Giants Causeway or Titanic Trail

[pappy1022]

I'm trying to pick one of these ship tours in Belfast and I'm having trouble deciding so please help with your thoughts and experiences. The Giants Causeway tour also includes the scenic Antrim coast and the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge. The Titanic Trail includes touring the Titanic quarter with the cranes, drafting room etc., and the Titanic Belfast museum.

[just_dont]

I'm trying to pick one of these ship tours in Belfast and I'm having trouble deciding so please help with your thoughts and experiences. The Giants Causeway tour also includes the scenic Antrim coast and the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge. The Titanic Trail includes touring the Titanic quarter with the cranes, drafting room etc., and the Titanic Belfast museum.

Giants Causeway.

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[katrina915]

I am a titanic fan, but I chose the causeway. The actual causeway is just unusual rocks, but the coastline is beautiful. The rope bridge looks like fun.  The coastline by the causeway is why I  am going back to Ireland. 

[maehara]

Has been said of the Causeway that it's worth seeing, but not worth going to see - which is a fair enough assessment.  That said, the rest of the north coast road & Carrick-a-Rede absolutely are worth visiting.  Views from the coast road are beautiful, and while the current incarnation of the rope bridge is far more sturdy than you'd expect (I distinctly remember it being more rickety when I was younger, and more tricky / thrilling / fun to cross than it is now), it's still worth doing.

 

Belfast's Titanic obsession has always seemed a bit... off to me. Very strange thing to build a tourism industry around. 

[VMax1700]

I never understood the interest in Giant's Causeway.  As a kid we played on the rocks and climbed nearby Dunluce Castle and had great fun.  Would I get in a bus and travel to the Antrim coast and then walk down to the causeway and probably get soaked (it is Ireland and it is green because it rains - a lot!), absolutely not.  But if that same tour was visiting some of the villages down in the glens like Cushendall or Cushendun, then I probably would go.

 

In recent years I have visited the Titanic Centre a few times and it is quite interesting.  Not a lot of actual Titanic 'pieces' but interesting background materials.

 

P.S. agree with @maehara that the rope bridge is much sturdier than previous incarnations.  Health & Safety has intervened! 🙄

[homeofthehound]

We loved our Causeway tour day and do not feel like we missed anything by skipping the Titanic related tours. If we were to go back to that part of the world, we would likely go back to the Causeway again (we prefer outdoor tour options compared to indoor museum type of tours though). Enjoy whichever you decide to do! :)

[dani negreanu]

Giants Causeway -- even in the rain😁

[ducklite]

Having been to both, I have to disent with the others.  The Titanic Quarter was amazing.  

 

That said, I would probably DIY rather than paying for a ship excursion.  Buy your tickets on line in advance, leaving about an hour from when the ship is supposed to dock until your first entry.  There should be plenty of cabs at the dock, or order an Uber.

[ukestrummer]

consider long lines at rope bridge, might be killing an hour or more there. Pretty causeway though, LONG WALK DOWN & UP but you can for 1E take bus back up. I booked private tour, castle was interesting (entry fee except on certain days), skipped rope but no time to take the windy road back because slippery roads & too much time at castle. Missed Titanic , closed just getting back to town, I would not walk around some of Belfast at night, saw some seedy people there. Amazing the wall was nice to see but WHY at this stage of life there, 

 

[JimmyTheSaint]

It's possible to do both the Causeway Coast and Titanic Museum in a day. We did it a couple of years ago using a Belfast taxi firm, six seater van, very comfortable. This allowed us to drive the coast road visiting a harbour used in the Game of Thrones, the rope bridge ( we didn't walk across as we hadn't pre-booked ), the castle and the driver showed us the free path to the Giants Causeway.

 

We arrived back in Belfast at around 4pm and had more than enough time for a tour in the Titanic museum. From the museum it was only a ten minute drive to the ship. The taxi company we used was Value Cabs. 

