Planning a road trip in Northern Ireland with an EV

Planning a road trip in Northern Ireland with an EV

With 4,000 fully electric vehicles on our roads, the adoption of electric cars is accelerating in Northern Ireland and with range fear being one of the main reasons people cite for not purchasing an EV we thought we’d take a look at planning a road trip in the Province in an Electric Vehicle and how feasible a long trip would be. 

We decided to take a look at one of Northern Ireland’s most iconic road trips – the Causeway Coastal Route.

The Causeway Coastal Route is an iconic route with scenic destinations that stretch the coastline, with historic castles and some destinations being home to a few of the Game of Thrones filming locations.  

The trip begins in Belfast and expands all the way to Derry with notable stops including the Glens of Antrim, The Dark Hedges, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Giant’s Causeway and Dunluce Castle. 

There are 45 charging points available across this 137 mile trip which is a perfectly suitable range for an EV.

Most modern electric cars are capable of a range of 130 – 300+ miles on a single charge. 

You can charge your EV overnight using a home charger to ensure you are ready to go the next day when starting your trip.  Before you set off, you should calculate how far you can travel on a single charge and how many en route chargers you may require to ensure a successful trip. 

Below are our top tips:

Plan your charger stops in advance

It’s wise to plan out your charger stops in advance of your journey.  Using apps such as Zap-Map makes planning your route and finding dedicated charge points while you’re on your trip much easier.  It will save you time and charge rather than having to stop your car to search for your next charge.  

There are currently 334 22kW fast chargers available in Northern Ireland and 16 rapid charge points. These are available on or near major roads and can be located using the public networks charge point map.

If you’re an EV owner in Northern Ireland and have decided to take your EV along the coastal route, there are plenty of charge points along the way (45 in total).

For example, if you decide to stop off and visit the Glenarm Castle and Walled Garden while on your trip, there are charging facilities just a short walk from the Castle. That way, you can spend a few hours visiting the Castle while simultaneously charging your car and the added range could last for the rest of the trip. Or if you have decided to stop at the Old Bushmills Distillery then why not top up your charging using the dedicated charge point here?

Have a back up plan

The charging infrastructure in Northern Ireland has a bit of catching up to do with current EV demands, so you may find that the charger you were planning to use is occupied by another EV user. Or you may find that certain EV charging stations might be out of service. We recommend planning an alternative charge point just in case this happens, as well as making sure that you leave yourself plenty of range to get to an alternative charger if necessary. 

Day trip or overnight for EVs? 

If you’re planning to stay overnight and have decided to tackle your road trip over a couple of days some hotels offer charge points on their premises meaning you could take advantage of charging your car overnight. It’s a good idea to check this before you book an overnight stay as not all hotels offer electric vehicle charging just yet.

Ultimately, we think that longer journeys such as road trips in electric vehicles are very similar to those in conventional cars and a road trip in an electric car is absolutely feasible in Northern Ireland.

We would love to see your EV road trips via our social media on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.  If you are an EV owner and want to tackle the Causeway Coastal Route yourself, then you can find guides via Discover Northern Ireland here.