Northern Ireland including Giant's Causeway Rail Tour from Dublin

I’m not one to complain and go with the flow BUT I must say that I was very disappointed with this tour. It was quite pricey ($153) and we did not get to see 3 of the sights on the itinerary, Carrickfergus Castle, morning tea in Carnlough village and the Carrick-a-Rede Rope bridge (so bummed about this one) were skipped. We switched buses along the way to meet up with another group, we were told we could get off at the switch off to see the caves on the beach where Game of Thrones was filmed but were only given 10 minutes to see them. It took us 10 minutes to walk there! I did not get to see them, only from a distance, while the other group that was there waiting to meet up with us was given sufficient time to take in the sight. I was upset, but decided to let it go and things would improve. We then stopped for lunch at a dreary pub along the way, no shops or anything else there to do, even though the itinerary stated we would be doing that. We were only able to eat there or eat lunch you had brought with you. We finally arrived at the Giant Causeway (a beautiful sight) at 2:30 pm and had to leave by 4pm to head back to Dublin. We stopped for less than 5 minutes to take a quick picture of another castle from afar and buy pastries at a quaint bakery. On the positive, the tour guide David did his best to make everyone comfortable and Ray the driver had lots of knowledge to share. Unfortunately, whoever created this tour did a poor job on time management. They should not advertise the sights that tourists will not be able to see and experience. My recommendation is to skip this tour unless it gets reorganized and price cut.

A light breakfast and crossing the rope bridge were supposed to be included. They weren't. The bus tour was fine, but it's not for me. I'd rather be able to stop and go on my own time than be rushed. Giant's Causeway was pretty rad.

Joe was a wonderful guide. Super friendly! It was a beautiful day . Every stop was great. Loved learning about Ireland. Most do this again!

This was the worst experience I've ever had booking through Viator/Trip Advisor. We have booked over 30 trips through Viator/Trip Advisor both in the US and Internationally. This was by far the worst experience. The Tour operator was Railtours.com. The guides were generally friendly but the tour operator's planning was awful. The list is endless but here are a few things to keep in mind if you are thinking about booking this tour; 1. It was a rail tour from Dublin to Belfast, but we departed the train 1/2 through the trip. The rail was down from Newry to Belfast so we had to bus the rest of the way. Locals tell us this line has been having problems since mid-July (our tour was August 13th). I would have been courteous if Railtours.com would have let us know, we booked this excursion specifically because of the train ride. 2. The description of the tour said you could order breakfast on the tour, we left our hotel at 7am, however no meal service was offered. We did not stop for lunch until 2:30. 3. We ended up taking three different busses on this trip. The third bus was not even a tour bus; it was an old, unclean bus for a local football team. The teams logo was painted on the center section windows so there were 4 seats with 100% unobstructed views, unfortunately we had two of them. Disappointing given it was a scenic tour. We tried to move seats 1/2 through the trip and the bus drive emphatically told us to stay in our original seats that it was first come first seated. There is more but I would caution anyone booking through railtours.com. On the plus side Northern Ireland is beautiful and I would strongly recommend a trip to see the Carrick a rope bridge and Giant Causeway. We also really enjoyed the lunch and the trip to Bushmills distillery, great trip just don't book with railtour.com

This was such a great way to spend the day. We were met at the trains station by Paddy who got us on the train and made our trip to the next stop easy and enjoyable. From there our coach driver Patrick was awesome. His stories, jokes, tales and knowledge of the country made the entire tour. It would not have been the same without him. Needless to say how beautiful the country of Ireland is. The way back to Dublin we were me at the train station by the most incredible man named Liam who kept us intranced with his knowledge of his life and history of Ireland. I am so grateful to have experienced his prescence and wisdom.

The title is a little misleading in that the rail is from Dublin to Belfast. The ride out to the Giant's Causeway is by bus. Our driver was very knowledgeable, entertaining and professional. We were put on a new bus, but no keys to the bathroom meant we had to stop frequently for restroom facilities. The places we stopped had good facilities and good food. So it wasn't bad. The ride out to the Causeway was absolutely gorgeous. We had a mist most of the day and heavy fog. On a clear day the views would have been even more breathtaking. I highly recommend this tour.

I highly recommend this tour. It is a beautiful drive from Dublin and the tour guide was great. Be sure not to miss the sheep herding demonstration.

So much fun! Sean, Patrick, and Rodney were absolute dreams to work with. Our train was delayed and Rodney was able to make up for it by stopping at some incredible sights along the way to meet up with our tour down the path. Be sure to walk all the paths and see all of the local draws!

This tour was fantastic and would recommend for sure! It's a long day but well worth it!

We had only a limited time to spend in Dublin and wished we could visit the Giant's Causeway. It seemed not to be practical. Then, we found his great one day tour by rail and bus up to Belfast, and several of the most popular sights. It was perfect! Our guide was easy to find at the rail station, remained helpful throughout the day, and the trip north was smooth and fast. At Belfast we transferred to the tour bus with Troy in the driver's seat. He was a wonderful mix of humor and history and really got us into a great mood, in spite of the rainy weather. Sometimes his patter was a bit fast and the accent hard to understand, but he was fun. The stops were well planned, if a bit rushed, but with this size group, they have to stay on schedule. It did give us a chance to walk out to the Carrick bridge, adequate time at the Giant's Causeway and a quick stop at Bushmills. The pub stop at lunch was delightful and cozy, with the added plus of some Game of Thrones memorabilia available. The tour around Belfast when we returned was quick, but gave us a sample to see if we would like to return here. Everything ran according to the plan we were given and we very much enjoyed the day.