Portrush Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

Portrush (Port Rois, "promontory port") is a resort town on the north coast of Northern Ireland, historically within County Antrim. The council area is Causeway Coast and Glens District. As that name implies, Portrush is a good base for visiting Giant's Causeway and other major attractions along the Antrim coast. It has a population (as of 2011) of 6454, greatly swollen in summer by visitors, when you need to book ahead with accommodation. It also houses many students and staff of the University of Ulster in Coleraine.

The visitor information centre is in Town Hall by the railway station, open Apr-Sep.

Trains run hourly, daily from Belfast via Antrim (for International Airport), Ballymena and Coleraine. There you change for the connecting train for Portrush, total travel time just under two hours, while the train from Belfast continues to Derry.

55.203-6.6541 Portrush railway station is central, near West Strand Beach. Trains also stop at 55.196-6.6612 Dhu Varren south side of town, the main area for B&Bs.

Bus 140b runs a triangle from Coleraine to Portrush (20 min), Portstewart and back to Coleraine; 140a is the reverse triangle. It's every 20 min M-F, hourly Sa, every two hours Sunday.

Bus 402 runs from Coleraine to Portrush, Dunluce (for castle), Portballintrae, Bushmills (for distillery), Giant's Causeway, Ballintoy (for Carrick-a-Rede bridge) and Ballycastle. It runs M-F every 2-3 hours with only one on Saturday. Don't take the 172, which from Coleraine heads straight to Bushmills and bypasses Portrush.

Goldline Bus 278 runs in university term-time, with one bus Su-F from Monaghan via Armagh, Moy, Dungannon, Cookstown, Magherafelt, Garvagh, Coleraine, Ulster University and Portstewart to Portrush.

By car from Belfast or the south, the direct route is M2 / A26 north past Ballymena and Coleraine. If it's fine and you've got all day, meander along the scenic route by the coast, see County Antrim.

Walk. The town is small and easy to navigate.

The peninsula layout means driving in town centre is slow and parking difficult to find during the holiday season.

Take Bus 140 for Portstewart. Take Bus 402 for Dunluce Castle, Bushmills and points east.

• 55.21189-6.662351 Ramore Head is the breezy head of the peninsula where Portrush stands. Nice views.
• Portrush town centre was spruced up when the Irish Open golf tournament came here in 2012. It's perhaps due another clean.
• 55.209275-6.6548022 Coastal Zone, 8 Bath Road BT56 8AP, ☏ +44 28 7082-3600. Jun-Aug: daily 10AM-4:30PM. Small exhibition of the natural history of the area. Free. (updated Feb 2021)
• West Strand beach starts south of the harbour near the railway station, so it's the main destination for bucket & spade day-trippers. It's flanked by Curry's Fun Park, a large funfair.
• East Strand stretches for a couple of miles, and is quieter as you get away from town. It's backed by rugged sand dunes, great for a picnic or beach party. Eventually it ends beyond the golf course at White Rocks.
• 55.223-6.6283 The Skerries are the rocky islets a mile offshore. They're a nature reserve; boat trips to Giant's Causeway sail close by.
• Portstewart 3 miles west of Portrush is a similar small harbour and seaside resort in County Londonderry.
• 55.211389-6.5791674 Dunluce Castle, 87 Dunluce Rd, Bushmills BT57 8UY. Daily 9:30AM-4PM. A ruined medieval castle on a basalt outcrop on the coast. An earlier castle was built in the 13th century and this one replaced it in the 16th, falling derelict in the 17th. Only in 2011 were the remnants of an entire 17th-century town of Dunluce discovered nearby, with a grid street pattern and indoor sanitation. (updated Feb 2021)

• Surf: West Strand is the main beach. Surf schools and shops include Portrush Surf School, Troggs, Woodies, SUB6 and Alive Adventures.
• Curry's Fun Park (formerly Barry's) is the funfair on East Strand, see above.
• Playhouse theatre and cinema is at 47 High St.
• In 2023 boat trips no longer sail from Portrush, try Portstewart or Ballycastle.
• 55.2029-6.629191 Royal Portrush Golf Club, Dunluce Rd BT56 8JQ. Championship golf club which hosted the Open in 2019 on its Dunluce course (7337 yards, par 71). There's also the 18-hole Valley course (6304 yards, par 70), shared with Rathmore Golf Club. (updated Feb 2021)
• Open Golf tournament is next hosted by Royal Portrush on 13-20 July 2025.
• Ballyreagh is a council-run golf course west side of town.
• The Ulster Way^{[dead link]} is a hiking trail that circles the province. Locally the best section is the waymarked trail east along the coast to Dunluce Castle, Port Ballintrae, Bushmills and Giant's Causeway; you could walk one way and ride the bus back. West the trail takes you to Portstewart: it's not worth continuing beyond as you then have to trudge for some miles along ratty roads before you regain the trail at Castlerock.
• Portrush Raft Race is a fundraising event for the lifeboat service in May.
• Northwest 200 is a motorbike race held in May on a triangular on-road circuit between Coleraine, Portrush and Portstewart. The next is probably 5-11 May 2024, tbc.
• NI International Airshow (formerly Airwaves) is in September, but it's unlikely to happen in 2023.

