🇮🇪 Belfast – An Unforgettable City

I’ve been sorting through travel photos lately and came across pictures from my trip to Belfast last Christmas. The awe-inspiring Giant’s Causeway still feels vivid in my memory. Sharing a bit of my Belfast experience here: You can travel from Glasgow to Belfast by ferry or plane✈️. I highly recommend flying – the ferry takes way too long, and if it gets delayed, you’ll end up spending the whole day on the boat (tried it, big regret 😅). The ride can also be a bit rocky – not the smoothest experience. A 3-day, 2-night trip is ideal for Belfast. Arrive on the first morning, and you can explore the city center in the afternoon + evening: Day 1: Ulster Museum → Botanic Gardens → Queen’s University → City Hall → Belfast Cathedral → Albert Memorial Clock → The Big Fish 🐟 The first three spots are within walking distance of each other. The museum (free entry!) and gardens are fairly compact. The rest are generally in the same direction – about a 20-30 min walk from Queen’s to City Hall, but everything else is close. Perfect for a city walk – lots of photo ops and easy to explore on foot. 📸 Day 2: Giant’s Causeway Day Tour (group tour) This is the highlight of any Belfast trip 🏞️! On a clear day, the views are absolutely breathtaking – like something straight out of a movie. Every shot is wallpaper material especially at sunset – pure oil painting vibes 🎨. A must-see! We booked through GetYourGuide – English guided, lunch not included (they stop at a partner restaurant; the guide checks meal preferences in advance. You can also bring your own lunch). Day 3: Leisurely exploring + return trip Since the day tour returns pretty late (and hits rush hour), and it’s quite tiring, I recommend staying one more night instead of rushing back the same evening. There’s also the Titanic Museum – we skipped it as we weren’t too interested, but it’s a good option if you want more to see on Day 3. We stayed near City Hall – lots of great food options around: Filipino, Scottish, and more. We tried a few highly-recommended spots (fun fact: you’ll randomly run into Chinese students at xiaohongshu-approved places 😂). The most memorable was New Xiyue Chinese Restaurant – delicious Hong Kong-style roast meats and fried noodles. Huge portions! Cash only, though. Overall felt very safe – fine to walk around at night in a group. Off-season = fewer tourists = great for photos 📸. Not many Chinese tourists either. Bring some cash – some places only accept cash. They take both standard GBP and Northern Irish pounds (withdraw from ATMs = NI pounds, spend them before you leave!). Scottish pounds might not be accepted everywhere 😤. #StudentTravel #NorthernIreland #Belfast #NoSchengenNeeded #UK #OffTheBeatenPath