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Voykit pocket guide · United Kingdom

Belfast

Béal Feirste

Give Belfast 2 nights: one full day for Titanic Quarter and the centre, one for the murals and a Black Taxi tour. Add a third only for a Causeway Coast day.

Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland and the best-equipped base on the island for a short city break: compact, walkable, and cheaper than Dublin or London. Two nights covers Titanic Belfast, City Hall and the west Belfast murals; three lets you add the Giant's Causeway. It rains in every month, so plan one indoor anchor per day.

LondonAbbots LangleyAberdeenAberdyfiAberfeldyAbergavennyAberystwythAbingdon-on-ThamesAccringtonAchiltibuieAcleAldeburghAlnmouthAlnwickBelfast200 kmdots: other places in this guide
Sketch, not to navigate by: shapes follow this guide’s areas and places, not official boundaries. North is up.
Country
United Kingdom
Local name
Béal Feirste
Best months
May–Sep
Avoid
Jan–Feb (wet, dark by 16:30)
Stay
2 nights

Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.

Essentials

Currency
GBP
Money
Currency is the pound sterling (GBP, £). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere; some places are card-only.
Daily spend
Budget £55–85 excl. bed · Mid £90–150 excl. bed · High £160+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
SIM and data
EE, Vodafone (merged with Three in 2025) and O2 run the networks; prepaid SIMs sell in supermarkets, phone shops and airport vending machines, no registration needed.
Emergency
Police, fire, ambulance 999 · Police non-urgent 101 · NHS non-urgent 111
Plugs
Types G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Three-pin Type G only; European, US and Australian plugs need an adapter. Bathrooms have two-pin shaver sockets only.
Tipping
Restaurant with table service: 10–12.5% if no service charge is on the bill; check before adding more.; Pub or bar: Not expected; 'and one for yourself' offers the bartender a drink.; Taxi: Round up or 10%.; Hotel porter: £1–2 per bag.; Tour guide: £5–10 per person for a day tour; free walking tours expect £10–15.
Water
Tap water is safe everywhere. Free refills are common; restaurants will bring tap water if you ask.
Toilets
Public toilets are scarce and some charge 50p–£1 or are card-only. Stations, museums, department stores and pubs (if you buy a drink) are the fallback.

What things cost

ItemPrice
Coffee£3–4.50
Ulster fry breakfast£7–12
Pub main course£12–18
Pint of beer£5–6.50
Metro single in the centre£1.80
Taxi, centre to City Airportabout £15
Titanic Belfast adult ticketabout £25
Black Taxi tour, per person£15–20

Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.

Get in

By air

BHD · George Best Belfast City
2 miles east of the centre; bus 600 to the centre in under 15 min
BFS · Belfast International (Aldergrove)
20 miles west; Ulsterbus 300 to Grand Central in about 50 min
DUB · Dublin Airport
About 100 miles (160 km) south; hourly coach to Belfast in about 2 h

Typical fares

Bus 600, City Airport → centre
£2.30, under 15 min
Ulsterbus 300, International → Grand Central
£9, about 50 min
Taxi, centre → City Airport
about £15, plus £2.50 airport supplement
Train, Belfast → Dublin Connolly
about 2 h 15 min, book ahead for the cheapest fare

Get around

The centre is walkable end to end in about 25 min. Metro buses (pink) and Glider (purple, buy at the stop machine before boarding) run roughly 06:00–23:00; a city-centre single is £1.80 in 2026. Trains and Ulsterbuses leave from Grand Central. Black Taxis are shared fixed-route cabs and also run the west Belfast tours.

See and do

Known for

  • Titanic Belfast and the Titanic Quarter
  • West Belfast murals and the Peace Walls
  • The Crown Liquor Saloon
  • Ulster Fry and the Cathedral Quarter

Day trips

WhereHowTime
Giant's Causeway and BushmillsOrganised coach tour, or train to Coleraine then bus 4022–2.5 h each way by public transport
Portrush and the north coastTrain from Grand Central via Coleraine, about 1 h 30 minAbout 1.5 h
BallycastleTrain to Coleraine then bus 402, or a coach tour2.5–3 h
LarneTrain from Grand Central, about 1 hAbout 1 h
LisburnTrain from Grand Central, about 20 minAbout 30 min
Antrim townTrain from Grand Central, about 30 minAbout 40 min

Sleep

City centre (Donegall Square / Cathedral Quarter)
Walk to City Hall, the Crown and most restaurants; best for a 2-night first trip.
Queen's Quarter / Botanic
University area, cheaper beds, good cafés; 20–25 min walk or a short bus to the centre.
Titanic Quarter
Hotels beside Titanic Belfast; quiet at night, 20 min walk from the centre.
West Belfast (Falls and Shankill)
For mural and Black Taxi tours; limited visitor beds, check before booking.

Phrase card

EnglishSay or show
Thank youThank you
PleasePlease
Excuse meExcuse me
How much is it?How much is that?
Can I pay by card?Do you take card?
Where is the toilet?Where's the toilet?

Etiquette, safety and scams

Etiquette

  • Greeting: Handshake at first meeting; 'hi' and first names quickly; avoid: Cheek kisses with strangers
  • Conversation: Weather is a safe opener; understatement and self-deprecating humour; avoid: Asking about salary or class
  • Queues: Join at the back; avoid: Pushing onto buses or trains before others get off
  • Apologies: 'Sorry' is said constantly, even when not at fault; avoid: Taking it as an admission of blame
  • Pubs: Buy rounds in a group; wait at the bar without waving money; avoid: Clicking fingers at staff
  • Nations: Call Scots Scottish and Welsh Welsh; avoid: Calling the whole UK 'England'

Scams and watch-outs

  • City centre goes quiet after about 20:00; eat before then or head to the Cathedral Quarter.
  • Check whether a taxi quote includes the £2.50 airport supplement before you get in.
  • Peace Walls and some interface gates still close at night: check times before walking back through them.
  • Rain falls in every month; a waterproof beats an umbrella in the wind.
  • Book Black Taxi tours and Titanic Belfast dated slots ahead in July and August.

Belfast is safe for visitors by day and in the centre at night; the real issues are weather, quiet streets after 20:00 and late-night drink crowds in the Cathedral Quarter. Take a licensed taxi after midnight.

One and two days

No timed day plan for Belfast yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.

  • Titanic Belfast and the Titanic Quarter
  • West Belfast murals and the Peace Walls
  • The Crown Liquor Saloon
  • Ulster Fry and the Cathedral Quarter

Sources

Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.

Pocket card

Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.

BelfastBéal Feirste

To this address, please

To this address, please

My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)

  • Police, fire, ambulance999
  • Police non-urgent101
  • NHS non-urgent111

The US has a consulate general in Belfast (check the address); most other countries are represented in Dublin or London.

English is spoken everywhere; a few Irish words (sláinte, craic) are used socially.

Voykit · checked 2026-09

Printed from Voykit (/belfast). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.