Giant’s Causeway

Any time a friend who’s from outside Northern Ireland visits me the one place I always include in the ‘entertainment schedule’ is a trip to Giant’s Causeway. The awesome polygonal basalt columns, wonderful scenery and often wild, turbulent sea never fail to impress.
The new visitor centre is not only an architectural delight, fitting in perfectly with the landscape, but also provides interesting information regarding the geology, legends and mystery surrounding Giant’s Causeway.
I personally like the visitor centre and its café, gift shop and useful information and feel it really enhances a visit to the Causeway. However you do need to pay £9.00 per person into it, so if you want a cheaper day out you can just bypass it and go straight to the Giant’s Causeway for free.
Makes for a magical day out as long as you’re prepared for the unpredictable Northern Irish weather and a bit of exercise in the form of walking to, around and back from the Giant’s Causeway stones. Do be sure to wear warm waterproof clothing and comfortable walking boots.

Great site to visit for a day. Definitely plan to spend several hours there to give yourself time to explore all the rock formations. Hike up to the top of the hill overlooking the Giant’s Causeway. Great views from the top and good photo opportunity — you’ll regret it if you don’t go. Breathtaking views.
Wear proper footwear, as the site can and does get slippery and sporadically muddy. Even then, watch out for the dark spots on the stones (slippery spots) as not even my tightly laced Timbs were impervious to sliding.

One of the big highlights to any trip to Ireland along with the Cliffs of Moher, Giants Causeway is a large basalt formation along the sea that you are free to climb on and explore on foot. The scenery is breathtaking and the hexagonal prism structure of the basalt is other-​worldly. I thought the walk down to the ocean was fairly easy. There is a pretty awesome suspension bridge in the area too.

The Ireland of legend.
Science be damned. I care not for the tales of geologists, volcanoes, & plate tectonics, for as those of us who know what really happened here so long ago, this rock formation is not the work of nature.
This is the result of feuding masters of myth. A Scottish giant named Benandonner is threatening Ireland, beloved homeland of Finn McCool, who is having none of it. Finn, in a fit of rage, throws chunks of the coastline into the sea & creates the Causeway as a path leading to Scotland to teach this upstart a lesson. Perhaps, given some thought, this was not the best idea, as even in the world of giants there are large & small ones & Benandonner rates rather enormous. Finn flees & with the help of his clever wife, tricks Benandonner into thinking he is a baby, but a baby so gigantic that Finn himself must be downright massive. Benandonner flees, rather than confront Finn & the rest is history.
While exploring the Causeway, be mindful as the rocks are quite slippery. Surer footing will be found in those with indentations than the flat surfaces.
Do visit the Wishing Chair & take a moment to make a wish, but remember, your wish is diluted if you’re too much of a wuss & don’t fully sit down because the rocks are too wet. Let your cheeks pancake out & enjoy the legend & the landscape — you won’t see a view like this again soon!

Visited April 2015: «Definitely one of the Top 10 things to see in Northern Ireland»
This location is also apart of the National Trust and a World Heritage Site, I am grateful for my co-​worker encouraging me to see this natural wonder. We spend at least an hour there just walking and climbing over all the rocks, and taking pictures of 2 countries in the distance: Iceland & Scotland. There is a bus that can take you up and down from the Causeway, or you can walk it. The hill is very steep, but there are areas you can stop, and admire the views. You do not have to pay for parking in their lot. There is a large guest area along with a restaurant.

This is a great place and a must see. Be prepared to very changeable weather could be very sunny one minute and the next extreme rain. The reason for only 4 stars is the cost. Not much really in the visitor centre and for £9 per person the bus up or down isn’t even included. It used to be pay by the car to park and was great value to see even with having to pay for the bus if needed now it is quite over priced but at the end of the day it is a site that is of true beauty and worth seeing.

