Backpacking in Northern Ireland - Mini Guide for Backpackers
June 19 2023 | Tagged: United Kingdom
I spent 3 weeks backpacking in Northern Ireland. This is a mini guide for budget backpackers. It is not comprehensive by any means.
Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. Pound Sterling is the official currency but like Scotland, they do issue their own bank notes.
ATMs with free withdrawals can be found all over. Just avoid the non-branded ATMs found in convenience stores.
You can pay by card in nearly every place. There are still a few places thank God, that are CASH ONLY LOYAL And if you don't have the bus app, you need to pay in cash.
ATMs with free withdrawals can be found all over. Just avoid the non-branded ATMs found in convenience stores.
You can pay by card in nearly every place. There are still a few places thank God, that are CASH ONLY LOYAL And if you don't have the bus app, you need to pay in cash.
Arriving in Northern Ireland by Ferry
Ferries connect Cairnryan in Scotland to Larne and Belfast.
From Larne it is, easy to get the train to Belfast. The walkway from the ferry goes right into the little railway station.
From the Stena Line terminal in Belfast, you can catch a bus into town. So very easy. You can read all details on my Scotland to Northern Ireland by ferry post.
From Belfast you can get to Douglas, Isle of Man and Birkenhead, Liverpool. But you need to check with the ferry companies for any seasonal variations.
From Larne it is, easy to get the train to Belfast. The walkway from the ferry goes right into the little railway station.
From the Stena Line terminal in Belfast, you can catch a bus into town. So very easy. You can read all details on my Scotland to Northern Ireland by ferry post.
From Belfast you can get to Douglas, Isle of Man and Birkenhead, Liverpool. But you need to check with the ferry companies for any seasonal variations.
Arriving in Northern Ireland by train/bus
There are lots of border crossings to and from The Republic of Ireland.
There are trains running from Connolly Railway station in Dublin to Lanyon Place in Belfast.
Buses run from Busáras bus station in Dublin to the Europa Bus Centre in Belfast.
There are trains running from Connolly Railway station in Dublin to Lanyon Place in Belfast.
Buses run from Busáras bus station in Dublin to the Europa Bus Centre in Belfast.
Getting around in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland has a great rail network. There are 5 lines:
1. Bangor to Newry via Belfast
2. Belfast to Larne
3. Belfast to Londonderry
4. Coleraine to Portrush
5. Belfast to Dublin
You can get great deals on return tickets after 9.30 am. The longest stretch is to Londonderry. I bought a return for £15.80 which is actually sold as an all day ticket and if you want to ride the buses too, that will cost you £18.
The Translink Bus Network is pretty extensive. On the North Antrim Coast, if you wanna (back)pack as much as you can into one day, you can get a DAY RAMBLER ticket. You can pay through the app, other wise you must have cash. They haven't gone contact less.
The rail/bus combo tickets can only be purchased at the train stations.
1. Bangor to Newry via Belfast
2. Belfast to Larne
3. Belfast to Londonderry
4. Coleraine to Portrush
5. Belfast to Dublin
You can get great deals on return tickets after 9.30 am. The longest stretch is to Londonderry. I bought a return for £15.80 which is actually sold as an all day ticket and if you want to ride the buses too, that will cost you £18.
The Translink Bus Network is pretty extensive. On the North Antrim Coast, if you wanna (back)pack as much as you can into one day, you can get a DAY RAMBLER ticket. You can pay through the app, other wise you must have cash. They haven't gone contact less.
The rail/bus combo tickets can only be purchased at the train stations.
You can check out the latest times and fares on the Translink website.
Accommodation in Northern Ireland for budget travellers
OK, I'll be straight to the point on this. This is the worst aspect of backpacking in Northern Ireland. There is not enough budget accommodation available. And the prices which are OK, Sunday to Thursday double for Friday and Saturday nights, that's even if you can make a booking. Book very early to secure your bed.
Belfast, the capital has only 4 or 5 hostels. I stayed in 2 of them.
Lagan Backpackers, the worst of the bunch. I left a seething review on GoogleMaps and Booking. Do not stay here. It's totally crap.
