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DIRECTIONS


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By air

Northern Ireland's has three commercial airports, with the Belfast being the main gateway. A third airport in operates in Derry.

George Best Belfast City Airport (airport code BHD): just 2 miles from Belfast city center, with magnificent views of the city of Belfast or Belfast Lough offered to passengers on approach and departure. The airport principally serves routes to domestic UK and Ireland, however bmi offers interline connections to its flights and those of the Star Alliance through Heathrow. These flights are code-shared with British Airways, therefore offering interline connections to its flights and those of the One World Alliance. Airlines using the airport include:

The terminal is served every twenty to thirty minutes from 06.00 - 22.00 by the 600 Airport bus (£1.30 single, £2.20 return). Depending on traffic, the journey to Belfast's Laganside and Europa Buscentres should take no more than fifteen minutes. Ask at the airport information desk for a free shuttle ride to the near-by Sydenham railway station for trains towards Bangor, Belfast and Portadown. Considering the airport's proximity to the city, taxis cost less than £10 to most parts of the city and are an economical choice for small groups.

The Airporter is an hourly shuttle from Belfast's two airports to Londonderry/Derry. The journey to Belfast City Airport takes roughly a two hours.

Belfast International Airport (airport code BFS) Locally known as Aldergrove (after the Royal Air Force base that has been there since before the commercial airport was constructed), the international airport is further away from Belfast than the City Airport (but is close to the town of Antrim) offers significantly more international destinations.

The terminal is served up to thirty minutes from 05.35 - 23.20 by the 300 Airport bus (£6 single, £9 return) to Belfast Laganside and Europa Buscentres. Depending on traffic, the journey to Belfast's Laganside and Europa Buscentres takes about forty-five minutes. Taxis should cost no more than £25-£30 to Belfast City Centre.

The Airporter is an hourly shuttle from Belfast's two airports to Londonderry/Derry. The journey to Belfast International takes ninety minutes.

City of Derry Airport (airport code LDY) an airport serving Derry, Tyrone, and Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.

Ulsterbus operates various scheduled services to and from the airport to the main Foyle Street bus depot in the City. Services also operate to and from Limavady. For details of Ulsterbus bus services visit www.translink.co.uk. The typical fare to the city centre is £2.70 and the journey takes approximately 20-30 minutes.

Taxis are available from the airport, with the typical fares to the city centre around £12, with the journey taking roughly 15 minutes.

By train

Despite decades of underinvestment and service cutbacks, Northern Ireland Railways (a division of Translink, Northern Ireland's public transport operator) manages to maintain a small but increasingly reliable passenger rail network around the province, with four 'domestic' lines radiating out from Belfast.

Service is most frequent and reliable on the Portadown - Belfast - Bangor corridor, on which new trains offer frequent and fast suburban service. The line to Londonderry/Derry is exceptionally beautiful as it passes along the north coast after Coleraine, however travellers should note that the railway line is slower (two hours or more) than the equivalent Ulsterbus Goldline express coach (one hour and forty minutes). Contact NIR for information on tourist passes for exploring Northern Ireland by bus and train: with integrated bus and train stations in most major towns, the North is easily explored without a car.

The cross-border service to Dublin (with connections to other destinations in the Republic of Ireland) is offered by the Enterprise, a modern, comfortable and relatively fast train jointly operated by Northern Ireland Railways and Iarnród Éireann (who operate trains in the Republic of Ireland). The journey to Dublin takes around two hours, and there are eight trains a day, offering two classes of service.

By car

Roads link Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. However, pay particular attention to road signs when driving in border areas. In some places the border, being based on county boundaries, runs along the middle of the road while in others it's possible to cross into the South and then back into the North again within several hundred yards. Fortunately both jurisdictions drive on the left though road signs and speed limits in the Republic are now metric (kilometres) while road signs in the North are all imperial (miles).

There are currently no border checks and there is complete freedom of movement between the North and Republic without a passport.

By boat

Ferries cross the Irish Sea from Great Britain to Larne or Belfast in Northern Ireland. All the operators listed below offer special promotions throughout the year, and some also offer through ticketing with rail and bus services at each end.

Seat61.com offers informed and independent advice on how to book combined train and ferry tickets from any railway station in Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

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