Causeway Coastal Route: Belfast to Derry

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The route · 5 stops

1
Belfast
1 night
Northern Ireland's capital on the River Lagan. The Titanic Quarter is home to the award-winning Titanic Belfast museum, and the Cathedral Quarter offers a lively pub and restaurant scene. Use Belfast as your arrival base to stock up, explore, and prepare for the coastal drive that begins the next morning.
Book Titanic Belfast tickets online to avoid queuing. George Best City Airport is 15 minutes from the centre; Belfast International is 40 minutes away by road.
2
Cushendall
1 night1h 30m · 55 km from previous
The Capital of the Glens, sitting at the foot of three of the Nine Glens of Antrim. Use it as a base for Glenariff Forest Park and its famous waterfall trail. En route from Belfast, Carrickfergus Castle is worth a 45-minute stop for its imposing 12th-century Norman keep on the shore of Belfast Lough.
Wear waterproof boots for the Glenariff waterfall trail; the paths can be muddy after rain. The full loop takes 1.5 to 2 hours.
3
Ballycastle
2 nights50m · 27 km from previous
A welcoming market town and the gateway to Rathlin Island. Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge (4 km west) connects a rocky outcrop used by salmon fishermen since the 1700s. The 45-minute ferry to Rathlin Island reaches the RSPB West Light Seabird Centre, home to hundreds of puffins from May to mid-July.
Book Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge tickets online (National Trust) well in advance; it sells out several weeks ahead in peak summer.
4
Bushmills
2 nights45m · 25 km from previous
A neat village 5 minutes from the Giant's Causeway, which UNESCO has listed for its 40,000 interlocking basalt columns. Old Bushmills Distillery (licensed 1608) runs tours and tastings. Dunluce Castle, a dramatic clifftop ruin, is a 10-minute drive east. Portrush, with Whiterocks Beach and Royal Portrush golf course, is 15 minutes further.
The National Trust car park at Giant's Causeway charges a fee. Park in Bushmills village and walk the coastal trail instead; it takes about 35 minutes each way.
5
Derry
1h 30m · 75 km from previous
Northern Ireland's second city on the River Foyle and the western end of the Causeway Coastal Route. The 17th-century city walls are the most complete in Ireland and take about an hour to walk. The Bogside murals tell the civil rights story in vivid colour. The modern Peace Bridge links both sides of the river.
The city walls are free to walk at any time. Start at the Guildhall and walk clockwise for the best views toward the Bogside.

Causeway Coastal Route: Belfast to Derry

The route · 5 stops

Belfast

Cushendall

Ballycastle

Bushmills

Derry

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