THE No.1 BELFAST TROUBLES TOUR COMPANY
In response to the ongoing travel restrictions we have created a new and unique live Online Experience – ‘The History of the Troubles’. No matter where in the world you are, you can now join us for a fully interactive 2 hour live Zoom event.
Hosted by Paul Donnelly, the experience is made up of two parts, – a 60 minute audio visual presentation and virtual tour of Northern Ireland which will explain the history of the conflict that we know as the Troubles and also the path to peace. This is followed by a fully interactive Q&A and discussion session where you can engage with Paul and ask questions and learn about our experiences. We expect the total duration to be between 90 minutes and 2 hours.
The total Experience will allow you to discover the events which led up to violence breaking out in the 1960’s, the realities of growing up and living your life in the time, the peace and reconciliation work achieved in the last 20 years and what the future may bring. We promise an enriching, amazing, engaging, educational and fun (honestly!) experience. Learn more here.
OUR TOURS
UPDATE May 13th – CORONAVIRUS / COVID-19: In accordance with the government lockdown our tours are not currently running. As our tours are entirely outdoors, we believe that it may not be long before we are operating again. As soon as it is safe to do so, daily tours will resume, starting at 10.30am. Tour numbers will be limited in line with industry guidelines and safety measures including the use of masks will be implemented. Please check back for updates!
DC Tours run Belfast Troubles walking tours. Our city centre tour ‘A History of Terror’ is the No.1 walking tour in the city. It explains the history of the Troubles and the path to peace over 2 hours and 15 minutes.
TripAdvisor’s ‘Traveller’s Choice’ awards ranked it in the Top 4 experiences in the U.K. and it was Highly Commended in the Northern Ireland Tourism Awards ‘Authentic NI Experience of the Year 2019’ category. It is graded as ‘Outstanding’ by Tourism Northern Ireland. Our lead guide, Paul Donnelly, was named ‘Top UK Guide’ at Wanderlust’s World Guide Awards in October 2019. We have won other awards too, but we won’t bore you with them all.
Our goal is to enable our guests to learn as much about the Troubles and cultural history in Northern Ireland as possible in the time available. Our highly experienced guides, Paul “Donzo” Donnelly, Mark Wylie and Gabe Nelson will make sure that your trip to Belfast is a memorable one.
Our city centre tour ‘A History of Terror’ runs every day starting at 10.30am and costs £18 per person. The calendar on our booking page displays available dates and times.
The No.1 walking tour in Belfast!
VISITOR REVIEWS
Don’t just take our word for it – we have over 1,000 excellent reviews on Tripadvisor, and in 2019 we were voted one of the Top Ten Attractions in the UK! Here’s what some of our guests have said:
It was the most memorable part of a fascinating trip to Northern Ireland.
Paul was fantastic and provided background and stories that all visitors to Belfast should know. He was very courteous and left no question unanswered. This is a “do not miss” tour and my entire family recommends it.
This tour was the highlight of our weekend in Belfast and is a must-do for anyone wanting a balanced, insightful and revealing commentary on Belfast’s recent history.
It absolutely was one of the highlights of our trip to Belfast. We have done a lot of walking tours all over the world. This is one of the best we’ve done.
Little did we realise how this tour would help us leave two days later with the city having captured a place in our hearts.
Our guide Paul was absolutely amazing. His passion and enthusiasm overflowed, so much so that we nearly forgot how wet we were. We were so captivated that we loved every minute. He was so knowledgeable and completely unbiased.
I think that a visit to Belfast and this tour is a must for every single person in Britain, to see and hear the story of the troubles in what is a corner of their nation.
I am so grateful to Paul for the part he played in the wonderful eye opening experience that my family and I have just had. Thanks again Paul.
This was the most thought provoking, informative and riveting tour I’ve ever experienced.
I wanted to go on a tour which provided a great deal of insight but avoided some of the crass zoo exhibitionism or sensationalist slant which I worried the black taxi tours would lean too heavily on. I got exactly what I wanted in this tour.
The tour lasted about 2 and a half hours and honestly, I could have walked around for another two hours listening and reflecting on what Paul was telling me.
