Two airports in opposite directions: the Airport Express 300 and 600 buses, the train from Sydenham, flying via Dublin, the ETA rule at the open border – and the Belfast slave ship that never sailed.
The most common mistake visitors make in Northern Ireland happens before they even land: Belfast has two airports, in opposite directions from the city, and they are not interchangeable. Your ticket names the airport – read it twice.
Translink's Airport Express 300 leaves from directly outside the arrivals exit and runs to Belfast Grand Central in about 30–40 minutes, every 15 minutes at weekday peak times and through most of the night. An adult single costs about £9.50 and a return about £13.50; pay by contactless or at the ticket machines.
There is no station. If you are heading north or west – to Antrim, Coleraine or Derry – the Ulsterbus 109A links the airport with Antrim and Lisburn stations, and through "Airlink" add-on tickets combine bus and train.
A taxi to central Belfast is a substantial fare given the distance – roughly 30–45 minutes. The airport is a good place to pick up a hire car for the Causeway Coast, which is around an hour's drive north.
Named after Belfast's most famous footballer, the City airport is so close to the centre that any option works. The Airport Express 600 runs to Belfast Grand Central in about 10–15 minutes, every 20 minutes at peak times. The cheapest option is to walk a few minutes to Sydenham station, over a footbridge, and take a short train into the city. A taxi costs little more than the bus for a group.
Belfast City is also convenient for the Titanic Quarter, which is right next door – see our 7-day Northern Ireland itinerary.
Many visitors to Northern Ireland, especially from outside Europe, fly into Dublin, which has far more long-haul and international routes. Direct coaches run from Dublin Airport to Belfast in about two hours, and the Enterprise train links Dublin Connolly with Belfast Grand Central in a little over two hours. There are no passport checks at the land border – but that does not mean no rules apply. See below.
Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. Most visitors who do not need a UK visa now need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) – and this applies even if you arrive over the open land border from the Republic of Ireland, where there are no checks. Irish citizens are exempt. If you fly into Dublin and plan to visit Belfast, get your ETA (or UK visa) before you travel. Full details: UK visa and entry rules and UK visa and entry from Africa.
Liquid rules at security vary by airport and change as new scanners are installed – check your airport's current rule before you pack.
Plan your trip with our posts on hidden gems of Antrim and Down and Game of Thrones locations.
Belfast was a busy Atlantic port in the 18th century, and its merchants traded in sugar, rum and linen with the Caribbean. In 1786 the merchant Waddell Cunningham called a meeting at the Exchange and Assembly Rooms on Waring Street to found a Belfast slave-ship company. The watchmaker Thomas McCabe, later a founder of the United Irishmen, spoke against it so fiercely that the investors withdrew and the company was never formed. In 1791 the formerly enslaved writer Olaudah Equiano toured Ireland to promote his autobiography and was welcomed in Belfast. Clifton House, the old Belfast Poor House, tells the story today. See also abolition in Britain.
Day tours from Belfast cover the Giant's Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede and the Dark Hedges; city tours explain the murals, the peace walls and the Titanic Quarter.
Entrance fees are included in the tour price; tips are not included but are always welcome.
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Belfast, the Causeway Coast and Derry.
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Olaudah Equiano wrote that he was born in Igboland, in what is now south-eastern Nigeria. Explore Nigeria on our partner site Explore Nigeria, and the wider history on African Independence.
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