Vagabonds Hostel. I stayed 6 nights here. It has the perfect backpacker set up. Dorm beds, communal lounge, self catering kitchen, free breakfast, free tea and coffee all day, fast WiFi that works everywhere, lots of bathrooms and great staff. The only down side is that it gets booked up quickly. And on the weekend, Friday and Saturday nights, the price gets jacked up from £21 to £35 or more. On 2 saturdays I had to move hostels. Impossible to get a bed.
Belfast International Youth Hostel: I went to check the YHA out. It's a run of the mill, big city YHA, without character. Dorm beds are £20 a night, if you book early enough in advance.
Global Village: This is one street over from Lagan Backpackers. The building has been renovated. Looked pretty nice. A fellow traveller has said it was a good place. I didn't manage to get a bed there, fully booked when I tried. Crazy expensive at the weekend.
Outside of Belfast:
Bushmills Youth Hostel: I stayed here for a week. Great little place! Was happy there but had to move for the weekend of the NorthWest 200 motorbike event. Perfectly located, great kitchen.
Finn McCool Hostel: This is next to the Giant's Causeway. You need to take your own supplies. 2 miles from Bushmills town, a few hundred yards from The Nook pub which does food.
Whitepark Bay Youth Hostel: I stayed just 1 night here. I would have stayed longer but you need to take all your food with you. There is a fully equipped kitchen but no free food cupboard, not even sugar or salt.
There used to be a hostel in Londonderry. It was taken over by the housing association. Cheapest B&B will be £60 a night.
The YHA in Armagh has closed. There is a backpackers in Ballycastle but at £35 a night, it is not backpacker friendly.
Belfast, the capital has only 4 or 5 hostels. I stayed in 2 of them.
Lagan Backpackers, the worst of the bunch. I left a seething review on GoogleMaps and Booking. Do not stay here. It's totally crap.
Vagabonds Hostel. I stayed 6 nights here. It has the perfect backpacker set up. Dorm beds, communal lounge, self catering kitchen, free breakfast, free tea and coffee all day, fast WiFi that works everywhere, lots of bathrooms and great staff. The only down side is that it gets booked up quickly. And on the weekend, Friday and Saturday nights, the price gets jacked up from £21 to £35 or more. On 2 saturdays I had to move hostels. Impossible to get a bed.
Belfast International Youth Hostel: I went to check the YHA out. It's a run of the mill, big city YHA, without character. Dorm beds are £20 a night, if you book early enough in advance.
Global Village: This is one street over from Lagan Backpackers. The building has been renovated. Looked pretty nice. A fellow traveller has said it was a good place. I didn't manage to get a bed there, fully booked when I tried. Crazy expensive at the weekend.
Outside of Belfast:
Bushmills Youth Hostel: I stayed here for a week. Great little place! Was happy there but had to move for the weekend of the NorthWest 200 motorbike event. Perfectly located, great kitchen.
Finn McCool Hostel: This is next to the Giant's Causeway. You need to take your own supplies. 2 miles from Bushmills town, a few hundred yards from The Nook pub which does food.
Whitepark Bay Youth Hostel: I stayed just 1 night here. I would have stayed longer but you need to take all your food with you. There is a fully equipped kitchen but no free food cupboard, not even sugar or salt.
There used to be a hostel in Londonderry. It was taken over by the housing association. Cheapest B&B will be £60 a night.
The YHA in Armagh has closed. There is a backpackers in Ballycastle but at £35 a night, it is not backpacker friendly.
Places to visit in Northern Ireland:
Northern Ireland sure does pack a lot into a small country and I certainly backpacked the hell out of it in my 3 weeks I spent there:
1. Giant's Causeway
This is Northern Ireland's top attraction. Located on the North Antrim Coast not far from the town of Bushmills and I will stick my neck out and say that if you do just one thing on your trip to Northern Ireland, Giant's Causeway should be on your agenda!
And it's backpacker friendly. You can walk there from Bushmills and there is no entrance fee.
And it's backpacker friendly. You can walk there from Bushmills and there is no entrance fee.
2. The Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge
I didn't go to the rope bridge, but heard from others that it's pretty neat. High Ticket price though!
