5-day itinerary from Belfast to Derry~Londonderry along the rugged Causeway Coast

Walk around Belfast’s compact city centre, and it quickly becomes clear that this is one of the island of Ireland’s friendliest cities. Framed by the jagged slopes of Cave Hill and bordered by Belfast Lough, the city first flourished through its shipbuilding and linen industries but has evolved over the centuries into a warm and welcoming destination. Today, it offers everything from authentic Victorian-era pubs to critically acclaimed restaurants showcasing the region’s outstanding natural produce, including Mourne Mountain lamb, succulent Carlingford oysters and Abernethy Butter.

To get the best out of Belfast, stay in the city centre, where many of the city’s top attractions and local neighbourhoods are within walking distance. One of the best ways to get to know the city is on a Belfast Black Taxi Tour. Led by knowledgeable local guides, these tours offer fascinating insights into Belfast’s industrial heritage, complex history and remarkable cultural rebirth. If you prefer to explore on foot, join The Best of Belfast walking tour, a three-hour journey into the city’s past that takes in many of the city’s most important landmarks.

The Cathedral Quarter has, over the past twenty years, developed into a cool, creative hub with a distinctly hipster edge. Traditional pubs sit alongside third-wave coffee shops, and the buildings are splashed with colourful contemporary murals, which you can explore on an engaging two-hour Street Art Walking Tour.

If you’re visiting at the weekend, enjoy lunch at Waterman House, tucked away on a charming, cobbled street lined with design studios, red-brick buildings, pubs, bars and cafés. Run by chef Niall McKenna, the bistro serves a refined local, seasonal menu that focuses on artisan producers and chefs.

Want something more casual? Drop into Neighbourhood Café for seasonal flatbreads, Turkish eggs and homemade soups. To delve deeper into Belfast’s buzzing food scene, take a Taste & Tour guided walk of the city, which gives excellent insight into the local food producers and local spirits, including whiskey and gin.

After lunch, head to the leafy Queen’s Quarter. With elegant Victorian architecture and verdant green spaces, it’s one of Belfast’s most beautiful neighbourhoods. Stroll through the Botanic Gardens, home to the magnificent Palm House – a 19th-century cast-iron glasshouse filled with tropical and temperate plants – before exploring Northern Ireland’s rich history at the Ulster Museum. For a taste of university life in this vibrant district, take a campus tour of the picturesque Queen’s University, founded in 1845.

There are few more magnificent settings for Afternoon Tea than the Great Room of the Merchant Hotel. Once the headquarters of Ulster Bank, this exceptional space features ornate gold-painted plasterwork, four Corinthian columns and a spectacular central dome crowned with Ireland’s largest chandelier. If you can’t make it for afternoon tea, stop by the award-winning Cocktail Bar for an aperitif before dinner.

Belfast has firmly established itself as one of Europe’s most exciting culinary destinations, with a new generation of talented chefs championing excellent local ingredients. Michelin-starred OX is one of the best, so for dinner, treat yourself to a tasting menu featuring the very best seasonal produce. For a more relaxed seafood-focused alternative, opt for the Mourne Seafood Bar – a lively, award-winning restaurant serving Dundrum mussels, seafood casserole, freshly shucked oysters and more.

Belfast has no shortage of characterful hotels that offer a great sense of place. The newly opened Bedford Hotel on Donegall Square or the nearby Ten Square Hotel are both excellent choices, with central locations. If a stunning cityscape is your thing, try the Grand Central Hotel – the panoramic view from the cocktail lounge on the 23rd floor is one of the city’s best. Alternatively, in the leafy Queen’s Quarter, the Harrison Chambers of Distinction provides a stylish boutique option, with a unique Belfast turn-of-the-century vibe.

If you’re visiting at the weekend, the best way to start the day is with a trip to St George’s Market, which runs from Friday to Sunday. Dating back to the late 19th century, the market is a feast for the senses, from the comforting aroma of freshly baked bread to the sizzle of sausages from The Belfast Bap. It’s also an excellent place to pick up locally made art or craft, with a craft market on Saturdays and an antiques market on Sundays.

After breakfasting here, take a walk over to the Titanic Quarter and check out Titanic Belfast. Housed on the very site where the ship was built and launched, this impressive museum details the vessel’s story, from its conception through to its maiden voyage.

