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KellyGordon


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Dublin - Giants' Causeway-??
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Hello, We are a group of 3 travelling from Dublin, to Larne, to the Giant's Causeway. We are wondering if we should stay in Portrush or Colerain for the night, or continue on to Londonderry. The following day we are driving to Dublin. We are 3 adults, our mother and 2 sisters. We would like to see Londonderry if it is worth the extra drive time. Please let us know what you think of the drive times from Dublin along the coast, with lots of stops for pics and the suspension bridge. How far is reasonable to go each day? For The drive from Londonderry or Colerain/Portrush to Dublin, do you have any suggestions of places we will want to stop to explore along the way? We will have spent 3 days in Belfast already. Thanks!



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tony2phones


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Don't follow? You are going Dublin to Larne but will have already had 3 days in Belfast?

To be honest I would drop a Belfast day and spread the time more evenly.. Portrush always gets my vote for an overnight and Derry is well worth a look...

Derry to Dublin via Omagh (Irish American Folk Park?) is just over 3 hours plus stops..

http://www.causewaycoastalroute.com/ and a section of http://goo.gl/maps/I8Vzh  might give a few points as well..

(unfortunately as usual Faíl Ireland have stolen the best links I had bookmarked for the area and ruined them)

Welcome to the forum.



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KellyGordon


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Hi Tony, so sorry, I gave the wrong information. We arrive in Dublin April 15 and plan to head to Galway for 2 nights. Then to Belfast for 3 nights, and from there up to Larne and the Giants Causeway. Thanks for your suggestion to spend a night in Portrush, I think we will look into that. From Portrush we would like to see Derry, then to Dublin to finish up. We are thinking Wicklow would be a great day trip from Dublin. Any thoughts?

Kelly

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tony2phones


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To be honest I would reverse the plan.. Belfast is an easy run from arrival at Dublin Airport.. 2 days would probably be enough for Belfast, The city has changed a lot (drove through last weekend) but with a couple of days you should see the main tourist options.

Round the coast to Derry with a night in Portrush (Avarest Guest House?). Galway from Derry with sights and a night between. end the trip in Dublin with the possible Wicklow/Glendalough tour.

What are the must see's for Galway?

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KellyGordon


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Thanks Tony. I appreciate your ideas. We want to be in Belfast April19. It is the 5th year anniversary of my fathers death. His dad grew up in Lisburn and we plan to visit that area on the 19th. We have family there so figure a day to tour (18th) and a day for family. We land the 15th so that's too many days in Belfast. I like your idea of going from portrush to Galway but not sure how to do that given our timing. Would you recommend staying in portrush over Colerain? If so, how come? In Galway we are thinking of going to the Cliffs of Moher. Anything else in that area worth exploring? Is it worth driving to the west coast? Really appreciate your thoughts!

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Michele Erdvig


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Welcome to the forum. Is Galway a must? That is a lot of driving since the main focus seems to be Northern Ireland. Why not just have a couple of days in NI instead of going out of your way to Galway? There is plenty to do and see in NI too.

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KellyGordon


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Thanks Michele for your thoughts. We had heard that Galway and the west coast are beautiful areas to see. We don't have to go there, but thought it would be worthwhile. We have 10 days, and plan on spending 3 nights in Dublin. We plan to spend a day in Lisburn, a day in Belfast, travel through county Antrim and see the Giant's Causeway. I'd like to go to Londonderry. If we take out Galway, what else would you suggest for an itinerary in NI?

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tony2phones


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Cliffs are Clare not Galway and there are options, Slieve League in Donegal being the banking option if you drop Galway.. save that area for next time as Michele has suggested?

Portrush would get my vote over Coleraine firstly because its on the coast and secondly because it has better options for food, drink, music. Of course I admit a slight bias as we stay there when up north.



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KellyGordon


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Thanks so much for the input. We are now thinking we will take 3 days to drive from Belfast to Derry or Donegal and spend more time enjoying the coastline and towns along the way. Is it recommended that we reserve accommodations ahead of time? We are travelling in April. If so, any suggestions? We aren't sure how far we can expect to drive each day so are a bit puzzled as to how to figure out where we will want to stay each night. Thanks!

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tony2phones


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You will be there after Easter so the vast majority of even the smallest B&B's will be up and running.. My recommendation for "winging it" is to have a list of accommodation in possible stops that you can call after breakfast for that nights stay..

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Michele Erdvig


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Many of the B&B have a network of "friends" - similar quality B&Bs to recommend down the road. You can always ask your hosts for recs too.

Other things in NI probably depends on your interests. A few suggestions:

Mount Stewart House & Gardens are gorgeous (Co. Down)

Co. Fermanagh: caves, historic houses, lakes and islands

Co. Tyrone: Ulster American Folk Park

 



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"Ireland Expert"  Michele Erdvig

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