Getting around · Belfast · United Kingdom
Getting around Belfast
Public transport, passes, airport connections and when a car makes sense.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Ardfern, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Quick answer
Central Belfast is compact: City Hall, the Cathedral Quarter, St George's Market and the Lagan waterfront are all within about 15 minutes' walk, and Titanic Belfast and the university are 20–25 minutes on foot. Translink's Metro buses, Glider rapid-transit buses and local trains fill in the rest. Not for the city itself, where buses and walking cover everything.
Key facts
- Main way around
- Walking
- Airports
- BFS, BHD
- Need a car?
- Sometimes
- Travel pass
- Translink day tickets
Ways to get around
Walking
Walking is the easiest way to see the centre, and the waterfront path links the Big Fish to the Titanic Quarter over the Lagan Weir footbridge.
Bus
Translink Metro buses run along the main radial roads, and the Glider rapid-transit buses link east and west Belfast through the centre (G1) and the city centre with the Titanic Quarter (G2).
Buy tickets from machines at Glider stops before boarding, or use contactless where accepted.
Train
NI Railways trains from Grand Central Station and Lanyon Place serve Cultra for the Ulster Folk Museum, Carrickfergus and Bangor, and the Enterprise service runs to Dublin in a little over two hours.
Taxi
Licensed taxis can be booked by phone or app or picked up at ranks; black taxis also run the well-known political mural tours.
Book a taxi rather than hailing one late at night, when ranks get queues.
Cycling
The Belfast Bikes public bike-share scheme has docking stations around the centre, the university area and the Titanic Quarter, and the Lagan Towpath is a flat traffic-free route south of the city.
Tickets and passes
Translink day tickets
Day tickets for Metro buses and the Glider give unlimited travel in the city zone and are cheaper than several singles.
From the airport
George Best Belfast City Airport is about 5 km from the centre; the Airport Express 600 bus reaches the city in about 15 minutes and taxis take around 10. Belfast International Airport is about 30 km north-west; the Airport Express 300 bus runs to the centre in about 30–40 minutes, while a taxi takes a similar time and costs considerably more.
Do you need a car?
Not for the city itself, where buses and walking cover everything. A car is useful for the Causeway Coastal Route and the Mourne Mountains, though coach tours to the Giant's Causeway run daily from the centre.
Reaching the day trips
| Destination | Travel time | How |
|---|---|---|
| Giant's Causeway and the Causeway Coast | About 1 hour 30 minutes by car | Car or coach tour; train to Coleraine or Portrush then local bus |
| Ulster Folk and Transport Museums | About 15 minutes by train | Train from Belfast to Cultra |
| Carrickfergus Castle | About 25 minutes by train | Train from Belfast to Carrickfergus |
| Mourne Mountains and Newcastle | About 1 hour by car or 1 hour 15 minutes by bus | Car, or Ulsterbus from Grand Central Station to Newcastle |
| Mount Stewart and Strangford Lough | About 35 minutes by car | Car, or bus to Newtownards then local bus |
| Dublin | About 2 hours 10 minutes by train | Enterprise train from Belfast Grand Central to Dublin Connolly |
| Game of Thrones Studio Tour | About 40 minutes by car | Car, or coach tours and shuttle buses from Belfast |
Questions travellers ask
+Do you need a car in Belfast?
Not for the city itself, where buses and walking cover everything. A car is useful for the Causeway Coastal Route and the Mourne Mountains, though coach tours to the Giant's Causeway run daily from the centre.
+How do you get from the airport to Belfast?
George Best Belfast City Airport is about 5 km from the centre; the Airport Express 600 bus reaches the city in about 15 minutes and taxis take around 10. Belfast International Airport is about 30 km north-west; the Airport Express 300 bus runs to the centre in about 30–40 minutes, while a taxi takes a similar time and costs considerably more.
+What is the best way to get around Belfast?
Walking: Walking is the easiest way to see the centre, and the waterfront path links the Big Fish to the Titanic Quarter over the Lagan Weir footbridge.