From here, enjoy a stroll along the waterfront on the Maritime Mile, or if maritime history is your passion, there are two ships to explore: SS Nomadic, Titanic’s tender ship, and the HMS Caroline, a World War I warship. Also well worth a visit is the Titanic Dry Dock and Pumphouse, a marvel of early 20th-century engineering. Take a tour with Titanic Distillers to fully explore the vast dry dock, or opt for a tour of the restored Pumphouse, now home to their working distillery.

To continue the Titanic story, stop for lunch at the Titanic Hotel, where history comes to life in the magnificent original drawing offices of Harland & Wolff, designers and builders of the Titanic. The building’s heritage is ever-present here, from its three-story barrel-vaulted ceiling and beautiful plasterwork to tiles that echo the Titanic’s First Class bathrooms.

After lunch, it’s time to hit the shops. Belfast offers an eclectic shopping scene with everything from big-name brands to impressive retail destinations such as Victoria Square and CastleCourt Shopping Centre. For fine jewellery and watches, make a stop at the elegant Queen’s Arcade. Built in 1880, it’s the city’s last surviving Victorian arcade, or head to Lisburn Road in the Queen’s Quarter for designer boutiques, craft shops, small galleries and specialist homewares. Book lovers should make a stop at No Alibis Bookstore on Botanic Road – a must-visit independent bookstore.

The Cathedral Quarter is the go-to place for crafts, vintage, design and original artworks, including the Craft NI shop and the Belfast School of Art shop. Drop into Kindred of Ireland for beautiful Irish linen, try Maven for super-cool homewares or head to Never Never and The Bureau for elevated menswear.

To experience Belfast’s food heritage, go to Sawers, a family-run deli that dates back to around 1897, or try Mike’s Fancy Cheese, with artisan products from all over Ireland. For whiskey, Friend at Hand has a selection second to none, with friendly, knowledgeable staff.

Bert’s Jazz Bar at The Merchant Hotel is a popular jazz spot that makes a nice place for a pre-dinner aperitif or a more leisurely evening meal. Or to continue the old-world atmosphere, try Café Parisien with twinkling nighttime views over the spectacular Belfast City Hall.

Dramatic clifftop castles, vast white-sand beaches, charming coastal villages – the Causeway Coastal Route delivers an extraordinary amount of beauty over its 190km stretch from Belfast to Derry~Londonderry. Frequently cited as one of the best touring routes in the world, it’s a genuine pleasure to explore. Every twist and turn reveals another breathtaking view, with the coastline so close at times that you can almost taste the sea salt in the air.

See show-stopping panoramas from the craggy heights of Torr Head, experience the warmth of local hospitality in the villages of the Glens of Antrim, and feel the joy of sipping a whiskey after a day of outdoor adventure at The Bushmills Inn. The easiest and most flexible way to explore is by car, but you can also discover the coastline on a day trip from Belfast with McCombs Bus Tours.

Departing Belfast, your first stop is The Gobbins, a dramatic 5km-long cliff-face walk over spectacular bridges and through tunnels carved into the rugged coastline. Here, waves crash against sheer cliffs, seabirds soar overhead and sweeping sea views create a real sense of adventure. It’s a perfect introduction to the natural wonders that await along the Causeway Coastal Route.

If you are travelling by public transport, take a train towards Larne and get off at Ballycarry. The Gobbins is around a 20-minute walk from here, and the route is clearly signposted. Note that The Gobbins Cliff Path walk itself takes between 2.5 and 3 hours to complete – the path is narrow with hand-carved steps and is described as a “physically challenging walk”.

Following the coastline, the next stop is Glenarm Castle & Garden, the ancestral estate of the Earls of Antrim for more than 400 years. The award-winning walled garden was created in the 1820s to provide the estate with fresh fruit and vegetables and is home to one of Ireland’s largest Victorian glasshouses still in use.

Set within the estate’s former mushroom house, the Tea Room is a warm and welcoming space for lunch. Enjoy some of Northern Ireland’s finest local produce, including the award-winning Glenarm Shorthorn Beef and Glenarm Organic Salmon.

Choosing between the picturesque villages of Cushendall and Cushendun is no easy task, so be sure to leave time to explore them both.

Beautiful Cushendall sits at the foot of the Lurigethan Mountain and was first established in the early 17th century. The village boasts a small but scenic beach and a wonderful traditional music pub, McCollam’s.

