Walking Vacation in Northern Ireland
This 7-day guided walking tour of Northern Ireland will take you into the streets of Belfast, follow the legends of the Gobbins Path and finish with the majestic beauty of the Mourne Mountains.
Arriving into Belfast and from here we will explore the cities recent troubled history, its industrial past and emergence into a modern energetic city.
Using Belfast as our base we will travel to walk one of the finest coastal walking experiences along the beautiful Gobbins Path.
Finally, we will travel to the Kingdom of Mourne and the fabled Mountains of Mourne where the mountains rise from sea to sky. This walking holiday covers the extraordinary landscapes and legends of Northern Ireland. Come join us!
If you’re considering other routes or destinations, take a look at our many self-guided walking tours of Ireland. Alternatively, you could join one of our small-group guided walking tours of Ireland for camaraderie and leave every detail to your guides.
Do feel free to get in touch with any queries at all. We’re always quite happy to chat about our many walking routes to help you choose the right one for you
Belfast & The Mournes Guided Walking Holiday
Prices / Dates
Price: €1,449 per person sharing
Single Supplement: +€450
Tour Dates 2024:
Sunday 30th June to Saturday 6th July
Sunday 1st to Saturday 7th September
Tour Dates 2025:
To Be Confirmed
Tour Grade: Easy to Moderate
Accommodation: Hotel & Guest House Accommodation
Included / Excluded
- All accommodation is approved and all rooms will be en-suite.
- All transport to include: Pickup and return to Dublin Airport.
- All transport to and from walks.
- Meals to include: 6 breakfasts, 4 evening meals
- Entry to Gobbins Path Tour
- Black Taxi Tour or Titanic Experience
- Alpaca Walk Experience
- Evening Meals on day 1 & 2
- Picnic Lunches.
Guided Walking Itinerary for Belfast & The Mourne Mountains
Departing Dublin Airport at 1 pm, we will travel north to our overnight in Belfast. On arrival in Belfast we will take a walking tour of the city for an introduction to the cities past, present and future.
In the morning, we will travel to Island Magee and the iconic Gobbins Cliff Path. There, we will take you along a narrow path hugging the dramatic cliff face, across spectacular bridges amid the crashing waves of the North Channel, traversing hidden tunnels under the Irish Sea, up and down rugged staircases carved into the cliff face, and into caves that were once home to smugglers and privateers. This is a true adventure!
In the afternoon we will return to Belfast where you will visit the Multi-award winning Titanic Visitors Centre.
Distance: 5 km/3 miles, Ascent: 250 m/820 ft
In the morning, we will depart Belfast for the Mourne Mountains and the village of Rostrevor on the banks of Carlingford Lough. Our walk takes us through wooded hillsides to the summit of Slievemartin and a view of Carlingford Lough below and then onwards to the iconic Cloughmore Stone before our return to Rostrevor.
In the afternoon we will travel along the shores of Carlingford lough to Cranfield where we will have a gentle stroll with a friendly alpaca for company.
Distance: 6.5 km/4 miles, Ascent: 485 m/1591 ft
Today our walk takes us into the Mourne Mountains with for the most part an easy walk offering spectacular views of the Irish Sea and the contrasting mountain landscape of the Annalong Valley. We will get a closeup view of the UK's longest national monument the Mourne Wall - shaping the landscape of the Mourne Mountains for nearly 100 years.
Distance: 7 km/4.5 miles, Ascent: 525 m/1722 ft
Today we walk one of the highlight sections of the 82 mile St. Patrick's Pilgrim Trail. We will start at Meelmore Lodge along the Trassey Road before entering Tollymore Forest - location for some of the opening scenes of Game of Thrones! Travelling along the banks of the Trassey River we rise through the forest before our descent into the sea-side town of Newcastle
Distance: 11.5km/7 miles, Ascent: 216m/709 ft
Today you have a choice:
Option 1: Slieve Donard - Northern Ireland's Highest Peak - Challenging
In the morning we will be transferred to Bloody Bridge from where we will ascent along the Bloody Bridge river to the Bog of Donard before meeting the Mourne Wall and the climb to the summit of Slieve Donard Mountain, from there we will make our descent to the saddle of the mountain and meet the Glen River which we will follow to Newcastle and a well earned ice-cream!
Distance: 12 km/7.5 miles, Ascent: 850 m/2788 ft
Option 2: Castlewellan Forest Park & Gardens - Easy
Once we drop the climbers of Donard off we will make the short journey to the town of Castlewellan (The home of Footfalls in the north!). Our walk from here will take us into the park along Castle Avenue with Castlewellan Castle (private) in the foreground we will start with a walk into the Gardens of the Forest park, a legacy of the Annesley Family who once owned the lands. The gardens is home to some of the worlds finest trees and flowers - a the birthplace of the Gardners nightmare - The Castlewellan Gold.
Leaving the gardens we will follow the parks lake and finish with a try to navigate Europe's largest Peace Maze before returning to the town.
Distance: 6 km/3.75miles, Ascent: 150 m/490 ft
Your guided tour of Belfast and the Mourne Mountains now comes to an end and we must depart after breakfast to arrive at approximately 12 pm to Dublin Airport.
