Tip:
Please set departure time to (say) '07:00' to see
departures from London & the South to Belfast.
Which
journeys can this system book? One-way or
return journeys between any station in Britain &
Belfast, either direction, via Holyhead or Cairnryan.
For
journeys starting in Belfast, simply enter 'Belfast
NI' as your starting station.
You can
use the 'Route' box to specify Cairnryan or
Holyhead, or leave it blank to see both options.
Ticket
delivery: Tickets can be collected at any main
British station including London Euston, or sent to any
address in Britain or Northern Ireland. They
can't be collected in Belfast.
Booking
fee: There's a £1.00 booking fee. Collection
at stations is free, tickets sent by 1st class post add
£1.50. Debit cards free, credit card fee about
£1.41.
Overseas
credit cards welcome. If you're booking from
the USA, Canada, Australia etc. you can collect tickets
at London Euston, but not in Belfast.
Don't
panic if it offers you a long table of fares!
Just look for the fare that gives you the journey you
want out and the one you want back. Clicking 'details'
will show you the route taken by each journey option.
You will
understand the routes & fares better if you take the
time to read this &
this first!
Tickets by phone: call 08709 000 773
Collecting your ticket: You collect your
tickets from these machines at London Euston or any main
British station (the machine type may vary, and there
are no machines in Northern Ireland). Just use the
touch screen to click 'collect tickets' then insert your
credit card, enter booking reference and out come the
tickets. Alternatively, tickets can also be sent
to any UK address including in Northern Ireland.
Cheap SailRail train+ferry tickets between Belfast and
London or anywhere in Britain...
It's a well-kept secret.You can buy cheap
'SailRail' train & ferry tickets between London or
any station in Britain and Belfast or any station in
Northern Ireland, in either direction, via
either Cairnryan or Holyhead & Dublin, see the
route map below.
One price covers both the train and the ferry, all on
one ticket. You can buy tickets to or from Belfast using the
online booking form
on this page, or to other Northern Irish rail stations
such as Londonderry at
www.thetrainline.com. It's the traditional,
time-honoured way to get there, through the countryside
by train and across the Irish Sea by ferry, the
environmentally-friendly alternative
to a short-haul flight. Bring a bottle of your
favourite wine along (try doing that on Ryanair), sit
back with a good book and enjoy the ride. This
page explains the routes,
timetables,
fares &
how to buy tickets.
London
to Belfast £49 one-way,
Belfast to London £49 one-way...
Any day, any date.
That's £49 via Holyhead & Dublin, or £49 via
Cairnryan. This is the price you pay, even on the day
of travel, it's not a 'starting at' price. The ticket
covers both train & ferry, with no baggage fees, no airport
taxes, no costly train fare to the airport, children under
under 5 free, under 16's half price. The price from
any rail station in Britain is the
same or less:
Birmingham to Belfast £45 via Holyhead
Belfast
to Manchester £44 via Holyhead
Glasgow
to Belfast £27 via Cairnryan
Belfast
to Newcastle £42 via Cairnryan
A small
booking fee applies to online sales.
Buy tickets online, use the form
opposite
▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶
Which route to choose?
Either dive straight in using the online booking form on
the right, or take a bit more time and consider which of
these routes sounds best for you. Click for full
details of timetables, fares, what the journey is like,
and how to buy tickets.
London to Belfast for £49. Take a morning train to Holyhead in Wales and the afternoon ferry to Dublin.
Then take
an evening 'Enterprise' express from Dublin to Belfast.
One ticket covers the whole journey from any station in Britain to Belfast
or any station in Northern Ireland.
Schedules, fares, how to buy ticketsWhat's the journey like?
This takes about the same time as option
1 and is now the same price, London to
Belfast £49.
Leave London on a morning train to Glasgow & change trains for
Ayr then the Stena Line transfer bus to Cairnryan for
the ferry to Belfast. Sadly, from 22 November 2011 Stena
Line switched from using traditional rail-connected
Stranraer to using non-integrated Cairnryan, and this
route now involves a one-hour bus journey
from Ayr to Cairnryan port rather than a direct
train-ferry transfer at Stranraer, although overall journey
time is reduced slightly. One ticket
covers the whole journey, from any station
in Britain to Belfast or any station in Northern Ireland.
