We've been watching a lot of Irish noir on TV and MrsJ has set her heart on a driving trip to Donegal in March (timing constrained by other stuff) !!! We will be driving from Northumberland via (I guess) the Stranraer-Larne ferry. We've never been to that area before so I'd be grateful for any tips about the route, places to see, places to avoid, what are the formalities of crossing to and from Northern Ireland etc etc. What do I need to know? Thanks !!!
formalities of crossing to and from Northern Ireland
it's a borderless border, so the only thing you'll notice is a change in tarmac and the road signs!
gorgeous part of the world but do take in the Causeway Coast en route from/to Larne, there's a great coast road that goes all the way to Coleraine, and from there along the Foyle to Derry--make sure you walk around the walls--then Donegal, which bit? it's quite a varied county, lovely mountains around Glenveagh National Park.
March will be cold and wet 🙂 enjoy!
March will be cold and wet
enjoy!
Thanks. Seems to be our thing. Last February we went to Galicia. It was .. cold and wet. Very wet. 🙂
Seems to be our thing
as folks in Fermanagh say, you're not here for the weather!
from Derry I would head to Inishowen and see Malin Head and then basically work your way along the Donegal coast southwards towards Donegal Town, taking in places like Glencolmcille, so more or less following the Wild Atlantic Way.
from Donegal Town it's easy to then cut back towards Enniskillen (a town worth visiting too, and the Fermanagh lakelands), and then back to Belfast/Larne (on the motorway if needed).
Stena do Cairnryan--Belfast ferries, and P&O do Cairnryan--Larne, the prices will be more or less the same :-/ expect to pay around £400-500 return depending on your vehicle.
it's a fantastic part of the world, whatever the weather 🙂
Was the TV Crá?
As per above. Derry is a great place to start and worth a day doing a walking tour for the history. Artis is a great restaurant.in town. We aimed to do north Donegal, from Derry, last November but the weather was so bad it's on next years list
Places to visit Slieve League and Mt Errigal. Killybegs if you like fishing ports but a good beach at Fintra, Theres a really good fish restaurant there (not Melly's!! for anyone who knows KB) post if you need the new of it.and I'll check with family.
See you there next summer 😎
Re Ferry - while the Scotland -Northern Ireland crossing is of course UK, you will then drive over a European border. You then do need to check you have car insurance, breakdown, travel insurance. And of course appropriate passport. Not that anyone will check it.
In reality the tarmac and signs change... nothing more.
That said, one of the reasons we are going is that we can't get travel insurance. My thought is that even if something goes south health wise I can drive her back over the UK border within a couple of hours...
Was the TV Crá?
That and others. In fact I’m a bit worried about the likelihood of being done in by drug dealers. Still, if Lisa Dwan from Blackshore is on the case it’ll be worth it.
It's great. I'd never been to Ireland at all until a few years ago. Went there for work and now been back many times.
The ferry is easy. It drops you the right side of Belfast to head north along the causeway coast (but Belfast is well worth a visit too). Loads of great places to stop along the coast. Giants Causeway is an obvious stop. Gets quite busy but if you stay at the hotel you can walk down before the crowds. We did a great clifftop walk and still had the causeway too ourselves. The hotel is actually quite nice, a bit of rundown grandeur.
Into co Donegal, more wonderful coastline. Follow the Wild Atlantic Way. Some stunning beaches. Usually empty as they don't do beach weather over there. Donegal city is good too. Fresh fish, live music. Killybegs is nice, too, and the secret waterfall just along the coast.
The ferry is just rock up and drive on/off no customs etc as such. Donegal is…well….like Father Ted.
That said, one of the reasons we are going is that we can't get travel insurance. My thought is that even if something goes south health wise I can drive her back over the UK border within a couple of hours...
Matt have you looked into an EHIC card (formerly E111 pre brexit, think uk may actually be GHIC card now), no need to worry about what side of the border you are on if the worst happens.
Matt have you looked into an EHIC card (formerly E111 pre brexit, think uk may actually be GHIC card now), no need to worry about what side of the border you are on if the worst happens.
Are you talking Ireland or anywhere in Europe?
My understanding was that Ehic isn't complete, and excluded long term issues in many countries. Plus, getting treatment is one thing. Covering cost of extra accomodation and new travel etc should something happen can get very expensive..
I spent a month riding over to Ireland, round the WAW then home this last summer. Donnegal was stunning, particularly Errigal. I was ignorant of its existence and stunned by it when it suddenly popped up round a bend in the road. I'd avoid places like the Giants Causeway as it is absolutely mobbed. Yes it's a phenomenon but not with 10,000 other people...
