Where to stay in Northern Ireland?

Hi Everyone,

I am seeking advice on which town/city to stay in Northern Ireland for an upcoming trip. Here are the details: a friend and I are driving (renting a car) from Dublin on Friday, Feb. 1 & driving to Northern Ireland. We have a tee time at noon that day (Friday) at Royal County Down golf course. We have a tee time at noon just up the coast at Ardglass Golf course on Saturday & then head back to Dublin to catch our returning flight on Sunday. We are seeking to stay in an Airbnb in a town/city within an hours drive of both courses with a good traditional Irish pub (or two) & a few good places to eat (nothing fancy). Belfast is our fallback option, but ideally I'd be looking for something a bit closer to the courses that has a smaller town feel, but still a lively food & drink scene. Any advice will be helpful!

Thank you in advance!

Joel

Hi Joel

Belfast is REALLY out of your way personally ld recommend staying in Newcastle (where your first golf course is) and it’s an easy 30 min drive to Ardglass.

Newcastle should have food/pub/atmosphere- it’s a. It if a tourist area and very pretty with Mourne Mountains on one side and the sea on other.

That’s where ld focus my AirBnB search

Good Luck - hope weather stays dry!!

BTW, be sure your rental car agency in Dublin knows you are taking the car to Northern Ireland. The agency we used charged extra for insurance to N. Ireland and you do want to be covered while there.

We chose to skip Northern Ireland, but obviously you can't do that. I have no idea of the cost because we chose not to use it. Different agencies may have different policies but it's a good idea to check with them. It's a good idea to tell any rental agency which countries you plan to take their cars.

Enjoy your trip.

Quoting Beausoleil

BTW, be sure your rental car agency in Dublin knows you are taking the car to Northern Ireland. The agency we used charged extra for insurance to N. Ireland and you do want to be covered while there.

We chose to skip Northern Ireland, but obviously you can't do that. I have no idea of the cost because we chose not to use it. Different agencies may have different policies but it's a good idea to check with them. It's a good idea to tell any rental agency which countries you plan to take their cars.

Enjoy your trip.

This is not true. You must referencing some trip that happened back in 60's...
There is no extra charge to drive from Republic side to the NI side and vice versa. There is no border control. There are no restrictions to drive around the entire island of Ireland.

Looking forward welcoming you over here!

Quoting ToddP

Quoting Beausoleil

BTW, be sure your rental car agency in Dublin knows you are taking the car to Northern Ireland. The agency we used charged extra for insurance to N. Ireland and you do want to be covered while there.

We chose to skip Northern Ireland, but obviously you can't do that. I have no idea of the cost because we chose not to use it. Different agencies may have different policies but it's a good idea to check with them. It's a good idea to tell any rental agency which countries you plan to take their cars.

Enjoy your trip.

This is not true. You must referencing some trip that happened back in 60's...
There is no extra charge to drive from Republic side to the NI side and vice versa. There is no border control. There are no restrictions to drive around the entire island of Ireland.

Looking forward welcoming you over here!

Hi but l disagree

I was over in December 2018 at home visiting my folks and from the north if l was to go over the border from NI to ROI l there was an additional insurance charge. Given lm from Derry travelling into Donegal is quite normal.

We rented with AVIS. Best to check with rental company.

To drive in general then no there is no cross border fee and as far as lm aware never has been not even in 1960s!! There will be insurance charges however

Sorry ToddP, but it is true. This trip was just a couple years ago and there was an extra insurance charge to go into Northern Ireland. (I was in school in the 60s, not traveling, just doing my homework.) There is no charge to drive into the country, but you do pay extra for auto insurance, at least with the company we used and I stand by my advice to be sure to check with your rental company when you plan to enter another country.

[ Edit: Edited on 14-Jan-2019, at 06:34 by Beausoleil ]

I agree with the members above. There has never been any additional hire charge to drive into either country but it is normal practice to require an additional insurance premium if you drive from NI into the Republic and vice versa.