Schedules, fares, how to buy
ticketsWhat's the journey like?
Take an afternoon train to Liverpool then the overnight
Stena
Line ferry to Belfast. This is a comfortable
option, although combined train+ferry fares are not
available so you must book train & ferry
train separately. More
details here...
Leave central London aboard
Virgin Trains 9.10am 'Irish Mail' to Holyhead (08:50
Saturdays, 08:15 Sundays). It's a scenic journey along the
North Wales coast...
The 125 mph Voyager train is modern &
air-conditioned, better than any plane or coach, with
T-Mobile WiFi, power sockets for laptops & mobiles and a
buffet car serving drinks & snacks. The train journey
takes 3h40, time to get some work done or catch up on your
reading...
...At Holyhead, you board the luxurious 50,000 ton ferry
'Ulysses' for the sea crossing to Dublin.
...the Ulysses deserves the title 'cruise'
ferry, as perhaps the most luxurious ferry on the Irish
Sea. The crossing takes
3h15, arriving Dublin Ferryport at 17:25.
On board the ferry, it costs £16 (18 euros) to upgrade to club
class in the Martello Lounge on 11 deck, with
complimentary red & white wine, tea & coffee, cheese &
crackers, olives, smoked salmon canapés, muffins & fruit
juice. The lounge is directly above the ship's
bridge, giving a superb forward view of the Irish coast
approaching...
...Transfer from Dublin Ferryport to Dublin Connolly
station and board the 19:00 'Enterprise' express train to Belfast. Dublin to Belfast takes
just 2 hours by train.
...Spacious seating, a buffet car serving tea, coffee, &
hot meals, and great Irish scenery. You arrive at
Belfast Central at 21:10. 4 countries in 1 day!
Welcome to Belfast! No planes, no airports, no
fuss.
At the Stena Line terminal in Belfast, check-in is
quick & painless, unlike airports. You check
in your luggage in so you don't have to carry it on
the ferry.
Map showing ferry terminal. A taxi from the
city centre costs about £10.
...This is the view astern from the 07:30 ferry
leaving Belfast, with the famous Harland & Wolff
gantry cranes in the background. The ferry
heads along Belfast Lough and out into the Irish
Sea... The crossing takes 2 hours 15 minutes.
All ferries have restaurants, bars, shops, cinema &
free WiFi for laptops. Take the Stena Line
transfer bus from Cairnryan ferry terminal to Ayr
for the train to Glasgow...
At Glasgow, change onto a 125 mph Virgin Trains
'Pendolino' for London. Enjoy the scenery as
you cross from Scotland into England, skirt the Lake
District and head for the Big Smoke. The train tilts
into the curves, hence the name
'pendolino', though you'll only notice the tilt if
you look closely along
the train.
This is standard class on a Pendolino, with power
sockets for laptops & mobiles, T-Mobile WiFi,
air-conditioning & a shop selling drinks & snacks.
Time to get some work done or catch up on your
reading! Glasgow to London takes just 4 hours
15 minutes.
£49 any day, any date, even bought on the
day of travel. No airports, no planes, no
hassle...
This is the cheapest route, with the chance to see Dublin
on the way. It takes about the same time as the
Cairnryan route, so just see which timetable suits you
best, this one or one via Cairnryan. Or go out one
way, back the other.
London ▶ Belfast
Step 1, travel from London to Dublin by train & ferry,
leaving London Euston by train at 09:10 on
Mondays-Fridays, 08:50 Saturdays, or 08:15 Sundays for
Holyhead, which connects with the 14:10 Irish Ferries
sailing to Dublin Ferryport
arriving at 17:25.
For full details
of this journey, see the Ireland
page. Transfer by shuttle bus the 2 miles from
Dublin Ferryport to the Busaras (Dublin's central bus
station), which is just around the corner from Dublin Connolly station.
Step 2, travel from Dublin to Belfast by train, leaving
Dublin Connolly at 19:00 by air-conditioned 'Enterprise'
express, arriving Belfast Central at 21:10.