La historia dice que esta maravilla de la naturaleza se formó a través de la «guerra» entre dos gigantes, uno escocés y otro Irlandés. Se tiraban piedras de un lado al otro de la costa y la fueron formando gracias a eso. No quiero contar la historia completa para dejar misterio a la visita, pero, en una de sus discusiones, uno de ellos, salió corriendo y perdió la bota, que puedes encontrar en la orilla de la playa.
La realidad es que hubo una erupción volcánica y la lava formó esta maravilla al enfriarse. 80.000 columnas de basalto con forma hexagonal que forman un paisaje impresionante.
Hay un centro de visitantes donde puedes comprar entradas, ver una exposición, ir al servicio, tomar un café, conocer un poco más de la historia del gigante, comprar algún recuerdo, etc. Además hay wifi gratis, que siempre se agradece en el extranjero.
Te dan una audio-​guía cuando entras para ir explicándote los distintos puntos del paseo. Casi todo es mitología, pero es muy agradable escucharlo y la manera en la que lo cuentan. Está en varios idiomas.
Al salir del centro de visitantes hay un autobús que te baja hasta la zona donde está la calzada. Yo recomiendo bajar andando porque el paseo merece la pena y coger el autobús a la subida, porque la cuesta, se nota. El precio del bus es de 1 GBP por trayecto, pero en mi caso estaba incluido en el precio de la entrada.
Lo más impresionante es la zona de las columnas o lo que se llama la calzada, y las fotos más chulas son las que salen ahí, pero hay varias rutas de senderismo alrededor de la montaña que también merecen la pena. En todos los cruces hay indicaciones para que puedas seguir fácilmente el camino y veas la dificultad de cada una de las rutas.
La verdad es que casi todas son sencillas, lo más difícil y a la vez peligroso, es la zona de la calzada, porque las piedras están mojadas, resbalan y puedes pegarte algún susto.
En Irlanda tienen varios lugares que hay que visitar y este, sin duda, es uno de ellos.

Un site fabuleux sous un soleil radieux
Inutile de payer l’entrée pour accéder seulement au magasin de souvenirs, au self et a l’audio guide qui né raconte quasiment que les légendes connues.
Passez sous le tunnel et admirez !
La beauté et l’immensité du site suffit à nous combler.

My friend from Japan travelling Europe visited me and really wanted to go to the Giant’s Causeway so we went by Paddywagon tours from Dublin which took about 3.5 hours. I’d never been here before either, so we both really enjoyed out trip! It was a sunny day bang in the middle of tourist season so it was quite crowded, but we got some great pictures! There are 4 types of walking routes depending on your fitness level, we took the blue and red ones which is of moderate difficulty and involves a bit of uphill walking, taking about 50 mins in total up and back. There is also a huge gift shop but we didn’t have time to visit it, but out of all the trips I’ve been on in Ireland, the Giant’s Causeway would be in my top 3 recommendations!

This was really a great experience even in the rain. Be prepared to experience uneven surfaces and have a hat in case it rains — in our case it would hail for a few minutes and then there would be sunshine and then more hail. Really great! Also here are no bathrooms out there so use the facilities at the visitor’s center beforehand

Note: I am only reviewing the public bathroom facilities at the visitor’s center for Giant’s Causeway, not the glorious and surreal actual geological feature, which was stupendous, to say the least.
Giant’s Causeway, as the story goes (and I see absolutely no reason not to believe it), was built by Fionn mac Cumhaill in his efforts to do battle with Scottish giant, Benandonner. As entirely-​factual history tells us, Fionn saw just how big the Scot Benandonner was, and realized he might lose the fight, so he had his wife dress him up like a baby, as a covert psychological operation against Benandonner, who, upon seeing how big «Fionn’s baby» was, came to the conclusion that he was better off conceding victory to Fionn, and walking away.
The bathrooms at the Giant’s Causeway (or, rather, what remains of the Giant’s Causeway, since apparently the dirty Scot Benandonner destroyed much of it in his haste to get away from Fionn; at least this is what I remember of the tale, but, in all fairness, we’d been at the Bushmill’s Distillery earlier in the day, so who knows for sure?) are surprisingly small, at least considering that they were intended to be used by Irish giants. They are, however, perfectly sized for normal human use. As well, they are nice and clean, and the toilet paper, while, again, small for a giant, is just fine for human use. It is possible that the bathrooms I used were made for Irish Giant Babies, which would explain the confusion, but the symbol on the door didn’t clarify that at all.
In summary, if you’re at Giant’s Causeway and need to use the toilets, you’re going to be just fine. They have them, and they work. The only problem I can see is if you’re actually Benandonner or mac Cumhaill, in which case, these toilets are going to be a tad small.

