Giant's Causeway

I went here with the family after visiting the hidden hedges. When we arrived here we realised that when it comes to parking your car you have two choices, either pay to park at the visitor centre or find your own spot somewhere and walk up. We chose to find our own place and the information below explains this. We drove down the hill a couple hundred yards to the train depot where there is ample parking but you are charged £8 per car to park here. You can use the toilets inside and get drinks and snacks as you will have to pay for your parking here. You can then walk back up to the causeway from there.

If you park at the visitor centre you are charged £12.50 per person so with 4 adults in the car you will be charged £50 just to park your car. If you want to visit the visitor centre you have to pay this as there is no alternative. We didn't go into the visitor centre so I cannot comment on what is in there, but it's small and certainly not worth this amount of money.

We walked up from parking our car and walked through a tunnel which takes you to the road leading to the causeway. There is a bus at the top but you have to pay about £1.30 each way to use this. I don't know if this is included in the cost to the visitor centre, but I don't think it is. We walked to the causeway, it's not a steep drop and it's about a half mile from the top to the bottom.

Now the causeway itself is lovely, it's much smaller than you think but there are staff there to ensure people don't fall from the ricks and there is an emergency phone just in case. You can walk down to the water's edge and for the really energetic there are walks towards the pillars in the far distance. The rocks are slippery so be careful and wear sensible shoes. After about 20 minutes we were getting ready to leave as there is nothing else really to see once you've taken your snaps. After taking some pictures we walked back towards the centre and to the car.

I have seen it now and don't need to go back, but my advice for those visiting is be careful with your wallet and don't be encouraged to park at the centre and get ripped off by the extortionate charges. Anyone visiting this from a distance would be best to get the tour included as part of a package deal. One person we met came from Belfast and went to the Carrick-a-Rede Bridge, the Causeway and the Hidden Hedges all in a day for £30. That would be good value for money. But, visiting this as a single trip will be expensive if there is more than one person in the car. I know the parking by the railway station may seen expensive at £8 but it means you can get to see the causeway with a 20 minute walk. Paying the fees for the visitor centre parking is in my opinion not justifiable and just an exercise to take money from unsuspecting tourists. A family of two adults and two little children can get a family ticket from the visitor centre for £30 but unless you think the children will benefit from the experience don't bother.

This is an update re parking & visiting July 2020.

You must apply for a ticket to visit the Giants Causeway official carpark @ £13.50 per person. This entitles you to entrance to carpark, centre, cafe & shop.

We parked at the Bushmills-Giants Causeway train station for £8 & walked less than 10 minutes to the official carpark.

You could also park on the main road but do not park on the double yellow lines as you will get a ticket & they do enforce the rules.

The mini bus that ran up & down to the rocks is not running at the minute due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Toilets on site, left hand side before you enter the entrance tunnel.

Giants Causeway is truly magnificent. On the advice of our guide, we chose the Red Trail that takes visitors up along the ridge overlooking the causeway, the views over the water, down to the shore, and in the other direction across the fields and villages is breathtaking. Near the end of the Red Trail we headed down narrow steps and path to the water, connecting with the Blue Trail over to the causeway. The Causeway is an utterly unique rock formation that prompted the idea a giant created a bridge to Scotland but all that remains are these stepping stones at the Irish end.

To save time and energy we paid the one pound fare for a ride back to the tour bus area - it meant we could spend more time rock hopping and enjoying the waves coming in over the rocks. Well worth a visit.

We didn’t go into the visitor centre, our guide suggested it wasn’t worth paying to go inside when the real attraction is outside and free.

The actual Giants Causeway is stunning, BUT, the visitor center is a joke. The website had told me that it was free to walk to the rocks - but it said that it would be better to pay for the visitor center so they could better control the amount of visitors on the rocks to help control COVID. We paid £26 to go in. But we found ourselves queuing in the rain to get into this building - while everyone else was already on the rocks. The center should be made free - people would defiantly go in and purchase things from the cafe and gift shop, but AFTER they have seen the Giants Causeway.

The causeway is beautiful. Rugged landscape and fresh sea air.

The parking and visitor centre - £13.50 for an adult to use the toilet or access the cafe. Absolutely mad. The shuttle they advertise isn't even included in the ticket.
Parking attendants stop the cars daring to bypass the visitors centre carpark and enter the hotel next door, and demand proof of purchase from the hotel to prove you weren't bypassing their highly expensive parking facility.

Sad to see that this wonderful natural tourist attraction seems to have been monopolised by the National Trust, especially considering the causeway itself is free to access. A tourist trap, smacks of an elaborate scam.

I have visited the Giant’s Causeway twice (May 2018 and March 2020) and both times I was blown away by its beauty. Both times I visited were with tours so my admissions fee was already covered but I would highly recommend paying for admissions if you are in the area. The walk to and from the causeway itself is a bit of a journey, but if you do not feel like walking, there is a shuttle that takes guests to and from the causeway from the visitors center. The walk down to the causeway is beautiful. You get a glimpse of the coast as well as the green hills and valleys on the way down. Once you reach the causeway, there are simply no words to describe how amazing and unique this place is. If you are feeling adventurous, you can walk up and around the hexagonal columns. I would highly recommend bringing a warm jacket and wearing comfortable walking shoes to this location. During each of my visits, there was plentiful sunshine but the winds were cool and strong. Also, the columns can be slippery with the waves constantly crashing along them so if you are exploring all the causeway has to offer, just be very cautious. If you are interested, there is also a gift shop and cafe on site. Everything sold here seemed to be fairly priced for what you were purchasing. If you are planning a visit here, I would recommend spending at least an hour and a half here. A trip to Northern Ireland would not be complete without a stop here!

This is a National Trust property and definitely worth a visit if you hold NT membership but unless you are an NT member is extortionately expensive to use the car park, cafe and facilities. Once through though it is a spectacular piece of the coastline with an easy walk down to the Causeway itself. There is a bus service if you need it but the walk is worth the visit.

Made a bit of an error on the day and did the walk that overlooks the Causeway first when it was quiet, in hindsight I think it’s be better to go down to the Causeway first and try and avoid the crowds. It was pretty much impossible to get a picture of the actual Causeway with all of the people.
I believe free to park if you’re a member of the National Trust, we parked a little walk away at a local railway, I think was a fiver for the day. Well worth it as the price to park at the visitor centre was extortionate. Definitely worth it for the views but I’d be inclined to try and visit in a quiet season or early hours, it was the height of summer when we went so that may be why it was so busy.

You need good walking shoes although there is a bus for a small charge will take you down and back up the hill to the “stones”. The Causeway is worth seeing and it’s free although the National Trust will encourage you to pay the extortionate price for the visitor’s centre which is just really a gift shop and cafe. The National Trust also own the car park but you can park in nearby Bushmills and get a bus up.
It can get very busy with tours so be prepared for crowds. Many good walks and the Finn MacCool story is a good one.

From the time you park until you walk out of the Causeway, folks are there to help. There was a gentleman in the parking lot to tell us where to park, where to get passes and answer questions. The inside area certainly has things to sell but has great explanations of the area and how it was formed. Before starting the trek down to the causeway I would recommend getting the free headphones. They are useful to tell you what you are seeing along the way as well as telling stories about the Causeway. It was a bit windy and overcast that day but still a good sight to see.