London-Belfast costs £49 one-way if bought before 18:00
the day before travel, including trains & ferry
(but not the bus transfer in Dublin, 2.50 euros). This fare
doesn't change, it's always £49 whether bough 90 days
ahead or 1 day ahead. However, it is now £54 if
bought on the day of travel.
If you want to stop off in Dublin, stopovers aren't allowed with these
cheap through tickets, so simply buy a £38 London-Dublin ticket
(see the Ireland page for times,
fares & online booking), then buy a separate
Dublin-Belfast train ticket at the ticket office at
Connolly station when you get to Dublin, see
www.irishrail.ie for times & prices.
There are other
options available via this route, including an overnight
London-Dublin service with morning train connection from
Belfast. See
the London
to Ireland page for all
London to Dublin options. Then see www.IrishRail.ie
for Dublin-Belfast train times. Allow
plenty of time in Dublin to make the connection.
There are 'Enterprise' expresses from
Dublin Connolly station to Belfast every hour or two from
around 07:00 to around 20:00, journey time 2 hours.
Belfast ▶ London
Step 1, travel from Belfast to Dublin by train, on
any evening train you like.
Stay the night in Dublin. In fact, there's an
overnight Dublin-London ferry+train service, but without
any sleeping accommodation so it's not a great trip, but
if you want to use it, it departs Dublin Ferryport at
20:55 and arrives London 08:36,
see the
timetable here.
Step 2, next day travel from Dublin to London by ferry & train,
leaving Dublin busaras (bus station) at 07:30 or using a
taxi to connect with the luxurious Irish Ferries
'Ulysses' leaving at 08:05 and arriving Holyhead at
11:30. A train connection will get you to London
Euston station at 16:38 Mondays-Saturdays, 16:44 on Sundays. For full
details of this journey,
see the
Ireland page.
Belfast-London costs £49 one-way if bought before 18:00
the day before travel, including trains & ferry
(but not the bus transfer in Dublin, 2.50 euros). This fare
doesn't change, it's always £49 whether bough 90 days
ahead or 1 day ahead. However, it is now £54 if
bought on the day of travel.
If you want to stop off in Dublin, stopovers aren't allowed with these cheap through tickets,
so simply buy a
normal Belfast-Dublin train ticket (see
www.irishrail.ie) plus a £38 Dublin-London train+ferry ticket, see
the Ireland page for times, fares & online booking.
There are other
options available via this route, including an overnight
Dublin-London service with evening train connection from
Belfast. See the
London
to Ireland page for all Dublin to London options, then
see www.IrishRail.ie
for Dublin-Belfast train times. Allow
plenty of time in Dublin to make connections.
There are 'Enterprise' expresses from
Belfast to Dublin every hour or two throughout the day, journey time 2 hours.
Advance = Book by 18:00 the day before travel.
No refunds, but changes of date and time allowed for £10 fee
in person at British stations. Only valid on the
specific trains reserved.
Walk-up = Bought on day of travel. Refundable,
less £15-20 admin fee. Valid on any reasonable
connecting train service.
Transfer bus in Dublin:
The bus from Dublin Ferryport to Dublin busaras isn't
included. This costs 2.50 euros (1.50 euros for
children).
Return journeys: A return journey = two one-way
fares.
Children: Children aged 5 to 15
travel at 50% off the fares shown above. children
under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
Unaccompanied children 16-17 years old must have written
authority to travel from their parent or guardian.
Taking a bicycle? Bikes
go for £5 on both Stena Line & Irish Ferries, no reservation required,
pay at the port. Bikes are carried on trains
to Holyhead, but reservations are usually required and a
small fee is payable. Bikes are not carried on DART
trains from Dun Laoghaire to Dublin city centre, so you'll have
to cycle the 11 km.
Stop-overs are not allowed in either direction,
including (for more than an hour or two) in Dublin, so you must
complete your journey to Belfast in one go. But if you want to stop off in Dublin for more than
this, simply buy separate London-Dublin and Dublin-Belfast
tickets (see the Ireland page for
London-Dublin &
www.IrishRail.ie
for Dublin-Belfast).
Better value than flying: When comparing with the cost of a flight,
remember that it will cost £13 one-way or £26 return for the
train ride from central London to or from Luton, Stansted or
Gatwick airports, in addition to the air fare. And
remember the airline baggage fees, check-in fees, and so
on... And these SailRail fares are available at
short notice and peak times, too, when flights are
expensive!
