Causeway Coastal Route: Belfast to the Giant's Causeway

About this drive

The Causeway Coastal Route follows the A2 from Belfast northward along the Antrim coast to the Giant's Causeway — roughly 60 miles of coast road that National Geographic has listed among the top coastal drives in the world. The road alternates between cliff-edge sections, where it clings to the basalt faces above the North Channel with Scotland occasionally visible across the water, and valley sections that drop through the glens of Antrim toward the sea. The Giant's Causeway at the northern end is a UNESCO World Heritage Site: about 40,000 basalt columns, most of them hexagonal, formed by the rapid cooling of lava during a period of volcanic activity around 60 million years ago. The Irish legend has the giant Finn MacCool building it as a crossing to Scotland; the geology is extraordinary enough to sustain interest even without the stories. Between Belfast and the Causeway: Carrickfergus Castle, the most complete Norman castle in Ireland; the Glens of Antrim; Ballycastle; and Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, spanning 30 metres above the sea on a single rope. A full day is the minimum — the drive rewards slow exploration far more than it rewards covering the distance quickly.

Stops along the way

• 🏛️ Carrickfergus Castle · Historical

  A well-preserved Norman castle right on the harbour, just north of Belfast.

• 🏛️ Giant's Causeway · Historical

  Thousands of interlocking basalt columns formed by ancient volcanic activity.