Giant's Causeway - from Londonderry or Belfast?

We will be cruising to Ireland in Sep/18, stopping at Londonderry, Belfast & Dublin. Will it be better or easier to see Giant's Causeway from Londonderry or from Belfast? The ship excursions are not out yet so I can't use them as a reference. Looking at Google Maps, it looks like it takes about 20 minutes longer to get to Giant's Causeway from Belfast but it appears that it might be easier to get tours from Belfast.

I'm also looking for comments about Giant's Causeway for someone with a slight mobility impairment. I will be travelling with my 82 year old (at the time) mother who has to be very cautious around uneven ground/stairs/inclines. She will use her trekking poles. Do you think it best to take a ship tour geared towards those with mobility impairment rather than a private tour? Or should she do the Giant's Causeway at all? It is something that we both would like to see.

Thank you for your help!

We did it from Belfast, but simply rented a car and drove ourselves (much less costly than a HAL excursion and we prefer to do our own thing at our own pace). We cannot speak to ease of doing it from Londonderry. But the mobility situation will be the same whether you take an excursion, private tour or do it on your own. They do a good job accommodating mobility issues by having a market trail for those with difficulties. But your mother will have to use her good judgment as to whether to venture off the trail onto the actual rocks. DW and I walked all over the rocks, which can be a bit difficult as they are often slippery and always very uneven (not an issue on the trail). But you do not need to venture out on the rocks to appreciate the Causeway.

Hank

She doesn't have to climb on the stones. There's a paved area with a few benches where she could sit and rest and still see almost all there is to see. For climbing, there are flatter, easier parts and then more challenging parts.

I went there from Belfast but am going to Londonderry (actual port where you dock is a small town called Greencastle) and from what I remember from reading the tour descriptions, it was something like almost 3 hrs. one way to the Giant's Causeway, one way! I think it has to do with having to go all the way around a huge bay. Londonderry is about 45 mins. by bus away from Greencastle. If I remember correctly, the drive from Belfast was only about an hour one way.

Thanks for the responses so far. I believe we do actually dock in Londonderry. We will be on the Prinsendam which is a small ship that can go down rivers to a point. According to Google Maps, it will take about an hour to get from the port in Londonderry to the Giant's Causeway (and an hour and twenty minutes from Belfast to the Giant's Causeway).

Renting a car won't be an option for us, either, for various reasons. But the point that it wouldn't matter whether we take a private tour or ship tour is understood. I'm really not concerned about the mobility issue; she's very much aware of what she can and can't do and is quite content to sit down and enjoy the scenery.

If u dock in Derry it's easier to get to the giants causeway from there and a beautiful drive it's about an hour it takes me about 1 hour 45 minutes to get from Belfast port to giants causeway . If I were u I'd do the giants causeway and bridge from Derry I'm sure there will be a ship based excertion and I'd do the titanic in Belfast and the black cab tour of Belfast. Ground at the causeway is uneven but if your mum stays on the even ground she'll be fine. This is my opinion as a local

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If u dock in Derry it's easier to get to the giants causeway from there and a beautiful drive it's about an hour it takes me about 1 hour 45 minutes to get from Belfast port to giants causeway . If I were u I'd do the giants causeway and bridge from Derry I'm sure there will be a ship based excertion and I'd do the titanic in Belfast and the black cab tour of Belfast. Ground at the causeway is uneven but if your mum stays on the even ground she'll be fine. This is my opinion as a local

 

 

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Thanks very much! I'm still trying to get confirmation that we dock in Derry. I thought the Prinsendam would be small enough to dock there but based on the info of the three docking locations, it looks like we might have to tender at Greencastle. I just have to be patient and wait until the 2018 docking information is available. Patience is not my strongest virtue!!

Thanks very much! I'm still trying to get confirmation that we dock in Derry. I thought the Prinsendam would be small enough to dock there but based on the info of the three docking locations, it looks like we might have to tender at Greencastle. I just have to be patient and wait until the 2018 docking information is available. Patience is not my strongest virtue!!

I've zero patients either greencastle area is lovely if I were u I'd go with a ship based excertion for Derry as there are limited organised tours in the area. Though check out paddywagon tours they may have something organised for the days the ships are in port it's a beautiful area of the country enjoy

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Thanks for the responses so far. I believe we do actually dock in Londonderry. We will be on the Prinsendam which is a small ship that can go down rivers to a point. According to Google Maps, it will take about an hour to get from the port in Londonderry to the Giant's Causeway (and an hour and twenty minutes from Belfast to the Giant's Causeway).

 

Renting a car won't be an option for us, either, for various reasons. But the point that it wouldn't matter whether we take a private tour or ship tour is understood. I'm really not concerned about the mobility issue; she's very much aware of what she can and can't do and is quite content to sit down and enjoy the scenery.

We're on a small ship too - the same size. as the Prinsendam - and we're docking at Greencastle. It wasn't publicized that the port we're using is actually Greencastle. I had to dig a little to find that out but I do know Windstar docks in Londonderry so maybe you are too. Wish we were!

We did a private tour with Odyssey from Belfast and it was great. Note, however, one of our stops was the Rope Bridge, which just would not work for mobility impaired.

The Giant's Causeway area has a shuttle bus that will take you from the top of the hill down to the Causeway area. Most people walk, but the shuttle would be best for mobility impaired.

We're on a small ship too - the same size. as the Prinsendam - and we're docking at Greencastle. It wasn't publicized that the port we're using is actually Greencastle. I had to dig a little to find that out but I do know Windstar docks in Londonderry so maybe you are too. Wish we were!

If you're on the Pacific Princess in Aug/17, then this website:http://www.visitderry.com/Cruise/Cruise-Schedule says that you'll be docking in Lisahally. I think, when I checked a month or so ago, the Pacific Princess is smaller than the Prinsendam. The same site linked above has the dimensions for the different docking/tendering locations. When I compared those dimensions to that of the Prinsendam, it appeared that she could only fit at Greencastle. Since that is a tender location only, and our itinerary does not reflect tendering there, I'm not sure what to believe.