Amazing. Worth the drive. You can make a day of it and go hiking which is what we will do when we return the next time. Gorgeous. The visitor center has a large gift shop and we got a guided tour with Anthony who was great. We were the only two people on the tour so it was pretty much a private tour! I felt bad that he had to walk all the way down there because of just us but he was great and delivered some fantastic information and humor. Would recommend to go but check the weather as on a clear day it is breathtaking.

The Giant’s Causeway is something I have always wanted to see and the pictures I had seen my whole life, didn’t do it justice. What a beautiful place, even in the wind and rain!

The Giant’s Causeway is a world heritage sight and Northern Ireland’s premier attraction, and rightly so. It is impressive and surrounded by some spectacular scenery that you won’t see anywhere else on the planet. Unfortunately it is over run with tourists armed with selfie sticks. If rocks are your thing then you’re in for a treat. After a bit of exploring, a few photos, I was a bit bored, seen one hexagonal rock seen them all.
The visitor’s centre looks good from the outside but it isn’t anything special. There’s a gift store with the usual junk, fridge magnets and other useless over-​priced dust collectors. You have the option of a guided tour or an audio tour. We took the audio tour which I found quite interesting, although the narrator’s attempt at «craic» is a bit cringe. Despite this, the Causeway is a must for any visitor to our shores.

This a an impressive natural rock formation and dramatic overlook of the cliffs and Northern Atlantic. A must see between stops for pints in Northern Ireland.

Giant’s Causeway is a World Heritage Site and often referred to as a great Natural Wonder, so it is definitely a ‘must do’ for any visitor in Ireland. The site is along Ireland’s beautiful Northern Coastline and is known for its unique rock formation of interlocking basalt columns as a result of an ancient volcanic abruption. We took a day bus tour (via Paddy Wagon) to Northern Ireland and were lucky to get beautiful weather during our visit. The scenery from the drive to the Causeway Coast along Northern Ireland was already so beautiful.
Once you get there, you can either walk down from the visitor center at your leisure or with a guide — or you can take the shuttle bus. We took a pathway to the right of the visitor’s center and did a quick hike on a hill — the scenery was gorgeous. We then went back on the main trail and walked down to the unique rock formations. The hike is amazing with breathtaking views of the ocean.
We walked on the volcanic rock formations — surrounded by cliffs and waves crashing at sea. I was fascinated by the hexagon stones and basalt columns — you will never see anything like it anywhere else. The sea was bright blue and green, and the sky was sunny — I couldn’t help but marvel at the beautiful weather, scenic views and gorgeous landscaping! It was truly a great experience. I felt so fortunate to have experienced another natural wonder of the world.
Another thing ticked off my bucket list.

The Giants Causeway is a World Heritage site and rightly so in my opinion — you won’t see anything like this anywhere in the world and I for one and proud that it’s on our doorstep.
The Giants Causeway has undergone a bit of a facelift so if you haven’t visited in a few years definitely go back. The recently redeveloped visitors centre does a great job of telling the mythological story. Although it does cost extra to go in the visitor centre and if you’re on a budget you might just want to explore the trails and enjoy the majestic scenery.
Travel to the Giants Causeway via the coastal route — stunning scenery and the recently installed new sign posts from Belfast make it really easy to follow.
Make sure you bring something to protect you from the elements — it can get very wet and windy out on the rocks especially when waves crash against the rocks.

The Giant’s Causeway is a Northern Ireland gem. It’s unbelievable that the 40,000 polygonal columns of basalt were formed in that way following a volcanic eruption more than 60 million years ago.
Legend has it that the columns were carved by giant Finn McCool. It’s hard to know for sure.
Spectacular views of the North Atlantic Ocean can be seen from the causeway.
There are four trails that offering hikers a variety of experiences. The area is also perfect for family picnics.

