European Adventure 2025 | Antrim Coastline Northern Ireland

This was the day we were most excited for in Northern Ireland. And boy oh boy was it filled with A LOT! So stick with me as I take you this the day.

We started off with heading to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge for one of the first entry times. We first visited this famous bridge when we came out in 2012. We tried to go again when we were out in 2023, but there weren’t anymore tickets available for the day which was a bummer. So this time we got tickets well in advance to make sure we didn’t miss out on this opportunity.

Mother Nature was for sure on our side this day as it was a very gloomy morning (but honestly everything is still beautiful there anyways) and it was calling for on and off rain as it does most days. But, by the time we arrived at the bridge the sun was shining and stayed out the whole day!!

Once you park your car it is a beautiful hike towards the bridge, as you’ll see from the photos. I feel like I was stopping every 10 feet to take a photo because I couldn’t get enough of it. It is just the most surreal view looking at the cobalt colored sea next to the emerald cliffs.

When you arrive at the actual bridge (yes – it is made with ropes and 2×4’s!) it’s time to put fears of heights in check. I personally focused on the beauty around us and tried not to look down because it can be quite scary, but so worth it! On the other side of the bridge is when you are on the island of Carrick-a-Rede. It is very tiny, but you get the amazing views of the mainland from there. I definitely could’ve stayed there much longer, but we had much more to see that day!

On the way out we stopped at the coffee truck and they even had flavored iced coffee there, something I had been missing since we left for Europe. Iced anything is really not a thing over there.

Onward to Giant’s Causeway next which is just a 15 minute drive.

Click here to read the myth about the giant Finn McCool and how Giant’s Causeway was created.

We had visited the causeway when we first went in 2012 and again in 2023, but it really is a spot you have to see every time you’re there….especially when you’re blessed with a sunny day like we were. Two years ago it was raining on and off when we went. There are a couple different options of going down to the volcanic hexagonal columns.

You can take a bus down there, walk down the paved road or you can stay up “top” to hike around the rim and eventually take stairs down. This time we chose to stay up top and take in all the views first because last time we started down and walking up those stairs were no joke! That was my husband’s brilliant idea this time.

We walked as far out as we could before turning back a little to head down the stairs. *I will put a disclaimer in here, especially for those traveling with littles. In the US we are used to over the top safety especially if you are somewhere up high, like the cliff we were on. But, for the most part they DO NOT have many ropes or rails up so be prepared to keep even more of an eye on kids and watch your own step!*

Once we made it down the stairs you are then on the “middle path” I will call it that takes you by Finn’s “organ”. This was the first time we chose to keep walking past that to see what was at the end of that path, and shocker it was more spectacular views. We then u-turned back to finally go down to the columns in the water and explore.

And of course Gavin and I represented our beloved Project Fire Buddies that day!

After all of hiking that we did that morning we clearly worked up an appetite so we headed back into Portrush. On the way there we did pull off into the parking lot for Dunluce Castle to get a better look at it. We’ve always seen it from the road but have never stopped before. You can walk closer to it, but we just opted to get some photos from the lot since we were on our way to meet Gillian for lunch.

For lunch we stopped at Smash n Bird in downtown Portrush as Gillian’s suggestion and it was soooo good. It was a smash burger place with the best burgers I’ve ever had. And this is where having a local in your group comes in very handy because she told us to order our food at the counter and then we were able to walk to the pub next door where they would deliver our food there while we kicked back with some adult beverages. It was so cute in there, complete with disco balls hanging and apparently gets pretty wild with hen parties in the evening.

We then headed to White Rock Beach so the kids could run around. Mine kept saying they’d get in the water, but as soon as any of us barely touched the water it was an immediate no! It was so cold for us, but there were plenty of locals surfing and swimming out there.

There was beautiful rock formations all along the beach that we had fun exploring while the boys played football and buried each other in the sand.

After we had our fill of the sand we drove 10 minutes down the road for another view of Dunluce Castle and also to get a photo with the British Open sign which was happening shortly after we flew back home.

Conveniently this stop also had an ice cream truck there that is famous around the area for their extravagant sundae’s called, Cream of the Coast and it was worth every single calorie! They even had some cows roaming in the field that was right next to the truck so we joked that it must be really fresh ice cream

We only ordered two so we wouldn’t fill up because next up was a home cooked meal at the Airbnb.

Not ready to end the day and the sun was still fully out after dinner we walked down to another beach that was right by our house for some American football on the beach and an incredible sunset. You know I always love a good sunset and this was one of the best ones I’ve ever seen. Starting with oranges and yellows and ended purple and pink, I couldn’t stop taking photos.