Northern Ireland Travel Guide - Getting There

There are frequent direct flights to Belfast from London airports as well as other major regional UK airports. Airlines that serve Northern Ireland from the UK include bmibaby (website: www.bmibaby.com) and easyJet (website: www.easyjet.com), which also flies between Belfast and several other European cities. From North America, Aer Lingus (website: www.aerlingus.com) operates flights to Shannon and Dublin. There are direct flights from Canada to Belfast with Zoom Airlines (website: www.flyzoom.com).

From London to Belfast is 1 hour 15 minutes.

Belfast International Airport (BFS) (website: www.belfastairport.com) is 29km (18 miles) northwest of Belfast city centre. To/from the airport: Trains run from Londonderry (Derry), Lisburn and Belfast to Antrim (10km/6 miles away) from where a taxi may be hired, or a shuttle bus can be taken to the airport. Buses run to the city centre (journey time - 30-40 minutes). Taxis are available (journey time to city centre - 20 minutes). Major car hire companies are represented at the airport. Facilities: Bureau de change, ATMs, shops, restaurants and executive lounge.

Belfast City Airport (George Best) (BHD) (website: www.belfastcityairport.com) at Belfast Harbour is handy for flights to most regional airports. To/from the airport: Regular train and bus services run to the city centre. Facilities: Shops, ATMs, bureau de change, Wi-Fi, duty-free, cafes and bar.

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Main ports: Belfast (website: www.belfast-harbour.co.uk).

When travelling via Great Britain to Northern Ireland there is a choice of several services across the Irish Sea; providers include P&O Irish Sea (tel: 0870 242 4777; website: www.poirishsea.com); Stena Line (tel: 0870 570 7070; website: www.stenaline.co.uk); and Norfolkline Irish Sea Ferry Services (tel: 0870 600 4321; website: www.norfolkline-ferries.co.uk).

There are four main rail routes from Belfast Central Station: north to Londonderry via Ballymena and Coleraine; northeast to the port of Larne; east to Bangor along the shores of Belfast Lough; south to Dublin, in the Irish Republic, via Newry. The Belfast–Dublin non-stop express takes approximately two hours.

For information on timetables for rail services, contact Translink (tel: (028) 9066 6630; website: www.translink.co.uk).