I didn’t know much about the Giant’s Causeway before I visited, but I knew it was a must see. And wowee it was impressive! We took the guided tour from the visitors centre which was funny and informative and we learned a lot about the geology, myths and legends and general information of the area, however the audio (we were all given ear pieces so we could hear what he was saying) kept cutting out which was annoying. I suggest walking down to the rocks rather than taking the bus as there is so much to see before and after the pillar rocks, and it is quite honestly stunning. The walk down is not hard, the walk on the other side of the rocks is a bit steep but it’s worth it to go around the head of the bay and see the beauty on the other side, though much of that path is closed. I hear it’s wonderful to walk along the top path also and look down on the rocks, however that path was closed due to rock slips when we were there which was a shame.
The rocks themselves are incredible and really impressive. They make for great photo opportunities and are very easy to climb. It’s really quite amazing the way they’ve formed and weathered over the years. We were very lucky in terms of weather — a slightly chilly day with a little wind but mostly blue skies and patches of sunshine. I’m sure it’s a different story when the weather is rough and wild! I highly recommend the Giant’s Causeway! An absolute must see

I am not going to duplicate things here, I believe that place is definitely really nice to visit:
— good location
— great parking
— nice information centre and guiding
— accessible for everyone (they have whittle buses and make it possible for people with issues to go there, no problem)
— amazing views
— audio guided and live guided, whatever you prefer
— security everywhere to prevent the stupid ones from killing themselves
–8.50 is a bit too expensive though, 5 would have been enough but I guess they have found a business gut the north

My father’s gf (with whom he is no longer with) decided that we just had to take a family trip over to Ireland back in May 2011. To be honest I wasn’t too enthusiastic as I figured Ireland wouldn’t be any different from the lots of England/​Scotland/​Wales trips I had already been on, but once I found out her adult children and my aunt and uncle from England would be coming along I hopped on the bandwagon — plus it was a free trip so who can complain lol.
The Giant’s Causeway is what changed my mind about Ireland. Sure we saw some other cool castles and things, but never in my life have I seen anything quite as unique as the Giant’s Causeway. We happily spent a few hours here taking in the sights and getting some great shots. The gift shop back at the top isn’t anything special but it is the only place we saw souvenirs for the Giant’s Causeway — I got a magnet as I like to display my travels on the fridge.
A few of us managed to hike down to the sea and avoided taking the bus, but definitely take the bus back up as that hike is no easy task. A must stop for any one visiting Northern Ireland.

Mother Nature does the darndest things, doesn’t she? The tides made the dramatic-​looking Pancake Rocks and Moeraki Boulders on the South Island in New Zealand. Flowing waters made the pure-​white terraces of Pamukkale in Turkey. A huge volcano made the bizarre fairy chimneys in Cappadoccia also in Turkey. And yet another volcano produced the 40,000 mostly red basalt columns that make up the Giant’s Causeway, truly an impressive natural sight on the northeastern coast of Northern Ireland. See my photos if you don’t believe me.
The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the hillside cliffs right into the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal and look almost like a deliberate piece of man-​made architecture. The tallest columns are about 39 feet high, and they look like they jut out of the earth from the brute force of the earth. I’m surprised you can actually walk on the columns which have an unusual and somewhat hazardous concave shape to them. Surely the wear-​and-​tear are taking its toll, but take advantage while you can.
A new visitors center opened just this year, and it’s quite an expansive building with some interactive exhibits that provide some explanation about the unique rock formations. It’s probably about a fifteen-​minute walk from the center to the causeway, or you can take the tram to save some time if you’re on a tight schedule. I was sensitive to the time because I got there via an all-​day bus tour from Dublin, and we were given a strict two-​hour window to experience the full site. Access to the causeway itself is free due to a decision in the High Court of London back in the 1800’s.
The visitor center, however, has an £ 8.50 admission, which doesn’t include use of the tram but does provide a self-​guided audio tour. Remember that they accept pounds as their currency because you’re back in the U.K., but Euros are accepted, too. Of course, there’s an old Irish legend associated with the causeway that has a warrior named Finn MacCool (what a great name!) building a bridge to Scotland with the intent of beating up on a Scottish giant named Benandonner. The bridge collapsed and became the causeway you see today. I think I still prefer the real story.

Una pasada de sitio, un lugar precioso que no te dejará indiferente.
Si visitas Irlanda del Norte no te puedes perder esta visita, eso sí, reza para que no llueva o dudo mucho que lo disfrutes tanto como en un día soleado.

