Belfast is served by two airports; George Best City Airport, two miles from the city centre and Belfast International Airport a little further out in County Antrim.
George Best City Airport serves routes predominantly within the UK and Ireland with a number of low-cost airlines flying in and out of the airport including:
Flybe – to Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cardiff, Robin Hood (Doncaster/Sheffield), Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Guernsey, Inverness, Jersey, Leeds/Bradford, Gatwick, Manchester, Newcastle, Southampton and Rennes in France.
Ryanair – to Stansted, Glasgow, East Midlands and Liverpool.
George Best Airport is linked to the city centre by shuttle bus every 20/30 minutes from 6.00am – 10.00pm operated by Translink, taking travellers to the Laganside and the Europa Buscentre in central Belfast and – traffic depending – takes around 15 minutes (fares from £1.40 single/£2.40 return).
There is also a free shuttle bus service (also operated by Translink), which takes travellers to the nearby Sydenham railway station for trains to the city centre, Bangor and Portadown (www.translink.co.uk/nir).
Taxis are remarkably cheap in Northern Ireland, with an airport taxi costing less than £10 to most parts of central Belfast.
Alternatively use Car Hire 3000's car rental service and travel in style from the airport. Plan ahead and reserve your car prior to travelling and have a car ready and waiting for your arrival. Simply use the booking form to book your car or receive a quote and find a range of cars available for you to drive away.
Belfast International Airport is around 20 minutes away by road from Belfast city centre and – as its name suggests – flies to continental destinations, as well as domestic routes. As well as being an operational hub for major international carriers, the airport is also served by low-cost airlines.
Aer Lingus – to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Budapest, Geneva, Faro, Heathrow, Malaga, Nice, Rome (also offers further international destinations through London via British Airways).
The terminal is linked to the city by an Airport bus number 300, costing £6.00 single, £9.00 return (www.translink.co.uk/airbusservice300) and stops at Laganside and the Europa Buscentre. Taxis from the international airport cost around £25.
By Boat/Coach/Car/Train
Belfast can be reached by ferry from a handful of mainland UK ports, whether you be driving across, going by coach or catching the train (Scotland only). Stena Line offers services from Stranraer in Scotland six times a day on either a high-speed catamaran (the HSS Stena Voyager) or the slower Stena Caledonia. As well as coach and car options, Stena offer a ‘rail and sail’ service from Stranraer.
Stena also sail into the nearby port of Larne in Belfast, with three crossings a day to/from Fleetwood, near Liverpool. A similar service is offered by Norfolk Line who cross the Irish Sea twice a day from Birkenhead to Larne, with each crossing taking around eight hours.
Eurolines offer regular coach services from a number of UK cities, with ferry crossings included in the cheap fairs, which cost as low as £85 return from London (prices vary depending on location).
By Plane
Taxis are remarkably cheap in Northern Ireland, with an airport taxi costing less than £10 to most parts of central Belfast.