Hello,
My husband and I will be spending 3 weeks in Ireland and Northern Ireland this May. The day before we fly home, we will drive from Belfast to our hotel at the Dublin Airport. I believe this is about a 2-hour drive. I would love some suggestions on what to see and do along the way. I have Newgrange on my list but would appreciate a few more ideas. We will spend 3 nights in Dublin at the beginning of our trip, so we don't need to stop in Dublin.
Thank you!
Karen
Trim, with its castle.
Trim and Newgrange would be good choices.
For something off the beaten path consider a stop in the village of Carlingford just across the NI border. It's a quaint little place with an interesting old 12th century castle, a pretty seafront walk, and several inviting little tea rooms along a pedestrian friendly street leading from the ancient city gate into the town. Would be a nice place to stretch your legs and grab a coffee or lunch.
For a deep dive into a bit of Irish history in a pretty setting there's the Boyne Valley and Tara - not far from Newgrange.
Cyn and Robert, Thank you so much to the both of you for your wonderful suggestions. Just what I was looking for.
Carlingford sounds very interesting as does Trim Castle.
I highly recommend taking a detour (about 50 minutes longer) to Tollymore Forest Park.
https://www.ireland.com/en-gb/destinations/regions/tollymore-forest-park/
It’s a wonderful, lesser-known spot. I’d suggest spending about 1.5 hours there and taking a short hike along the River Trail.
If you want to visit Newgrange, you absolutely must reserve a specific time slot. If you arrive there early, I recommend a detour to the Hill of Slane (about a 15-minute drive from the Newgrange Visitor Center).
https://www.discoverboynevalley.ie/boyne-valley-drive/heritage-sites/hill-slane
I would suggest Trim - the castle is worth a visit.
Paul636, thank you so much for your information and links. I didn't know we had to reserve a specific time slot for Newgrange. That gives me pause about doing that. Generally, on our last sightseeing day, especially since we are driving from one destination to another, we like to wing it sometimes. Decide while driving where we want to stop.
caparrish, thanks for your Trim Castle recommendation. Looks like a winner! We don't have to pre-book a specific time slot for Trim Castle, do we?
Since my husband is the driver, I will go over everything with him. He'll want to map out drive times, etc. to see what makes the most sense.
I like everyone's suggestions so it will be hard to know what to eliminate. I know we want to keep it easy and stress free. Because this will be our last sightseeing day in a 3-week trip, I know we will be losing some energy. We have to return our rental car that day, too, by 7PM. But knowing us, we will probably want to return it by 5PM.
I would suggest spending some time in the Mourne Mountains near Newcastle. It’s a beautiful part of the world. If you can make it work for Newgrange I would also visit there- it’s the oldest man made structure in the world.
Cat VH, thank you for taking the time to reply. I didn't realize Newgrange is the oldest manmade structure in the world. Just did a quick search, and I see that it is older than the pyramids and Stonehenge! We will definitely try to fit in a visit on our way to the airport.
The more I think about it, the more I want to visit Newgrange. The tour takes 3 hours. Tickets go on sale 30 days before the day we want to visit. So I have until April 30 to decide. But that is what I am now leaning towards doing. Because the tour is 3 hours, that might be the only sight we will have time to visit that day, but it's worth it, I think.
Concur with the recommendation to stop in Trim. Quaint village with castle ruins and decent Pubs. Brogans bar is one of example we have experienced multiple times
If you can make it work for Newgrange I would also visit there- it’s the oldest man made structure in the world.
Cat, I did not have Ireland on my radar at all, but this statement makes me want to visit there now. Thank you for mentioning this, and Karen, thank you for starting this thread! This just got added to my ever-growing queue of destinations. 😊
neal.wessling63, thank you so much for your recommendation of Trim. If we can fit it in along with our visit to Newgrange, that is something we would enjoy doing.
Mardee, it's nice to hear from you. I am happy that my thread and Cat's comment about Newgrange is helpful to you. We are definitely planning on visiting Newgrange. I can't make our reservations until 30 days before we will be there.
I am very excited about our trip. We leave in 3 weeks. Just a bit concerned about jet fuel shortages.
I am so happy to have sparked some interest in Newgrange/Bru Na Boinne!
After making the oldest structure claim, which was something I remembered from a book I had read, I felt I needed to check it. According to Wikipedia there are some older structures, but Newgrange is still up there, with an estimated construction date of 3200 BCE for Knowth (the oldest part of the Bru Na Boinne site). The full list is at the link below- many are ruins but there are a few others it looks like (as with Newgrange) you can actually go inside!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_extant_buildings
And if you plan ahead, you can enter the lottery to visit on the winter solstice, when the opening to the structure aligns perfectly with the rising sun.
That's fascinating about the winter solstice, Cat! I would love to do that!
Karen, it sounds like a fabulous trip! I can't wait to hear about it! I know you usually do a trip report on Fodors, so if you do, I hope you'll send a link to it!
Mardee, right now I am planning on doing a trip report on Fodors for Ireland (with photos) so I will send you the link when I complete it. Not sure if that will be in June or in August.
