Oh, Allen's Tours - you son of a bitch. Where do I even begin? If I could give you negative bajillion stars, I would. And even THAT would be generous of me. Sadly, the lowest Yelp will allow me is one star. I guess I'll settle. It all started one freezing March day with a 'freak' snow storm (*cue fuzzy, warped screen and Twilight Zone music*). We booked a £16 tour through our hotel (Ibis hotel) which was supposed to include a trip to Carrickfergus Castle, Giant's Causeway and the Bushmill's distillery. Now, I know what you're thinking - if there was a freak snowstorm, why would these stupid American tourists even get on the bus? I'll tell you - we were thinking that if the company didn't cancel the tour, then it would be okay! But no. They were only interested in making a quick buck and not the safety of any of the parties involved. Here's how it went down. Conditions on the road were HORRENDOUS. The bus driver was told by several people to turn back around but he decided to ignore them and keep going. On top of that, he had called the Giant's Causeway to see if they were open but no one picked up. I'm pretty sure that in itself was not a good sign to continue on.... As the day went on, the weather got worse. The bus stopped at around 2 p.m. My friends had just woken up and thought we were at one of the destinations. Little did we know that instead, we would be stuck on the bus (no heat, no food, no bathroom) for 6 HOURS. YES, I SAID 6 HOURS! After about 2 hours, help finally arrived and tractors were plowing the snow around the bus. It wasn't for another 3 hours did MOUNTAIN RESCUERS (after all, we were stuck on a mountain in bumblefuck Ballycastle) and Northern Ireland police come and shuttle people (four at a time) to the nearest bar, so that another bus can pick us up from there to bring us back to Belfast (which was an hour and a half away). Because of this whole ordeal, Allen's Tours made us miss our 8 p.m. train back to Dublin (where we had already booked a hotel). So we ended up having to take a £130 CAB from Belfast to Dublin. (which of course they did not want to reimburse us for. We only finally got reimbursed for the tour tickets after about a month of pestering them. Was like pulling fuckin' teeth) I realize that this review is slightly biased considering that the last time a storm like this happened in Northern Ireland was 50 years ago. But it's really hard to be impartial when a whole day of my vacation was wasted and we are now out about 200 USD. So thanks, Allen's Tours! You've ruined my view of Northern Ireland forever. I will be coming back NEVER. I now wish horrible, explosive diarrhea on you! OVER AND OUT! read more

Helpful guide who knew what he was talking about and knew a lot of stories as well. He did suggest the Nook for food, saying that the service is quick, but it was not, as I will write about in that review. I thought we spent a good amount of time at each place, and feel like they gave realistic expectations of what will happen on the tour, because I asked how much time would be spent at Bushmills and they said not enough for a tasting but you can buy one or if its not busy they might give you a free one. I was not interested in castle tours, but you can spend more to go and do those if you like--the first one was also when the driver went to go get gas so time for a tour would have been possible--but the people working there didn't say how much, just kind of yelled saying 'you have to pay to go further'. We do get a group rate at the rope bridge, but its only 0.60 less than normal. For me it would have been better to skip the castles and stop somewhere around lunch time for a real meal, not Spar. I really enjoyed the coastal drive, especially since we had nice weather the whole way. read more

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Decided to take this and dump the car for a day. The coastal road was beautiful, we never seen about half though due to a crazy just that descended out of nowhere. The driver Phil was a pretty funny guy, and full of useful local info. I can only guess the beg reviews here are just down to having a lazy driver lol. Was well worth the money. Also nice to sit back and not do the driving for a change. My only gripe was that we were supposed to see Dunluce castle. But ended up being taken to something to do with game of thrones. I'd have had more of a clue if I actually knew what game of thrones was. Oh well... It cost them a star. Otherwise it'd have been 5 read more

Allen's Tours - Tours Near Me - Belfast, BFS

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My family took the tour and on the web site itinerary, it says that the lunch stop if at "Giants Causeway Cafe." However, the driver stopped down the street several miles at "The Giant's Barn." The reason why is because the driver gets a kickback with a free lunch. I saw the driver get a free lunch for bringing patrons in. I personally do no care about the driver getting a free lunch...I think he should, but the itinerary says that we would have lunch at "Giants Causeway Cafe." This is false advertisement! My family had a horrible meal at The Giant's Barn. The food sucked and we were served food that wasn't what the pictured showed. All of this because the driver gets a free lunch for bringing in people from his bus. Look, if you are going to take guests to The Giant's Barn, then state it on your web site! read more

