Things to do in Ballycastle
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Ballycastle
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
The quiet, wild low. Rough seas, reduced sailings, cheapest beds and a town running on local life.
The smart window. Puffins come ashore, the seabird centre opens and the coast is still quiet.
High summer. The colony at full noise, lifeguards on the beach and daylight past 10pm.
Peak month, ending with the Ould Lammas Fair filling the town in late August.
The connoisseur month. Crowds fall, the sea is warmest and the summer ferry timetable still runs.
Closing down. Short hours, dark evenings and a local, cheap, pub and fires town.
What's on
- Ould Lammas Fair Last Monday and Tuesday of August, with a four day span from the preceding Saturday
Ireland oldest traditional fair, with stalls, horse trading, yellowman and dulse.
- Rathlin Puffin Season April to July, peak May to June
Puffins nest at the West Light cliffs while the RSPB seabird centre is open.
Best things to do in Ballycastle
Ballycastle Harbour
A working harbour and marina with the ferry berth, seafront lawns and Scotland visible on clear days.
Ballycastle Beach
A 1.2 kilometre town beach running to Pans Rock, lifeguarded in season and backed by a coastal path.
Pan's Rock
A basalt outcrop at the beach end with rock pools at low tide and the best view back over the town.
Bonamargy Friary
A late Franciscan friary with a rare gatehouse and the MacDonnell vault, usually almost empty.
Kinbane Castle
A ruined 1547 castle on a white limestone headland, reached by steep steps with views to Rathlin.
Ballycastle Museum
A small courthouse museum tying together the Lammas Fair, the MacDonnells and the Marconi story.
Marconi's Cottage
The shore of the first commercial wireless transmission over water, sent to Rathlin in July 1898.
The Diamond
The town square and Ann Street loop, with Boyds Church, the museum street and the pub and cafe spine.
Where to stay in Ballycastle
Seafront and Harbour
first trip, all round base
Flat walking to the beach, ferry and harbour, with sea views and the town centre behind you.
The Diamond and Ann Street, town centre
evenings and guesthouse character
Pubs, restaurants and guesthouses on the doorstep, with the harbour five minutes downhill.
Dunamallaght Road, above the town
a quiet splurge
The hill road holding the Salthouse, with spa, view and dinner in house above the bay.
Rathlin Island
one slow night
The island after the day ferries leave, with the Manor House by the harbour and seals in the bay.
Think twice about
- Fast roads out of town beyond walking distance
No visitor base without a car. You will drive to every meal, pint and ferry on unlit roads.
- Seafront front rooms in Lammas Fair weekend
The seafront is the fair that weekend. Wonderful if that is your trip, sleepless if it is not.
- Rathlin Island for a last night before a tight connection
Weather can cancel sailings and island beds are very limited if everyone is stranded at once.
Best restaurants in Ballycastle
Anzac Restaurant
The town best dinner, a pub front bistro for local seafood, steaks and famously generous mains.
Salt & Stone Restaurant
The occasion dinner above the bay, the town most polished cooking with a panorama to Rathlin.
Morton's
The harbour chippy with a queue out the door, fresh fish and a dedicated gluten free fryer.
Central Wine Bar
The town all day bar and wine bar restaurant on Ann Street, with live music at weekends.
O'Connors Bar
A fire lit traditional bar serving baked cod, crab claws and chowder in exceptional value portions.
The Diamond Bar
The square own pub restaurant, big, reliable and built to absorb groups and families happily.
Marconi's Bar & Bistro
The Marine Hotel seafront dining room for seafood chowder and fresh fish facing Rathlin.
Thyme & Co
A Quay Road cafe and pizzeria used as a local canteen for breakfasts, bakes and pizzas.
Outdoor things to do in Ballycastle
Rathlin Island
An inhabited island day trip for puffins, the seabird centre, seals and the upside down lighthouse.
Ballycastle Golf Club
A quirky 1890 parkland and links course beside Bonamargy, climbing to views of Rathlin and Scotland.
Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
A 20 metre rope bridge 30 metres above the sea, reached by a one kilometre coastal walk.
Giant's Causeway
Forty thousand basalt columns stepping into the sea, best early or late from a Ballycastle base.
Glenariff Forest Park
The Queen of the Glens, a wooded gorge with a waterfall boardwalk through a nature reserve.
Torr Head
A narrow scenic headland drive at the closest point to Scotland, with a former signal lookout.
Coasteering NI
Guided coasteering and kayaking on the Ballintoy basalt coast, rated five stars by hundreds of visitors.
Ballycastle Seafishing
Charter sea angling from the harbour into Rathlin Sound, with tackle and local skipper knowledge.
Best hotels in Ballycastle
The Salthouse Hotel
The town luxury ceiling, a modern eco hotel and spa above the bay with lodges and hot tubs.
Marine Hotel Ballycastle
A 51 room seafront hotel facing Rathlin, with a bistro, parking and dog friendly rooms.
Manor House Rathlin
A 12 room island guesthouse by the harbour that makes a puffin trip unhurried and overnight.
An Caislean
A harbour side guesthouse on Quay Road, a short walk from the ferry, beach and Ann Street.
Causeway Coast Holiday Park
A 28 acre family park with apartments, pods, a pool and views over the bay to Rathlin.
Is Ballycastle expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | £60 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | £110 a person |
| Splurge | £240 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Rathlin Island: a few days ahead
- Ballycastle Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge: a few days ahead
- Giant's Causeway: a few days ahead
- Coasteering NI: a few days ahead
- Ballycastle Seafishing: a few days ahead
- The Salthouse Hotel: weeks ahead
- Manor House Rathlin: weeks ahead
- Pre book the Rathlin ferry in season. Official guidance requires booking to reserve space.
- For Lammas Fair weekend, book beds months ahead and expect restaurants to queue rather than book.
- Book Anzac when you book your room, and timed tickets for Carrick-a-Rede and the Causeway.
- Book golf tee times and coasteering or kayaking sessions days ahead in summer.
Is Ballycastle safe?
- Swim at the lifeguarded main beach in season, never around Pans Rock or off harbour walls.
- Cliff edges at Kinbane, Torr Head and Carrick-a-Rede are unfenced in places and close in high wind.
- Drive Torr Head and the Ballintoy lane slowly and in daylight, and let locals pass.
- Do not leave valuables visible in cars at isolated car parks such as Kinbane and Torr Head.
Ballycastle travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- The Dark Hedges sold as a half day attraction. It is a ten minute photograph on a public road.
- The Giants Causeway at noon in August. Go before 10am or after 4pm from Ballycastle.
- Treating Rathlin as a two hour box tick. The island needs a full day, or one overnight.
- Buying packaged yellowman elsewhere instead of from Lammas Fair stalls in season.
Getting around Ballycastle: public transport and more
- Walk the town. Harbour, beach, the Diamond and Ann Street are a compact, hilly cluster.
- The Rathlin ferry is walk on for visitors. Park in Ballycastle and use the Puffin Bus or a bike on the island.
- Use the Causeway Rambler in season for Ballintoy, Carrick-a-Rede and the Giants Causeway.
- There is no station in Ballycastle. The nearest trains are at Ballymoney and Coleraine.
Who Ballycastle suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Ballycastle your trip
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