One Day in Dublin and Belfast

I was quite impressed with the Titanic Museum in Belfast. It is well done. The focus is primarily on the building of the ship itself.

In Dublin, I would not visit the Book of Kells. This experience is over-hyped. I did enjoy the tour of Dublin Castle.

We also enjoyed the Titanic Museum in Belfast very much. In Dublin our favorite sites were Kilmainham Gaol (reserve ahead) and the National Museum of Archaeology. The walking tour offered by Trinity grad students was also quite good. The Book of Kells was somewhat underwhelming and, with only one day, I wouldn't bother with the Guinness Storehouse.

Thanks everyone. I found out Belfast is using GBP and Dublin the Euro. We stop in England so two places to spend a few pounds. I'll need kroner for Norway too.

Pat

I have not been to Belfast but want to, so take my advice with a grain of salt. But if I had one day there, I'd take a trip to the Giant's Causeway, e.g. https://www.viator.com/tours/Northern-Ireland/Giants-Causeway-Day-Trip-from-Belfast/d40330-5844CAUSEWAY

Pat:
I am planning my fourth trip to Ireland this year; however, the best thing I did in Belfast was to take Susie Millar's Titanic Tour! Her great grandfather was a passenger on the Titanic as well as an engineer for the top deck of the ship. She tells her family story, including the fact that her gr. grand is listed on the Titanic memorial monument on the grounds of the Belfast City Hall and the pennies he left behind for his children. She tells the history of the ship and takes you to the Harland and Wolf (shipbuilders of the Titanic) studio, the former home of Thomas Andrews, who designed the Titanic, including the staircase which was the inspiration for the Titanic staircase, Learn more at www.titanictours-belfast.co.uk It was well worth the time!!!! Rick Steves also has a podcast of a conversation with Susie!
Happy Travels!

Belfast is a beautiful city. We made contact with a Black Cab driver and arranged to meet, whereupon he took us around to see some of the Troubles areas, political murals, and the like, and provided narration and opinion, too. It was a fascinating though sobering look at recent history-and current events-and we had a great conversation. He dropped us near City Hall and we took the (free) tour there-who knew that Belfast City Hall was partly damaged in WW2 and rebuilt?

After the tour we headed to Mourne Seafood Bar for chowder-excellent.

Highly recommend the Titanic museum as well as a black cab tour in Belfast

In Dublin, Kilmainham gaol is a must and as someone else said, make sure to buy your tickets ahead of time. We all really enjoyed the Chester Beatty Library.

Belfast highlights: Titanic, black cab, Crumlin Road Gaol

Some thoughts on Dublin: I agree with the advice to skip the Book of Kells - it was so underwhelming that I actually had to backtrack to have a second look not realizing they were them. The second look wasn't any more inspiring than the first. I did like the long library and the gift shop at Trinity College so it wasn't a complete waste of time to stop in.

I loved Kilmainham Gaol and Dublin Castle - and I actually really enjoyed the HoHo Bus in Dublin. Packed full of commentary and moved easily through traffic. I would also love to go back to St. Patrick's Cathedral - if you do this, I recommend joining the free guided tour.

In Belfast I enjoyed a small van tour of the political murals and the castle as well as a visit to city hall. In Dublin Kilmainham Jail and the Natural History museum were my favourite. I actually enjoyed the Book of Kells as a piece of art and history, and an amazing accomplishment for its time, but the book is only opened to one page and you may have to stand in line longer than the time you will spend looking at it. The HOHO bus is great, and there are several stops where you can get off and quickly take in a sight and grab the next bus. Just wandering the Temple Bar area or St. Stephens Green is also fun.

Thanks Paul. I appreciate the input. I realize there is public transportation at these ports but the tours are convenient, and there are guides that tell you what you are seeing as you go along. Do the trains do that? And changing trains and then navigating to the bus can be daunting for some people. On a tour I don't have to worry about getting the right train/bus or getting it on time. The tours also take you to more than one place. The day trip a lot of the passengers are going on stops at Dunluce Castle, the Giant's Causeway, then to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, stop at Cushendall for lunch, Carrickfergus Castle, a Belfast city tour and back to the ship in time for departure. Cost £39. Your trip is £17 (is that one-way) to go to the Giant's Causeway.

Pat

We visited Belfast in March of 2016. Stayed 2 nights at a B & B in Bangor. Would love to LIVE in Bangor! So lovely. We enjoyed Belfast, despite rain. Didn't see Titanic that time, but really enjoyed the extended bus tour all around the town (especially in the rain--ha)--but the tour covered alot of ground, including the murals. So glad we took that tour--it was a hop on hop off, actually, but thorough.

Didn't have loads of time in Belfast because we took the train from there to Dublin and that was a hoot! It was a beautiful train, lovely countryside, and since it was St. Patrick's Day everyone was very cheery.

Thanks Cheryl. That gives me an idea. We go from Belfast to Dublin. I think I will check out the train from Belfast to Dublin. Maybe I don't get back on board in Belfast and meet the ship in Dublin. The ship isn't due to arrive in Dublin until 11:30AM. If I take the train from Belfast at 19:00 I'd be in Dublin at 21:00, get a nice room for the night, and have a swift half at a pub. In the morning have an Irish breakfast and do some sight seeing before the ship gets into port.