Valentines Road Trip ideas in Northern Ireland

SERE Motors News,Top Tips,Events

03 February 2023

No Valentines plans? No problem

Valentines is fast approaching and whether you are spending it with your significant other, your friends or yourself, what better date than a road trip? Don’t worry about planning anything, we have done that for you (if you want to take the credit, we won’t mind)!

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Whether it's a mate date or romantic getaway, SERE Motors are giving you the chance to win a hamper filled with lots of goodies for your very own car date this valentines day!

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The best places to take a road trip in Northern Ireland and further...

Causeway Coast

Journey on a magnificent 120-mile circuit with beautiful one of a kind sea views from Belfast all the way to Derry/Londonderry. You’ll want to grab some pictures of the views for the gram.

Take the A2 north out of Belfast and follow it anti-clockwise around Northern Irelands beautiful coastal routes – you’ll reach Giants causeway in an hour and a half.

Mourne Mountains

Drive an hour south of Belfast and see the stunning Mourne Mountains located in Newcastle, County Down. You will find Slieve Donard, the province’s highest mountain, as well as the Electric Brae, where an optical illusion makes parked cars appear to roll backwards uphill!

Fun fact: the Mourne mountains inspired C.S. Lewis to write The Chronicles of Narnia and more recently, Game of Thrones was filmed here.

Take the A24 south from Belfast and reach the Mourne Mountains in an hour.

Mourne Mountains located in Newcastle, County Down

The Dark Hedges

Located in Ballymoney, the mysterious avenue of beech trees was planted by the Stuart family to impress those arriving at their mansion, but you may recognise them from the hit TV series Game of Thrones.

Drive north from Belfast on the A26 to reach The Dark Hedges in one hour and 15 minutes.

Ards Peninsula

A hidden gem passing through a serene landscape filled with churches, villages, and lovely cows. The views over the bay are spectacular and on a clear day you can even see the Scottish coast!

Take the A2 out of Belfast and drive clockwise around the coast and arrive in just over an hour.

Lough Neagh

Lough Neagh is the largest freshwater lough in the British Isles and is full of hidden coves, sheltered bays and big blue skies (hopefully). You can drive around and look at the gorgeous scenery, or park up and bask in the romance with your partner.

Drive west from Belfast along the A52 and reach Lough Neagh in around half an hour.

Donegal Coast

If you fancy a longer drive, the Donegal Coast is a spectacular day trip across the border. Drive along the Wild Atlantic Way of Donegal and you’ll be blown away by the coastal cliffs and waterfalls – there really is something special around every bend.

Drive west from Belfast via the M1 and A5 to reach the Donegal Coast in around two and a half hours.

Pack a picnic!

The good thing about a road trip is that you can eat what you want, when you want, either in the car, or at a picnic stop. Pack your (or your partners) favourite sarnies, snacks, and drinks and off you go. Bonus points for bringing napkins.

Bring games.

Playing board games in the car can be a comical and very humbling experience, but its doable (just a bit uncomfortable) and worst comes to worse, you get out the car and play outside (weather permitting). If you aren’t up to the board-game-in-a-car challenge, just bring a pack of cards.

Bring a movie.

Bring your tablet or laptop, or even your phone, get your popcorn and watch a movie together in a scenic location.

Make a road trip playlist.

There’s nothing worse than rubbish tunes on a road trip. Plan ahead and make a playlist with your favourite songs – or songs that remind you of your partner if you want to be all lovey-dovey.

Things you’ll thank us for

Sunglasses
Reusable shopping bag
Reusable water bottle (we love a sustainable queen)
Toilet paper… not the most romantic thing to bring but trust us
Wipes
Hand sanitiser
Bin bags! Nothing worse than a car full of sweetie wrappers
Phone charger
Blanket
Rain jacket (let’s be realistic)
Change of shoes
Suncream
A towel – in case you fancy a swim… or it rains.
EXTRA SOCKS

And don’t forget to pack the most important thing of all…

...your sense of adventure!

We recommend you give your check your car over before any long journeys. If your not comfortable to do this yourself, you might want to get your car checked by our service team.