Northern Ireland Travel Guide

MEGANTIC (LOC)

Most Recent Northern Ireland Travel Articles from BootsnAll

Getting to the Giant’s Causeway – Northern Ireland

Intrepid explorer, Carey Rutherford, spontaneously leaves a Belfast Youth Hostel mid-day to search for the infamous Giant's Causeway, a natural formation of bizarre geometry located on the north coast of Ireland.

Where to Stay and Eat in Belfast – Belfast, Northern Ireland

David Wilkening shares his favorite spots in Belfast.

N. Ireland Oddities – Northern Ireland

David Wilkening reflects on interesting Northern Ireland facts.

Travels Through Northern Ireland – Belfast, Northern Ireland

David Wilkening avoids The Troubles and discovers Belfast to be a vibrant, welcoming city.

How an Irish Fender Bender Can Land You in a Belfast Jail – Belfast, Northern Ireland

On a trip to Belfast, Rebecca Cook hardly expects a minor fender bender to land her husband in jail.

Want more? BootsnAll has been publishing Northern Ireland Travel Articles since 1998!

Northern Ireland Travel Guide Overview

This corner of the Ireland island remains a part of the United Kingdom and, unlike Ireland proper, has a significant Protestant population. The nation was known for violent clashes between Protestants and Catholics throughout the 1980s, although peace treaties have helped to ease the tension. Northern Ireland is generally safe to visit and the people are quite welcoming.

What to do

Belfast is the capital, and much like so many other UK cities that had become run down, this one has also been massively revitalized in the last decade or so. The city was home to most of the violence that has plagued the area for so long, but now it feels completely safe. The center of the city has a nice mix of old and new, and it's noticeably cheaper than Dublin.

The north coast, which is often called the Causeway Coast, is spectacularly beautiful, and the area is dotted with castles and old ruins, but Giant's Causeway is its most famous tourist attraction and the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in the country.

Getting there

You can book a flight into Belfast International Airport (code: BFS) on the outskirts of the city. This airport can be reached from New York and continental Europe, but it's not known for having really low airfares. You can also book a flight into the George Best Belfast City Airport (code: BHD), which is only two miles outside the city. Most flights originate in the UK, but you can obviously fly into London and then take a short hop to get here for a reasonable price. You can also take a ferry from England to Belfast if you prefer a nautical approach.

Where to stay

There are obviously many hotels in Northern Ireland, and a number of hostels as well. Belfast is fairly inexpensive compared to Dublin, so it's becoming a popular weekend getaway for Europeans. Book early if you plan on coming over a weekend especially.