Northern Ireland & Donegal advice

Hi, Lizzy.

Yes, the Giant’s Causeway is very easily visited by a day trip from Belfast. On the same day you could also visit the ruins of Dunluce Castle. Spectacular sea-side setting. Another stop could be at Carrickfurgus.

I would also suggest you consider continuing along the coast to Derry. A fascinating city. The old city walls remain intact. And an interesting look at the “troubles” that happened late last century. From there you could easily continue onto Donegal and back to Dublin.

I have stayed in Donegal Town. Small but enjoyable. Worth checking it out as a possible base. Nice castle. Donegal to Dublin as a day drive seems reasonable. With a stop or two, probably four-five hours. An estimate.

Yes giants causeway is doable from Belfast no problem I'll repost my earlier post on here ...

Along with Giant's Causeway, also try and include a trip to Carrick a Rede Rope bridge If time allows do consider doing one of the walking trails that lead up from behind the Visitor Centre and along the coast above the Causeway. There are wonderful views down onto teh stones and all the tourists scurrying around like ants below. There are three trails of increasing length which all follow the same route, along the Causeway Coast Way. If time is short, just do the Blue Trail. If you have longer, tackle the Red Trail

Rather than heading back to Belfast after Giant's Causeway, have you thought about heading to Donegal instead? Possibly spend the night in Portrush, Portstewart or Derry area? It would save back tracking.

Thanks, all, for the advice! I do think we will try to hit Derry -- I recently learned family left Ireland for the US in the 1800s through Derry, so it now has some personal significance. Perhaps more reason to continue on into Donegal from the Antrim Coast.

Carrick a Rede and the trails above Giant's Causeway look great - thanks for that tip!

I recently learned family left Ireland for the US in the 1800s through Derry, so it now has some personal significance.

Have you come across the Ulster American Folk Park? near Omagh. I'm not sure if it fits into your itinerary but it tells the story of Ulster families who emigrated to America. The park is in three sections. You begin in 'Ulster ' where houses and farm have been moved and rebuilt on the site. There are costumed interpreters who talk about the families who owned the buidings.

You then move to the'dockside' with part of a reconstructed ship that carried families to America. It must have been a horrendous experience as a family only had a small area as their 'home' on board the ship. They didn't know exactly when or where they would land. It all depended on the weather and the wind.

You leave the ship and enter 'America' and a shop selling all the essentials needed by the new immigrants. Buildings have been constructed in 'America' which the families would have lived in. Again there are costumed interpreters who explain how the families settled and got used to a very different way of life - especially meals which were based on corn rather than potatoes! Some prospered and became rich and well established. Other families really struggled.

This is a fascinating place and we spent several hours and learned so much.

Hello! We did Northern Ireland in 2015. Actually we started in Dublin and took the train to Belfast. We spent one whole day in Belfast then the train to Derry, where we spent three days. We rented a car for a day and went into Donegal (we loved Glenveagh National Park and the cliffs area of the Bloody Foreland). Then train back to Belfast briefly and returned to Dublin for a final night. We used Derry as our base rather than a base in Donegal. I would have liked to see much more.

Wasleys - the Ulster American Folk Park sounds like a great way to learn about that period of time. I'll look into it!

Thinking Donegal town should be a good base for a couple days. Near the coast, and a nice change of pace from urban Belfast and Dublin.

We did a boat ride with Paddy Byrne's company.
He's a fun guy and I still follow him on FB. Coming home to MSP from Ireland I sat next to Danny Diamond, a family friend of Paddy. He was moving to the twin cities to be with his Minnesotan wife. Danny is a very talented Irish musician (if you are ever looking for good Irish music).

We stayed across the road from a beautiful beach at Enniscrone in the Waterfront Hotel. It's a few hours south of Slieve League.

We spent a week in County Donegal in a village near Killybegs. If you base in Donegal town here are some restaurants we liked: Market House Restaurant at the Abbey Hotel; Olde Castle Seafood Bar; and Blueberry Tea Room. Also McCafferty’s Bar is a great pub.

would recommend you DONT do a prebooked tour as you don't get much time at each location, ok given using public transport takes effort and time but at least you can take your time etc, its very easy to do as i said before, just take the train from Great Victoria Street Train station (entrance is beside europa hotel marked "Great Northern Mall" follow the corridor down to the bus station and turn left then right into the Train station), Buy a £17.50 Zone 4 I-link card this gives you unlimited travel on all Bus and trains anywhere in Northern Ireland for 1 day travel (you can get for a week and a month if you are here that long lol), Jump on the train to Derry/Londonderry @ Great Victoria Street Train station, change in Coleraine after 1hr 25 min of a journey on the train to COLERAINE the bus and train station in Coleraine is under one roof go in and catch the Ulsterbus 402 service to Ballycastle this drops you off yards from the Giants causeway visitor centre, do not go into it as its a tourist trap, go down to the stones via the tunnel to the right of the visitor centre, (when in the bus station/train station walk to the end of the station the bus departures go from the far end of the building there is departures board there listing the departures)
public transport in Northern Ireland is operated by Translink (www.translink.co.uk)
remember you need UK Pounds for Northern Ireland not euros

@Katheryne - thanks for the restaurant recommendations!