3. Bushmills Distillery
After you have backpacked the Giant's Causeway go and backpack/tour The Old Bushmills Distillery. You get a free drink at the end. Make sure it's the Bushmills Reserve as it's the most expensive one.
4. Rathlin Island
Rathlin Island. OMG, it's a pretty magical place. You take the ferry, £6 each way, from Ballycastle, go and check out the Puffins at the RSPB Rathlin West Light SeaBird Center. Accommodation is not cheap. The Manor House set me back £70 a night with breakfast included but it was well worth it, not only for the hotel but it gives you a little more time to appreciate the island.
5. Belfast
There are so many things to see and do in Belfast itself. There is the Titanic Museum, the old docks, and The Crumlin Road Gaol. You can take a guided tour to the Shankill Road and Falls Road areas where Loyalists and Republicans share with you their side of the story.
There is the MAC art museum, W5 Science Museum, and the SS Nomadic Steamship.
Plenty to keep you occupied.
And it's easy to get to the surrounding towns too.
Using Belfast as a base, I backpacked Bangor, Newtownards, Larne, Carrickfergus and Whitehead where I visited the Railway Museum.
There is the MAC art museum, W5 Science Museum, and the SS Nomadic Steamship.
Plenty to keep you occupied.
And it's easy to get to the surrounding towns too.
Using Belfast as a base, I backpacked Bangor, Newtownards, Larne, Carrickfergus and Whitehead where I visited the Railway Museum.
6. Londonderry
I also made the journey out to Londonderry as a rather long day trip, merely because there is no budget accommodation in town.
There are two sides to Londonderry. First and perhaps most well known, as being the place of the Bloody Sunday Massacre in 1972, where British Paratroopers opened fire on 26 unarmed civilians during a protest march killing 14 people.
I backpacked Bogside, the scene of the massacre. I went to the Museum of Free Derry, which I regret. I found it very much one-sided. I don't condone what happened in '72 but the way they go on about it is as if the Republicans were angels.
And the other side of Londonderry or Derry-Londonderry as it is perhaps known now, is the much more historical part of the city. Londonderry is the only completely intact walled city remaining in Ireland. The Derry Walls date from the early 1600s and were built as defences against settlers from England and Scotland. The walls are almost 1 mile in circumference and you can walk along the top, all the way around. During the 1689 Siege of Derry which lasted for 105 days, the walls were never breached.
Couldn't even force a smile at the Free Derry Corner:
There are two sides to Londonderry. First and perhaps most well known, as being the place of the Bloody Sunday Massacre in 1972, where British Paratroopers opened fire on 26 unarmed civilians during a protest march killing 14 people.
I backpacked Bogside, the scene of the massacre. I went to the Museum of Free Derry, which I regret. I found it very much one-sided. I don't condone what happened in '72 but the way they go on about it is as if the Republicans were angels.
And the other side of Londonderry or Derry-Londonderry as it is perhaps known now, is the much more historical part of the city. Londonderry is the only completely intact walled city remaining in Ireland. The Derry Walls date from the early 1600s and were built as defences against settlers from England and Scotland. The walls are almost 1 mile in circumference and you can walk along the top, all the way around. During the 1689 Siege of Derry which lasted for 105 days, the walls were never breached.
Couldn't even force a smile at the Free Derry Corner:
H-Block Hunger Strike Memorial:
Bloody Sunday Monument:
Backpacking without smiles at The Derry Walls:
Drinking in Northern Ireland
Am rather partial to a pint of the black stuff. Guinness. On Rathlin Island, it cost me £4.50. In Belfast, £5.50 or £6 was normal but the saving grace is that as all over the UK, Wetherspoon has the cheapest beer and there, a Guinness cost £3.79. The cheapest Ale is just £1.81. There is one in Belfast.
Wetherspoon, it's a life saver. Make sure you bookmark that.
Wetherspoon, it's a life saver. Make sure you bookmark that.
Opposite the Europe Hotel, which was once the most bombed hotel in Europe where I stopped off for a tea, are 2 bars worth visiting, Robinsons Bar and The Crown