I can't say enough good things about this company. I was recommended this company on word of mouth and they weren't wrong. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about everything. He offered facts interspersed with humor that made a long trip very enjoyable. I hope our travels bring us back to Northern Ireland and if they do, Allen Tours will be our first call! read more

Allen's Tours - Tours Near Me - Belfast, BFS

I had a great tour with Allen Tours today! All the stops were interesting and our tour guide, Phil, and knowledgeable and friendly. The timing for each spot was well timed and the drive was accompanied by information of important points. I highly recommend Allen Tours! read more

Allen's Tours - Tours Near Me - Belfast, BFS

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Not too expensive, some nice sights, but, the tour was not organized well. Pros: The tour guide was personable, the price was okay, Giant's Causeway (for 45 minutes) was awesome. Cons: Spent 45 minutes at a cheap mini-mart parking lot, probably a kick-back to the tour company. Only spent 10 minutes to walk outside the very cool Carrickfergus Castle, and they only charge a couple pounds to go in (probably less if tour got group rate) for another 45 to see it, would make sense. NO DUNLUCE CASTLE TOUR - although the guide I got the ticket from said, "yes we go tour Dunluce", just a stop to photograph it from a half mile away. No tasting at Bushmill's (unlike their brochure statement). The driver dropped us in parking lot, said, "go follow the green footprints" which led to the gift shop where we find out the tour and tasting ended an hour earlier. Spent an hour at the bushmill's parking lot and gift shop. wow. Every stop cost "EXTRA"... Cost 5 pounds ($10) extra to cross the Carrick-a Rede Rope Bridge, another group rate included in tour would make sense. Should have just rented a car, for the time wasted on their kick-back stops, I would have enjoyed my own pace touring Dunluce and Giants Causeway and also made the tour at Bushmills. read more

Allen's Tours - "tour" of dunluce castle - this is as close as allen tours takes you. :p - Tours Near Me - Belfast, BFS

Lovely tour up the coast. Got a great Groupon price and didn't know what to expect. The driver was fun and friendly and it was nice to have someone else navigating the narrow coastal roads. Definitely would recommend to visitors! read more

Our driver had only been with the company three weeks and so we would completely understand if he wasn't the best tour guide, however this went far beyond. The driver only spoke to tell us when to get off and return, he mentioned twice that the Irish Sea was to our right during the drive and that was it. There were no mentions of anything that we drove past. My mum and I have lived in Belfast our whole lives and were on the tour with friends who were visiting from London and Paris. We had to point out the Glens of Antrim, The Quarry and Bushmills. We also had to correct the driver in his naming of sights - Carrick Castle! The Great Causeway! This is pretty basic stuff. To make matters worse, he wasn't even going to take us to the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge until my mum mentioned and said that the coach should still stop there regardless if the bridge itself was open to cross. If not for her speaking up, we would have driven past it. Once we got to the Giants Causeway, he just opened the doors and said come back at 5pm (1 hour later). Again, as mentioned, my mum and I live here so we knew to go through the tunnel past the car park to see the Causeway without having to queue up in the visitors centre and spend £10.50 each. Unfortunately most of the passengers did not know this and so barely even got to see the Causeway as they spent the limited time we had queuing up. This is completely pointless! I truly felt for the other passengers as they had no knowledge at all of our wonderful country and what it has to offer. They have no idea of the places we drove through or even visited as no one told them. We were not the only ones disappointed in this trip, during our lunch stop we heard several others complain and even had people approach us to ask information on the sights we had passed (they obviously heard us explain this to our friends). When we mentioned this to the driver, he told us he had only been in the job 3 weeks and that he didn't understand the training he had been given due to the instructor speaking so fast. I would like to think that if you trust someone to take a coach full of people on a day long tour that you would at least ensure they had adequate training. Book with another Belfast tour company. Do not use Allens read more

