most of the sights). Fifteen minutes or so is probably enough actually down at the rocks (less if you're not able to climb up them). So there and back would be rushed to do in under an hour. You could jump a bus down and back, which is a separate charge but has you down in a few minutes - if this is your plan then yeah, 2 hours is probably too much.

 

The visitors centre itself has lots to see/read about the Causeway, and a decent café too - we spent just shy of an hour in the Visitor Centre.

 

In total, a two hour visit is probably just about bang on. If you finish sightseeing sharp, there's a decent pub for a refreshment the other side of the car park.

[Mindershire]

I would say you need a minimum of 1 hour to walk down, explore, and back and listen to the audio tour so that you can enjoy the experience and learn something. We were there for 1.5 hours, and were ready to go after 1 but there is a lovely cafe where you can get a cup of tea and something to eat. I used the extra time to catch up on my travelogue! Also remember that on large tours, it takes some time for everyone to load/unload so actual time to explore will likely be less than 2 hours, assuming you are on schedule.

 

If you want to read about our day excursion in Northern Ireland, check out the post here http://72hourstogo.blogspot.com/2014/08/british-isles-day-8-northern-ireland.html