@paulscales - thanks for the information on Giant's Causeway via public transport from Belfast. I think we'll likely fly into/out of Dublin and do a car rental from there so we don't pay more for a Belfast-to-Dublin rental. All of that said, if for some reason we don't end up with a car while in Belfast, I'll keep this in mind.

Another vote for the Ulster-American Folk Park near Omagh - especially if your heritage traces to Ulster.
Separate from the park is a research facility with some very knowledgeable docents who can help you research old records, ship manifests, etc. if you want to make your visit something of a Roots Quest.

A couple years ago, we used Derry as a home base because family was originally from there. Lots to do and see. Also, spent one day and drove down from there to the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh- easy drive and worth it.

We took a similar trip last September.

• While in Belfast, do one of the political cab tours. We are still talking about it 8 months later.
• You can hit a number of cool places in NI all in close proximity to each other. We used the town of Bushmills as a base and stayed at the Bushmills Inn. Loved it. The Giants Causeway and Dunluce castle are really cool. We also liked the tour of the Bushmills distillery. Carrick-a-Rede felt like a tourist trap to me, but it is popular.
• In northern Donegal, we used Dunfanaghy as a base. It is basically a seaside village with lovely beaches. You can side trip to Glenveagh Park. Don't miss a hike on Horn Head (I liked it better than Slieve League). Some of the most beautiful scenery you will ever see.
• Ardara might be a nice base for west Donegal. I wish we had spent more time in this area. Between Ardara and Slieve League, there is a town named Glencolumbkille that we passed through that looked like a nice spot too. I am almost hesitant to write about it since it is such a special place and would hate to see it overrun by tourists, but nearby is a spot named An Port. From An Port, you can hike to Glenlough Bay. It is incredibly remote, untouched, and strikingly beautiful. Only saw five people in the 4-5 hours we were there.
• Slieve League was cool. I wouldn't stay in Killybegs unless you like the smell of a commercial fishing operation.
• We used Donegal town as a base. Nice town.
• Really liked the town of Westport. Lots to do.

My advice to the OP would be to choose a base based on where they can find lodging. My sense is that's easier at the moment in Northern Ireland (UK) than in County Donegal (Republic of Ireland). It might, for example, be simplest to stay in Derry and rent a car to visit nearby Northern coastal portions of Donegal and the Antrim Coast.

I was just in rural Southwest County Donegal earlier this month. It was absolutely overrun with Ukrainian refugees. Many hotels, hostels, and guest houses had been completely rented out for their use -- dramatically reducing tourist lodgings and increasing their price. I did not encounter these issues in the UK -- either Northern Ireland or Scotland.

So many wonderful tips here, thank you!

Very interesting to hear about Ukrainian refugees in Co. Donegal. They need a place to stay far more than I do, so no worries at all if that makes me need to find alternative lodging or increase my max budget.

Since my original post, my plans may be shifting a bit -- this is what happens when you start tracing your Irish roots as you plan a trip! Long story short -- I have family roots in Co. Tyrone (Dromore) but far more in southern Ireland (Cappoquin in Co. Waterford and Rathanna in Co. Carlow). Co. Donegal seems lovely, but I'd like to prioritize areas where "my people" came from (maybe a future trip could focus on the Wild Atlantic Way). As such, I think we may base in Belfast for 3-4 nights with day trips to Antrim Coast, inland N Ireland, etc. Then, make the (long) drive down to Co. Waterford to base for another 3-4 nights. Then up to Dublin to finish the trip.

@Clancy 10514, I take it the An Port you're referring to is where the "ghost village" is? We had planned on trying to find that place, but didn't know there's a hike we can take from there. The only thing I'd read about Glenlough Bay was about rock climbing there and is much more arduous than anything I'd ever attempt. How to find that trail, and is it a hike as opposed to rock climbing?

And I agree 100% with the last poster, that the Ukrainians need the beds much more than I do, having plenty of other options. Coming from a place which is unwelcoming to migrants, I'm so impressed by Ireland's incredible hospitality around this difficult situation.

@JulieMcD Yes, there is the ghost village there at An Port. The hike is not too strenuous. Basically it is about 200 yards up a steep hill, then you are walking along a cliff line. You can' traverse down to the shore line at Glenlough Bay unless you have ropes and stuff, but no matter, the walk alone the cliff line is stunning and isolated. It took my wife and I (mid-50s and certainly not hardcore hikers) about 3-4 hours round trip. Bring lunch.

@Clancy10514 thank you for the specifics! We ended up having to postpone our trip to next year, but will plan on checking this out!