A country you can drive across in a couple of hours, with a coastline that stops you in your tracks.
Here is where to go, when to visit and how long to give it.
Northern Ireland is small enough that nothing is far away, which makes it easy to underestimate. The big sights draw big crowds, the weather changes by the hour and the best moments come early in the day, so a little planning goes a long way.
We have been back to Northern Ireland more than once: a long weekend in Belfast, a dash up the north coast to see the Giant’s Causeway at sunrise, and a day walking the walls of Derry with two daughters who had just finished watching Derry Girls. Between them they gave us the Titanic story where it began, a basalt coastline we had almost entirely to ourselves and a Guinness in the Derry sunshine. The most useful thing they taught us is that the distances are short but the queues at the famous places are not, so when you go matters as much as where.
In short: the best places to visit in Northern Ireland on a first trip are Belfast, the Causeway Coast and Derry~Londonderry, and you can see all three in four or five days. This page covers where to go, when to visit and how to plan the trip, with links to our guides for each.
We write about the places we have actually been, in the depth we would want if we were planning it ourselves. Each part of Northern Ireland below has its own guides, and we add new ones as we travel.
A compact, friendly city that is easy to see on foot. The Titanic Quarter tells the story of the ship on the slipways where she was built, the murals and peace walls of West Belfast tell a more recent one, and the Cathedral Quarter is where to head for live music and a pint in the evening.
The reason most people come. The Giant’s Causeway is tens of thousands of basalt columns stepping into the sea, and it is at its best before the coaches arrive. Inland, the Dark Hedges avenue of beech trees found fame in Game of Thrones, and Bushmills makes a handy base for an early start.
The only completely walled city in Ireland, with a loop of 17th-century walls you can walk in an afternoon. Add the Derry Girls mural, the Bogside murals and a pub lunch on Waterloo Street, and it is one of the most rewarding days out in the country.
New places are added as we travel them. Every part of Northern Ireland we write up gets its own card and its own guides on this page. The newsletter at the bottom is the way to hear first when a new one lands.
The honest answer is that it will probably rain at some point whenever you go, so plan for it rather than around it. What really changes through the year is the daylight and the size of the crowds.
Spring and early autumn are the sweet spot, with decent daylight, quieter sights and lower prices. Summer gives you the long evenings and the best chance of warm weather, along with the busiest coast of the year. Winter is short days and wild seas, but the Giant’s Causeway is at its emptiest and Belfast is cosy and lively.
We have visited the Giant’s Causeway in both May and March. In May it was crawling with people; in March, at sunrise, we saw three other people in total. Our guide to visiting the Giant’s Causeway without the crowds has the full story.
Mar to May
Our pick. The days are drawing out, the lambs are in the fields and the big sights are noticeably quieter, especially in March. Easter and the May bank holidays are the busy exceptions.
Jun to Aug
Long, light evenings, the warmest weather and every attraction open. Also the busiest months on the Causeway Coast, with tour coaches and cruise passengers, so book places to stay early.
Sep to Oct
The summer crowds thin out quickly once the schools go back, the light is lovely for photographs and there is still enough daylight for a full day on the coast.
Nov to Feb
Short days and stormy seas, which can be spectacular on the coast. Belfast’s Christmas market and cosy pubs make it a good time for a city break.
A few dates are worth knowing about when you plan. St Patrick’s Day in March is celebrated in Belfast and Derry. The Twelfth of July is a public holiday with parades across the country, and some shops and restaurants close or keep shorter hours around it. At the end of October, Derry hosts one of the biggest Halloween celebrations in Europe. These notes are research rather than first-hand experience, so check what is on for your dates before you book.
If you can pick your month, March, April or September. You get enough daylight for long days out, the famous places are far less crowded and accommodation on the north coast is easier to find. If you are tied to the school holidays, summer works well too: just book ahead and plan to be at the Causeway early.
Our tip
Get to the Giant's Causeway early. Stay the night before in Bushmills or nearby and walk down at sunrise, and you can have the stones almost to yourself before the visitor centre opens and the coaches arrive.
Less time than most countries, but more than a day trip from Dublin allows.
Northern Ireland is small. Belfast to the Giant’s Causeway is a little over an hour on the inland roads, and the Causeway to Derry is about the same. The Causeway Coastal Route along the Antrim coast is the slow, scenic way round, and it is worth allowing most of a day for it once you start stopping at the viewpoints.
If it is your first visit, a long weekend based in Belfast is the easiest place to start, and you can add the north coast and Derry from there. Our three-day plan is below.
The ready-made plan
Our relaxed three-day plan for a first visit to Belfast, set out day by day, so you can see the best of the city without rushing.
The practical things we wish someone had told us.
There are three airports, and which one you choose makes a difference. George Best Belfast City Airport is a short taxi ride from the city centre. Belfast International is further out, north west of the city, which makes it handy if you are heading straight for the north coast. City of Derry Airport serves the north west. Ferries run from Cairnryan in Scotland and from Liverpool, which is the easy way to bring your own car.
Plenty of visitors also fly into Dublin, which is around a two-hour drive from Belfast. There are no border checks between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, so it is a seamless drive.
A car makes the north coast far easier, because the best things to see are spread along it. Driving here is much like the rest of the UK, with a few local quirks.
One of us lives with a severe nut allergy, so this is something we check for every country. Northern Ireland is one of the easiest places to travel with one: everyone speaks English, and restaurants and cafés have to tell you which of the main allergens are in their food, just as in the rest of the UK.
It still pays to tell the kitchen when you book rather than when you sit down, and to ask about shared fryers. Our guide to travelling with a nut allergy covers the routine we use everywhere.
The things worth sorting before you go, because the best ones sell out. We book through GetYourGuide where it makes sense.
Titanic Belfast runs on timed entry, so booking ahead saves queuing on the day. A black taxi tour of the murals and peace walls is a popular way to hear the story of Belfast’s recent history from someone who lived through it. In Derry, we loved exploring the walls on a self-guided puzzle quest.
Yes. Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom, alongside England, Scotland and Wales. It shares the island of Ireland with the Republic of Ireland, which is a separate country, and the two are joined by an open land border. Great Britain is the name for England, Scotland and Wales only, which is why you will see “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” on your passport.
No, there is no passport control between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Airlines and ferry companies do ask for photo ID, though, and some only accept a passport or driving licence, so check with yours before you travel. Visitors who are not British or Irish citizens may need a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation, including when they arrive overland from the Republic of Ireland. Check the UK government’s guidance for your nationality.
The pound sterling, the same as the rest of the UK. Several local banks print their own notes, which look different from Bank of England notes but are worth exactly the same. Bank of England notes are accepted everywhere in Northern Ireland, but Northern Irish notes are sometimes refused by shops in Great Britain, so spend them or swap them before you head home. Cards and contactless payments are accepted almost everywhere.
Yes. There are no border checks, and often the only clue you have crossed is a change in road signs. Speed limits switch from miles to kilometres per hour, prices switch to euros and your phone may start roaming. If you are in a hire car, check that your insurance covers the Republic before you go.
Yes. Northern Ireland has low levels of crime and millions of visitors enjoy it every year without any problems. The murals, peace walls and political history are part of what makes it so interesting, and a local guide is the best way to understand them. Around the Twelfth of July there are parades in many towns, so it is worth checking local news for road closures if you are travelling then.
Not for Belfast, which is easy to explore on foot and by bus. Trains and buses also connect Belfast with Derry and the north coast. A car makes the Causeway Coast much easier, though, because the sights are spread out along it and the earliest, quietest hours at the Giant’s Causeway are hard to reach by public transport.