There are 3 of us traveling in Northern Ireland and Ireland in October. We are staying in Portrush, Northern Ireland for 3 nights, and we want to visit Carrick-a-Rede-Rope Bridge, Dunluce Castle, Old Bushmills Distillery and Giants Causeway. If time permits, we would like to visit Londonderry as well. We will be in Portrush the first week of October 2018. Will we need a car to get to these destinations, or will there be public transportation available? We could also take a taxi if it is economical for 3 people. We will be starting our trip in Scotland, then flying into Belfast where we will spend one night. Then we will head to Portrush. After Portrush, we will be traveling to Kilkenny, Ireland via either train or rental car, or a combination. We will be renting a car in Ireland, but not sure if it will be in Dublin or Kilkenny. Any advice on car rentals in Northern Ireland/Ireland is welcome.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8402 posts
Northern Ireland has excellent public transport for the places that you mention. You can take the train from Belfast to Coleraine. You get off of the train and simply walk through the station to the bus area. Here you can board the Causeway Rambler which will take you to all of the places mentioned in your post. I have attached a link to a pdf. of its schedule (I hope)
http://journeyplanner.translink.co.uk/ext_webpdf_desk/TTB/EFA02__00004ef6_TP.pdf
There are also buses /trains that go from Coleraine to Derry. Taxis are also easy to get as well. The distances between these places are not great. You may enjoy walking between some of them. We walked from Port Ballintrae to Dunluce Castle and then onto Portrush. We then just hopped a bus back.
Posted by
OP
West Sacramento, California, USA
71 posts
Thank you all so much for your advice and input. It sounds like we can get to the places we want to see via public transportation, so I am not going to rent a car. My one concern is if there are sufficient trains/buses in October as there are in Summer. I will research the websites that are mentioned in your responses. Thank you all for your help.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
6592 posts
While there may be public transportation to the 4 places, I had a rental car to eliminate having to wait on a bus’ schedule. We saw all of those places in a day and spent the night in Portrush.
Posted by
Colorado Springs
2839 posts
While you could certainly accomplish your proposed itinerary using public transportation, for the comfort and convenience involved I'd suggest picking up a rental car upon arrival in Belfast and then dropping it off before you head down to Dublin. You'll have a lot more freedom of movement with the car which would allow you to make the best use of your limited time. Driving in NI is really pretty straightforward, except perhaps in Belfast City itself.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8402 posts
There are a few disadvantages to driving.
1) it is more expensive
2) it means at least one of you (probably more) will have to focus entirely on driving and not enjoy the very views that you came to see.
3) it insulates you from interacting with locals, where public transport sets the stage for such interactions.
4) it can be very stressful for some people to deal with driving on the left on roads with no shoulders and buses/bicyclists/pedestrians to dodge.
Posted by
Colorado Springs
2839 posts
A few counter-points regarding renting a car versus using public transportation:
"it is more expensive". True enough. The question for the OP to decide is whether the comfort, convenience and freedom that a car provides is worth the money. In the case of my wife and I it does ... but this isn't our trip.
"it means at least one of you (probably more) will have to focus entirely on driving and not enjoy the very views that you came to see."
True again, but then the same argument applies to renting a car in the Republic later in the trip. We've generally found that once the initial learning curve has been negotiated that driving on the left in both NI and the ROI isn't any different than driving at home - a bit daunting at first but no big deal once you get the hang of it.
"it insulates you from interacting with locals, where public transport sets the stage for such interactions." I agree completely, in fact I would say that it's one of the main arguments in favor of using public transport.
"it can be very stressful for some people to deal with driving on the left on roads with no shoulders and buses/bicyclists/pedestrians to dodge." Same comment as above. We've always found that our initial concerns about exactly these sorts of things were greatly exaggerated, and in fact wondered after the fact what all the fuss was about, but our experiences don't necessarily transfer to those of someone else.
I think the point to be made here is that there is no single right or wrong way to do this. Both approaches have merit. Depending on the OP's personal preferences and priorities one may indeed outweigh the other in their specific case. Fair enough. We're all here simply to volunteer advice - hopefully based on personal experience and the practical hindsight of having been in a similar situation ourselves, to help the OP make the most informed decision possible. I dare say we've done that. Here's hoping that Cindy and her group have a terrific holiday in Ireland ... however they choose to do it.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
6592 posts
If you’re going directly from point A to B, public transportation is fine. If one likes to stop when they see something of interest that wasn’t on the planned itinerary, then a car is needed. Those unplanned stops are often better than some planned ones. As previously stated, there is no best way, just personal preference.