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The ruins of Dunluce Castle on a green clifftop above the sea in County Antrim

Destination guide

Game of Thrones tours in Northern Ireland: the real Westeros

Five days on the coast roads and castle grounds where much of Game of Thrones was filmed, with a tour leader from County Down who has seen it all in sun, wind and sideways rain.

  • 1 tour
  • from $2,490 per person
  • Best months Apr to Jun, Sep
  • 5 filming locations
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Britain, Ireland and Iceland

Northern Ireland on screen

Game of Thrones was made in Northern Ireland more than anywhere else. The production was based at Titanic Studios in Belfast, built many of its sets at Linen Mill Studios in Banbridge, and went out on location to farmyards, beaches, harbors and forests within a two-hour drive of the city. Winterfell, the Iron Islands, the Kingsroad and Dragonstone are all here, and most of them are public places you can walk into: National Trust estates, forest parks, village harbors and long sandy strands.

Our Northern Ireland tour puts those places together with the Game of Thrones Studio Tour in Banbridge, the studio's own public exhibition, for which we book your timed tickets. Niamh Magennis, who lives in Holywood, County Down, leads every departure. She will also tell you the honest version: the Dark Hedges have lost trees to storms and age, Cushendun has a private house right beside its caves, and the weather changes four times before lunch. The Giant's Causeway is not a Thrones location at all, and we go anyway, because nobody should drive past it.

The filming locations below, on the map.Map: Esri, OpenStreetMap contributors

Filming locations

Westeros on the Antrim and Down coasts

A family crossing the gravel farmyard below the tower house at Castle Ward, Winterfell on screen

01

Castle Ward, Winterfell

Castle Ward is a National Trust estate on the shore of Strangford Lough in County Down. Its big 18th-century house is famous for having one Classical front and one Gothic front, but the Game of Thrones crews came for the farmyard behind it. The old tower house from the early 1600s and the walled yard around it became Winterfell in season one: this is where King Robert's party rides in during the first episode, and where Bran practices archery while his father and brothers watch. The yard is open to anyone who buys estate entry, and the tower and stone sheds look almost exactly as they did on screen, minus the banners. The estate also has woodland paths and a shoreline walk with views across the lough.

  • The farmyard and tower house that played Winterfell
  • The two-faced 18th-century house
  • Shore paths along Strangford Lough
Best time
Weekday mornings, April to October

Tours that visit Castle Ward, Winterfell

Ballintoy Harbour on the Causeway Coast, the Lordsport harbor of the Iron Islands on screen

02

Ballintoy Harbour

Ballintoy Harbour sits at the bottom of a steep, winding lane on the north Antrim coast, a small stone quay surrounded by white limestone rocks and black basalt stacks. In season two it became Lordsport, the harbor on Pyke in the Iron Islands, where Theon Greyjoy comes home and later walks into the sea for his baptism. Very little was added for the cameras: the slipway, the rocks and the little boathouse are all there. It is still a working harbor for small boats, and a cafe by the quay opens in the warmer months. The lane down is narrow, so we park above and walk the last part, about ten minutes. The Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge is a few minutes along the coast.

  • The quay where Theon lands on Pyke
  • Limestone rocks and basalt stacks at low tide
  • A short drive to the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge
Best time
Early morning or evening, May to September

Tours that visit Ballintoy Harbour

The Dark Hedges on a frosty morning, bare beeches arching over Bregagh Road in mist

03

The Dark Hedges

The Dark Hedges is an avenue of beech trees on Bregagh Road near Armoy, planted by the Stuart family in the 18th century to impress visitors arriving at their house. In season two it played the Kingsroad, as Arya rides north from King's Landing in the back of a cart. We have to be honest about what you will find today. The road has been closed to traffic for years to protect the roots, six trees were removed for safety in late 2023, and storms Isha in 2024 and Eowyn in 2025 brought down more. Fewer than 80 of the trees stand, and the trust that cares for them says many are near the end of their natural lives. It is still a strange, beautiful walk, best early in the morning before the coaches arrive.

