We will be traveling to Ireland in Oct. First week will be an 8 day Rick Steves tour of southern Ireland. Want to rent a car and tour Northern part on our own. Looking for best ways to find bed & breakfast or, hotels, hostels for one or two night stays. Any other tips on doing it this way as this our first trip Ireland?
Posted by
Land of La
9221 posts
The first thing that comes to mind is when you say Northern Ireland you are NOT talking about the Republic of Ireland where your RS tour is taking place
You are talking about Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom.
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Northern-Ireland-part-of-the-United-Kingdom
Might also take a moment to familiarize yourself with "The Troubles."
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/two-tribes-a-divided-northern-ireland-1.3030921
So if you do mean NI that will mean pounds not euros, different road rules, speed limits (Miles per hour in NI, Kilometers in Ireland).
Finding a BnB's, Hotels or hostels merely means Googling.
Are you flying out of Dublin or Shannon or Belfast?
Posted by
Rocky Mount, VA
290 posts
I enjoyed visiting and staying in Londonderry; the city walls, the Peace Bridge, Guildhall Museum, and the murals were all worth visiting. The Ulster American Folk Park helps explain the immigration experiences well. Giant’s Causeway offers beautiful scenery.
Here’s a good site for B&B’s.
All the best,
Raymond
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8880 posts
My favorite hotel in Northern Ireland is the Bayview Hotel in Port Ballintrae. It's location is stunning, directly on the small harbor of this town with amazing views out the windows of the rooms. The restaurant is very well run and the rooms comfortable. The location is within a short distance of the Giants Causeway, Dunluce Castle, Bushmills, and Port Royal.
If you enjoy walking, there is a lovely walk from the hotel to the Giant's Causeway that goes first across an expansive beach and then climbs over headlands. On the way you pass a memorial to a RAF plane that crashed here during WWII. The views are stunning and then you arrive at the Giants Causeway Visitors Center. No dealing with traffic, crowds, or parking- just a beautiful walk that seems more in keeping with the Causeway experience itself. ( I should note that you can take this walk from the public parking lot in Port Ballintrae whether you stay at this hotel or not. This parking lot is free)
We enjoy walking so the next day we walked to Dunluce Castle and then onto Port Royal for lunch. We caught the convenient local bus back to the hotel.
We were glad that we paid a little extra for this hotel and for a superior room. The view and experience were worth every penny.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
There are multiple ways to find a B&B without having to book well in advance. Tripadviser is one choice, you can book online through their site. If you Google map an area and search for B&B near x, it will show some (not all) choices. I avoid Booking.com because virtually every bad experience I've had is with them.
I booked both Ballycastle and Derry the morning before arriving this May. The places were adequate and well located (the main thing I wanted) but not amazing. If you have your heart set on a particular place, it's best to book ahead.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7148 posts
We enjoyed The Old Inn in Crawfordsburn, east of Belfast. There’s not much to the town, but the hotel was very nice. From it, it’s a somewhat short walk to the bay, if you like walking.