Plan Your Visit

Coming to Northern Ireland for the Science Festival? We've put together some information to help make your visit easy and stress free!

Traveling to Belfast & Derry/Londonderry

We'd love it if you travelled here as sustainably as possible - there are ferry and rail options from Scotland, Wales and England and buses and trains throughout the country. Many of the NI Science Festival events are held in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry. Here's some helpful information for travelling to these cities.

By air

Flights from all major UK and European cities arrive at either of Belfast’s two airports. Belfast International is 19 miles from the city centre, and George Best Belfast City Airport three miles from the city centre.

By boat

Stena Line sails up to six times a day between Belfast and Cairnryan, and up to twice a day between Belfast and Liverpool. P&O sails up to nine times a day from Cairnryan to Larne, and twice a day from Troon to Larne from the end of March to end of September.

By bus

Translink Metro buses are very regular throughout the day. A single journey bus ticket starts at £1.60. Smartlink day tickets start at £3.00 off peak or £3.50 unlimited See translink.co.uk

By train

Lines run between Belfast and Dublin, Larne, Londonderry and points in between. For routes and fares, visit translink.co.uk.

Contact Translink 028 90 66 66 30 or visit translink.co.uk for up-to-date timetable information.

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Things to Do

Discover Northern Ireland and Discover Ireland are excellent sources of information on what to do and see during your stay here.

If you have time during your visit, or are staying in Ireland, you may want to soak in some more Irish culture, by visiting some popular tourist destinations. You can find guides to accessible venues here at sites all across Northern Ireland. Here are some of our suggestions:

Belfast City Hall and Big Wheel by Roger Price
Free!

Belfast City Hall

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Flower bed Botanic Gardens Belfast geograph org uk 1454550 by Albert Bridge
Free!

Botanic Gardens

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Image attribution: Albert Bridge / Flower bed, Botanic Gardens, Belfast / CC BY-SA 2.0

Old Bushmills Distillery by Jonathan Schachter

Bushmills Irish Whiskey Distillery

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Crumlin Road Goal by GrimsbyT

Crumlin Road Gaol

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Cannon on Derry City Walls SMC 2007 by SeanMack
Free!

Derry City Walls

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Giants Causeway 14 by Chmee2

Giant's Causeway

Visit the location of the famous myth & legend of giant Finn McCool

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Linen Hall Library Belfast
Free!

Linen Hall Library

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Titanic Belfast

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Ulster Museum 3 1 by Bazonka
Free!

Ulster Museum

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Geograph 6252664 by Albert Bridge

Belfast Bus Tour / Taxi Tour / Bike Tour

Not got long? A quick way to see a bit of everything!

Where to Stay

To view the full range of hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses and hostels Northern Ireland has to offer visit Discover Northern Ireland from our Festival partner Tourism Northern Ireland.

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Bullitt Hotel, Belfast - Official NISF Accommodation Partners

At Bullitt, their no-nonsense philosophy means no expensive mini-bars, bellboys and butlers so that they can deliver a top-quality service with no hidden costs. That means stylish, comfy rooms; fresh, local food; delicious drinks and an eclectic events calendar, all in the heart of Belfast city centre.

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Bishop’s Gate Hotel, Derry/Londonderry

This elegant hotel dating from 1899 is a 9-minute walk from Peace Bridge and the murals in Bogside, and a 15-minute walk from Londonderry railway station.

Visit the website
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