Help with 3 days in Northern Ireland
 

We arrive in Dublin on the morning of Monday July 28 and need to be back in Dublin on the afternoon of Thursday July 31. We would like to visit Northern Ireland and this is what we are considering:

July 28 - Rent a car at Dublin airport and drive to Portrush area to stay the night.

July 29 - Visit Dunluce Castle, Giants Causeway, Dunseverick Castle, Whitepark Bay, Balintoy Harbour, Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, and stay in Ballycastle.
Go to House of McDonnell for sessions that night.

July 30 - Drive from Ballycastle to FairHead, Murlough Bay, Torr Head, Cushendun. Visit the Glens and Glenarriff Forest Park. Then head toward Dublin - not sure where to stay the last night.

July 31 - Drive back to Dublin

Is this too much? Any thoughts on where to stay? Thanks for your help!

Just one very quick comment right now - you do not really want to be driving far on your first day after an overnight flight - and especially not from Dublin all across NI to Portrush. That is a long way and isn't only tiring - it would actually be dangerous w/ jetlag. If you really must go that far on day 1, take the train.

BTW - you have posted this twice.

Why not stay both nights (28th and 29th)in Ballycastle? It would be one less day of repacking. On July 28th it is not a bad drive to Dunluce, GC, etc.

I agree -- it's a long, tiring drive.

Have you considered taking the train from Dublin to Belfast, and picking up a rental car there?

An afternoon and evening in Belfast would be great fun, and you could leave refreshed in the morning on the 29th and still do your itinerary.

Return the car on the 30th/31st in Belfast, and take the train back to Dublin. It's a 2 hour train journey and quite pleasant. Much better than driving!

Thank you! The train ride is a great idea and I agree, would be much safer! Is it a long drive from Belfast to Ballycastle? I also like the idea of 2 nights in Ballycastle! Do you know of any good places to stay there?

It's not a long drive -- an hour and a bit? You take the M2 north out of Belfast, then onto the A26. Near Clough Mills, you turn right onto the A44, and go to the end. Very straightforward.

I have never stayed in Ballycastle so can't recommend anything. If you google Ballycastle + accommodation you will get a lot of results.

Hi Laura,

There is no train from Dublin Airport to Belfast (there is a very regular bus however). If you took the train you would need to take the bus into Dublin and then get to Connolly Station. I think that would be very time consumming and tiring after a tranatlantic trip.
www.translink.co.uk/present/GLE_200_I.asp

I also agree with Irishface there is no need to stay in both Portrush and Ballycastle as they are about 15 miles apart.

The journey from Dublin Airport to Portrush will take about 3.5 hours plus traffic holdups.

If you are concerned about driving that distance when jet lagged (I agree it could be dangerous), why not stop somewhere like the Mourne Mountains (about 1.5 hours from Dublin Airport) and then continue to the North Coast the following day. You will be able to drive from Ballycastle to Dublin when less tired and arrive in the afternoon of July 31st no problem.

From the Mournes you could also take the coast road to Ballycastle which is lovely.

What is your budget for accommodation?

Highly recommended is the Bushmills Inn (between ballycastle and Portrush)
www.bushmillsinn.com

For other accommodation try this website but make it quick as July is high season.
www.northantrim.com/locations.htm

If you are interested in the Mournes look at this website

http://www.newryandmourne.gov.uk/tou...ommodation.asp

Have a good trip

Helen