Carrick-a-Rede and the Dark Hedges from Belfast: Which Tour Gets You There?
Updated October 22, 2026 · 5 min read
The Dark Hedges are a stop on most Giant’s Causeway day tours from Belfast; the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge is not, and crossing it needs its own timed ticket. If the bridge matters to you, the cheap full-day tours will not do it for you. Among the group tours from Belfast on GetYourGuide, only two name the bridge in their summary.
The Dark Hedges: easy to add, quick to see
The Dark Hedges are an avenue of old beech trees along the Bregagh Road between Armoy and Stranocum in County Antrim, best known as a Game of Thrones location. Most Causeway day tours stop here. The full-day guided trip lists the Dark Hedges among its stops, as do the 8.5 hour castles tour and the 6 hour tours.
The road itself has been closed to ordinary traffic since 2017 to protect the tree roots, and drivers who ignore the ban can be fined. Visitors walk in from a nearby car park, so a stop on a tour is usually short: the avenue is a few minutes’ walk, not a half-day activity. Check the signs on the day if you drive.
Carrick-a-Rede: a separate ticket, and the wind decides
Carrick-a-Rede is a rope bridge across a chasm 20 metres wide, about 30 metres above the sea, to a small island; salmon fishermen first strung a bridge there some 250 years ago. It is a short drive east of the Causeway along the coast road. The crossing itself takes a few minutes; the local tourist board puts a whole visit at around an hour and a half, and the bridge is reached on a walk of about a kilometre from the car park, with steps and uneven ground.
What matters for planning:
- Pre-booking is required. Timed tickets are sold online through the National Trust Adult and child prices are on the National Trust booking page and change, so check there, along with when sales close before a slot.
- High wind closes the bridge. A listing from the local tourist board says pre-booked visitors are refunded in full if the bridge shuts because of wind. Ask any tour operator what happens to your admission in that case.
- Seasons and hours change. Last admission is in the afternoon. Check the National Trust page for your date.
The bridge is not for everyone. If heights or a swaying walkway are a problem, the island walk is still pleasant, but you would be paying for a view you cannot enjoy.
Which tours mention the bridge
| Tour | Length | Price | Rating | Dark Hedges | Bridge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giant’s Causeway, Dark Hedges and Dunluce Castle | 6 hours | €59.62 | 4.6, 330 reviews | Yes | Not mentioned |
| Giant’s Causeway full-day guided trip | 9.5 hours | €29.21 | 4.8, 7,816 reviews | Yes | Not mentioned |
| Giant’s Causeway + Dark Hedges day tour | 9 hours | €28.62 | 4.6, 14 reviews | In the title | Named as a sight on the coast |
| Causeway and Ropebridge small group tour | 7.5 hours | €104.93 | 4.9, 19 reviews | Not mentioned | Crossing offered, “admission required” |
Prices are per person. Two things to read carefully. The €28.62 tour names the bridge only as one of the sights along the Antrim coast, and has 14 reviews; whether you cross or only see it is a question for its booking page. The small-group tour is the only listing in the group that states a crossing, and its summary says admission is required, so you should expect to buy the National Trust ticket in addition to the €104.93. It also has just 19 reviews, so treat the 4.9 as an early sign, not a verdict.
There are private tours with the bridge in the title too, but they cost several hundred euros per vehicle or group, so we leave them out of the comparison.
Driving yourself
A car is the only way to choose your own hour at the bridge, and with timed tickets that matters. Book the slot first, then plan the drive around it. The Dark Hedges, the Causeway and the bridge sit on the same stretch of coast, but Belfast is roughly an hour’s drive from the nearest of them, so a day with all three is long. Northern Ireland drives on the left. You can compare hire cars for Belfast and check the excess and deposit on the booking page before you pay.
If you drive, the Causeway visitor centre has its own ticket and parking, which we explain in Giant’s Causeway from Belfast: day tour or drive yourself.
Our pick
Dark Hedges only: take the full-day guided trip, the most-reviewed of them, rated 4.8 from 7,816 reviews. The bridge matters: book the small-group tour or drive, and buy the crossing ticket yourself. More departures are on our Giant’s Causeway tours and day trips from Belfast pages.