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Ireland (and some other European countries I believe). It only gets you access to medical treatment and as you say won’t cover accommodation/travel amendments but would save you worrying about what side of the Irish border you were on if the worst happens. It’s better than no insurance, a hospital visit for example would be the €100 we pay here rather than about €400 without the card. We have the Irish version for the family going to the UK as we are back and forth a couple of times a year. Never had to use it though thankfully. Doesn’t cost anything but might save you a lot.
it's a borderless border, so the only thing you'll notice is a change in tarmac and the road signs!
gorgeous part of the world but do take in the Causeway Coast en route from/to Larne, there's a great coast road that goes all the way to Coleraine, and from there along the Foyle to Derry--make sure you walk around the walls--then Donegal, which bit? it's quite a varied county, lovely mountains around Glenveagh National Park.
March will be cold and wet 🙂 enjoy!
Cairnryan to Larne Ferry is over and done with in not much more time than the Dover to Calais crossing... Quick and easy, unlike getting to Cairnryan it has to be said!
Causeway coast is stunning... Well worth the drive. And absolutely 100% take in Giants Causeway, you won't be alone for sure but it's spectacular!
Portstewart is funny... A bit like Blackpool in many respects, but then they allow motorcycle racers to race round at 200mph+ on public roads every year... It's also windy AF there most of the time, I was there in March last year ironically and 50mph+ winds when I was trying to do the touristy thing and get some decent photos of vantage points on the NW200 track didn't help!
Derry is an amazing city with so much history... They still despise us English there (for understandable reasons), but they're slowly learning not to hold it against us ALL of the time... Well worth a stopover and a good explore, particularly the city walls and the Derry museum.
Then into Donegal... Which is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful! Don't know what to say beyond drive around, and hug the coastline really... Get down to the beach at Malin Beg, at Bunbeg, explore the area around Lough Swilly (it's gorgeous), and enjoy the mountains in the Glenveagh national park... Oh and stay in Donegal town itself, and soak in the local atmosphere in the pubs and bars. Oh and don't forget to get the obligatory photo outside the Muff Barbers and the Muff Diving Club on your way through Muff... 😁😉
Don't be afraid to explore a bit more back into Northern Ireland either... The area around Lough Erne and Enniskillen is stunning, then you've got the Sperrin AONB on the way back to the ferry too... I love Belfast too, and then you've got the Mourne Mountains and Strangford Lough on the East Coast too, but probably best not to spread yourself too thin on the one trip and take time to appreciate those places another time.
I love Ireland... All of it. Both the ROI and NI, would happily move to either. Much nicer pace of life, mostly much better priorities in life, and I've rarely felt so welcomed as I have in most of ROI & NI... The only real exceptions are that parts of Dublin are bloody rough these days and there's a big drug and gang problem there, Limerick city is as rough as arseholes (rougher than the roughest parts of Dublin!) and best avoided (stunning once you get out of it though), and Kerry really is absolutely jam packed full of American tourists pretty much all the time (but it's worth it though). Belfast and Cork are IMO both incredibly welcoming and multicultural cities with a lot going on, and no matter where you are in Ireland, you can't fail to get decent grub... The steaks are incredible!
Enjoy.
They still despise us English there
I've lived in norn iron for twenty five years plus, I'm a blow in, and in all that time I've never had any hostility levelled against me for being English, it's a hugely welcoming and friendly part of the world 👍
They still despise us English there (for understandable reasons), but they're slowly learning not to hold it against us ALL of the time...
We found no animosity towards English accents when we were there and my family in Derry didn't warn us about any potential risks. Tbh that remark "...they're slowly learning not to hold it against us ALL of the time... " is a bit patronising and offensive.
Kerry really is absolutely jam packed full of American tourists pretty much all the time (but it's worth it though)
Kerry tourist board here! It really isn't, the tourist bits are busy in season but there is a wealth of gems just of the tourist tracks to enjoy. For the last month or so the weather between showers has been great and there's no tourists about.
My family are from Donegal and Kerry - I'm living in Kerry!
DrJ when in March? It’s St Patrick’s day on the 17th so you may find ferry’s/hotels etc a bit busier if you a planning a visit that coincides with that. It’s also Celtic vs rangers at the start of the month which can make the ferry very busy on the sat/sun, you will still get on but seats/space may be tight due to coach loads of fans so I suggest booking the Stena plus lounge (about £15 per person) for a bit of peace.