It was massively interesting, sent my head spinning with thoughts and filled me with empathy, and immensely compelling.
An absolute must for any traveller who wants to get under the skin of Northern Ireland today.
What an absolutely incredible tour. If you want to understand what this city is about, take this tour. Our highlight in Belfast.
Paul is nothing short of superb. Forget the Black Cabs, this is the best tour if you want to begin to understand this conflict. His ability to communicate the strategic, political and social imperatives that drove people’s actions had us spellbound.
There is a very real reason why this tour is so popular. Paul is the epitome of the perfect guide–extremely knowledgeable, passionate about his city and its history, interesting, funny, and truly engaging.
One of the highlights of our trip to Ireland! This tour was the first of our trip and really put into perspective the troubles within Ireland and the affects on the people. Mark’s knowledge and personable demeanour was the driving force of the tour. We have travelled all of Ireland and 18 days later continue to relate about the points Mark has made. Thank you so much!
Excellent tour. Mark communicated the complex history of Northern Ireland in a balanced manner, weaving key incidents into a story spanning hundreds of years. The 2.5 hours flew past.
An excellent tour- very informative and easy to understand. Recommend as a must-do activity in Belfast.
Did the tour yesterday with Paul. He is a great good, really engaging with a depth of knowledge delivered with a mix of historical fact, anecdotes and personal experience. Highly recommended to get a real insight into the history of the city.
Mark was a fabulous guide – informative and unbiased – and held our attention the whole time. Thank you!! Highly recommended for all.
Paul is a highly knowledgeable and engaging guide. You really get a sense of someone who knows every street and everyone in the city of Belfast for over a long period of time. And his humorous nature counters the often dark subject matter in a measured way. The walk itself is gentle and the radio system means that you will not miss out on a word spoken.
Travelling over from Scotland this was top of our to do list. Mark was amazing with our group. His knowledge of Belfast and the history/conflict that happened here was fantastic!!!! We learned so much from this tour and it was definitely the best thing we done whilst visiting the city. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting. Can’t wait to come back and explore the city further!!
Awesome, sensational content & explanatory information, the guide from DC Tours was just great, such a gobsmacking history of social struggle by all. If political and social science is up your alley then this is the tour for you, only thing disappointing is that it ended! A great 2-2.5hrs!
I would recommend this tour. Our guide was friendly and knowledgeable, the earphones and audio packs ensure that each person taking the tour can hear everything being said. It’s difficult to pack such a history into just over two hours but you get a real feel for the troubles, the city, the causes, outcomes and people.
This tour was one of the best that I have ever had. It was extremely knowledgeable and insightful. Having earphones to hear was great as I really wouldn’t have wanted to miss any of it. I also went on the bus tour which was really good and would also recommend to see the Falls, Shankill etc., but the DC Tour was different class. Absolutely superb.
Informative, reflective and quite simply the best tour I have ever taken.
A must do for visitors and locals alike.
SCHOOL & UNIVERSITY TOURS
In addition to walking tours and step-on guides (in both English and Spanish for groups), Online Experiences, in-depth Q&A’s with guest speakers and Virtual Tours can also be provided on a wide range of subjects for schools, colleges and universities.
PRIVATE TOURS
In addition to our scheduled public tours, we can also accommodate private tours. Private tours can start at any time to suit your itinerary, subject to availability. Group rates are available, and the tour itself can be customised to suit your group’s specific areas of interest.
ABOUT US
All our trained guides are conflict historians who have grown up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. They weave their own stories and experiences into their tours to provide a truly authentic experience for our guests and are happy to answer all of your questions.
OUR AWARDS
Our lead tour guide, Paul Donnelly, was named ‘Top UK Tour Guide 2019’ at the Wanderlust World Guide Awards held in London in October.
Not only have we achieved Tripadvisor’s ‘Certificate of Excellence’ for six years running, we also received their Travellers’ Choice Award for 2019 and are ranked the No. 4 Activity in the UK.
We were Highly Commended at the Northern Ireland Tourism Awards – ‘Authentic NI Experience of the Year 2019’, and rated ‘Outstanding (5 Stars)’ by Tourism Northern Ireland.
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