Railcards:
As they are so cheap anyway, there's no further discount
for young person's or senior railcard holders.
Which
British station is in which zone?
New zones from 2 January 2012
You can buy a train+ferry ticket from
any mainland UK railway station to
Belfast, Londonderry, or any Northern Irish
railway station.
Zone A:
Gwynedd North, Clwyd
Zone B:
Greater Manchester,
Liverpool & Merseyside, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Cheshire
Zone C:
Lancashire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire,
Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, West Midlands,
Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Hereford & Worcester, Gloucestershire,
Powys, Gwynedd South.
Zone D:
Cumbria, North Yorkshire,
Humberside, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire,
Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Avon,
Gwent, South Glamorgan, Mid Glamorgan, West Glamorgan,
Dyfed, Somerset.
Zone
E:
London, anywhere in Scotland, Tyne & Wear,
Durham, Cleveland, Northumberland, Greater
London, Surrey, Norfolk, Suffolk,
Essex, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire,
Dorset, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall.
onlineusing the booking
form above to buy tickets between any station in
Britain & Belfast in either direction. For
tickets beyond Belfast to Londonderry, Portrush,
Coleraine and other NI stations, book online at
www.thetrainline.com.
online
at
www.stenaline.co.uk. You can also book tickets
from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Ayr and a few other Scottish
stations to Belfast at
www.stenaline.co.uk. However, tickets can only
be sent to UK addresses, they cannot be collected at
stations, and the Stena Line system will only sell
tickets from a few Scottish stations to Belfast, not
from London and other British stations.
in
person at most British
railway stations including London Euston.
in person
in Belfast at the Northern Ireland Railways Travel
centre at Great Victoria Street station, open
09:00-17:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-12:30 Saturday.
by calling 08709 000 773.
Lines are open 08:00-20:00 Mondays-Fridays, 0900-1700
Saturdays & Sundays. See
www.sailrail.co.uk for more information.
by calling Virgin Trains on
0845 7 222
333 Tickets can be posted to any UK address
or you can ask to pick them up
on departure from many UK railway stations, including London
Euston.
by calling Stena Line on 08445 762 762.
Lines are open 08:30-20:00 Mondays-Fridays, 09:00-18:00
Saturdays & 09:00-17:00 on Sundays.
You can buy
tickets the online booking
system above. Tickets cannot be sent overseas, so
select the option to collect tickets from a self-service
ticket machine at most major stations including London
Euston (but not Belfast).
Otherwise, it's
easy to wait till you get to the UK and book at the
station. Remember, the cheap flexible fares have
unlimited availability so there's no need to book a place
weeks ahead. Just wait till you arrive in London.
Alternatively, call Virgin
Trains on +44 870 9080 107.
Tickets can only be posted to UK addresses, but you can ask
to pick them up
at many UK railway stations, including London
Euston, or have them sent to your hotel. Or call Stena Line
on
+44 870 5 455 455.
The
traditional, historic route to Belfast has always been via
the Scottish port of Stranraer. It takes
about the same time as the Holyhead & Dublin route,
and shows you a lot of wonderful Scottish scenery on the
way. Until 20 November 2011, you took a train from Glasgow to Stranraer in southwest Scotland and
walked straight onto the Stena Line ferry to Belfast in
Northern Ireland. Sadly, from 22 November 2011
Stena Line have moved their port from historic,
rail-connected, integrated Stranraer to dis-integrated
Cairnryan in the middle of nowhere, miles from any rail
station. They have laid on a one-hour bus journey
to Ayr to connect with the trains to and from Glasgow
and the rest of the country.
London &
Glasgow ► Belfast by train+ferry
By 125mph 'pendolino' train..
