Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Day Trip from Dublin
Using the handy, two-hour Dublin-Belfast train (€40 “day return” tickets, €20 if booked
online; can cost more Fri-Sun), you could make Belfast a day trip:
7:35 Catch the early-morning train from Dublin's Connolly Station (arriving in Belfast's Central Station
at 9:45)
11:00 City Hall tour (Mon-Fri; later on Sat, none on Sun), browse the pedestrian zone, lunch, ride a
shared black taxi up Falls Road
15:00 Visit Titanic Belfast (after midday crowds subside) or side-trip to the Ulster Folk Park and Trans-
port Museum in nearby Cultra
Evening Return to Dublin (last train departs Belfast Mon-Sat at 20:05 and arrives in Dublin at 22:15)
Sunday's trains depart later and return earlier, compressing your already limited time
here (first train departs Dublin at 10:00 and arrives in Belfast at 12:16; last train departs
Belfast at 19:00 and pulls into Dublin at 21:05). Confirm train times at local stations. Note
that the TI offers the Historic Belfast Walk at 14:00 on Friday-Sunday (Sat-Sun only Nov-
Feb). On Friday and Saturday, St. George's Market bustles in the morning. On Saturday,
the only tours of City Hall are at 14:00 and 15:00. There are no tours on Sunday.
Staying Overnight
Belfast makes a pleasant overnight stop, with plenty of cheap hostels, reasonable B&Bs,
weekend hotel deals (Fri-Sun),andarelaxed neighborhood full ofB&Bs 30minutes away
in Bangor.
Two Days in Belfast:
On the first day, follow my day-trip itinerary described earlier.
For your second day, take the City Sightseeing bus tour in the morning, then visit Carrick-
fergus Castle in the afternoon.
Two Days in Small-Town Northern Ireland:
From Dublin (via Belfast), take the train
to Portrush; allow two nights and a day to tour the Causeway Coast (castle, whiskey distil-
leries, Giant's Causeway, resort fun), then follow the Belfast-in-a-day plan described earli-
er. With a third day, add Derry.
Coming from Scotland or England:
With cheap flights from Edinburgh or Glasgow
(check
www.skyscanner.com
)
, as well as decent but slow ferry connections (from Troon or
Cairnryan in Scotland or Liverpool in England; see “Belfast Connections,” later), it's easy
to begin your exploration of the Emerald Isle in Belfast, and then head south to Dublin and
the Republic.
