Things to do in Coleraine
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Coleraine
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
The quiet low season with the cheapest rooms, ending with daffodils on the university campus in March.
The shoulder season locals love, with April golf below summer fees and the North West 200 in May.
Long days, lifeguards on the strands and full bus frequencies, before school holiday prices bite.
Peak coast season, with SuperCupNI in late July, the busiest car parks and the highest room prices.
The best all round month, with warm sea, falling prices, good golf and the Air Waves Portrush airshow nearby.
Theatre and museum season, Atlantic Sessions in November, and a quiet local Christmas with strong value.
What's on
- North West 200 early to mid May
Road racing on the Triangle circuit linking Portrush, Portstewart and Coleraine, with road closures on race days.
- SuperCupNI late July
A world leading youth football tournament, with its parade in Coleraine and finals at Coleraine Showgrounds.
- Air Waves Portrush early September
An airshow over East Strand in nearby Portrush, an easy excursion from a Coleraine base.
- Atlantic Sessions November
Original music in intimate venues across the Portrush and Portstewart area, an easy taxi from Coleraine.
Best things to do in Coleraine
Mountsandel Fort
Ireland's earliest known settlement site, a Mesolithic camp and Norman motte in woods above the River Bann.
Coleraine Museum
A free town museum in the Town Hall telling Coleraine's story from Mountsandel to the Plantation town.
Christie Park
The town's riverside park between its two Bann bridges, and the start of the best walk in Coleraine.
Riverside Theatre
A major touring theatre on the university campus, and the best full evening out in town.
The Jet Centre
Cinema, bowling, mini golf, arcade and soft play under one roof, the family wet weather headquarters.
Causeway Speciality Market
A monthly artisan food and craft market filling the Diamond with producers from across Northern Ireland.
Ulster University Coleraine
Open riverside campus grounds, best in spring for the Guy L. Wilson Daffodil Garden and its many varieties.
St Patrick's Church
A town church on a 5th century early Christian site, and the heart of a self guided old town walk.
Where to stay in Coleraine
Town centre and the Diamond
no car trips and short stays
Walk to the museum, market, cafes and Christie Park, with the station area close, in B&Bs and apartments.
Riverside and Riverside Retail Park
families, drivers and value
The ibis, the Jet Centre and free parking, a ten minute walk from the Diamond and an easy drive to the coast.
Lodge Road and the east side
full service hotel stays
A leafier corridor home to the Lodge Hotel, its bistro and parking, with easy road access east and south.
South Coleraine and Drumcroon Road
spa, woodland and quiet
Semi rural woodland south of town, a short drive from the centre, the river parks and Mountsandel.
River Bann, southern approaches
self catering and countryside stays
Houses and cottages on the town's edges with the river at hand and the coast as the day trip.
Portrush, outside town
true luxury stays
The coast's five star stock sits outside Coleraine, about 15 minutes north, for trips where the room is the point.
Think twice about
- Retail park edges, industrial estates and outlying main road sprawl
Not a safety issue, but no evening walk and a drive for every coffee, which defeats a walkable good value base.
- Residential estates well off the main routes
They offer a visitor nothing, can feel insular around the July marching season, and are not set up for short stays.
Best restaurants in Coleraine
Lir: Native Seafood
Day boat seafood in small and large plates at the marina, the best restaurant in Coleraine by a distance.
Coopers
The locals' sharing dinner in the centre, built around a sharing main, steaks, burgers and cocktails.
Sandpiper Bistro Bar
The ibis hotel's bistro, rated ahead of its category, and the easy family dinner on a Riverside stay.
Elliot's Bistro
The Lodge Hotel's generous Irish bistro, used by the town for family dinners and Sunday lunches.
Water Margin
Coleraine's long running Chinese restaurant, with the largest review base of any dining room in town.
Whoosh
A small Thai restaurant at the town's lowest prices, with a rating bigger rooms would envy.
Rocca
A pretty centre cafe and bakery for breakfast, brunch and lunch, known for scones and seafood chowder.
The Boatyard Coffee Shop
A marina cafe for breakfasts, lunches and cakes, with the boats as the view and walkers as regulars.
Outdoor things to do in Coleraine
Royal Portrush Golf Club
The Dunluce Links, an Open Championship course in the dunes, played as an excursion from a Coleraine base.
Portstewart Golf Club
The Strand Course opens high in huge dunes, and the club's other courses give a cheaper links day.
Castlerock Golf Club
The Mussenden Links in the dunes at the Bann mouth, the value championship calibre round near Coleraine.
Giant's Causeway
A UNESCO site of 40,000 basalt columns stepping into the sea, best done early or late from Coleraine.
Dunluce Castle
A romantic medieval castle ruin on a basalt promontory, the natural partner to a Causeway day.
Mussenden Temple
A clifftop temple above seven miles of strand, within the Downhill Demesne parkland and ruined house.
Portstewart Strand
Two miles of dune backed sand running to the Barmouth, where Coleraine's River Bann meets the sea.
Old Bushmills Distillery
A working whiskey distillery tour ending in a tasting, the indoor leg of a Causeway day.
Best hotels in Coleraine
The Lodge Hotel
Coleraine's flagship full service hotel, with a well regarded bistro, a lively bar and ample parking.
Bushtown Hotel & Spa
A woodland spa hotel south of town, with a thermal suite, a grill restaurant and a famous Sunday carvery.
ibis Coleraine Riverside
A renovated chain hotel by the Jet Centre, formerly the Premier Inn, and the town's best value hotel bed.
Quiet Waters Cottage
A three bedroom self catering cottage with its own private walk down to the River Bann.
Dunluce Lodge
A five star lodge beside Royal Portrush, listed as the true luxury stay near Coleraine, outside the town.
Is Coleraine expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | £50 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | £95 a person |
| Splurge | £220 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Riverside Theatre: a few days ahead
- The Jet Centre: a few days ahead
- Royal Portrush Golf Club: months ahead
- Portstewart Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Castlerock Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Giant's Causeway: a few days ahead
- Old Bushmills Distillery: a few days ahead
- White River Charters: a few days ahead
- North West 200 week in May and SuperCupNI week in late July fill Coleraine, so book rooms as soon as dates are confirmed.
- Dunluce tee times need months, Portstewart Strand weeks to months, and handicap evidence is required at championship courses.
- Book Lir at weekends, Coopers on Fridays, Sunday lunch at the hotel bistros and White River Charters sailings.
Is Coleraine safe?
- There is no central Coleraine neighbourhood visitors should avoid for safety, and evenings are quiet rather than menacing.
- Around the Twelfth of July, be a respectful spectator or route around parades and do not photograph people up close unasked.
- The real harms are rip currents, cliff edges, slippery basalt, the cold fast Bann and closed race roads in May.
Coleraine travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Booking Coleraine expecting the seaside, when it is a river town 10 to 20 minutes from beaches.
- Doing the Giant's Causeway as a midday photo stop instead of going early or late and adding Dunluce.
- Confusing the monthly Diamond market with the Market Yard, which is mainly parking and occasional events.
- Paying event week resort prices for a main road room without checking the street on a map.
Getting around Coleraine: public transport and more
- Walk the centre in 15 minutes, then use trains for Portrush and Castlerock and Rambler buses for the coast in season.
- Coleraine station is where the Belfast to Derry line meets the Portrush branch, so a no car trip works.
- A car unlocks early Causeway starts, Mussenden and Bushmills dinners, and Coleraine parks easily beside the Riverside hotels.
Who Coleraine suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Coleraine your trip
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