Mondays-Fridays
Saturdays
Sundays
Depart London Euston
-
05:39
09:30
-
06:05
10:30
-
08:45
Arrive Glasgow Central
-
10:36
14:01
-
11:03
15:01
-
14:01
By ScotRail train
Depart Glasgow Central
07:30
11:42*
15:30
07:30
11:42*
15:30
11:42*
15:00
Arrive Ayr
08:26
12:29*
16:24
08:26
12:29*
16:24
12:29*
15:54
By Stena Line connecting bus
Depart Ayr
08:45
12:45
16:45
08:45
12:45
16:45
12:45
16:30
Arrive Cairnryan port
09:55
13:55
17:55
09:55
13:55
17:55
13:55
17:40
By Stena Line ferry
Depart Cairnryan
11:30
15:30
19:30
11:30
15:30
19:30
15:30
19:30
Arrive Belfast port
13:45
17:45
21:45
13:45
17:45
21:45
17:45
21:45
How to read these timetables... Each column
is a service you can take, and you read downwards.
You change trains at each of the grey bars.
You take a 125 mph Virgin Trains 'Pendolino' train from
London to Glasgow. As from 22 November, Stena
Line stop using Stranraer and switch to Cairnryan, so you
now need to take a train from Glasgow to Ayr,
then a special Stena Line connecting bus from Ayr to
Cairnryan to connect with the Cairnryan-Belfast ferry as
shown. Times may vary on Saturdays & Sundays due
to engineering work, so check train & ferry times for
your date of travel using the
online booking form above or
www.nationalrail.co.uk.
* = Avoid the Stena Line bus! The 11:42 train from
Glasgow continues to Stranraer through pretty Scottish
scenery arriving 13:54, in plenty of time to take a 5.6 mile
9-minute £13 taxi ride to Cairnryan ferry terminal. I
recommend pre-booking the taxi, try calling 01776 705555 or
01776 700070. SailRail tickets will remain valid via
Stranraer, but won't cover the taxi, obviously.
Belfast Port (Stena Line
terminal) is at the far end of West Bank Road,
see map showing Stena Line terminal. A taxi from
central Belfast costs around £10.
Important booking tip: The
online booking
system above tends to offer the 10:45 departure on
Sundays, but I recommend the 09:45 to give a safer connection
in Glasgow. Just go ahead and buy an online ticket with a
reservation on the 10:45, the ticket will also be valid on the 09:45.
If you have any problems booking online,
simply book by phone instead.
...from any other station in
Britain to or from Belfast, simply use
online booking
system above
to find train+ferry times for your date of travel.
The
Glasgow-Cairnryan-Belfast timetable is also shown on the
Stena Line website at
www.stenaline.co.uk,
just select 'Rail & Sail' and use the journey planner.
Fares...
via Stena Line Cairnryan-Belfast
One-way
fare
Return
fare
London
► Belfast
£49
£98
UK
zone A (e.g. Glasgow) ► Belfast
£27
£54
UK
zone B (e.g. Edinburgh) ► Belfast
£27
£54
UK
zone C (e.g. Fife) ► Belfast
£31
£62
UK
zone D (e.g. Perth) ► Belfast
£31
£62
UK
zone E (e.g. Inverness) ► Belfast
£38
£76
UK
zone F (e.g. Aberdeen) ► Belfast
£38
£76
UK
zone G (e.g. Cumbria) ► Belfast
£35
£70
UK
zone H (e.g. Manchester) ► Belfast
£42
£84
UK
zone J (e.g. Leeds) ► Belfast
£42
£84
UK
zone K (e.g. Birmingham) ► Belfast
£42
£84
UK
zone L (e.g. Oxford) ► Belfast
£49
£98
UK
zone M (e.g. Plymouth) ► Belfast
£49
£98
These fares
are 'Anytime' fares =
Travel on any train, any ship, any date. Unlimited
availability. You can buy tickets at any time at this
price,
even on the day of travel.
Returns are valid one month, and you can leave the return
date open if you like.
Any station in the Glasgow
area, Strathclyde,
Dumfries & Galloway
UK zone B:
Any station in the Edinburgh
area, Lothian,
Borders
UK zone C:
Any station in Fife;
UK zone
D: Tayside; UK zone E: Inverness
& Highlands; Zone F: Grampian
UK zone
G:
Any station in Cumbria
UK zone H:
Any station in Lancashire, Greater
Manchester, Merseyside.
UK zone
J:
Any station in Yorkshire, Humberside,
Shropshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire.
