To ask if you would visit Northern Ireland?

[BlueFlamingoes]

Would you visit NI? Why/why not? I always find it interesting how marmite of a place my home is - keen to hear some opinions and maybe dispel a rumour or two :)

Yes, I would. I have been to Southern Ireland but never Northern Ireland. I would love to go there.

Not a fan of London. I grew up in South London and worked in the city, then the West End when I left school. I now live in a rural part of Yorkshire and prefer the open spaces and cleaner air. I like to visit London and like to leave it to come back home to somewhere quieter.

I miss the excellent public transport you get in cities though.

I think more scenery than culture which I imagine is true. I don’t think North Wales is friendly at all.

We stayed in a big chain hotel which had some local staff on duty, a couple of young girls from overseas had had a delay that had made them miss their next connection.

The hotel staff weren't just unhelpful, they were actively MEAN to these two young girls. It was other guests trying to help them find out what they could do for their onward journey.

And that sort of thing happens every time I visit Wales.

Sorry OP for the derail, just found the comparison to Wales so wildly off

Why wouldn’t we? It’s a beautiful place!

NI is lovely. Been there quite a few times for university type things and built a day either side to do other stuff whilst there.

people are fantastic, as is the food. Feel much
safer in Belfast city than in parts of London or Manchester. Like anywhere, do some research and have your wits about you and it’s a wonderful place.

Am from NI but have been away for 30 years. Spent a few weeks there in July which coïncided happily with the heatwave and it was extraordinary. We went to Whitepark bay, tea in Ballycastle, drove over Tor head and ice-cream in Carnlough. Loved seeing my dd fall in love with it all.

My grandmother was from Belfast but moved to Scotland through marriage in 1940s. My siblings and I were born and grew up in Scotland in 1970s so we were never taken to NI due to the Troubles. My parents and grandmother would go alone for family funerals. I have in the last decade been 3 times to Belfast and love it - also did a trip with my parents to visit cousins. Genuinely feels like home. Everyone is so friendly and there is a real mix of nationalities visiting. Hoping to visit again soon for the family tree research!

NI is like a lot of countries, you get stunning places and shit holes. I go a lot (Im down the other end of the island) and love the vibe, the people, the prices lol

It genuinely cracks me up that English people think Ireland is more racist than England. Projecting much?

I’ve been to NI and really enjoyed it. I wasn’t there long, sadly. I will definitely go back.

The people on the thread who said they wouldn't go due to racism were an Asian person and a black person. It's nice that you've dismissed them and said what a laugh it's given you. 👍

Yes I have done. I'm from Dublin. It's an ok place.

Yes, several times since the late 80s.

Donegal on the North West Coast is beyond beauty as is the Antim coast further round to the north east.
Why anyone wouldn't want to go there is beyond my comprehension.
Stunning doesn't cut it.

Yes I would love to.

I've been to Dublin many years ago but I'm keen to see more of Ireland including NI.

I've been to the Scottish Highlands and Edinburgh. I loved it. The people and architecture and countryside were all beautiful.

My parents used to take us on holiday in Wales when I was a child in the late 1980s. I have been to Cardiff once for football as an adult, in the 2000s, but we didn't have time to look around town. I might go back as an obvious English person and check out what pp are saying about the place. 🤔

Yes why wouldn't you.

I went to Belfast a few years ago mand would highly recommend it. Really enjoyed it and everyone was very friendly bar the taxi driver who seemed offended at my non northern, Irish accent 🤣

We had a lovely holiday at strangford Lough a few years ago and have also had a couple of weekends in Belfast for a wedding and a 40th party. Absolutely gorgeous place. There was one small town we had to drive through on the way which had union flags everywhere and a picture of the queen hanging above on of the roads and I did find that a bit disconcerting, but overall it’s a beautiful place and everyone we met was lovely and friendly x

Been twice, once with family and once with work. Family trip started off epically rainy - a month’s worth of rain in a day. Fortunately the month was July or it could have been worse. Other than that it was a good holiday. Had to get the slow ferry on the way out as the weather was bad, so slightly unnerving - we sailed Holyhead to Dublin for a shorter crossing as DH doesn’t sail well.

Work trip - weather was gorgeous. It was a little contentious in places, eg having a formal list of places not to go, including the pub next to one of our destinations, but all was good.

I would go again. I’d like to do something like a black cab tour, but DH would probably veto again. We never went when I was a kid as my dad was in the RN so it wasn’t safe … now I have a SIL from Belfast so the Troubles still seem close in some ways, and it’s good to be educated on the ground, imo.

The closest I’ve come to Troubles tourism
for now is that I put myself in the Europa for the work trip. The team followed, and one was a bit alarmed to discover it’s the most bombed hotel in the world … she felt better when I pointed out the last times was before she was born …

Voted YABU as it is a silly question to ask these days. I have been to NI about 8 times in the last decade and spend weeks there at a go. I have friends there. I am not white and not from the Uk and have not experienced any racism there at all but there are socio-political faultlines in every conversation and despite my friends' warnings I have stepped into one or two. The worst was when I visited Derry (never call it Londonderry, they intone gravely). Went to the Museum of Free Derry and signed up for a guided walk. The guide, an aggressive scrote of a man who claimed to be an ex-political prisoner walked off and refused to guide me and my friend (Indian and Chinese females from East Asia). Initial conversation was all about the very young people (he brought up this topic) involved in the protests. We were a bit shocked at how the guide seemed to be glorying in the violence and I demurred that perhaps minors should have been kept away from violence, no matter how glorious the cause. Just that one anodyne remark and it set off the man who started scolding us and flounced off saying he would not guide us. I am a museum docent myself and I was shocked at his unprofessional behaviour.
Then there are the flags and murals in different neighbourhoods. I am not a fan of the maoist Shining Path and stalinist Tamil Tigers. I find the William of Orange adulation and crate bonfires desperately pathetic too. Honest political conversations are quite impossible - you have to pick a side.

Northern Ireland is a fantastic place with the friendliest people in the UK and Ireland imo. Beautiful scenery, lots of interesting places to visit, all sorts of accommodation options from scenic campsites and glamping to 5 star hotels. The quality of produce, especially meat, is exceptional.

People were certainly reluctant to visit NI during the Troubles, but thankfully the region has recovered well from
those dark days. Would highly recommend it for a holiday.

To be honest, I wouldn’t. I may be wrong but I have an idea in my head that it’s slightly dangerous and a bit grim.

I had never visited until this year (I'm 41) but went to Belfast for a conference in May and really liked it, so I'd like to go back with the family sometime.

It's not that I had a particular aversion to going there, just that having to arrange flights/ferry makes it a bit more faffy than holidays in England/Wales/Scotland. I've still never been to the Republic of Ireland

Went there last summer. Had a great time. Stormont is amazing, people are so friendly, the causeway coast is beautiful. Would go again in a heartbeat.