Cushendun is a sleepy seaside idyll. Perched on a sheltered inlet, the village is characterised by a row of distinctive black-and-white houses. The beach and the village green here are managed by the National Trust, which recognises it as a place steeped in character and folklore. Drop into the tiny Mary McBride’s pub while you’re here – it’s a landmark in its own right – before exploring the Cushendun Caves, a Game of Thrones® filming location.

The small seaside town of Ballycastle makes a pleasant place for an overnight stay. Enjoy great views and boutique surrounds at The Salthouse, an eco-conscious design hotel just outside the town.

Whiskey aficionados should keep going along the Causeway Coastal Route to the village of Bushmills. Here, the Old Bushmills Distillery celebrates centuries of Irish whiskey craftsmanship. Licensed to distil since 1608, it is one of the world’s oldest working distilleries. Guided tours offer a glimpse into the fascinating process of whiskey production, from the milling of grains through to distillation and maturation.

Bushmills village is also a great place to stay, and the Bushmills Inn is a popular spot, boasting a gas-lit Victorian bar, award-winning restaurant and charming rooms.

Suspended 30 metres above the ocean between Carrick Island and the mainland, Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge is one of the most spectacular sights along this stunning coastline. Crossing is an exhilarating experience with the bridge bouncing with every step you take and the Atlantic Ocean crashing against the shore below.

The nearby Coffee and the Waves is open at weekends and makes a scenic spot to pick up a coffee at beautiful Ballintoy Harbour (a Game of Thrones® filming location) before you continue to the Giant’s Causeway.

This majestic natural wonder is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and boasts 40,000 hexagonal-shaped stepping stones, which date back to a volcanic era around 60 million years ago. From the visitor centre, an enjoyable walk will bring you down to the Causeway itself, where you can hop over the stones, explore the surrounding hills, or sit and contemplate the puzzling geology that has led to one of the most remarkable natural sites in Europe.

The coastline continues to pile on the majestic sites, with Dunluce Castle next. Perched precariously on the edge of a cliff, the castle was first built around 1500. After your visit here, take a break in the lively town of Portrush. The Mermaid offers a casual and relaxed place to enjoy a lunch of fresh fish overlooking the harbour.

Leaving Portrush, you’ll pass Mussenden Temple – a glorious cliff-edge neo-classical folly overlooking the pale sands of Downhill Strand – so stop off if you have time. Otherwise, your next stop will be the vibrant city of Derry~Londonderry, the final destination on the Causeway Coastal Route.

Historic city walls, great pubs and a rich cultural life mean that Derry~Londonderry is one of the most exciting cities to visit on the island of Ireland. The city also boasts an excellent food scene, with great restaurants such as Brown’s Bond Hill, Lemon Tree and Artis by Phelim O’Hagan. After dinner, relax at the Bishop’s Gate Hotel, your accommodation for the night.

Start your day with a guided tour around the 400-year-old, fully intact city walls with Derry City Tours. Almost six metres high and at least as wide, the walls come complete with gates, watchtowers, battlements, bastions and huge cannons. Walking here, you’ll be treated to a beautiful view over the city and river below. You may even understand why 19th-century historian Thomas Carlyle called Derry~Londonderry “the prettiest looking town I have seen in Ireland”.

Stop by the Walled City Brewery for award-winning craft beer and locally sourced food. This family-run gastropub will help you pair their fresh, unfiltered, small-batch beer with tasty items from the lunch or dinner menus, such as Donegal sea bream and roasted hispi cabbage. Their food and drink experiences are excellent, too, and range from a simple tour and tasting to a full-on beer masterclass.

If you have more time, a must-do before you leave is to take the train from Derry~Londonderry to Coleraine. Travel writer Michael Palin described this route as “one of the most beautiful rail journeys in the world” thanks to its dramatic coastal scenery and craggy cliffs. The line passes below Mussenden Temple and hugs the coastline with a journey time of around 40 minutes. It’s a remarkable sight.

You could also continue your journey into County Donegal, where the Wild Atlantic Way starts, or discover the languid beauty of the Fermanagh Lakelands.

If you are returning to Belfast by car, the journey time is approx. 1.5 hours (following the inland route via the A6 and M2).

You can also return by train to Belfast city centre. The regular train service between Derry~Londonderry Train Station and Belfast Lanyon Place Train Station takes approx. 2 hours. Visit Translink for more details.