I'm looking at travel from 3/9 - 3/17 to Dublin and Northern Ireland. However, due to Delta and their pay with miles schedule - I am limited to flying in to Dublin or Shannon - so I can't fly open jaw to Belfast and from Dublin (I'm sorry - $700 off per ticket trumps a little extra travel in my budget). Please let me know your thoughts on this: 3/10 - arrive Dublin and take a train to Belfast 3/11 - Belfast 3/12 - Antrim Coast/Portrush (do we do a day trip or stay on the coast?) 3/13 - train travel back to Dublin 3/14 - Dublin 3/15- Dublin - daytrip or tour of Wicklow Mountains (mentioned in RS book) 3/16 - Dublin 3/17 - Depart Dublin Is St. Pattys in Dublin something to see or over rated? I can always adjust the plans a week or so. I have already done the fly into Shannon - travel around the southeast coast. I want to do Belfast/Antrim for heritage reasons and our other guests want to do Dublin. This is my 4th trip in the making with the help of you guys! I can't think of a better resource then the helpline. Thanks,
tracey
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
Your plan looks fine as it is. How do you intend to get out of Belfast to see the coast - tour, rental car, bus? St Patrick's Day is the day you leave. The drunken party will have already begun before that, so all you will miss is the parade. Be sure to allow plenty of time to get to the airport that day, since traffic could affect the timing.
Posted by
OP
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
101 posts
Nancy - I would plan on renting a car and driving. I think I would want to stay up in Portrush for a night to make sure we have time to see the coastline, the Giant's Causeway and of course, the Bushmills Distillery :) Does anyone have a B&B of choice for Dublin?