A Taste of Northern Ireland

What You'll Do

Enjoy a short break to Northern Ireland and see what it has to offer. From learning about and tasting some cider and whiskey to a Northern Ireland food tour, there is something for everyone on this mini break!

Your tour will start with picking up your rental car* and making your way to Belfast. Here you will enjoy a visit to Ballinteggart House and a ‘Blossom to Bottle Tour’ with the Armagh Cider company. You will walk through the orchards and learn all about the process of making cider and even get to try some.

Your next day will be filled with an authentic Northern Irish Food tour. You will visit a traditional Irish cottage where you will learn to make Irish Fruit Soda Cake. You will also learn how to make Soda Bread and Tray Bakes, both traditional to the area. After your cooking class, you will have the afternoon to yourself, you can relax at the hotel or go and explore Belfast more, its up to you!

On your final day, you will tour the stunning Antrim Coastline. With breathtaking views of both the sea and the Glens of Antrim. Following this, you will visit the Bushmills distillery.

Unfortunately, after a breakfast at the hotel your tour would have come to an end and you will have to head back to Belfast Airport where you will either head home or we will wave goodbye as you carry on your travels.

*the cost of car rental is not included just incase you decided to use your own vehicle however we can organise car rental for an additional cost

Experience
Highlights

Enjoy and learn about authentic Irish cider on a blossom to bottle cider experience

Immerse yourself in local cuisine on a half-day baking experience at a farmhouse

Drink in beautiful views and local whisky at the Giant's Causeway

Experience Itinerary

Arrival and Cider Tour

Visit Armagh Cider Company and see how they make our award-winning cider ‘from blossom to bottle’ on their home farm. This is a family business based at Ballinteggart House where apples have been grown for five generations. Walk through the orchards and share in the highs and lows of growing the Armagh Bramley Apple – awarded PGI status in 2012. Then move into the cidery where the apples are pressed and fermented. See the vats of cider maturing – waiting to be filtered, blended and bottled. Next, step into the bottling plant where all the cider is bottled as well as several craft beers.

Finally progress to The Pulping Loft where all our ciders and juices can be sampled. Learn how the various blends are made and taste the difference. All produce and food are local, made within 5km of the farm.

Accommodation throughout: The Ten Square Hotel Belfast

131 Four Star Luxury bedrooms in the Heart of the City. Combining relaxed elegance with a warm, genuine welcome, Ten Square Hotel is renowned locally & nationally for its unique atmosphere and unbeatable location. The very definition of chic City Centre accommodation, Ten Square offers an enticing array of bespoke Accommodation packages to suit all occasions & events. The Ten Square is the ideal choice for a weekend away, or a longer stay to explore the heart of Belfast’s blossoming scene.

double room in a hotel in belfast

Food Tour and Free Afternoon

Upon arrival meet Tracey Jeffrey’s who will extend a warm Irish Welcome and invite you into her traditional Irish Cottage. Enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and some homemade sweet treats. Then it’s time to get started! The session starts with a traditional Irish Fruit Soda Cake. This is a sweet treat and delicious with lots of homemade Irish butter. While the Fruit Soda Cake is baking in the stove oven, you will make some potato bread or fadge as they call it in Northern Ireland. Add fillings of your choice to the potato mix – scallions or cheese.

You will also make Soda Bread and Tray Bakes, both traditional to the area. After you have kneaded, rolled mixed and baked the breads and tray-bakes, then comes the fun part. You will have a tasting session and another tea or coffee. This will be a feast Irish style! Of course you will take home a bag filled with your handmade products and all of the recipes that we made in Tracey’s house.

You will then have the afternoon to yourself, you can relax in the hotel or go out and explore more of what Belfast has to offer.

Accommodation: The Ten Square Hotel Belfast

Giant's Causeway and Whiskey Tour

Giants Causeway from Belfast:

Your drive up from Belfast will take you along the coast road (known as the Causeway Coastal Route) via the Glens of Antrim. There are stunning views of the sea to the right; and the mountains –or the Glens of Antrim –to the left. Most impressive are the spectacular views of Mull of Kintyre, Scotland –clearly visible on a fine day. Along the coast road you will pass the quaint coastal villages of Glenariff, Cushendall and Cushendun. You will also pass the fishing village of Carnlough, where we recommend stopping for morning tea at the Londonderry Arms Hotel once owned by Winston Churchill.

Whiskey on the Rocks at the Giant’s Causeway:

Sitting on basalt rocks in a quiet spot on the Giant’s Causeway, you take a sip of Bushmills 12-Year-Old Distillery Reserve whiskey and let the salty sea wind envelop you. This is a truly unique, and intimate, way to experience the world-famous Giant’s Causeway, and to savor the world-famous whiskey distilled just a couple of miles away.

A guide from Bushmills will explain the history and the methods used in the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world, dating back to 1608. You’ll sit on rocks as the 12-Year-Old Distillery Reserve is poured. You’re in for a treat: the whiskey you’ll be drinking is exclusively available at the Distillery, and cannot be bought online. You’ll also get a miniature bottle to take home. Your guide will talk you through the tastes and smells to pick up on as you raise a toast to the giants and take a sip of warming whiskey.

Accommodation: The Ten Square Hotel Belfast

bar in a hotel in belfast

Departure

This morning check-out of the the Ten Square Hotel after a final breakfast and make your way back to the airport. Return your car rental and board your flight home. We hope you enjoyed your stay and safe onward travels!

Location Information

Belfast, the capital city of Northern Ireland is a vibrant city full of life. With beautiful scenery and architecture as well as countless bars and restaurants there is something for everyone. Also on your tour you will get to experience the Causeway Coastal Route which will provide beautiful views of both the Irish Sea and the Glens of Antrim.

From £901 pp