Northern Ireland
Private & personalised small group tours
departing/starting from Scotland
At its closest point it is just 12 miles between Scotland and Northern Ireland across the across the Narrow Sea.
Inland there used to be no roads, but mighty mountains, forests, swamps, boggy marshlands. It was easier to travel, trade and transport goods across the sea. The sea did not separate people, but in fact connected people.
From much of the Northern Irish coast you can look across to Scotland and from Kintyre, Galloway and Islay in Scotland you always look across to the Antrim Coast. In the early days it was a lot easier to travel across the sea than to travel inland through inhospitable terrain.
1600 years ago the kingdom of Dalriada was formed linking Northern Ireland and Scotland. From 563 St. Columba began spreading Celtic Christianity from Iona (and later on the book of Kells was written there) throughout Scotland. After the Viking raids Kenneth MacAlpin united Dalriada and Pictland as the first king of Alba/Scotland. Scottish Gaelic which is very similar to Irish Gaelic and has for well over a 1000 years been the main language of much of Scotland.
The language, the culture, the place names, the religion originally between Scotland and Ireland were all the same and later on also through the Ulster Scots and the migration both ways, the links, the connections, the similarities between Scotland and Northern Ireland are tremendous.
It is not just the human connections between Scotland and Northern Ireland through history, culture, language and religion,
but also the similarities of the landscape, the coastline, mountains and loughs are striking (not to mention the shared legends of the giant Finn McCool building a causeway linking Northern Ireland and Scotland, it is also by the way the same basalt rocks on the Causeway coast as on Staffa).
The Causeway coast, its many towering cliffs, stunning beaches, castles and truly amazing views from Antrim across the sea over to Scotland stretching from Islay, Jura and past the Mull of Kintyre all the way to Aisla Craig and on the County Londonderry side of the Antrim coast with beautiful views of the mountains of the Inishowen peninsula of Donegal in the distance.
There is the UNESCO Giants’ causeway world heritage site.
There are the Antrim glens and the walled City of Londonderry (Derry).
Some of the views around Lough Erne in County Fermanagh and Enniskillen (Northern Irish lake district) are mindboggling and of course Lough Neagh, the UK’s largest freshwater lake. Strangford Lough and from the stunning Mourne mountains and along the beautiful coast in County Down you get great views over to Galloway in Scotland & to the Isle of Man.
There is something for everyone in Northern Ireland whatever your interests, from castles, ancient & Celtic monuments, history, awesome beaches, many great walks, a lot of nature (including puffins on Rathlin island), whiskey distilleries, Portrush for golfers, Royal Hillsborough castle, not to mention the many sights in Belfast, including the Ulster museum and of course the Titanic Experience.
Coast, sea Highlands & Islands – Unicorn Tours offers tours and transport anywhere in Northern Ireland and our availability and prices are best throughout the low-season.
– Northern Ireland Tours – starting and finishing in Scotland
– On the first day of your tour we pick you up from anywhere in Scotland and via the ferry travel from Scotland to Northern Ireland
– You then have a private small group multi-day tour (max. 8) of Northern Ireland with Unicorn Tours
– On the last day of your tour you then travel back from Northern Ireland via the ferry back to Scotland with us
– You also have the option to join us on one of our Scottish tours before your Northern Ireland tour with us or after your Northern Ireland tour with us
Northern Ireland Tours – starting in Scotland and ending in Northern Ireland or the Irish Republic
– On day 1 of your tour you travel with us from Scotland via the ferry to Northern Ireland
– You then have a private small group multi-day tour (max. 8) of Northern Ireland with Unicorn Tours
– On the last day we can drop you off in Belfast, Londonderry (Derry) or anywhere (including the airport) in Northern Ireland, so that you can continue on your onward journey
SD#45 – Rathlin Island – Short day tour – optional free time half day walking/cycling on Rathlin Island, when on one of our Northern Ireland multi-day tours starting in Scotland
1D#97 – Dublin – 1 day tour – free time 1 day excursion from Belfast, when on one of our Northern Ireland (or/and Irish Republic) multi-day tours starting in Scotland
1D#99 – Belfast – 1 day tour – optional free time full or half day in Belfast, when on one of our Northern Ireland multi-day tours starting from Scotland
1D#100 – County Antrim & the Causeway Coast – 1 day (or better 2 days+ in Antrim) of our Northern Ireland multi-day tours starting from Scotland
1D#101 – County Londonderry (or Derry) & the Causeway Coast – 1 day+ of our Northern Ireland multi-day tours starting from Scotland
1D#102 – County Down – 1 day+ of our Northern Ireland multi-day tours starting from Scotland
1D#103 – County Fermanagh – 1 day of our Northern Ireland multi-day tours starting in Scotland
1D#104 – County Tyrone – 1 day of our Northern Ireland multi-day tours starting in Scotland
1D#105 – County Armagh – 1 day of our Northern Ireland multi-day tours starting in Scotland
4D#10 – The Causeway Coast of County Antrim & County (London)Derry – 4 day tour
5D#8 – Donegal’s Wild Atlantic Way & the Northern Irish Causeway Coast – 5 day tour
6D#3 – Northern Ireland, the Causeway & Antrim Coast – multi-day tour starting in Scotland – 6 days+
7D#4 – Wild Atlantic Way – Irish 7 day Westcoast tour – starting from Scotland