Cuando visité esta fabulosa y curiosa construcción natural me dije: éste es el típico lugar que haría visitar a mi madre y darle una alegría.Aunque sea bastante turístico, no suele haber muchos agobios, gracias a que el entorno ofrece unos senderos y unos paisajes bastante grandes como para que la gente esté desperdigada y no se almacene en el mismo lugar. Si el día sale bueno, se disfruta muchísimo, pero incluso lloviendo, tiene mucho encanto, por lo que aunque el clima sea malo, lo sigo recomendando. Muy bien gestionado, no es cara la entrada, y merece la pena pagar por ella. Además, cerca está el puente de Carrick-​a-​rede, muy meritorio también para ser visitado.

Precioso lugar que nada envidia a los Cliffs of Moher. Una visita saludable que te hará recorrer un pequeño trozo de costa irlandesa.
En Irlanda imprescindible.
Muuy, muy recomendable.

das ist sehr erfreulich, dass der Giant’s Causeway auch endlich wieder Erwähnung findet. Eigentlich muss ich nichts hinzufügen, außer denjenigen, die sich vielleicht doch noch nicht sicher sind, ob sich eine Reise dorthin lohnt, zu sagen: Ja, es lohnt sich. Go for it. Und nicht vergessen, in Portstewart und Portrush sowie bei Bushmills vorbeizufahren. Es ist einfach ein schöner Flecken Erde, decent und anders als andere Orte dieser Welt.

Beeindruckend! Gigantisch! Allein die Vorstellung, dass diese Stein-​Basaltsäulen-​Ansammlung 60 Millionen Jahre alt sein soll, macht einen schwindelig. Spätestens beim Erklimmen der Stein-​Landschaft wird einem bewusst, dass man sich auf einem bzw. inmitten eines Naturwunders befindet.
Egal, ob man hinter der wissenschaftlichen Theorie steht, dass nach einem Ausbruch an der Erboberfläche erstarrte Lava diese 40.000 4-​, 5-​, 6-​, 7– und 8-​seitigen Basaltsäulen bildeten, die teilweise 12 Meter hoch ragen. Oder ob man sich der Vorstellung hingibt, ein Riese namens Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) hätte eine gigantische Brücke zu seiner Geliebten auf der gegenüber liegenden Insel gebaut. Ein Eifersuchtsdrama ereignete sich daraufhin, und der Riese Benandonner, der es ebenfalls auf die Riesendame abgesehen hatte, zerschmetterte in seiner Wut die Brücke — die Überreste sind seitdem auf beiden Seiten der Küste zu bewundern.
Der Giant’s Causeway, Irisch: Clochán na bhFómharach oder Damm des Riesen ist etwa 5 km lang und endet im Meer. Spricht eindeutig für die Riesen-​Brücken-​Theorie, oder?

Dies ist eines der schönsten Naturwunder Nordirlands (musste bei qype Großbrittanien angeben, nordirischen Städte hat er sonst nicht akzeptiert)! Ein großes, von der UNESCO als Weltkulturerbe angesehenes Gebiet voller meist 6-​eckiger Basaltsäulen (das Ganze sieht aus, wie eine unebene Bienenwabe). Die Säulen sind sehr glatt und eben, alle ungefähr gleich groß im Umfang, aber unterschiedlich hoch. Die höchsten Säulen, genannt Giant‘s Organ sind sogar 12 m hoch!
Insgesamt sollen es knapp 40 000 Säulen sein, die man dort bestaunen und erklettern kann — und das macht wirklich super viel Spaß! Gleichzeitig gibt es dort auch noch viele Wanderwege, von denen aus man sehr schöné Ausblicke auf den Causeway hat!
Ganz in der Nähe befinden sich übrigens die berühmte Ruine des Dunluce-​Castle und die älteste Whiskey-​Destillerie der Welt: Bushmill (hier kann man auch eine interessante Führung machen).
Der Name stammt daher, dass ein Riese einer Legende nach von Schottland nach Irland gegangen ist, und hier dabei seinen Fußabdruck hinterlassen hat. Ein paar Meter hinter dem Causeway befindet sich auch tatsächlich ein großer Felsen, der die Form eines Stiefels hat — angeblich hat der Riese einen Schuh verloren…