[kctwinmommy]

I just had to say, no advice on your options, but I'm looking forward to doing both of these things! 😁 We're doing a regular land vacation next summer. First up a few days in England (Cubs baseball game!!) and military things. Then we decided to spend the rest of our time in Ireland, probably 7-8 days. So we're doing a loop around the island of some kind, still setting our points. But these are 2 things on our list for sure! I didn't know about the rope bridge until my friend (who was born/raised in N. Ireland) told me about it.

[crusingnut]

We did a private tour to the Giant's Causeway and enjoyed it. 

[Marseydotes]

Can anyone tell me just how “fit” one should be to walk to and from the stones? Balance issues and asthma make many walks difficult!

thanks....

[VacationCharlene]

We went to the Titantic Museum and LOVED it...you can spend hours there also close to the port.  We also went to Giant's Causeway and VERY DISAPPOINTED in how the place was overrun by tourists and everyone climbing all over the rocks.....very dis-respectful to "nature" in OUR opinion.  I would NEVER go to Giant's causeway again.  We used McComb's Coach Travel for an absolute wonderful tour with them!! 

Edited January 6, 2020 by VacationingCharlene

[maehara]

10 hours ago, Marseydotes said:

Can anyone tell me just how “fit” one should be to walk to and from the stones? Balance issues and asthma make many walks difficult!

thanks....

Shortest route down is just under a mile each way.  I'm not in the best physical shape & wouldn't have an issue, but the path is gravelly in places and slopes are involved which sounds like it may be a concern?  If in doubt, there's a shuttle bus run by Ulsterbus that runs between the visitor centre & the Causeway.  £1 each way.

[dani negreanu]

16 hours ago, Marseydotes said:

Can anyone tell me just how “fit” one should be to walk to and from the stones? Balance issues and asthma make many walks difficult!

thanks....

 

We're fit but prefered to take the shuttle in order to save the "feets" for other attractions 😁

[Marseydotes]

Thanks for your info! Seems that I can choose the safer route and “save my feet’s” for castles!
 

[ducklite]

On 12/31/2019 at 12:06 PM, ukestrummer said:

consider long lines at rope bridge, might be killing an hour or more there. Pretty causeway though, LONG WALK DOWN & UP but you can for 1E take bus back up. I booked private tour, castle was interesting (entry fee except on certain days), skipped rope but no time to take the windy road back because slippery roads & too much time at castle. Missed Titanic , closed just getting back to town, I would not walk around some of Belfast at night, saw some seedy people there. Amazing the wall was nice to see but WHY at this stage of life there, 

 

While there are some parts of Belfast that I wouldn't walk through, the vast majority is perfectly safe--particularly walking from the Titanic Quarter to the central part of the City.  Walking up to the docks where the cruise ships are is also perfectly safe in the evening.

I've spent about an equal amount of time in Portland, OR and Belfast, NI over the past five years, and have felt far safer in Belfast than Portland.  I've walked around Queens and City Center Belfast at midnight without hesitation, but wouldn't even think to do so in Portland.  Leaving the City Grill after dinner we were approached aggressively by three different homeless people--two of them obviously impaired by one substance or another.  No thanks.

As far as the wall, it's part of the heritage.  Over the past 10 or so years there has been much official discussion towards them, and by mutual agreement the process to remove them is likely to start this year.  Brexit could change that.

[ukestrummer]

I AGREE about Portland Or , NOT SAFE  THERE, only people who live there sy it is safe but NOT SAFE. I agree, just a small part of Belfast is kinda looking bad but NOT AS BAD AS PORTLAND

[mauimary]

On 1/6/2020 at 12:24 PM, ducklite said:

While there are some parts of Belfast that I wouldn't walk through, the vast majority is perfectly safe--particularly walking from the Titanic Quarter to the central part of the City.  Walking up to the docks where the cruise ships are is also perfectly safe in the evening.

I've spent about an equal amount of time in Portland, OR and Belfast, NI over the past five years, and have felt far safer in Belfast than Portland.  I've walked around Queens and City Center Belfast at midnight without hesitation, but wouldn't even think to do so in Portland.  Leaving the City Grill after dinner we were approached aggressively by three different homeless people--two of them obviously impaired by one substance or another.  No thanks.

