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Day 8
Next stop: Belfast Previous stop: Derry City Return to full itinerary »

According to Irish myth, the Giant's Causeway was laid by warrior Finn MacCool to enable an easy crossing to his lover on Scotland's Staffa Island. It's an otherworldly collection of 37,000 flat-topped basalt pillars stretching out to sea. The Causeway Coast holds many of the area's top attractions, from castles to white-washed villages.
Learn more about Giant's Causeway »

  • Natural Beauty
  • Art and Culture
  • Architecture

Experiences

  • Learn about the area at the Causeway Center, then explore the Giant's Causeway on foot; you can walk on top of the pillars.
  • Dunluce Castle is one of Northern Ireland's most evocative ruins. The castle sits on a 100-foot-high basalt rock and was once the seat of the MacDonnells before most of it fell into the sea.
  • Explore the Glens of Antrim, nine wooded river valleys near the shore that are the fabled haunt of the "wee folk." Hike through rugged hills and lush vales.

Festivals

  • Carrickfergus Castle hosts the annual Lughnasa festival in July, a medieval costumed extravaganza.

Side Trips

  • Bushmills, 2 mi/3 km west of the Giant's Causeway, is home to the oldest licensed distillery in the world.

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