We are going to be in Belfast for one day, and unsure of our arrival time. Has anyone had any luck with going on a Black Taxi tour last minute, without booking ahead? And is there a primary spot that many of the tours leave from? So far, it seems most have online booking, which is great but not so much for us. I suppose we could book ahead from the car as we gauge our arrival time, but we would need to stop and find wifi to do so, so not convenient for us. Thanks!
Posted by
Eugene, Oregon...Formerly Ventura, CA
2262 posts
I think it would be far better to establish a time and pre-arrange, if possible. Years ago, I contacted Norman Reilly, a driver-guide that Rick has featured on his show. Norman arranged for us to meet John at the Belfast train station-we rode up in the morning from Dublin. We had an excellent experience with John as he took us around Belfast, giving his perspective. At the end he asked us to guess his religious affiliation; I don't recall exactly how it went, but I guessed wrong, which spoke to the balanced viewpoints John had taken in talking with us.
We may well have had an equally good time if we had taken "dumb luck" when we arrived, however I do feel that by routing it through a well established guide we came out better than if we hadn't.
We had John drop us at Belfast City Hall, a lovely building where free tours are offered, then lunch at Mourne Seafood.
Posted by
Downingtown, USA
2450 posts
We were in same position as you as far as time. we found a parking lot and I think we went into a tourist office and car was there within maybe 15 to 20 minutes. We were there last October so the time of the year might make a difference. Our driver was great super interesting and stopped several places to let us out and he took our pictures for us. Would do it again.
Posted by
45 posts
We booked our Black Taxi tour through our hotel upon arrival. However, we scheduled it for the following day.
Our driver, Joe, was very informative, factual and insighful. We learned so much about the unrest and feel our experience at Belfast would not have been nearly as meaningful had we not done the tour. We also thought it was very affordable. Have to also mentioned that we much prefered Belfast over Dublin. There is so much to see!
Posted by
Shediac, New Brunswick, Canada
776 posts
Can someone please tell me the average cost of such a tour and do you usually tip the driver at the end of the tour?
Posted by
289 posts
I believe we were charged 35 or 40 pounds total for two people this past March. We added a tip as we really enjoyed the tour/guide.
Posted by
North Bay, Ontario, Canada
12 posts
We found our taxi by asking our waitress if she knew where we could book one. He texted his friend who was a guide and he met us outside the restaurant. It cost us about 35 GBP for 3 of us. It is definitely worth it. There is so much to be learnt about Belfast in these tours.
Posted by
1172 posts
We arranged ours as we finished off out tour of the Titanic museum. The car was there within 15 minutes and this was in July. It was 35 pounds for 2 of us. We did tip our driver at the end. Highly recommend!