How I Got There: Booked through Wild Rover Tours. Right away I liked that this was a smaller group, and there was a very interactive guide who liked singing Irish songs to us which was both amusing and awkward. I thought it was also really curious that we didn’t need our passports to cross over the border to Northern Ireland… but I still had to switch from my Irish SIM to my UK SIM card.

What I Did:

Black Cab Tour in Belfast— Unfortunately due to time restraints, we had to choose between the Titanic museum and a black cab political tour through Belfast. Seems like an easy choice, but they sold us hardcore on how the Titanic museum was recently named the best in Europe. I also LOVE Titanic history. But… black cab tour it was.

I’m SO happy I made this decision because I got to hear perspectives about the troubles of Northern Ireland first hand from the people who lived through it. They emphasized that the only way to tell the story is together, and that way you really get to see the peace process in action and understand both sides of the story. My cab driver was a Catholic republican–meaning he would have been in the IRA and was pro becoming part of Ireland, and another cab driver was a Protestant loyalist, and pro remaining part of Great Britain. I heard about how my driver had 3 friends die by the time he was 24, and how he was 11 the first time he saw someone shot. Apparently these two would have been sworn enemies, and are now friends and colleagues.

There were so many amazing details he pointed out– the laughable glass buildings that wouldn’t exist 20 years ago, the thick police walls, bullet proof cars, how to tell if a taxi is “neutral,” the walls and gates protecting homes, the evolution of political murals, and so much more. I cannot recommend this tour enough.

Carrick-a-Rede— Later, we had a small hike alone the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. For some reason even in winter and this far north the water was turquoise. It was windy AF so they were extra annoying about safety when we crossed the bridge, but it was fine. Good views and good workout 🙂

Giant’s Causeway— The major highlight of the day was going to the Giant’s Causeway! We were all on edge about how the weather would be. The sky got super dark and a new friend and I wondered why we would go so late. Having just seen what little view I had of the cliffs before fog rolled in, I decided once again to sprint 15 minutes to the causeway just in case the heavens opened up and destroyed any photo opportunity. I guess they know what they’re doing though, because the weather stayed clear and we got the most incredible sunset photos of this iconic geographical masterpiece. Afterwards I got a hot whiskey and some fish chowder at a restaurant next door called The Nook. Worth checking out.

Northern Ireland was the most wonderful and pleasant surprise during my trip to the Irish island.