We went on a tour of the Carrick-a-rede bridge and the Giant's Causeway. The sights were amazing, and the guide very knowledgeable and nice. We stopped at Bushmills on the way back, and got to see a lot of things that larger coaches aren't able to. The only thing that dampened the tour was how chilly the bus was. We kept our coats on the entire time. On the way back, we were pretty much soaked to the bone thanks to a very cold, giant wave from the North Atlantic Ocean. So we sat on a chilly bus, wet, for three hours. I had never understood how important a good vehicle is until then. read more

The other reviews strike me a trifle harsh. You couldn't pay me to drive this route , particularly considering you have to drive on the wrong side of the road. You take in a lot on this tour. I was disappointed that we didn't get a chance to tour Bushmills but it was no big deal.We were given plenty of time at Giants Causeway and Carrick -a rede and that takes time.As for Dunluce Castle i don't really think there is much to see there other than the exterior. we did get to the ancestral home of Andrew Jackson!Our tour guide was Tom from Edinburgh and there is no doubt he's worth the price of admission.If you meet him ,he will tell you how to pronounce Glasgow. I also had an interesting chat out side Allens headquarters about the local snooker legend who's depicted on a mural and had the Rangers support club pointed out .Americans read up on the Rangers and Celtics- it's illuminating. read more

The bus broke down and we had to wait almost 3 hours for a replacement bus to come and get us. They didn't offer a refund or a discount or any form of compensation. read more

My husband and I purchased these tour tickets for a shore excursion from the Princess ship. We understood that the departure was from the docks as clearly stated in the ticket. It states 1030 am. We were at the dock by 10 a.m. There was no tour bus in sight. A call was made to their office and they said we had to meet them downtown Belfast for the tour??? No where was this stated as the ticket clearly says 'Princess and Shore excursion'. I had broken my foot the night before on the ship. In spite of the pain, we got on the shuttle bus and made our way downtown. By the time we got downtown the bus had left. We spoke to an Allens representative and he said that we would be refunded our money due to the confusion in the paperwork we had received for our tickets. I emailed the company, and their representative, Tina, said that they had waited for us at the docks early in the morning. The other representative on the phone said that we were to meet the tour downtown???? Very confusing. The paperwork speaks for itself. Tina eventually replied in an email that her boss agree to refund us our money. I have not received it even after several reminders. I have also mentioned that I have the doctor's paperwork and x-ray showing that I broke my foot the night before. The doctor mentioned that in all his experience, the fact that I even attempted to get downtown with my broken foot, was shocking. Making an effort to get downtown for a tour that was suppose to pick us up at the dock, when we were thirty minutes early, and then taking a shuttle that cost us additional money, to get to their downtown office, and then still not be refunded, is absolutely unacceptable! Here attached is a copy of the paperwork I received when I booked the tour. I am still awaiting a refund and will keep posting until we do. See below. We are very disheartened and are hoping for a refund in the near future. Hello, Dayle Mannion YOUR TICKETS FOR Cruise Ship Express Causeway Tour Ticket Id:1096/14661261704216175 Booking Name:Dayle Mannion Tour Details: Tour:Cruise Ship Express Causeway Tour Tour Date:Caribbean Princess: 11th July - 10.30am - 5.00pm Ticket Information: Cruise Ship Passenger:2 @ £25 Thank you for your custom and we look forward to taking you on a memorable tour. Allens Belfast Bus Tours info@allensbelfastbustours.com 0044 2890 915613 www.allensbelfastbustours.com read more

Well, when you get on a bus with 50 tourists, you get what you expect. The driver was knowledgeable and sweet (it must be difficult to put up with a bunch of folks talking loudly through the history of the giant causeway!), but there were a bunch of stops with added fees that weren't included. I mean, if you're going to do a rope bridge stop, you want to do the rope bridge...and you don't want to spend another five pounds you weren't told about. The explanations for every single spot along the route (seriously, he didn't stop talking the whole time), got a little excessive, even for those of us who were interested. And, 15 minutes really isn't enough time to see a castle. I would have preferred longer stops at fewer destination and just a *little* bit of quiet time on the bus. That being said, it was $16 pounds for a full day trip and the scenery was beautiful, so it could have been worse. read more

Overall the tour was done very well and professionally. The critique asides from lunch being late at 3 PM I would say is the driver gave a bit of a revisionist history anchored in British exceptionalism. I would have liked to have seen a more rounded approach to the historical facts given on the tour. read more