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Tours
Belfast Highlights
Half Day Private Driven Tour
Explore the main attractions of the capital of Northern Ireland.
This half day tour is a great introduction to Belfast and allows you to visit all Belfast’s top visual sites. Highlights of this driven tour of Belfast includes Central Belfast, with our magnificent City Hall, St George’s Market, the Albert Clock, and The Big Fish.
A drive past Queens University on to West Belfast to sign the Peace Wall, and learn about our troubled past, yet see how Belfast today is a vibrant city that people choose to live in and tourists love to visit,
We stop at Belfast Castle, nestled in the foothills of Cavehill, where we take a walk in the gardens, and stop at the café, and take in the views.
Drive up the one-mile-long road to Stormont, our Parliament Buildings, for a great photo opportunity.
At Titanic Building walk around the slipways where Titanic was built.
Afterwards, you can stay in the city longer or visit the Titanic Experience. Your driver can recommend places to eat and visit.
Pick up is from your arrival port, cruise ship or hotel, by private car.
Causeway Coast
Full Day Private Driven Tour
Giant’s Causeway and North Antrim Coast drive from Belfast.
This is a full day tour, visiting the World-famous Giant’s Causeway UNESCO World Heritage site, with its breath-taking cliff top views.
This is a coast rich in amazing cliff top castles and Game of Thrones filming sites.
Depending on your time restraints and interests, our choice of places to visit may include Dunluce Castle, the picturesque Ballintoy harbour, the magnificent tunnel of beech trees of The Dark Hedges - famous in the Game of Thrones filming, Bushmills Distillery, and for those with a good head for heights - a walk over the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge,
Our lunch or on our return journey I may include a personal place of fun and interest!
This day can be designed around your choices, eg. active walking or less so, or if you are a Game of Thrones fan, we can include seeing some of the special filming sites, and of course most importantly around our unpredictable weather!
Coast and Castles
Full Private Day Tour
Head into the green rolling hills of County Down, and along the coast of Strangford Lough.
We can take a short tour of Central Belfast and see the main centre highlights, before heading out into the rolling green hills of County Down.
On the way we will drive up the one-mile Prince of Wales Drive for a great photo opportunity of Stormont, our impressive Parliament Buildings.
Onwards we head out into the countryside and alongside the sea of Strangford Lough. Strangford Lough is a designated AOB (Area of Outstanding Beauty), and an ASSI (Area of Special Scientific Interest).
We follow the coastline over two causeways, onto Mahee Island to visit Nendrum, a fascinating monastery ruins dating back to 787AD. Then we follow the coastal route along to the quaint village of Killyleagh with its fabulous castle dating back to Norman times.
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Depending on our schedule and time restraints we can continue onwards to visit St Patrick's grave at Down Cathedral, and if time permits to Castleward, a National Trust castle and estate, or return via the small unique Livingston Centre with its American connections. Of course, the day includes a lunch stop, in a wonderful Irish pub.
Genealogy Tours
Full Day Private Tour
Trace your ancestral homeland - The most bespoke of Tours!
This is a bespoke tour which will assist you in finding your ancestral home in Ulster.
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Based on information supplied by you, we will:
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Drive to relevant townlands, villages, museums, churches and graveyards.
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Visit your ancestral home area, and introduce you to relevant people still living there.
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Identify possible areas for further research eg. PRONI (Public Records Office NI).
We can facilitate meeting local historians who may have more detailed information on your roots and ancestral homeland.
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This tour will have added costs dependant on prior research in order to customise the tour.
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Ards Peninsula
Full/Half Day Private Driven Tour from Belfast
Travel off the beaten track, only 30 minutes drive from Belfast
This is my home territory that I love to show off and share.
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We follow less trodden routes along the Ards Peninsula, and become immersed in Irish history, heritage and crafts.
Depending on your interests, time restraints and your choices, the following are just some of our experiences and visits on offer.
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In Donaghadee, we can climb the steps up to the Moat and Camera Obscura to meet Tom, a local expert, who brings to life the history of this Anglo-Norman Motte, constructed in the 12th Century, and experience the fabulous views to Scotland.
Experience what it was like to work as a miller in the nineteenth century, at the only working windmill left in Northern Ireland. Take a walk through time with the farmer, the kilnsman and the miller, and climb the windmill to discover the incredible precision engineering of the inner workings of the mill.
Meet Christine at her cottage and learn Irish traditional craft skills of spinning wool, weaving and knitting.
Lunch in one of Ireland’s oldest pubs.
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The 19th Century house Mount Stewart is a stunning house and estate to explore. Its Formal Gardens are ranked as one of the top ten in the world. Nearby is the quaint village of Greyabbey with its specialist antique shops and a Cistercian monastery dating from 1193.
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Whatever the choices for the day, you will experience this designated Area of Outstanding Beauty, steeped in history.
Down Delights
Full/Half Day Private Driven Tour from Belfast
Travel off the beaten track, only 30 minutes from Belfast, to find hidden gems in the green rolling hills of County Down.
Follow along the east coast of Strangford Lough though the quaint village of Killyleagh with its fairy tale castle dating back to Norman times. Visit the grave of St Patrick at Downe Cathedral. Walk up to the Milenium Stone to a view over many of Strangford’s 365 islands and pladdies
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​Drive over a causeway to Mahee Island, to visit Nendrum Monastic site, a Christian Monastry, with the world’s oldest excavated tide mill, dating from 787AD.