UK zone
K:
Any station in Lincolnshire,
Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire,
Warwickshire, West Midlands, Gloucestershire, Hereford
& Worcester, Derbyshire, Gwynedd, Clwyd
UK zone
L:
Any station in Greater London,
Hertfordshire,
Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire,
Berkshire, Bedfordshire, Wiltshire, Avon, Hampshire,
Sussex, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex.
UK zone
M:
Any station in Cornwall, Devon,
Somerset, Dorset.
Senior or young persons railcard holders get a 34% discount on
these fares. No discount with family
railcard.
Children aged 5 to 15
travel at 50% off anytime or advance fares. Children under 5 go
free.
Going beyond Belfast?
You can buy a through ticket to any station in Northern
Ireland, for example Antrim or Londonderry, just add £7 each
way to the standard fare to Belfast.
Unlike
most air fares, these fares are flexible.
Although a reservation is required, you can change your
travel plans as you like, and make the ferry reservation for
the return journey in Belfast when you know when you want to
come back.
You
cannot stop off with a SailRail ticket, except as necessary
to make connections. If you want to stop off, you'll
need to buy separate tickets for each stage.
Remember, these fares are centre to centre, not airport
to airport. When comparing, add £12 one-way or £24
return to the air fare to cover the train ride from London
to Luton, Stansted or Gatwick airports, plus baggage fees,
airport taxes and so on!
For travel by Caledonian Sleeper,
add a sleeper
supplement of £38 per person each way for travel in a
2-berth compartment.
How to buy
tickets...
online,
using the booking
form above (any station in Britain to or from Belfast,
but not
other NI stations). Enter 'Cairnryan' in the
'route' box if you're sure you want the route via
Cairnryan. Tickets can be collected at
most main British stations or sent to UK addresses
including Northern Ireland, but they cannot be collected
in Belfast.
You can also
buy tickets from key stations in Scotland to Belfast
online at the Stena Line website,
www.stenaline.co.uk (tickets posted to UK addresses
only, no collection option).
by calling 08709 000 773. Lines are
open 08:00-20:00 Mondays-Fridays, 0900-1700 Saturdays &
Sundays. See
www.sailrail.co.uk for more information.
in
person in Britain at most British railway stations, including
the main ticket office at London's Euston Station.
in person
in Northern Ireland, at the NIR Travel centre
at Great Victoria Street rail station, open 09:00-17:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-12:30 Saturday, or you can buy in
advance or
on the day of travel at the Stena Line ferry terminal in
Belfast, look for the 'travel centre' counter as
you walk in.
A
comfortable and inexpensive way to reach Northern Ireland
without flying is to take Stena Line (previously operated by Norfolk Line) ship from Liverpool's Birkenhead
ferry terminal to Belfast. An
overnight sailing means that it takes no time at all.
You can check ferry times at
www.stenaline.co.uk as Norfolk Line have
taken over Norse Merchant Ferries, then Norfolkline became
part of DFDS Seaways who then sold the Liverpool-Belfast route to Stena
Line.
Travelling
from London to Belfast, you will need to leave London's
Euston station at around 17:00 to connect in Liverpool with
the 22:30 sailing - to
check train times use
www.nationalrail.co.uk.
You will need to take a taxi from Liverpool Lime Street
station to the ferry terminal, or take a local Merseyrail
train to Birkenhead Hamilton Square station then walk to the
terminal. Don't forget you need to
check-in at least an hour before sailing time. In the
return directions from
Belfast to Liverpool, a train from Liverpool at around 08:30
will get you to London by about 11:45. These are
peak times for train travel on Mondays-Fridays, so check
that an affordable fare is available before committing
yourself to this route.
How much does
it cost?
One-way foot passenger
fares from Liverpool to Belfast are £20, £25 or £30 each way on
the day sailing or £40, £45, £50 each way on the night sailing
for the low, standard or peak date sailings, plus £8 fuel
surcharge. 5-day returns cost £30/£35/£40 on the
day sailing or £55/£60/£65 on the night crossing.
Cabin berths are extra, expect to pay £50 each way per
cabin, which sleeps up to 4 people, with private shower and
toilet. You can check fares & cabin charges for your
date of travel at
www.stenaline.co.uk or (until systems are tranferred)
www.norfolkline-ferries.co.uk.
