How to plan your visit and what to expect
We're reopening the Giant's Causeway Visitor Experience on Friday 3 July.
To ensure the safety of our visitors, staff, volunteers and local communities, we've reduced the number of people we can welcome at one time and you’ll need to book your visit in advance.
When we reopen we will be offering the full Giant's Causeway Visitor Experience, including guided tours, use of audio guides (available in 11 languages), access to the exhibition space, shop and cafe, which will be offering a to-go offer.
In order to protect our staff, volunteers and visitors we will reduce the number of visitors in the areas we can. This means there will be a limit on the number of people in the Visitor Centre at any one time. It also means we will limit the number of cars parking on-site at any one time.
By pre-booking your visit online, you are helping keep everyone safe.
How to book
Click the 'What's On' module below to book your tickets.
All visitors must book a ticket in advance, including members. When you book your visit, you’ll need to choose a 30-minute arrival time for the day you want to visit. Please book one ticket per person, except for children aged 5 or under as they don’t need a ticket. New booking timeslots are released on a Friday for visits the following week
The timeslot you choose is for your arrival time only. The length of time you can stay will depend on the place you're booking, and the booking form will specify how long you can stay.
Due to limited spaces, we’re asking that you only book once a week to allow others a chance to visit.
Payment and parking
Members can visit and park for free, but members must prebook online and bring your membership card with you.
Non-members will need to pay online in advance through the booking system.
We’re offering priority for key workers
To say thank you to our nation’s key workers and all they have done for us, we’re prioritising the first and last timeslots each day for their use. Please share in our thanks and leave these free. If you or someone in your group are a key worker, please take the opportunity to book these early and late timeslots.
What to expect from your visit
To help keep our visitors, staff, volunteers and local communities safe, we’ve made some changes so your visit will be a bit different to what you’re used to. We need your help to enable us to keep these places open safely, so we’d be grateful if you could follow the guidance below:
- Before you arrive please have your ticket ready to show our staff either on your phone or a printed copy. If you’re a member, you’ll also need to show your membership card.
- In order to maintain social distancing, please arrive within your timeslot. Sadly, if you're more than 10 minutes late, we won’t be able to guarantee you entry. Your entry will be at the discretion of the property staff and will be based on visitor numbers and the ability to maintain social distancing.
- To keep visitor numbers at a safe level, the layout and flow of the car park may have changed. Please look out for staff and any signs around the car park and take care to follow their guidance.
- Campervans that are used for transport are welcome but are not permitted to stay overnight. At this time we’re unable to welcome caravans and coaches.
- We have set up a one-way system through the Visitor Centre. You are welcome to re-enter the Centre but you will need to re-enter via the front door only at this time. Please look out for any new signs around the property.
- To help keep everyone safe, please follow social distancing and government guidance when you visit. If you’re showing any of the symptoms of coronavirus, or if you've been in contact with anyone that has the virus in the last 14 days, please don’t visit.
We’re really looking forward to welcoming you back. We’ve worked hard to reopen these places, and we want to keep them open. But we’re all in this together and we need your help to enable us to keep places open safely. We look forward to seeing you.
Some frequently asked questions:
What is included in the Visitor Experience?
When we reopen on Friday 3 July, all aspects of the Giant’s Causeway Visitor Experience will be available. This includes guided tours, use of audio guides (available in 11 languages), on-site parking, access to the Visitor Centre exhibition, café and shop, where we stock a wide range of local crafts.
What is available in the café?
We are offering a limited menu of drinks and snacks and these are all to go. These include cold drinks, teas, coffees, traybakes and light snacks.
I have limited mobility, is the Visitor Centre accessible?
The Visitor Centre is fully accessible and has a changing places washroom facility. At this time we cannot loan shared equipment such as wheelchairs but visitors arriving with their own wheelchair can access the Visitor Centre with ease. Our ‘Green Trail’ is also wheelchair accessible and allows visitors to view the Causeway from the Runkerry Head.
At this time, we are not running the Easy Access bus to the Causeway stones as it is not feasible to meet social distancing guidelines.
What’s different about my visit now?
All visitors must pre-book before arriving on-site. This includes members. Bookings must be made a minimum of 3pm the day before you would like to visit and is subject to availability. Sadly, if you don’t book, you’ll be turned away.
You are asked to follow ground markings outside the Visitor Centre to wait your turn to enter the Visitor Centre via the front door. A member of the Visitor Welcome team will be on hand to advise you when it’s your turn.
Once inside, you will be directed to the welcome desk, where you can choose to collect a welcome map if you like. You will be told about the next guided tour available and the range of options for you to enjoy on your visit.
To help keep people safe and to facilitate social distancing we are limiting the number of visitors into the Visitor Centre at any one time, allowing a free flow format once inside.
Please note that the Visitor Centre must be entered via the front door only at this time. The back door is exit only. You are welcome to re-enter at any time during your visit but you will potentially have to requeue to enter again.
There will be hand sanitiser availablefor visitors too use freely.
What toilet facilities are available?
The full toilet facilities within the Visitor Centre, including accessible toilets and baby changing facilities will be available. There are also toilet facilities outside at the groups entrance.
Within the Visitor Centre is it payment by card only?
We ask that visitors pay by contactless where possible but we will also accept cash (both Euros and GBP). If you can pay by contactless, please do so.
What is the retail offer?
Over 80% of the craft sold in the Visitor Centre shop is made by Northern Ireland by local artists. The retail area is free flow to allow visitors to browse the collections, we just ask that all visitors respect the 2 metre social distancing at all times. At this time, we cannot permit any visitors try on any items of clothing and we have no food samples or testers available. You will see we have screens at till points and we request you pay by contactless wherever possible. There will be floor stickers to assist visitors can socially distance when queuing.
Will numbers of visitors on the stones be controlled?
We are limiting the number of visitors at any one time in the areas we can, the Visitor Centre and on-site car park. Due to the Public Right of Way, we cannot control the number of visitors accessing the Causeway stones by foot. We ask that visitors help us limit the number of people on site at any one time by booking for the Visitor Experience.