After a week spent in the warm spring sunshine of Madrid hanging out with friends, I had a week and a half before I needed to be in London so figured that was a perfect length of time to visit two countries that are situated conveniently right in between Spain and England: Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Sure, some of you might say - but Jana, Northern Ireland is part of the UK - and you'd be right. But if you take a peek at my list of how many countries there are in the world, you'll see I've included about 80 territories that aren't countries, and I've also broken down the UK into Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England, each worthy of their own travels and their own spots on my list.
So, I flew direct from Madrid to Dublin and was greeted with sunshine. On my first day, I was surprised, because sun is rare on this island. Well, turns out I ended up with dry weather almost every single day of my trip, barring one day in Belfast and a few hours on the Cliffs of Moher on Ireland's west coast. Not sure how I got so lucky during my eleven days here but I feel grateful for it.
HOW TO GET FROM DUBLIN OR BELFAST TO GIANT'S CAUSEWAY
From Dublin Airport, I took a direct easy bus straight north over the border into Northern Ireland and spent a night at the Global Village hostel in Belfast.
The next morning, I caught a 1.5-hour train from Belfast Botanica to Coleraine, the main transport hub on the north coast. From there, the 402 bus runs frequently all the way along the Northern Irish coast, stopping at all the towns, viewpoints and tourist attractions along the way, including castles, hiking trails and the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge - as well as the Giant's Causeway.
Views of Dunluce Castle from the bus along the coast
WHERE TO STAY ON THE CAUSEWAY COAST IN NORTHERN IRELAND
I stay in a whole range of accommodations when I travel, depending on the type of trip. I love hotels, AirBnBs, independently owned bed & breakfast, hostels - even camping!
For the Causeway Coast, I can highly recommend the Whitepark Bay Youth Hostel. The wifi is weak and the hostel itself is a bit cold and uninviting, but WOW is the location incredible and the view from the hostel is absolutely the best I've ever had. It's right on the 402 bus line and sits over Whitepark Bay which, on a sunny day, offers the most spectacular sight across the coast and towards Scotland and the North Atlantic Ocean.
Whitepark Bay
Whitepark Bay Youth Hostel
VISITING THE Giant's Causeway
The 402 bus also goes directly to the Giant's Causeway; there's also plenty of parking, but it does get really busy. You need to book in advance if you want to go in the visitor's centre but if you're okay with just walking along the causeway (about 6km return), then that's completely free - and in my opinion that's the best part.
The Giant's Causeway is perhaps one of the most famous spots in all of Northern Ireland, receiving nearly a million visitors per year. The basalt columns that rise out of the North Atlantic Ocean are ominous, mysterious and quite a neat feat of nature. Resulting from an ancient volcanic eruption, the spot is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The columns form step-like stones which you can clamber across with caution. It's quite the fairytale-like place...
CHECK OUT MY VLOG OF NORTHERN IRELAND HERE!
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Hi! I’m Jana, a British-Dutch-Canadian with a dream of seeing every country in the world. I am a storyteller, photographer and adventurer passionate about documenting and sharing my travels.