As far as the wall, it's part of the heritage.  Over the past 10 or so years there has been much official discussion towards them, and by mutual agreement the process to remove them is likely to start this year.  Brexit could change that.

Duck lite. We have lived in Portland Oregon for the last thirtysix years. Agree there are areas of Portland like any other city that can be sketchy. Sorry you were bothered.  The City Grill is on the edge of Old Town which you definitely would not want to walk around. The homeless problem is getting to be a huge problem. 
 

We have lived in a condo in an area that is known as the Pearl in Northwest PDX. for the last ten years.  Yes there are some homeless wandering around but the area is generally very safe. We walk to restaurants and happy hour breweries all the time at night.  People are out walking all the time especially so if you have a dog you need to walk. We have grandchildren that play in the parks near us. 

Please don’t paint Portland as a dangerous city one would not want to visit. We have many lovely features.  We are not unlike any major city. 
 

 

[ducklite]

7 minutes ago, mauimary said:

Duck lite. We have lived in Portland Oregon for the last thirtysix years. Agree there are areas of Portland like any other city that can be sketchy. Sorry you were bothered.  The City Grill is on the edge of Old Town which you definitely would not want to walk around. The homeless problem is getting to be a huge problem. 
 

We have lived in a condo in an area that is known as the Pearl in Northwest PDX. for the last ten years.  Yes there are some homeless wandering around but the area is generally very safe. We walk to restaurants and happy hour breweries all the time at night.  People are out walking all the time especially so if you have a dog you need to walk. We have grandchildren that play in the parks near us. 

Please don’t paint Portland as a dangerous city one would not want to visit. We have many lovely features.  We are not unlike any major city. 
 

 

I do stand my ground, yes, I've seen some people in Belfast who were worthy or being wary of, but they never approached me or harassed me.  This was not the case in Portland where they were quite aggressive.  I stand by my words that I have felt safer in Belfast than Portland.

Edited January 26, 2020 by ducklite

[mauimary]

3 hours ago, ducklite said:

I do stand my ground, yes, I've seen some people in Belfast who were worthy or being wary of, but they never approached me or harassed me.  This was not the case in Portland where they were quite aggressive.  I stand by my words that I have felt safer in Belfast than Portland.

I am not going to debate you.  You cannot judge a city by three homeless people who bothered you on the edge of an area you would not want to walk alone in on one occasion.  One needs to ask questions from their hotel and educate themselves. Hence the term as having street smarts!   This is a very unfair accusation and is not relative to the point of this particular thread which is incidentally on Belfast not PDX Oregon. 
 

Portland OR can be addressed on the Pacific Northwest and California Coastal Boards. Even as an excursion from Astoria a cruiser would not come inland this far. 

[ducklite]

19 hours ago, mauimary said:

I am not going to debate you.  You cannot judge a city by three homeless people who bothered you on the edge of an area you would not want to walk alone in on one occasion.  One needs to ask questions from their hotel and educate themselves. Hence the term as having street smarts!   This is a very unfair accusation and is not relative to the point of this particular thread which is incidentally on Belfast not PDX Oregon. 
 

Portland OR can be addressed on the Pacific Northwest and California Coastal Boards. Even as an excursion from Astoria a cruiser would not come inland this far. 

Maybe you missed the part where I've spent a decent amount of time there over the past five years.  It was not a one-off, and that was not a singular experience.  

 

And again, it was relevant as you implied that Belfast was "dangerous."  My very relevant response was that I've been far more harassed and felt far less safe in Portland.

[mauimary]

To make matters clear. I never implied Belfast is dangerous. I have never been there. I do not think it’s called for to imply that Portland is dangerous. It’s not like any other major city.  This chain is about others asking if Belfast is dangerous?

 No need to even compare it to any American city.  If you have spent any amount of time in Portland you should be aware of areas that can be a little sketch. It is not the whole city.  Please stop implying that it is.   
Just answer the question someone asked about Belfast.  

[bubbachief]

On 1/6/2020 at 7:27 AM, dani negreanu said:

 

We're fit but prefered to take the shuttle in order to save the "feets" for other attractions 😁

That's what we did