Northern Ireland Tours & Vacation Packages 2024/2025

The Culture

Northern Ireland is a place where people feel connected to but separate from both the rest of Ireland, and the UK. The Northern Irish are a proud people, aware of their political past with an eye on the future. While much of the culture revolves around its Roman Catholic and Protestant roots and lots of people still attend church weekly, those numbers are in decline. Northern Ireland flies the Union Jack officially, as it’s a part of the UK, but the unofficial flag remains the Ulster Banner. It features a white background, red cross, a white star representing the six counties of Northern Ireland, with a crown above and a red hand within. Its design is based on the traditional coat of arms of Ulster, a region of nine counties, six of which make up Northern Ireland, and the other three are on the other side of the border in the Republic of Ireland. The country has rich soil and produces quality farmland for fine agricultural output. Fully 75% of the land in the country is used for agriculture. Meat, dairy, and eggs constitute 80% of its output. but since the industrial revolution there has been a steady movement to the cities for industrial work. Kingspan Stadium, in Belfast is the place to see Ulster Rugby play – one of four professional rugby teams in Ireland. The Down County Museum in Downpatrick was once a Georgian jail used as a final staging post for convicts bound for Australia. Here, take a journey through 9000 years of history through a permanent exhibition called “Down Through Time’. Make sure to see some history through the gates of Enniskillen Castle in County Fermanagh. The castle was built in the 15th century and converted to a barracks to house the North Irish Horse mounted troops until it was finally turned to the local community and made into a cultural and heritage centre. The castle was an important structure in Irish rebellion battles against the English and now houses historical items like uniforms, medals, flags, regimental regalia, weapons, and other military memorabilia. Portrush and Portstewart are small seaside resort towns in County Antrim. Sandy beaches and the Royal Portrush Golf Club, which once held the Open Championship are nearby features. Explore the peninsula of Portrush, the medieval and now ruined Dunluce Castle, and go for a stroll on the beach at Whiterocks. Some well known people from Northern Ireland include C.S. Lewis, author of the Chronicles of Narnia, golfer Rory McIlroy, musician Van Morrison, and the actor Liam Neeson.

The Best Time to Visit

Northern Ireland is a lush and spectacularly pretty country with rugged coastlines, tranquil lakes and rolling green hills. It’s got a temperate maritime climate and while the weather can be unpredictable, it doesn’t rain all the time.Spring and fall are usually dry, when the blossoms are out, and when the leaves are changing colour. County Down, south of Belfast, contains the Mourne Mountains where wild lakes, rivers, and woodlands await explorers. The mountains have many peaks to climb, with Slieve Donard being the highest. The Mourne Wall is a 35 kilometre dry-stone wall that crosses fifteen summits – hiking along this wall is a commitment, and a rich and rewarding, yet challenging outing. You’ll be astounded at the natural beauty in Northern Ireland where the coastline merges with glens and lush forest parks. South of the Mourne Mountains is the beautiful and lush Tollymore Forest Park with walking trails along the Shimna River and its bridges, grottos, and caves. Tollymore Forest Park has incredible waterfalls and natural area, that look magical. Some spots here were used as filming locations and inspiration for the Game of Thrones television series and the imagination of C.S. Lewis in his stories In County Antrim, you’ll find Northern Ireland’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Giant’s Causeway. Its main attraction is the 40,000 interlocking columns of basalt. These columns form a path that disappears under the sea, lending itself to the legend of giants using it as a ‘highway’ to the deep. The giant Finn MacCool is said to have walked here. The Marble Arch Caves are an underground world of passages and subterranean wonders. It’s a UNESCO Global Geopark, made of limestone. In this otherworldly environment, learn about the region’s geological processes and the history of the Earth itself. Derry or Londonderry is known as the Maiden City because its walls have never been breached by invaders. It’s the second city of Northern Ireland and is known for its famous stone walls built in the 16th century. With over 1400 years of history, you can walk the 1.5 kilometre path around the city’s walls and see evidence of the past.

Things to Know

It’s been suggested that Hadrian’s Wall, the northernmost border of the Roman Empire, was built to protect the Romans from the northern inhabitants. Northern Britain, including the early Scots, were hard to contain, and the Caledonian tribes remained fiercely resistant. The Roman Empire never conquered Hibernia, the ancient name for the island of Ireland, and there is some speculation as to whether any serious Roman effort to that end ever stood on Irish soil. Christianity however, brought by the Romans, did spread across the island, eventually wiping out the former druid tradition of high-priests. And there has been evidence of Roman fashion, coins and jewelry found in Ireland that show some trade and commercial interaction occurred. In the vacuum left by the Romans, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes took over for three hundred years. For centuries after that there were many more invasions and attempts at control there, but eventually power in Ireland was restricted to Dublin, as the resistance forces were found to be effective. The Nine Years’ War saw an alliance of Gael chieftains lose lands to the Crown. The following period saw Irish Catholics fighting British Protestants seeking self-governance independence and further blocks against Catholic discrimination. Underground militant groups organized over many years and the period of the next several centuries are marked with violence and tension. Northern Ireland was created in 1921. Those loyal to the Crown were unionists, and wanted to remain a part of the UK. These people were largely descendants of colonists from Britain in Northern Ireland, while the south of Ireland sought total independence. Those in Northern Ireland today generally consider themselves British, and those in the Republic of Ireland consider themselves Irish. During the Troubles (1920-22) the Irish Republican Army fought the British forces and Protestants and Catholics fought each other savagely. The sentiments from this era lasted in spats over the next few decades and in the 1960s the Troubles came back and stayed for 30 years. 1998 marked the end of this time of unrest, though there have been sporadic incidents since then. Today, both unionist and nationalist communities share power.

Food & Drink

Meat and potatoes are surely staples here but food culture is also evolving. New emphasis is put on local fresh foods, and in the cities, global cuisine is increasingly popular and available. That said, Northern Ireland boasts lots of traditional comfort food. You’re going to want to have breakfast here a few times on your stay. The Ulster Fry is a well known full breakfast with bacon, sausage, black pudding, eggs, mushrooms, tomato, soda bread, and an excellent fried-to-a-crisp potato bread. And the Belfast bap is a soft bread stuffed with sausages, bacon, and egg. Don’t forget to wake up in the morning! Champ is the definition of comfort food that consists of mashed potatoes made with butter, warm milk and spring onions. This is best served with a delicious piece of meat, and maybe a spot of gravy. Irish stew is a staple of many Irish households and contains lamb, potatoes, carrot and onions. The Ulster version uses steak instead of lamb. You’ll find many a household with a pot of stew on the go on cold nights throughout the year. Lough Neagh Eel is made from fried pieces of eel cooked in a white wine onion sauce, and sometimes smoked and served as an appetizer. The traditional dish is often served on Halloween. Yellowman is a honeycombed toffee that will go well with your sweet tooth, and Irish coffee is a hot cocktail made with dark coffee, Irish cream liqueur and a shot of whiskey. Guinness is a very popular beer, and some like the black and tan, a lager with stout poured to sit on top. And there’s also the popular snakebite or crown float, which is Strongbow cider with Guinness stout on the top. Bushmills Distillery is one of the oldest licensed distilleries in the world, opening its doors in 1608, creating beautiful whiskeys. Poitin, known as the water of life, is an illegal homemade moonshine that sometimes shows up at weddings and funerals. People aged 16 and 17 can drink beer, wine, and cider if accompanied by an adult, but cannot purchase alcohol until 18 years of age.

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