I'd avoid places like the Giants Causeway as it is absolutely mobbed. Yes it's a phenomenon but not with 10,000 other people...
it's not quite that bad in March even on St Patrick's Day, which as @andy4d says is a bit busier around the place as it's a public holiday north and south!
unless you're a NT member the carpark at the Giant's Causeway is expensive. I park at Portballintrae for free and walk up along the old tramway (or around the headland) and then over the top of the Causeway Visitor Centre roof (it's underground!) and then along the cliffs and down the steps to get to the stones, there's a bus if it's too far to walk but there is a charge for that.
as for Donegal, it's scenic rather than lots 'to do', remember there are no designated public rights of way here, so walking tends to be along specific trails, like around Glenveagh or up Errigal.
DrJ when in March? It’s St Patrick’s day on the 17th so you may find ferry’s/hotels etc a bit busier if you a planning a visit that coincides with that.
Thanks to all for the tips - very useful! I hadn't thought of the St Ptrick's Day thing, so maybe we will look at the week after. And then it's school holidays at the end of March so need to avoid that. Life is so complicated 🙂
We found no animosity towards English accents when we were there and my family in Derry didn't warn us about any potential risks. Tbh that remark "...they're slowly learning not to hold it against us ALL of the time... " is a bit patronising and offensive.
No offence meant... Apologies that you have taken it that way... I'm 100% sure that you don't need a Derry history lesson of any sorts from me though!
I've lived in norn iron for twenty five years plus, I'm a blow in, and in all that time I've never had any hostility levelled against me for being English, it's a hugely welcoming and friendly part of the world
Yeah agreed, and I stated as much in my previous post... I've never experienced any hostility at all, and mostly just really friendly people. But working over there, I have seen a lot of the parts of towns that the tourists wouldn't go to... Even more than 1/4 of a century after the Good Friday agreement was signed, there's still some cold hard reminders of troubles past emblazoned all over certain housing estates, and in Belfast in particular there are still visual examples of segregation fortifications or in certain parts of town too... Anecdotally, selling to Northern Irish independent small businesses, every 3rd or 4th person I've met has got tales to tell about how bad things were even right into the 1990's and right up to the Good Friday agreement... One guy was telling me that he worked in the DeLorean Factory in 81-82, and there wasn't a day at work where he didn't hear gunfire in the distance whilst at work. I have a friend who did his last tour of Duty in Newry in about 1996, and he's so mentally scarred from it even now, he's said he could never visit Northern Ireland again as it would bring far too many horrific memories! A town that I thought was about as quaint and pleasant as they get, but obviously there is still a dark past that is ever present in some people's minds, though never having visited NI until the last 5yrs, I have no reference point other than other peoples' stories of what it was like before. One customer over there was telling me last year about how his 15yo Nephew had to ask him what "the troubles" were when they were sat watching a film together that referenced NI's past... He said the lad simply didn't have a clue, being born 10yrs after the Good Friday agreement was signed, and the country moved on so quickly in such a positive manner that there was no reason a kid growing up in rural County Tyrone would have had to ask any questions until that point either. The same guy also told of how his Grandparents and Parents were forced out of their family home and business at gunpoint by the IRA and told to disappear and never come back, and that wasn't even 50yrs ago.
I love the place... Would happily move there tomorrow, as I already said... It has obviously moved on so much, and has become a fantastically welcoming, multi-cultural society on the whole. But nothing changes the past, and for some people those memories have shaped their view of the place irreparably!
Anyway... Donegal...
Just watched "In the land of saints and sinners" on Netflix. Hadn't seen before... Brought back some lovely memories of the area around Glencolmcille, Malin Beg beach etc... I remember parking up on my motorbike outside the pub in the film, waiting for my mates there. Such a stunning, remote place...
That said, one of the reasons we are going is that we can't get travel insurance. My thought is that even if something goes south health wise I can drive her back over the UK border within a couple of hours...
Matt have you looked into an EHIC card (formerly E111 pre brexit, think uk may actually be GHIC card now), no need to worry about what side of the border you are on if the worst happens.
it won’t pay for repatriation (of either bodies or people who are too sick to travel in a car/ferry/flight)
And of course appropriate passport. Not that anyone will check it.
No requirement for British Citizens to have a passport to travel to ROI. Being able to prove you are British would be helpful if you somehow end up in trouble - just as for an Irish citizen the same is true on our soil.
as for Donegal, it's scenic rather than lots 'to do',
Perfect - I hate the the feeling of guilt when I prefer not to do the things that others think I should do 🙂
That said, one of the reasons we are going is that we can't get travel insurance. My thought is that even if something goes south health wise I can drive her back over the UK border within a couple of hours...
