Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland's six counties — Antrim, Down, Armagh, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone — cover a surprising amount of ground for their size, from a dramatic north coast to quiet inland lakelands.

County Antrim has the best-known draw: the Antrim coast road, the Giant's Causeway, and the Glens of Antrim running inland from it, which makes it the obvious choice for a first visit built around scenery and coastal walking. County Down, to the south of Belfast, has the Mourne Mountains and a gentler coastline, and works well if you also want easy access to the city. Further west, County Fermanagh's lakelands around Lough Erne are a genuinely different kind of holiday — watersports, islands and a much quieter pace — while County Londonderry combines its own coastline with the historic walled city. Armagh and Tyrone, more rural and inland, suit anyone after a quieter, orchard-and-countryside break away from the coast.

Coast or countryside

If the Causeway Coast and its beaches are the priority, base yourself in Antrim or north Londonderry. If you'd rather have a lake on the doorstep and a slower pace, Fermanagh is the better fit. Down suits a mix of hill walking and city day trips into Belfast.