  • The Kingsroad from season two
  • An 18th-century beech avenue, on foot only
  • Early morning light before the crowds
Best time
Early morning, any month

Tours that visit The Dark Hedges

Looking out through the arch of the Cushendun Caves toward a grassy sea stack

04

Cushendun Caves

Cushendun is a small seaside village in the Glens of Antrim, cared for by the National Trust, with a row of Cornish-style cottages designed by Clough Williams-Ellis in the early 20th century. A short walk south of the village, past the harbor, the cliffs open into a set of caves cut through old conglomerate rock, full of rounded pebbles set in red stone. In season two this is the cove in the Stormlands where Davos rows Melisandre ashore and she gives birth to the shadow creature. The caves are free to visit and open all year. Right beside them stands Cave House, a private home behind a gate, so we keep to the shore path and do not go up the drive.

  • The cave where Melisandre comes ashore
  • Red conglomerate rock full of pebbles
  • The Clough Williams-Ellis cottages in the village
Best time
Late afternoon, at low or mid tide

Tours that visit Cushendun Caves

Walkers on Downhill Strand at dusk below Mussenden Temple, the Dragonstone beach on screen

05

Downhill Strand and Mussenden Temple

Downhill Strand is the long golden beach below the cliffs at the western end of the Causeway Coast, with a railway tunnel running through the headland behind it. In season two it played Dragonstone: this is the beach where Melisandre burns the statues of the Seven while Stannis looks on. Above the sand, Mussenden Temple stands on the very edge of the cliff. It was built in 1785 as a summer library for Frederick Hervey, the Earl Bishop of Derry, and is now part of the National Trust's Downhill Demesne along with the ruins of his house. From the clifftop you look along miles of strand toward Donegal. On a dry day we walk the beach as well, and the wind is guaranteed.

  • The Dragonstone beach from season two
  • Mussenden Temple on the cliff edge, built in 1785
  • The view along the strand toward Donegal
Best time
Late afternoon to sunset, April to September

Tours that visit Downhill Strand and Mussenden Temple

Northern Ireland film location tours for 2026 and 2027

Price per person sharing a double room; day tours per person. Flights to the start city are not included.

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1 tour

Getting around

How our tours get around Northern Ireland

01

A small coach with a local driver

Northern Ireland's coast roads are narrow and the lanes down to the harbors narrower still. We travel in a 16-seat Mercedes Sprinter with a driver from the area, who knows where a van can turn and where it cannot, and who waits nearby while we walk.

02

Short walks at every stop

Most locations are 5 to 15 minutes on foot from where we park, on paths, quays and sand. The longest walks are the beach at Downhill and the paths at Castle Ward and Tollymore, 1 to 2 miles at an easy pace.

03

Belfast on foot

Belfast city center is small. From our hotel you can walk to the City Hall, the Cathedral Quarter pubs and, in 20 minutes along the river, the Titanic Quarter.

What is included

What our Northern Ireland tours include

In Northern Ireland

  • Timed tickets for the Game of Thrones Studio Tour at Linen Mill Studios, Banbridge
  • Entry to Castle Ward and the Downhill Demesne
  • Niamh Magennis, our Northern Ireland tour leader, on every day
  • A 16-seat van with a local driver for every transfer
  • Two nights in Belfast and two on the Causeway Coast
  • An early morning visit to the Dark Hedges
  • Time at the Giant's Causeway

On every tour

  • Central hotels with daily breakfast on trips of two days or more
  • A named Scenes Found tour leader with the group from the first day to the last
  • Airport transfers on the first and last day of the tour
  • Hotel taxes, parking, park entry and local guide fees
  • Our 24/7 line while you travel, in every time zone

Not included: flights to the start city and home, meals not listed, drinks, tips and travel insurance. Each tour page lists exactly what is in the price.

