Welcome to my story style travel blog, featuring my adventure through Ireland in the spring of 2026.
You can read the blog in order, or about whichever destination intrigues you! Within my stories, I’ll offer some recommendations and some tips and tricks for a smooth journey. When I travel, I mostly do group tours and the reasons are:
* As a solo woman traveler, it is much safer especially if traveling long distances or to countries that can be dangerous in some places.
*The itineraries are amazing and usually include all of the things you’d want to see and do…and if not, there is free time to do as you wish
*You don’t have to worry about booking transport, finding hotels, etc. Sometimes that can contribute to the adventure, but it’s also nice to sit back and relax and let your Tour CEO be in charge
* And finally…the new people you meet on your tour become your family, and I’ve made lifelong friends in these journeys. For myself, this has equal importance with exploring new countries.
I used Expat Explore again – the tour is called Irish Explorer. This is my third time traveling with Expat, and their European itineraries are really awesome and not super expensive. Also, transport is by coach bus which is nice because the buses offer a comfy ride with air con, WIFI, charging ports, etc.
After spending the morning in Belfast at the Titanic Experience, we’re back on the road and headed to the Giant’s Causeway. It’s a coastline phenomenon made up of 40,000 interlocking basalt columns.
They formed from volcanic activities 60 million years ago. Wow!! This happened as the molten cooled and cracked. Now if you speak to the Northern Irish, they may have a different story for you! That it was actually built by a giant named Finn McCool, as a bridge over to Scotland.
It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site; a fascinating place where geology meets mythology. We have just under two hours to explore the area, which means that it makes more sense to just do the easier trails. My level of fitness agrees to that. Haha. It is definitely windy up here, but not too bad as we make our way to the main hexagonal columns.
Once we get there, the columns are a little slick so one must be careful when climbing and exploring. But wow, this is pretty cool. For the next half hour, Steph and I wander around taking pics of each other amongst the beautiful scenery.
Rather than walk all the way back, they offer a shuttle bus for one euro, and that is money well spent. We still have a bit of time before we leave, so we walk the opposite way from the trail for a few more cool shots.
Now we’re back on the bus and making our way to the city that will end up being my favorite place we visit. And that is Derry! We arrive in the early evening and check into the hotel, the Holiday Inn Express.
It’s very central, so that’s awesome. And Inge has an extra room, which she has offered to me! Whoohooo!!! Pat is a great roommate, but it’s always nice to have your own space . And the rooms are cute.
Our dinner tonight is included, and it’s at the hotel.
A nice buffet of veggies and meats. And all kinds of potatoes of course!
This evening is Easter Monday, so the city is actually very lively tonight! Our group plans to meet up for a drink, but me, Steph and Pat make a quick detour to the Peace Bridge for some lovely views of the city at night.
We end up at Blackbird, a very popular pub with live music.
There’s no room inside to accommodate all of us so we have a drink outside, and then pop in to have a bit of a listen to the guitarist while we finish our beers.
Everyone leaves early, but I convince Steph to stay out with me and check out one of the karaoke bars.
It’s a tiny little place, and we arrive early and grab a couple stools up at the bar. We figure out pretty quick that it’s all locals, and we are quite obviously not from here. One of the local ladies is harshly digging Steph; she’s loud and a bit drunk and she has a very interesting style of pick up. At first, we think she’s being mean to us, but that is just her love language haha. When I’m downstairs in the washroom, I start talking to two ladies and they are so nice! They befriend us very quickly, and now we are part of their crew. Rosie works for the local radio, and for the Unreal Housewives of Derry. And now, Steph and I are honorary Derry Girls. You may have heard of this tv series, but I will admit I had not seen it prior to visiting Derry. But now I have and I highly recommend!
I sing my song, and we don’t stay too much longer because we have an early morning tomorrow!
This next morning, we are exploring Derry, and learning about the complex history of the city. One very cool feature of the city is its walls, which date back to 16th century and envelop the city center.
This is the only place in Ireland where city walls are still intact. They were mostly for military protection, during conflict with the British and the Scottish. One of the most significant events in the city was the Seige of Derry; the conflict centered around the English throne, with the local Protestants being against the Catholics. It lasted 105 days and cause a lot of hardship for the people in the city. We have a chance to walk along the walls, looking down into the city and wandering along that same defensive perimeter that’s existed for centuries.
The most important part of modern history is a period of time called The Troubles, that started in the late 60s and lasted till the late 90s.
If I can break it down in simple terms, there were some people that wanted Northern Ireland to remain a part of the United Kingdom, and were predominantly Protestant. Then there were the people that wanted Northern Ireland to unify with the rest of Ireland, and were predominantly Catholic.
Derry Became one of the major centers of civil rights movements in Ireland. One very famous event was Bloody Sunday, where during a civil rights march, British soldiers open fire, killing 14 unarmed citizens.
In the Bogside neighborhood, there is a very important landmark. A famous gable wall that bears the words “You Are Now Entering Free Derry.” Right now, the sign is being renovated so we cannot see it today.
Throughout the neighborhood are many murals that commemorate Bloody Sunday and other conflicts within this time.
It’s not just a regular street art – it means something. And it isn’t ancient history… many of the residents that still live here today experienced it firsthand. I’m going to share all of the photos I took of the murals, because I love them.
There are also a couple of memorials
Our final stop in Derry is the Guildhall; the once location of the public inquiry into Bloody Sunday.
It’s a beautiful Gothic building, with some amazing stained glass windows.
Council meetings take place inside, and the square where it’s located is often the site of important events in the city.
Derry has been my favorite place so far, but we must move on and explore…..