• Ramore, 1 Harbour Road BT56 8DF, ☏ +44 28 7082-4313. This is a strip of waterfront restaurants: Wine Bar, Basalt, Mermaid, Neptune & Prawn, Tourist, Harbour Bistro and Harbour Bar. Good atmosphere in wine bar. £12 for chicken skewers, small portion, not value for money. They want paid once you order! Very meat based. (updated Oct 2021)
• Tides, 21 Ballyreagh Rd BT56 8LR, ☏ +44 28 7082-3833. M-Sa 12:30-2:30PM, 5-9PM; Su 12:30-9PM. Relaxed place east by the golf course, good trad fare. (updated Aug 2022)
• 55 Degrees North, 1 Causeway St BT56 8AB, ☏ +44 28 7082-2811. Daily 9AM-9PM. Deservedly popular spot with glorious views over sea and East Strand. Good cooking and ample portions. (updated Feb 2021)
• Babushka on South Pier alas doesn't offer pierogi or borscht, but it's a continental-style cafe open daily 9:30AM-5PM.
• Portstewart to the west has the usual seaside fare. Amici serves Italian daily noon-2:30PM, 5-8:30PM.
• And see Sleep for hotel restaurants: Royal Court gets good reviews.

• Pubs in Portrush include
• Springhill Bar^{[dead link]}, Atlantic Bar and Kiwi Brew Bar.
• Kelly's is a complex off Bushmills Rd near the golf club with a slew of bars, live entertainment venues, Lush! Nightclub, and Golflinks Hotel.
• Bushmills is the famous distillery six miles east, producing a variety of blended and single malt whiskey. The taste is distinctive.

• 55.198-6.6721 Carrick Dhu Caravan Park, 12 Ballyreagh Rd BT56 8LS, ☏ +44 28 7082-3712. Council-run site a mile west of town, with 20 tent pitches and 40 tourer hook-ups. Hook-up £25. (updated Feb 2021)
• Portrush Atlantic Hotel (formerly Ramada), 73 Main St BT56 8BN, ☏ +44 28 7082-6100. Good central mid-range place. B&B double £140. (updated Feb 2021)
• Aaranmore Lodge, 14 Coleraine Road BT56 8EA, ☏ +44 7426 820466. Clean welcoming B&B south side of town. Free parking and wifi. B&B double £70. (updated Feb 2021)
• Anvershiel House B&B, 16 Coleraine Rd BT56 8EA, ☏ +44 28 7082-3861. Delightful welcoming B&B and does a great breakfast. B&B double £70. (updated Feb 2021)
• Pier39 Portrush B&B, 39 Kerr Street BT56 8DQ, ☏ +44 28 7082-3541, [email protected]. Excellent B&B with 4 rooms en suite by the harbour. B&B double £80. (updated Feb 2021)
• 55.187-6.6552 Magherabuoy House Hotel, 41 Magheraboy Rd BT56 8NX, ☏ +44 28 7082-3507. Clean friendly mid-range hotel at south edge of town. B&B double £90. (updated Feb 2021)
• Golf Links Hotel is a modern place east side of town, but it's within the Kelly's / Lush! Nightclub complex, noisy until late.
• 55.205-6.6083 Royal Court Hotel, 233 Ballybogey Rd BT56 8NF, ☏ +44 28 7082-2236. Smart mid-range place beyond the golf course east of town. (updated Feb 2021)
• There's more accommodation in Portstewart 3 miles west.

As of July 2022, Portrush has 4G with all UK carriers, but the signal on the coast road towards Bushmills is poor with EE and Three. 5G has not reached this area.

• The coastline east has Northern Ireland's top attractions: Bushmills, Giant's Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede Bridge and Ballycastle, for ferries to Rathlin Island. It's very touristy, continue east for the Antrim Glens.
• Portstewart west is a small resort similar to Portrush.
• Coleraine is a transport hub and hosts the University of Ulster. South of town, Mountsandel Mount is a huge earthwork.