Belfast Ireland
Travel Pro Paradise Rating: 5
Technically the United Kingdom, Belfast is 100% Irish! What does this mean? It means political tension, it means a confused identity, it means pro UK Protestants against pro Irish Catholics, it means a society divided with a long history of infighting, it means we are visiting the home of the Irish Car Bomb!
In recent years tensions have calmed down a bit. The city is safe, but there are still hard feelings on both sides. Other than this underlying theme, the Irish are great hosts and a visit to Belfast is like going to an Irish Pub that is the entire city!
Affordability - 2
Affordable? Not so much. Northern Ireland being Part of of the UK they use the British pound. Their Economy is first world and it comes with first world prices and expenses. This is a country where you pay more and you get less, making it hard on any long term traveler's budget.
There is no cheap street food. There is no cheap accommodation. There is no cheap transportation. In this country you can work and make good money, but you have to spend a lot to have a decent level of comfort. Western Europe is one of the most expensive parts of the world to live and travel in. So it naturally scores very low on affordability.
Accommodation- 2
Here in Belfast there are many options for hostels; simply because it's such an expensive country to travel in. A private hotel room is often $75 dollars and up, you can get a bed in a hostel dorm for about $20. A long term budget traveler knows in all of Latin America, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, India, and more; twenty dollars can get you your own private apartment on Airbnb.
So given the amount of money you have to spend for what you get is disappointing to say the least. However the hotels are in heavy competition with one another especially during the summer months so they are of top quality and great places to make friends and meet fellow travelers. Again with the competition they also get booked up so make sure to reserve in advance.
Food - 2
Unfortunately the food was another disappointment. Hardly a vegetable in sight. Greasy fish and chips around every corner where for 8 dollars you get about 150 grams of fish, 100 grams of breading, a kilo of chips, all soaked in enough fryer grease to give you a stomach ache before you're even half way through your meal.
There were fine dining options with prices high enough to destroy a long term travelers budget in a heartbeat. They had Indian and Chinese restaurants that were average a best. We're talking low quality, greasy, with very few vegetables. To stay on budget buying cheaply made sandwiches at supermarkets is your best bet.
Culture- 8
This is the main reason to come to Belfast, to take in the Irish culture, and wow will you meet some personalities in this country. Drinking is no joke either. The Irish are generally a bunch of rowdy alcoholics. I hate to stereotype but I've never seen a drinking culture like this before.
Nightly bar fights, men with their noses permanently smashed in, now part of their regular appearance. Bars seemingly on every corner and often with a full house. Billboards all over town advertising Jamison, Guinness, and Coors. Vandalized signs which say "Alcohol Free Area" randomly throughout the city.
The only reason the culture rates so high is because it all comes with a crazy Irish charm, accent, and crooked smile. Generally they are very friendly people and it may take a few days to get used to the accent without asking "What?" over an over again. After a week you may even find yourself able to do a great Irish impression!
Another thing you'll notice is that often they use the F word twice in one sentence and about twenty times in a five minute conversation. For some reason everything is F'n this and F'n that. The Irish are tough people. They don't call them the fighting Irish for nothing. The younger crowed have taken it a bit too far and adopted somewhat of a morally bankrupt gang culture, where giving you the finger is almost like saying hello.
Safety- 6
Given their rowdy drinking culture and morally bankrupt youth; Belfast is pretty safe! Your biggest risk of getting into trouble is offending a drunk or a group of young thuggy drunks at 2 am. If you're a smart traveler and know how to avoid conflict, you should be able to avoid and anticipate bad situations before they happen. However part of the experience of being in Ireland is drinking in the pubs, so just be careful and know when it's time to put down your drink and go home.
Activities- 5
The main activity in Belfast would probably be hopping from pub to pub getting as sh*t face as possible without throwing up. Other than that renting a car and exploring the rolling green country side is an awesome option and splitting the price among friends won't set you back that much either.
Walking around the huge botanical garden park is a relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Probably the best activity in Belfast is simply walking around the old historic area taking in the history while searching for incredible murals often depicting the strife of Belfast's troubled past.
Belfast's shipyard is also where the Titanic was built. Now it's been done up as a tourist area with a museum and entry is not cheap. Again "Pay More Get Less" in Belfast Ireland. To see the museum it will cost you about 25 dollars to enter. All over sites like trip advisor you can see people commenting on how it was not worth the money.
Social Atmosphere - 10
It's easy to make friends in Belfast. For starters you'll likely be staying in a hostel filled with fellow travelers all eager to hang out together, share stories, and make friends. Be prepared to meet Americans as the Boston to Belfast connection is a cheap and popular travel rout, combined with the fact many Bostonians have Irish roots and are eager to see where they originally came from.
Drinking and socializing go hand in hand and there is a lot of drinking going on in Belfast. So saddle up to the bar, get yourself a real Irish Guinness and you'll surely be in a conversation with somebody before you know it.
Transportation- 4
If you are coming from the United States Norwegian Airlines offer great inexpensive tickets for as little as $115 one way to hop across the Atlantic departing from New York City or Boston to several cities in Ireland and the UK. From here you can travel further into Europe for cheap or return back to the states.
Once arriving at Belfast's international airport you'll want to follow the crowed to take the bus into the city. It will cost you 12 dollars. Again Pay More Get Less. Ankara Turkey Airport into the city with the same distance is two dollars. Once you are in Belfast it's a pretty small city and you can basically walk everywhere you need to go. You can also take taxis and public transportation.
Infrastructure- 10
Belfast is an old city with a very modern first world infrastructure. The streets are clean, the buildings are well maintained and taken cared of. The roads are in good condition. Everything is how it should be when visiting a first world country.
Weather- 1
The weather in Ireland is generally horrible sometimes all year long. I was fortunate enough to visit for the sunniest and warmest week they've had in over five years according to one local! It was late July, the highs were in the low 70s and it was sunny almost every day. I got extremely lucky.
In Ireland the summers go by in a flash; the Island of Ireland is much further north in latitude than many would even realize. The longest days in the summer the sun will rise at about 5am and set at around 10:30pm and it will take it's time to kind of go around the horizon. The winters are long, cold, dark, and dreary. You'll only get sunlight from about 9am to 4pm, making you depressed and want to drink!
The best time to visit is in the summer months and one thing you will notice immediately is how vibrantly green the plant life is this time of year. Supposedly the short growing season brings out an intense green color that is famously related to the Irish.
Overall Travel Pro Paradise Rating- 5
Overall Ireland is not Travel Pro Paradise; not even close. Horrible weather for most of the year, expensive cost of living, lousy food, not much to do besides hang out and drink, along with risks of violent interactions with alcoholics does not make for a long term budget traveler's dream destination. However this may be a great place for a week's vacation out of the Northeastern United States. If you are interested in drinking and Irish culture then this very well may be the place for you!
With over 12 years of travel experience I answer travel and international lifestyle questions. Leave a question in the comments and I may make a Steemit post just for you!
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Photo Credit: World Travel Pro!
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