I will be in Ireland for a wedding in mid-August in County Meath. I would like to stay for maybe 5 nights after the wedding for sightseeing. I don't think it would smart to stay all five nights in Dublin, but I would like a couple of nights there. I am leaning toward Northern Ireland; maybe Belfast and County Antrim? Is it easy to drive in Ireland? Would a rental car be a good idea? Any good suggestions as the best way to spend my 5 nights? I love scenery, walking, some museums (but usually save those for rainy days), eating at restaurants. Thanks for the help.

Have never been to Northern Ireland, but would not recommend driving in Dublin. Rent a car when you are ready to leave.

We had some exciting times driving a stick shift car on the Wrong side of the road in the roundabouts, but lived to tell about it. Just be alert and aware

I have not driven in NI but have been twice and loved it. I thought the roads were a bit better there. You could just take the train to Belfast and do some sightseeing within the city and then take a McCombs tour of the coast. They did a great job from the city and you can sit back and totally enjoy the day. the Game of Thrones small bus tour was very fun if your a fan.

Thanks for the replies. Any other recommendations that would be better than Northern Ireland?

I've driven in Ireland, including Northern Ireland. I've found the roads good everywhere I've been, although in rural areas there are some very narrow roads. One car (the one which can do so most conveniently) is supposed to pull over to allow the other to pass.

Both times that we've rented a car there, we've got one with automatic transmission, just to not have to change gears with the left hand on top of the other differences. Many people who rent cars in Ireland choose automatic transmissions for this reason, and it's not at all difficult to find them, although they cost more. The second time, I thought I could have handled the standard transmission, but my husband wanted the automatic.

There are many other areas in Ireland that are worth a visit. We loved the Connemara, which could be combined with a visit to Galway and one of the Aran Islands. What sorts of things interest you?

I live in Ireland and have driven all over the island. If you can drive at home you can drive here. what I will advise is that if you want to drive up north, rent up north. Antrim is a wonderful county and has a lot more to offer than just the Causeway. http://www.visitcausewaycoastandglens.com/

Why do you say one should rent in the north if planning to drive in the north? Both times that we've rented cars, we got them at Dublin airport and returned them there. On the first visit, our time was split between the north and the south, but this time, we spent almost all our time visiting relatives in the north, except for the trips to and from the airport, and a brief trip to County Donegal.

I didn't see any disadvantage to renting from Dublin. My daughter flew into Belfast, and rented a car there, and the price was very much the same. Neither of us had any problems.

This is probably not our last trip to Ireland, so if there's some reason why we shouldn't rent in the south, I'd like to know before the next trip.

Actually, I just remembered that my daughter had a problem with her car and had to exchange it for another when we were in Fermanagh. She had rented at Belfast, but was told she could exchange the car either in Sligo or Londonderry. That makes it sound as though it's pretty much a single market.

Northern Ireland is part of the UK. Cars are registered in the UK, Taxed in the UK insured in the UK. rent a car from Dublin and Its an Irish car with all the above UK exchanged for Ireland.

The old days of having to Insure by the day for time up north in an Irish car are over but many companies still charge an extra fee for crossing the border, and all charge repatriation if you drop an Irish car in the north. Plus with the £ being low for the foreseeable future it might work out cheaper.

For practical purposes, I didn't see much difference. I wasn't asked where I was driving the car, but I did mention my immediate destination, near Omagh. And as I said, the cost was about the same for me and my daughter, who flew into Belfast. Our most recent visit was post-Brexit, and the £ had already dropped quite a bit.

I had considered taking a bus to Belfast and renting a car there, but there were three of us, with luggage, and I would have been willing to pay more, within reason, for the convenience of getting the car at the airport. There were no flights from near our home (im Italy) to Belfast.

Thank you. It sounds like we could easily handle a rental car. I am thinking about trying to get a hotel in Belfast for maybe 3 nights and make day trips from there? Any recommendations for hotels in Belfast? We usually stay in Marriotts so I would say budget would be maybe $200/night?