I do have to admit, Northern Ireland has not been on my radar for places to visit. Ireland? yes, no brainer.
But when we found tickets from Keflavik to Belfast for FORTY US DOLLARS (!!!!!!!) we rearranged our itinerary and booked them as soon as possible.
Here is my list of six must see places in Northern Ireland!
Belfast
For someone that is definitely NOT a city girl, I actually really liked Belfast. We didn’t spend a lot of time here, but what we did was really enjoyable. I felt like it was
Recommended to do: Titanic museum, square/city hall, Queens university, rent bikes and pub hop!
Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge
If crossing a rickety rope bridge over a turquoise body of water sounds fun to you, then you will love this stop! The views from the other side of the bridge are unbelievable! Who knew that Northern Ireland was such a tropical paradise?!
The only thing I didn’t like was the amount of other tourists around. I say that being really spoiled with living in Iceland and not often visiting the touristy spots though! It’s definitely touristy the way they have it set up, but I’m really glad we did it.
COST: $7.50
HOURS: 9:30-17:00
Giants Causeway
Giant’s Causeway is probably the biggest tourist attraction in Northern Ireland. Even people that visit Ireland will take a day trip North to see the basalt stacks in this crazy formation.
Living in Iceland made me feel a little spoiled with the geology of this attraction. Not to mention the TONS of tourists around definitely lessened it’s appeal as well.
I still recommend a visit! And we got unbelievably lucky with the weather the day we were there!
COST: $11.25
HOURS: dawn to dusk
Dark Hedges
Dark hedges is gorgeous street with huge trees on either side that form a canopy overhead. This place is so cool to see in person! Plus, Game of Thrones fans will recognize this as a filming location from season 2.
COST: FREE!
HOURS: 24/7!
Bushmills Distillery
As if we didn’t get enough drinking in Ireland, we added the Bushmills Distillery to our itinerary because “When in Rome!”
I actually liked the taste of their whiskey, especially the honey flavor…mmmm!
COST: $10 USD for the tour, but we just went in to look around and get the free samples!
HOURS: 10-16:45
Causeway Coastal Drive
The Causeway Coastal Drive is a very popular place to visit in Northern Ireland. Gorgeous tourquoise water, giant cliffs, and castle ruins…the drive alone is worth it! The good thing is, two of the main sights (Giant’s Causeway and Carrick-a-rede) are on this route.
COST: FREE! (well, rental car and fuel I guess!)
HOURS: 24/7
Duncle Castle
Scotland
Wait, what?!
Yep. We went to Scotland on our trip to Northern Ireland!
Truth is, it’s SO easy to hop over to Scotland! Since my husband is such a huge Scotch drinker, I knew we couldn’t pass up this opportunity. So to the Isle of Islay we went!
We boarded the Kintyre Express and crossed the sea to the Isle of Islay. This boat can hold up to 12 passengers and the journey only lasted about an hour. While we were there, we toured two distilleries and tasted fresh delicious (?!) scotch.
COST: $118 (for boat)
Cheers!
Overall I was so surprised at how beautiful Northern Ireland was! I can highly recommend a visit, and while you’re at it, make sure to swing by Scotland as well 😉
Question: Have you been to Northern Ireland? What was your favorite part?
Pin it for later!
4 Comments
Tanja (the Red phone box travels)
February 14, 2017 at 9:07 amgreat photos! I’d love to visit the Northern Ireland.)
Rosie
February 14, 2017 at 12:25 pmMy Mum and I went to Belfast last year for a few days, purely because there were two Game of Thrones trips we wanted to go on. One of them pretty much covered everything you listed here. Like you, we were really lucky with the weather and standing on that little island at Carrick-A-Rede was like being somewhere in the med. If you’d shown me a photo of it, I would never have guessed with was NI.
If you ever have chance to go back, I highly recommend Ballintoy Harbour, and the beach around there. (If you’re a GoT fan you’ll recognise it as locations for the Iron Islands) It reminded me of Iceland quite a bit because the beach is quite rocky.
Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki
February 14, 2017 at 2:38 pmThese pictures are gorgeous! That bridge though, I don’t know if I could make it across without a panic attack or two. I want to go back and explore castles!
Hannah
February 18, 2017 at 1:04 pmNorthern Ireland is such a cool place to explore- I absolutely love it there! I’ve been twice now and honestly would go back in a second. The drive up the Antrim coast is, I think, one of the prettiest drives ever. Although your photos look much warmer and more summery than mine haha!