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Voykit pocket guide · United Kingdom
Portrush
Port Rois
Give Portrush 2 nights as a Causeway Coast base: beaches and golf on foot, Giant's Causeway and Bushmills by bus 402. One night only if you drive.
Portrush is a small seaside town on a peninsula in County Antrim, population about 6,000, and the handiest base for the Giant's Causeway coast. The town itself is walkable in an afternoon: two beaches, a harbour, a funfair and a championship golf course. Everything else on the coast is a bus ride east. In July and August beds sell out and prices jump, so book ahead.
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Local name
- Port Rois
- Best months
- May–Sep
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug (crowds and peak prices); Northwest 200 race week in May if you want quiet
- 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-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
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | £3–4.50 |
| Fish and chips | £10–16 |
| Pint of beer | £5–6.50 |
| Causeway Coast bus day ticket | £10–15 |
| Dunluce Castle entry | £6–8 |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | £8–15 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- BFS · Belfast International
- Train from Antrim to Coleraine, then change for Portrush; about 2 h total
- BHD · George Best Belfast City
- Bus or taxi to Belfast Grand Central, then the hourly train north
- LDY · City of Derry
- Smaller option; bus or taxi to Coleraine then train
Typical fares
- Bus 402 Portrush → Giant's Causeway
- about £6 single, 30 min
- Train Portrush → Belfast
- about £15 single, 2 h
- Taxi across town
- £5–8
Get around
Walk: the town is small and the peninsula layout makes driving slow, with scarce parking in summer. Bus 140 links Portstewart every 20 min Mon–Sat; bus 402 runs every 30 min east to Dunluce Castle, Bushmills, Giant's Causeway and Ballycastle. Trains run hourly to Coleraine and Belfast.
See and do
Known for
- Giant's Causeway base
- Royal Portrush Golf Club
- West Strand and East Strand beaches
- Curry's Fun Park
- Northwest 200 motorbike race
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Giant's Causeway | Bus 402 from Dunluce Ave, about 30 min | About 45 min |
| Dunluce Castle | Bus 402 towards Bushmills, about 15 min, then a short walk | About 30 min |
| Bushmills distillery | Bus 402, about 25 min | About 40 min |
| Portstewart | Bus 140, about 10 min, or a 3-mile walk west | About 20 min |
| Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge | Bus 402 towards Ballycastle, then walk | About 1 h |
| Belfast | Train via Coleraine, hourly | About 2 h |
Sleep
- Town centre (Main St and around the station)
- Hotels, the railway station and both strands on foot; noisiest near late bars.
- Lansdowne Crescent and Dhu Varren
- B&B strip half a mile south of the centre, near the Dhu Varren rail halt.
- Ballyreagh Road and the golf course
- Quieter, east of town; caravan park and a hotel, 20–30 min walk to the centre.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Thank you | Thank you |
| Please | Please |
| Where is the bus stop? | Where is the bus stop? |
| How much is it? | How much is it? |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card? |
| Where is the toilet? | Where is 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
- Summer weekends and race week fill every bed: book weeks ahead.
- Parking in the centre is scarce in July and August; leave the car at your accommodation.
- The Northwest 200 closes roads around Portrush, Portstewart and Coleraine for a week in May.
- Sea and surf here are cold year-round; West Strand has lifeguards in season only.
- Bus 172 from Coleraine bypasses Portrush: take 402 or 140 instead.
A small, low-crime resort town; the real risks are cold water and rip currents at the strands, wet clifftop paths, and drink-fuelled weekends in summer.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Portrush yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Giant's Causeway base
- Royal Portrush Golf Club
- West Strand and East Strand beaches
- Curry's Fun Park
- Northwest 200 motorbike race
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Visit Causeway Coast and Glens: www.visitcausewaycoastandglens.com/
- Translink (NI trains and buses): www.translink.co.uk/
- Discover Northern Ireland: discovernorthernireland.com/
- Wikivoyage: Portrush, revision 5264259 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5264259
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
PortrushPort Rois
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-urgent101
- NHS non-urgent111
No embassies in Portrush; the US consulate-general is in Belfast, and most other countries keep embassies in London or Dublin.
English is spoken everywhere; no phrasebook needed.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/portrush). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.