Best time to go

Best time to visit Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is green because it rains, and it can rain in any month. April to June are our favorite months: long days (in June it is light until after 10 p.m.), 55 to 65 F, the gorse yellow on the hills and fewer crowds than in high summer. July and August are the warmest, 60 to 70 F on a good day, and the busiest at the Giant's Causeway and the Dark Hedges. September is often settled and bright. From November to February the days are short, around eight hours of daylight in December, and winter storms close coast paths now and then, so we do not run the tour in those months.

  1. Jan: no departures
  2. Feb: no departures
  3. Mar: good months
  4. Apr: best months
  5. May: best months
  6. Jun: best months
  7. Jul: good months
  8. Aug: good months
  9. Sep: best months
  10. Oct: good months
  11. Nov: no departures
  12. Dec: no departures

Best monthsGood monthsNo departures

Practical

Northern Ireland at a glance

Best months
Apr to Jun, Sep
Airport
Belfast International (BFS), 30 minutes from the city, and George Best Belfast City (BHD), 10 minutes; many Americans fly into Dublin (DUB), about 1 hour 45 minutes away by road
Getting around
Our van and driver between locations; walking in Belfast; short walks on paths and sand at each stop
Time zone
Greenwich Mean Time, British Summer Time from late March to late October; 5 hours ahead of New York
Weather
Mild and changeable: 55 to 70 F from May to September, 40s F in winter, showers in any month and wind on the coast
Filming today
Belfast is still a busy production base, with Titanic Studios and Belfast Harbour Studios working on film and TV; the studios are not open to visitors
Location etiquette
The Dark Hedges, Ballintoy and Cushendun are on working land and next to homes: keep to roads and paths, close gates and do not fly drones over people or houses
Book ahead
The Studio Tour uses timed tickets that sell out in summer; the National Trust charges entry at Castle Ward and Downhill; we book all of it
Tipping
Around 10 percent in restaurants if service is not already added; tips for your tour leader and driver are at your discretion
Entry rules
Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. US citizens need a valid passport and a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), applied for online before travel, including if you arrive overland from Dublin.

FAQ

Northern Ireland tour FAQs

More on the FAQ page, or call +1 (323) 641-2870.

Is the Game of Thrones Studio Tour included?

Yes. We book timed tickets for the Game of Thrones Studio Tour at Linen Mill Studios in Banbridge, the studio's own public exhibition. It is self-guided, and you have about three hours inside with original sets, costumes and props. We have no special access beyond the public ticket.

Can we still see the Dark Hedges?

Yes, on foot. The road is closed to traffic, and the avenue has lost a number of trees to storms and safety felling since 2023, so it is thinner than in the show. We go early in the morning, when it is quiet and the light comes through the branches.

Is the Giant's Causeway a Game of Thrones location?

No, although many people think so. It is a natural wonder and a World Heritage Site a few miles from Ballintoy, and we spend time there on the coast day because it would be silly not to.

Do I need an ETA to visit Northern Ireland?

Yes. US citizens need a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation before traveling to any part of the UK, and that includes crossing the land border from Dublin, where nobody checks. Apply online or through the official app a few weeks before you fly.

Should I fly into Belfast or Dublin?

Either works. There are few direct flights from the US to Belfast, so most guests fly to Dublin. We can arrange a transfer or tell you about the direct coach to Belfast, which takes about 2 hours.

How much rain should I expect?

Some, almost certainly. Showers come and go quickly on the coast, and the locations look best under a moody sky anyway. Bring a waterproof jacket with a hood and shoes that can handle wet grass.

Can we add Malin Head?

Malin Head in County Donegal, across the border in the Republic of Ireland, was used for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It is about 2 hours from the Causeway Coast each way, so it does not fit the five days, but we can arrange a private driver for an extra day.

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Northern Ireland guides to read before you go

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