For a big city experience, Northern Ireland is definitely no joy. I spent two nights in Belfast and although I could see the steps taken to bring the city forward from the issues raised during The Troubles, I found the center of the city to be too tame compared to Dublin. I very much enjoyed my visit to the Titanic Museum and suspect that with the popularity of Game of Thrones, a studio tour, surprisingly not offered as recently as April 2015, will eventually become a hot attraction.

But beyond Belfast was an entirely different story. Coastal scenery to match anything in Ireland and Scotland. Even before the Euro vote, a sense that the folks there are ready to reunite with Ireland. And although I didn't stop in Derry, it looked like a neat little town perched on a plateau. I didn't go to Northern Ireland until 2010 but have now gone three times with plans to return in 2017.

Definitely a place, outside of Belfast, that is resistant to the use of points, however, and as iahphx and others with families have discovered, expensive for accommodations.