Northern Ireland Belfast vs other parts of Ireland

[dsmrp]

We have a week's stay outside of Dublin coming up in mid-May, and am planning about 3 days for Dublin, and the remainder of the time for other parts of Ireland.

I'm debating between an overnighter to Belfast to see Titanic museum and the Giants
Causeway, or day trips to see other parts of Ireland such as Kilkenny & Wicklow-Glendalough
or an overnighter to the west to Galway & Cliffs of Moher area.
We will be renting a car and driving.

Having seen none of it, all will be new and good. However I can't help but feel I'll be missing out
on the smaller towns and country 'green of Ireland', if we spend most of our time in cities such
as Dublin and Belfast. Oh and after Ireland, we going for a week in London...

Aside from Dublin, what areas of Ireland or Northern Ireland would you choose if you could only see one of them?

Thanks!

 

[Glynda]

It's been many years since we spent time in Northern Ireland. It was during "the troubles". Northern Ireland was fascinating to us, partially because of it being a different world with the security measures and tales told us by locals. Omagh is the city where my husband's family lived before immigrating. The area around the Giant's Causeway was stunningly beautiful. My family still talks of how I was the first to cross the Carrick-a-Rede swing bridge when they never dreamed I'd even cross it. At that time we were the only visitors there and it was not an organized tourist site. Now I understand its very touristy and one has to acquire timed tickets, etc. I'm glad we saw that area when we did.

We also spent two weeks in Ireland and were fascinated with the rocky Connemara area as well as the Dingle Peninsula. The cities did not really give us that quintessential Irish experience. It was the countryside. We are going back this summer via a cruise. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Timeshare Von]

We did two weeks in Ireland in 2012 . . . never ventured into N. Ireland due to rental car restrictions. We did a hodgepodge of lodging from Dublin, and then a week in a timeshare in Connemara. We also did a couple of nights on Inis Mor and then a B&B near the airport our final night in Ireland.

If you have time, there is a fabulous Titanic museum in Cobh, the port where she last docked before leaving for America. We thoroughly enjoyed our full day in Cobh.

For a full trip report of all we saw & did; as well as where we stayed, check out my "Springtime in Ireland" blog.

 

[dsmrp]

Thanks Glynda and Yvonne for your responses.
Talking to the friends we'll be travelling with, they have a slight preference for Northern Island, the causeway and Titanic museum, so that'll be our overnighter. We'll probably try to see one or two heritage sites on a day trip south, but not as far as Cork or Cobh.

I'll double-check our rental car agreement, but I think it allows taking car to Northern Island. Costco had some really good rates a couple of weeks ago for Enterprise and Alamo, and the 2nd driver is covered too.

 

[dsmrp]

We came back last week from our Ireland & London trip. Had a great time. Really enjoyed the Northern Ireland coast, Giant's causeway, and the Newgrange/Bru na Boinne heritage site.

Just wanted to report no problems at all with car rental. We declined the CDW coverage instead using our credit card's primary coverage. Our reservation thru Costco was ostensibly with Alamo, but Enterprise fulfilled it. They tried to give us an automatic car at airport, but we insisted it not be any bigger(wider) than the category we reserved, so they shuttled us over to their main car lot for a standard shift car. DH and our friend both drove. DH had one close contact with a curb, but fortunately didn't cause any damage, and we got a clean inspection review on car return. All told, the cheapest car rental we've had in a long time!

 

[Glynda]

Thanks Glynda and Yvonne for your responses.
Talking to the friends we'll be travelling with, they have a slight preference for Northern Island, the causeway and Titanic museum, so that'll be our overnighter. We'll probably try to see one or two heritage sites on a day trip south, but not as far as Cork or Cobh.

I'll double-check our rental car agreement, but I think it allows taking car to Northern Island. Costco had some really good rates a couple of weeks ago for Enterprise and Alamo, and the 2nd driver is covered too.

We loved driving the Dingle Peninsula too! Haven't done the Ring of Kerry but that's on our radar for another trip. Too far for the time we have in port this trip.