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Voykit pocket guide · United Kingdom
Cushendall
Cois Abhann Dalla
Base here 2 nights with a car: five of the Nine Glens are within 20 min. Without a car, one night on the bus is the limit.
Cushendall is a 1,200-person village on the Antrim coast, at the mouth of the River Dall and the doorway to five of the Nine Glens. It is a base, not a sight: the Curfew Tower takes ten minutes, the glens take two days. Buses run six times a day on weekdays, so a car changes the trip completely.
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Local name
- Cois Abhann Dalla
- Best months
- May–Jun, Sep
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug (busy coast traffic), Nov–Feb (short days, many closures)
- 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 £45–70 excl. bed · Mid £70–120 excl. bed · High £120+ 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 or 112 · Police non-emergency 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
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee or tea in a café | £3–4.50 |
| Pub main course | £12–20 |
| Seafood main at Harry's | £16–26 |
| Pint of beer | £5–6 |
| Ulsterbus Ballymena to Cushendall, single | £5–7 |
| Glenariff Forest Park car park | £5 |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | £8–15 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- BFS · Belfast International
- About 1 h 15 min by car via M2 and A26 to Ballymena, then A43; bus connections need a change at Ballymena.
- BHD · George Best Belfast City
- About 1 h 30 min by car; train to Ballymena then Ulsterbus 150.
- LDY · City of Derry
- About 1 h 30 min by car along the A2 coast road.
Typical fares
- Ulsterbus 150 Ballymena → Cushendall
- about 45 min, £5–7 single
- Taxi Cushendall → Ballymena
- £35–50
- Car hire, one day
- from about £45
Get around
You need your own wheels for the glens: the main roads have a sparse bus service. Ulsterbus 150 links Ballymena (rail from Belfast) with Cushendall in about 45 min, six times Monday–Friday and three times Saturday; bus 162 runs four times Monday–Saturday from Larne via Carnlough and Glenariff. Driving is on the left; the coast road A2 north to Cushendun and Torr Head is narrow with passing places.
See and do
Known for
- Curfew Tower
- Glenariff and the Waterfall Walkway
- Nine Glens of Antrim
- Ossian's Grave in Glenaan
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Glenariff Forest Park | A43 south to Waterfoot, then Glenariffe Road | About 20 min by car |
| Cushendun and Glendun | A2 north, or the old Ballybrack road through Glencorp | About 10 min by car |
| Torr Head and Fair Head | Torr Road north from Cushendun | About 40 min by car |
| Giant's Causeway and Bushmills | A2 coast road via Ballycastle | About 1 h 15 min by car |
| Larne and The Gobbins | A2 south via Glenarm and Carnlough, or bus 162 | About 50 min by car |
| Belfast | A2 to Larne then M2, or A43 to Ballymena then M2 | About 1 h 15 min by car |
Sleep
- Village centre (Mill St and Bridge St)
- Pubs, Harry's and the takeaways on foot; B&Bs in 18th-century townhouses. Best for a car-free night.
- Coast Road south edge
- Caravan park and B&Bs 200 m apart, 10–15 min walk to the centre; quieter, sea-facing.
- Waterfoot and Glenariff
- 3–4 km south, at the foot of Glenariff; pubs and B&Bs, closer to the forest park.1.9–2.5 mi south, at the foot of Glenariff; pubs and B&Bs, closer to the forest park.
- Cushendun
- 3 km north; smaller, one bar with food, good for Glendun and Torr Road.1.9 mi north; smaller, one bar with food, good for Glendun and Torr Road.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | Hellohel-oh |
| Thank you | Thanksthanks |
| Please | Pleasepleez |
| Where is the bus stop? | Where's the bus stop?wairz thuh bus stop |
| Can I pay by card? | Do you take card?doo yuh tayk kahrd |
| Cheers | Cheerscheerz |
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
- Bus 150 does not run on Sunday and the last weekday service is early evening: check the timetable before you commit to a car-free stay.
- The glen lanes are single-track with few passing places; do not plan to drive them after dark.
- Coast Road and glen car parks flood with day-trippers on summer weekends; arrive before 10:00.
- Mobile coverage has dead patches in the glens even where the map shows 4G or 5G.
Very low crime; the real risks are single-track glen roads, wet boardwalks at Glenariff and no mobile signal in the valleys. Tell someone your route before a hill walk.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Cushendall yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Curfew Tower
- Glenariff and the Waterfall Walkway
- Nine Glens of Antrim
- Ossian's Grave in Glenaan
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Discover Northern Ireland — Causeway Coast and Glens: discovernorthernireland.com/
- Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council — Cushendall Caravan Park: www.causewaycoastandglens.gov.uk/see-do/caravan-parks/cushendall-caravan-park
- Glenariff Forest Park (nidirect): www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/glenariff-forest-park
- Translink — Ulsterbus timetables: www.translink.co.uk/
- Wikivoyage: Cushendall, revision 5255428 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5255428
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
CushendallCois Abhann Dalla
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
- Police, fire, ambulance999 or 112
- Police non-emergency101
- NHS non-urgent111
No embassy in the village: US consulate-general in Belfast, other embassies in London.
Tipping: 10–12.5% in restaurants if no service charge is added; not expected in pubs.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/cushendall). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.