Bus tours from Belfast to the Giant's Causeway

Here are some links to companies. I don't have any personal experience with any of them.
https://irishtourtickets.com/giants-causeway-tours/
https://www.paddywagontours.com/GIANTS-CAUSEWAY-Day-Tour-From-BELFAST
https://belfastcitysightseeing.com/giants-causeway-and-antrim-coast-full-day-tour/

From reading Paul's posts it's clear that you can get to the Giant's Causeway on your own by public transport and possibly visit a couple of other sites on the all day transport pass. However, for someone not wishing to deal with the planning, timing, etc and want to leave that to others, the tours can be a good value. For instance I looked at one tour company (Paddy Wagon Tours) and their tour includes a stop at the Carrick-a-Rede bridge, the Giant's Causeway (including the visitor center, which would be an additional 8£ on your own), plus a couple of other photo stops. All of this would be a pain to try to accomplish on your own, even just the scheduling of public transport from one to the other. The cost of the bus tour I checked (£25) looks to be comparable to the 17£ transport pass + the 8£ GC visitor center experience ticket. I'm not familiar with the different tour companies but I have seen good reviews of Paddy Wagon Tours.

Some people would like to do it on their own, others prefer to have someone take care of the logistics for them. To each their own. It's easy enough to compare the different tours online and also to compare with doing it on your own and see which makes the most sense to you.

The one thing you do get when going on your own is that you can stay as long as you want at a place and not be limited by the tour's time limits. It's something else to consider when deciding.

I would not call the bus tours a rip-off. They are good value because they will make other stops, and you have a guide who will provide historical information on the drive. They are also convenient as you won't have to figure out bus and train schedules yourself, and some of them will even pick up at your hotel. I did the Paddywagon tour, and really enjoyed it. It stopped at the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, and included a tour of the whiskey distillery.