I thought I'd post to get some ideas of anyone who knows or has recently traveled. Looks like its a train and bus from Inverness to Cairnryan and then Stena Line ferry crossing from Cairnryan to Belfast. Total about 8 to 9 hours. My wife and I would be traveling this route on October 22 of this year. Is this ok to do all at once? Are transferring from train to bus connections difficult?
Posted by
Isle of Skye, Scotland
1640 posts
By far the quickest and easiest way would be to fly direct from Inverness to Belfast City airport with Loganair.
Posted by
Lake District, England
11571 posts
To do it by train in the day you would be leaving Inverness on the 0638, changing for Glasgow at Stirling (same or cross platform), then the station link free bus or short walk from Glasgow Queen Street to Central.
At Ayr it is an easy if unsignposted transfer to the Stena line liveried bus. At Cairnryan and Belfast the bus stops right outside the door of the respective terminals.
It is designed to be as simple and easy as possible.
The all inclusive fare (including the cross Glasgow bus, the Ayr to Cairnryan bus and the ferry) is £50, or £33.30 if you have a Senior Railcard.
The bus from Belfast Port to Belfast Grand Central is extra, paid on board.
The railcard through fare is less than the ferry fare alone, so is extraordinary value.
Posted by
Freedonia
18780 posts
I agree with Skyegirl on this one. The flight is a little over an hour. Inverness airport is fairly small so it's not far from the terminal front door to the gate.
While there are no nonstops on Oct 22, there are flights on the 21st and 23rd.
Also be aware, that if the weather is not good, the ferry may not run. While winter is the worst time for cancellations, late October is still considered a higher risk time tnan say the summer.
Posted by
London
1311 posts
I would definitely fly this route, personally, unless you had a specific reason for wanting to take the ferry.
Posted by
OP
87 posts
Thanks everyone for the comments. I think we will opt to fly. Be nice to take the Stena Ferry across and all, but maybe we can take a short ferry ride after we get to Belfast.
Posted by
London
1311 posts
If you want to take a shorter ferry ride once you're in NI and you have time, you could get the ferry from Ballycastle to Rathlin Island, which is a beautiful place to visit, altho you'll be there after the RSPB centre (seabirds) closes for the season.