Sightseeing Tours

Sightseeing Tours

Boat Tours

On the Lower Lough Erne, Erne Tours operates an approximately 90-minute trip (£7) aboard the Kestrel, a 63-seat water bus, which leaves Round O Pier at Enniskillen Sunday May and June at 2:30, and daily July and August at 10:30, 2:15, and 4:15. Weekdays the boat stops for a half hour at Devenish Island. In September, tours leave Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2:30. Mid-May to end of August the company also has a Saturday evening dinner cruise departing at 6:30.

Contacts

Erne Tours (Round O Pier, Enniskillen. 028/6632-2882; 028/6632-4822 dinner cruise).

Bus Tours

Belfast City Sightseeing runs an open-top bus tour (with shelter in case it rains) through Belfast. The Belfast City Tour (£8) covers the City Hall, Albert Clock, Shipyard, Titanic Quarter, Shankill Road, the peace line, the Falls Road, and past the Grand Opera House on Great Victoria Street. Tours leave Castle Place (opposite McDonalds) daily on the half-hour from 9:30 to 4:30, and tickets are valid all day on a hop-on, hop-off basis. The entire route, without stops, takes about 70 minutes.

Ulsterbus operates half-day or full-day trips June through September from Belfast to the Glens of Antrim, the Giant's Causeway, the Fermanagh lakes, Lough Neagh, the Mountains of Mourne, and the Ards Peninsula. Ulsterbus has also teamed up with the Old Bushmills Distillery to run the Bushmills Bus: an open-top tour bus running from Coleraine (via Bushmills to observe whiskey-making) to the Giant's Causeway and the coastal resorts. Contact Ulsterbus through Translink.

MiniCoach operates day tours of Belfast (£8-£16), and to the Giant's Causeway, Bushmills Distillery, and Carrickfergus.

Contacts

Belfast City Sightseeing (028/9062-6888. www.belfastcitysightseeing.com). MiniCoach (22 Donegall Rd., Central District, Belfast. 028/9032-4733. www.minicoachni.co.uk). Translink (028/9066-6630. www.translink.co.uk).

Taxi Tours

Belfast City Black Taxi Tours do 75-minute tours in a London-style black taxi of either Loyalist or Nationalist sights. The cost is £25 for up to two people, £30 for three people, and £33 for four people. Black Taxi Tours provide a similar itinerary at £25 per taxi for one or two people and £8 per person after that. The Loyalist tours leave from North Street or Bridge Street and prices can vary depending on pick-up point; the Nationalist Tours, through West Belfast Taxis, pick you up at your hotel.

Contacts

Belfast City Black Taxi Tours (028/9030-1832. www.allirelandtours.com). Black Taxi Tours (028/9064-2264. www.belfasttours.com). Nationalist Tours (028/9031-5777).

Walking Tours

Belfast Safaris offers tailor-made walking tours of Belfast city with a twist. All of the guides are local and passionate about their neighborhoods. Tours are organized according to each group's specific interests, and can include politics, art, or even soccer. Want to learn Irish or play the tin whistle? It can all be arranged. The Antrim Road trail starts at Duncairn Gardens, the birthplace of the artist John Luke, and finishes at Belfast Castle for a panoramic view of the city. The cost is £8 per person for a standard tour, more for longer, custom routes.

Historical Pub Tours of Belfast walking tours of the city's pubs leave on Tuesday at 7 PM and Saturday at 4 PM. The cost is £5. In Derry, walking tours (£4) are organized through the city's Tourist Information Centre.

Contacts

Belfast Safaris (www.belfastsafaris.com. 028/9022-2925). Derry Tourist Information Centre (44 Foyle St., West Bank, Derry. 028/7126-7284 or 028/7137-7577. www.derryvisitor.com). Historical Pub Tours of Belfast (Depart from Crown Liquor Saloon, 46 Great Victoria St., Golden Mile, Belfast. 028/9268-3665).