Matt have you looked into an EHIC card (formerly E111 pre brexit, think uk may actually be GHIC card now), no need to worry about what side of the border you are on if the worst happens.
it won’t pay for repatriation (of either bodies or people who are too sick to travel in a car/ferry/flight)
absolutely, it’s NOT travel insurance, it’s a form of health cover, allowing you to access local healthcare in the same way we do here. As Matt said he cannot get insurance when travelling it would be better to have some (free) cover as a posed to nothing, should you need medical care when here, as outlined in my follow up post above.
absolutely, it’s NOT travel insurance, it’s a form of health cover, allowing you to access local healthcare in the same way we do here. As Matt said he cannot get insurance when travelling it would be better to have some (free) cover as a posed to nothing, should you need medical care when here, as outlined in my follow up post above.
Exactly.
It's feels a big risk to go anywhere that's a ferry / channel tunnel / flight home without proper insurance. And that is north of £2k without cancellation cover, £3.4k with cancellation cover. Even if we could get it, because after last week she's back under investigation...
It feels that Ireland as a 'friendly' place with EHIC, plus the a ability to drive over the border and walk into a UK hospital is a good balance of risk. She doesn't have sudden issues, they tend to creep up over a few days. All balancing risks and having a last few holidays somewhere nice.
And we loved south half of Ireland a year back.
Anyhow, back to good things to do in the north half of the island of Ireland for 2026.
I'd avoid places like the Giants Causeway as it is absolutely mobbed. Yes it's a phenomenon but not with 10,000 other people...
It was a brilliant, clever way to attract tourists when the northern Irish tourist board built it in the 1940's. Just a shame some of the Rebar is starting to show through now where the columns have been erroded by the sea. Still worth a visit.
When you say ‘Northern Irish Tourist Board’ you mean Finn MacCool.
We had a great day out there a couple of years ago, also involving Carrick A Rede bridge and fish and chips in Ballycastle (where my Mum saw Rock Around the Clock in the cinema as a child)
fish and chips in Ballycastle
Ballycastle is nice wee town, ferry over to Rathlin is worth doing if the weather is reasonable. There's now a seasonal ferry to Islay and Campbeltown too that takes bikes, one year I'll get round to doing it 👍
Yes, passport not required! Ireland and UK are a common travel area. The only time I was asked for ID was on a bus from Belfast to Dublin airport when it was stopped near Dundalk by Garda, about fifteen years ago. Never since.
There's now a seasonal ferry to Islay and Campbeltown too that takes bikes, one year I'll get round to doing it
It's on my radar as a nice circular ride - Argyll and Northern Ireland coast.
There's now a seasonal ferry to Islay and Campbeltown too that takes bikes, one year I'll get round to doing it
Does it take bikes? Steve Marsh review here:
Definitely pop into Belfast and do some sight seeing for a day, then up the north coast, and work your way around.
If your planning on riding, once you get to Donegal slip on down another bit to Sligo and there's a pretty good trail centre called Coolaney.
From Fermanagh myself, so Enniskillen and the lakelands should definitely be on your list. Donegal is well worth it, Mt Errigal is a fine mountain, climbed it 3 times now and it's really spectacular.
The mournes, Rostrevor, Newcastle and Tollymore over by the East of NI are stunning. I'm currently living near here, and ride Tollymore Forest regularly and the natural trials here the best in NI. Stunning forest park too!
There's now a seasonal ferry to Islay and Campbeltown too that takes bikes, one year I'll get round to doing it
It's on my radar as a nice circular ride - Argyll and Northern Ireland coast.
I've plotted a nice loop from Campbeltown up Kintyre and over to Jura then Islay, I just need to block off some time to do it and get the weather to play ball!
It feels that Ireland as a 'friendly' place with EHIC, plus the a ability to drive over the border and walk into a UK hospital is a good balance of risk.
Yep it's easy to pop over the border these days, not like it was back in the eighties!
Picture from Facebook
Silver Strand just up from Glencolumbkille (where I grew up) is a lovely spot.
@tractionman Pity CalMac seems to have abandoned the Ardrossan to Campbeltown route
@tractionman Pity CalMac seems to have abandoned the Ardrossan to Campbeltown route
Yes I had plotted Islay to Cairnryan via Arran as a possibility 👍