Trying to put together an itinerary - northern Ireland only. Likely start from Belfast and not planning on any driving although would welcome any recommendations for a driver. Any opinions on itinerary - will definitely be seeing Belfast and Londonderry. Not planning on a lot of hiking - 2 seniors. Otherwise, pretty open.
Thanks
Bayview Hotel in Port Ballintrae (Antrim Coast). Take the train to Coleraine, then bus which stops right outside hotel. Easy access to Bushmills, Dunluce Castle, Giants Causeway, Portrush on the Causway Rambler bus.
Our first trip to Ireland was using train and bus exclusively. While in Belfast, I found the Titanic Museum and the Ulster Folk Park and Transport Museum interesting. The Hop on Hop off bus in the city is a nice way to get bearings. We used Rick's book for helping plan sites. Bushmills is a great place to visit the distillery and the hotel there looks really nice (we were just visiting for the day). Also, we enjoyed Derry since both my husband and my family roots are from that area. We stayed in a BnB just outside the old walls which was close enough to walk just about anywhere. Only problem we had was that we go on the shoulder season and that year we went early September- the bus times had changed the week before and we ended up having to walk 5 miles that we hadn't planned on. So be sure to check on seasonal changes - I think it was the Rambler that dropped a couple routes after season was over. We've rented a car since but I do enjoy the trains.
Another vote for Bayview Hotel in Port Ballintrae. We were going to spend one night there. It was so lovely we spent three. Just a wonderful place with great staff and very good food.