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There are a variety of choices of gorgeous and unique lunch and coffee stops.
As well as a variety of more choices of places to visit whether you want to follow in the steps of St Patrick or are a Game of Thrones fan, a sea bird enthusiast or castle enthusiast!
There is also the option, if available, to join a sea safari on the lough. This is a lot of fun.
Or to visit some wonderful local characters and their local craft skills.
This, as all my tours are, is customizable to your own interests and enquiring minds!
Saint Patrick’s Country
Full Day Private Tour
This day trip focuses on Ireland’s Patron Saint Patrick.
We visit the St Patrick’s Centre in Downpatrick. This is the only permanent exhibition in the World about Ireland’s Patron Saint, where you are narrated, in Patrick’s own words, through his life and adventures, in an exciting interpretive and interactive exhibition. The centre includes a fantastic Craft Store and café.
A short walk from the visitors centre we visit St Patrick’s burial site, beside Down Cathedral. Lunch is in a wonderful Irish Pub, that dates to 1642.
Then the options for the rest of day can be twofold, depending on time restraints and interests: Either we stay off the beaten track in the countryside near Downpatrick to visit Saul Church, the site of Saint Patrick’s earliest place of Christian worship, founded in 423AD; then drive to view Saint Patrick’s Statue, the tallest statue of Saint Patrick in the world, built high on a hill overlooking the countryside surrounds; and visit Inch Abbey, the magnificent ruins of an early church with a Cistercian monastery.
Or we drive onwards an hour to the City of Armagh, Ireland’s spiritual capital for 1,500 years, and the seat of both the Protestant and Catholic archbishops, and the legendary seat of the Celtic kings of Ulster. The city has elegant Georgian buildings. Here we visit St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, where Saint Patrick founded his first church in 445AD. Brian Boru, Ireland’s first High King is buried in the Cathedral. Either way, your day immerses you into the life of Saint Patrick.
Armagh – City and County
Full Day Private Tour
The “Orchard County”, of County Armagh offers a rich mix of history, celestial exploration and rural charm.
Only an hour drive from Belfast, the historic City of Armagh is rich in culture, with its elegant Georgian buildings, two Cathedrals, hilly streets and historic buildings. The city is renowned as the island’s 1,500-year-old “ecclesiastical capital” and the seat of both Catholic and Church of Ireland’s archbishops.
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We visit St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, where Saint Patrick founded his first church in 445AD. Brian Boru, Ireland’s first High King is buried in the Cathedral.
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You feel you are somewhere special as you walk through the elegant front door into the 18th Century Armagh Robinson Library, the oldest public library in Northern Ireland. Dating back to 1771 the library was founded by Archbishop Richard Robinson who had an impressive collection of books and fine art that he wanted to share with the community. The library contains approximately 46,000 printed works, ancient and medieval coins, gems, art and much more, including Jonathan Swift’s copy of Gulliver’s Travels with handwritten comments from the author.
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Afterwards, there is so much choice of wonderful places in County Armagh to include in your day, depending on your preferences:
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Navan Centre and Fort is one of Ireland’s most famous and important archaeological sites, where myth and reality meet, and experience its living history.
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The ancestral 18th century farmhouse and home of Dan Winters, restored and re-thatched in 2000, is full of displays and relics, many from the Battle of the Diamond in 1795. The house was made famous by the Orangemen as their birthplace.
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County Armagh is famous for its apples and cider, and we can take you on a sensory journey of an orchard and cider tour, discovering and tasting the art of cider-making.
Belfast Walking Tour
2/3 Hour Private Walking Tour
This is an historic walking tour of central Belfast, seeing key points of interest and learning its history.
We start our walking tour at Belfast’s City Hall and learn how Belfast grew from a small trading town into a world leading city in Victorian times. Learn about the creators of the Titanic, and about the people who influenced the growth of our city, particularly in Linen and Ship Building, and the legacy they left behind.
We stand where many Irish said their goodbyes and emigrated from. We walk through one of the entries to the old dockside, learn about the United Irishmen, and remember the Belfast Blitz over Easter weekend in 1941.
Walk down cobbled streets into Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter and view some of our fabulous Street Art.
This includes a coffee/drink stop in an old city bar.
This is a walking tour, but we can arrange pick up from your hotel, arrival port, or cruise ship.
Carrickfergus Castle, the Gobbins and Coastal drive
Full Day Private Tour
Castles, dramatic coastal walks, and drive from Belfast.
We visit Carrickfergus Castle built originally in Norman times, and learn about Carrick's rich histories, the main port and town long before Belfast grew in industry and population.
The coastal drive takes us through quaint fishing villages and by coastal caves and cool rock formations, some of which were filming locations for the Game of Thrones. We will have a lunch pub stop. If time permits, we can visit the quaint ancestral cottage of Andrew Jackson, the seventh US president.
The 3-hour guided walk along the Gobbins cliff path is more than just a fun day out in nature. It is a journey through time and into the elements.
(However, it needs to be noted that the Gobbins guided cliff tour is dependent on booking availability and weather on the day. If tickets for your requested day are unavailable, or the weather closes the cliff path, we still have plenty to see and do along this dramatic coastline anyway).