How to buy tickets...
You
cannot buy combined train+ferry tickets on this route, you
need to buy separate tickets for the ferry and the train. To
check fares and times for the ship, and to book online, go to
www.stenaline.co.uk.
You can also book by calling Stena Line on
0844 7 70 70 70. To
check train times & fares, and to book train tickets to
Liverpool online, see the UK page
or use
www.nationalrail.co.uk.
First, travel from London to
Belfast via any of the routes or services
shown above.
Smart modern air-conditioned trains
(see the photos below) link Belfast
Great Victoria Street and Belfast Central stations with the
historic walled city of Londonderry, also known as
Derry, journey time about 2 hours 20
minutes. To check train times, use the journey planner
at
www.translink.co.uk/NI-Railways.
These new trains
have revolutionised rail travel
in Northern Ireland, increasing in passengers by over 60% in
the last few years.
With comfortable seats, carpet, toilets, air-conditioning
and a scenic route through the countryside and alongside the sea approaching
Londonderry, it's definitely the way to go...
SailRail tickets are available
from any station in Britain to Londonderry, either via Cairnryan or via Holyhead &
Dublin, you can buy a ticket online using
www.thetrainline.com
with ticket collection at any British station, tickets
sent to any UK address, or tickets sent to any worldwide
address for a £7.50 fee.
The Giant's Causeway, and how to
get there...
The famous
Giant's Causeway
is a natural rock formation on the
windswept North Antrim coast, well worth a visit. It can
easily be reached by public transport.
Smart
modern air-conditioned trains (see the photos below)
link Belfast Great Victoria Street or Belfast Central
station with Portrush. These run every few hours, usually
with a quick and easy change of train required at Coleraine. Buses
then run from Portrush (just outside the railway
station) to the Giant's Causeway every few hours.
To check
both train and bus times, go to the journey planner at
www.translink.co.uk/NI-Railways
and select 'Belfast' as your origin and 'Giant's
Causeway' as your destination.
No pre-booking
is needed,
just buy tickets at the station and on board the bus on the
day. They cannot 'sell out'.
The famous Giant's Causeway on the
Northern Irish coast. It's easy to reach without
flying!
New trains...
These new trains are revolutionising travel in
Northern Ireland, with 60% more passengers.
New train interior:
Inside one of the smart new Northern Ireland
Railways C3K trains now linking Belfast with
Londonderry and Belfast with Coleraine & Portrush
for the Giant's Causeway.
The scenic route... One
of the new 'C3K' trains running alongside the
Atlantic on the approaches to Londonderry, a very
enjoyable ride. Exterior photo courtesy
of Northern Ireland Railways.
Train & bus travel in Northern Ireland
Buses and trains in Northern Ireland are operated by
Translink, of which Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) is a
part. To check both train and bus
times in Northern Ireland, use the journey planner
at
www.translink.co.uk.
Belfast ► Dublin
Fast, modern 'Enterprise' trains
link Belfast and Dublin in about 2 hours, with departures
about every 2 hours. The service is jointly run by NIR
and Irish Railways. For times & fares, see
www.translink.co.uk/NI-Railways
or www.irishrail.ie.
www.hotelscombined.com
is probably the best hotel search system I've seen, a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites (Opodo, Expedia,
Booking.com, Hotels.com, AsiaRooms, Travelocity, LateRooms and
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates. Set up in
2005, it's probably the best place to start for booking any
hotel online in any country, worldwide.
Other hotel sites worth a look...
www.tripadvisor.com
is a huge resource, a good place to browse independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels
in Belfast & NI.
www.booking.com is my own preferred hotel booking system
(Hotels Combined being a booking site comparison system). It
has a simple interface, a good selection in most countries
worldwide, useful online customer reviews of each hotel, and
decent prices, usually shown inclusive of unavoidable extras
such as taxes (a pet hate of mine is systems that show one
price, then charge you another!).
Backpacker hostels...
If you're on a tight budget,
don't forget the hostels. For a dorm bed or an
ultra-cheap private room in backpacker hostels in Belfast and most
European cities use
www.hostelbookers.com.
London
to Belfast £49 one-way,
Backpacker hostels...