Hi!
We’ll be flying into Dublin around May. We’re really interested in seeing Slieve League Cliffs and Giants Causeway. Any suggestions on how best to incorporate them into our four day itinerary starting from Dublin will be appreciated, along with anything we should see along the way.
Thank you all so much!
Tiffany
Wow! Four days is not a lot of time for these two sites. Getting to and visiting GC (and the nearby Dun Luce castle ruin) will take most of a day. Bushmills is a nice town to overnight in. I recommend visiting and overnighting in Derry/Londonderry. The town is compact and has a lot to offer. Visit the Museum of Free Derry for a moving insight into the Troubles.
Killybegs is a lovely fishing village that makes a good base for seeing the Slieve League from above and/or from the water. If you have to choose, I'd say drive up and see the cliffs from above. We opted for the water tour, and it a little disappointing (I mean, it was beautiful, but it wasn't as dramatic as I expected). Best fish and chips I had was at the Seafood Shack, a little chippie down an alley opposite its parent restaurant, Andersons Boathouse. We stayed in a LOVELY apartment above the restaurant, booked through AirBnB.
That's your 3 nights gone. You might need to skip Derry and head straight for Donegal. I imagine the drive times are long.
Thanks so much for the information!
Check that you can take your hire car into Northern Ireland from Dublin.
Are you arriving jet lagged into Dublin - if so give yourself a day there to recover rather than jumping on a car to head to Giant's Causeway. G3rryCee's itinerary would work well.
Giant's Causeway is best seen at low tide when more of the stones are uncovered. If time allows, it is also doing the walk up behind the Visitor Centre to see from above, when the tourists look like ants scurrying around below... The ruined Dunluce Castle is also worth a stop as you drive past.
Agree, see the Cliffs from above (be warned it is a hairy drive up them) rather than from the water. (They aren't as dramatic from the water as the Cliffs of Moher. )
Just a heads up you require a Electronic travel authorization to enter the UK (Northern Ireland) from January 2025 these will be required BEFORE you cross the border to enter the UK without one will constitute an offence and you'll be liable to deportation out of the UK to get one from January onwards go to www.gov.uk and type in ETA
I agree with the above posters that 4 days is not enough time for these two sites. Slieve League is not exactly on a major autoroute and will take time to get to from wherever you start. We went there this past May from Letterkenney and it was a healthy (though beautiful) drive. If you have only 4 days I suggest you spend it all on the Antrim Coast, where Giant's Causeway is found. An absolutely stunning part of the island. As someone else mentioned, if you'll be picking up a rental car in Dublin make sure you can drive it into N. Ireland. On our May trip we told the rental agent that we would be passing through N. Ireland to get to Co. Donegal and they charged us - prepare yourself for this! - a not-so-whopping 30 euro extra. Also check your own auto insurance, as well as your credit cards. Not all US insurance companies and not all credit cards cover damage to car rentals in Ireland/N. Ireland, but some, like ours, do. Worth checking out.
As an option you can train from Dublin to Belfast and pick up a rental car there. Very pleasant train ride.
Thanks, everyone! I should’ve mentioned that we are going to be flying into Dublin and are checking out that area first for about 3 days, then heading to Scotland for a week, followed by returning to Dublin for the last four days. After hearing from all of you, we’re going to prioritize only the Giant’s Causeway for the latter part of the Ireland portion of this trip. I really appreciate all the information shared (e.g., rental car considerations, taking a train from Dublin to Belfast, needing the electronic travel authorization to enter the UK (Northern Ireland)), as we were not aware of such things. You are all the best!
You can fly from Donegal Airport to Glasgow with Loganair on a Friday and Sunday, also from City of Derry Airport to Glasgow daily with Loganair and to Edinburgh on Monday and Friday with Easyjet, so you don't have to return to Belfast or even Dublin to be able to go on to Scotland.
There are also two daily Donegal to Dublin flights on Aer Lingus.
You need the ETA to go to Scotland, too.
