Holiday in Northern Ireland - Portrush vs Bangor? (or neither?!)

[lechatdhenri]

Neither of us have ever been to Northern Ireland, and we realised the kids have never been on a ferry, so we figured we might go for 5-6 days, at the end of August/beginning of September. Kids are 9 & 12, they want to go to the beach, somewhere with a few amusement arcades, nice cafes, we want to go on a day trip to Giant’s Causeway. We don’t want long walks due to disabilities but pretty scenery would be nice. We’re looking for holiday cottages not holiday parks, I don’t want to spend a fortune but we’re not holiday park people!

We are trying to decide between Portrush and Bangor but online reviews for both vary from ‘a delightful seaside town’ to ‘it’s a rundown shithole’ So we’re finding it hard to work out where would be best. I thought Bangor might be slightly warmer being on the more sheltered east coast, but looking at the average weather for both is slightly putting me off going at all!

Is this a terrible idea or will it actually not be cold, rainy and grim?

Ports rush/stewart or ballintrae for sure.

The drive down and up to and from Ballintrae is tricky - narrow very winding road, with passing places. Great wee restaurant though. It's a Game of thrones destination. Also Dark Hedges is nearby.

I'm going to stick up for my native Cunty Down!
Whilst Bangor (where I live) isn't the tourist hotspot it used to be, you could use it as a base for exploring the wider area.
Lovely beaches in Helen's Bay, Crawfordsburn and Ballyholme. The folk and transport museum isn't far and well worth a visit. There's Donaghadee for any fans of Hope Street.
Around Strangford Lough, there's Mountstewart (National trust), the exploris aquarium, Delamont country park.
I will concede, if you're going to holiday in Co Down, Newcastle is a much better bet than Bangor!

You’re thinking of Ballintoy.

Go to Newcastle and the mourned for the win,it's beautiful and so many lovely places to stay.tollymore is wonderful and it's all lovely in summer.

The auld lammas fair is on at the end of August (this year it's the Mon and Tues before the bank holiday weekend.) I would personally avoid Ballycastle during this time.

There's a lot more going on in Portrush and Portstewart than in any of the other seaside towns, plus they've got supermarkets (Lidl and Tesco) if you're self catering.

You can drive to Portballintrae, park for free and walk to the Giant's causeway. Or drive to Bushmills, park for free and get the wee train to the Giant's causeway. Otherwise parking at The causeway is paid.

I love the Liverpool boat - are you going day or night sailings?

I am indeed 😊

Portrush over Bangor every day of the week! The only benefit Bangor has over Portrush is proximity to Belfast (if you’re wanting to spend time in Belfast).

Enjoy as NI is beautiful!

Bangor native here … AVOID! The town centre is sad and run down. Go north coast for sure - Portrush is nice, Ballycastle, Ballygally … all good options 😊

I don't know Bangor, but I can recommend Portrush. It's quite small and peaceful, not the brash kind of resort, and - a commendation for me and perhaps for you - it's up a railway branch line. Even if you're taking a car it might be nice to have an outing by train at least once (can recommend the walls at Derry/Londonderry).

Would definitely recommend a day trip to Derry by train.

We just did it this week and the scenery is fantastic. A much used quote by my DF is that Michael Palin once said it was one of the most scenic train routes in the world.....im not 100% sure he didn't make this up, but it is beautiful.

Derry is a great place to spend a day, museums, the city walls and decent enough shops. Great food and fun pubs too

Portrush of those two but Portstewart is much nicer. You could also look at Cushendall and Waterfoot, they are both lovely and not too far from Giant's Causeway etc but not sure how much holiday accomodation there is (my mam and dad lived in the latter). There is also Coleraine which might have more choice but is an inland town and not very exciting but lots of shops, supermarkets etc and easy access to the surrounding areas. Ballycastle could be a good shout but definitely not during the Lammas Fair which is crackers (potentially in a good way but very, very busy). The ferry to Rathlin Island is a really cool little trip and Ballycastle itself with the beach etc is a good day out. It also has a nice park and forest walk although those things are not in short supply on the N Antrim coast generally! I hope you enjoy your visit, we going ourselves at the end of August to visit family and am looking forward to it. Hoping for decent weather and it is very hit and miss but we always find things to do 😌

My in laws live in Bangor and have a caravan on Portrush. Portrush every time! The beaches are lovely there. Take a wetsuit. Lots to see by car. Train Derry. Bushmills. But it will be colder than England. If you are getting the Liverpool ferry see if you can get a cabin.

North Coast every time! My extended family have had several wonderful holidays in glamping pods - Black Knowe at Ballycastle was a favourite but all the sites they visited were excellent. The children love the pods, "like hobbit houses." They have been there in all sorts of weathers. The wee Londoners particularly loved sitting outside toasting mashmallows by the fire, watched by a few interested cows in an adjacent field.

Definitely not Bangor for a holiday! Portrush and the north coast is lovely. If your kids are active W5 in Belfast is a fun museum, the outdoor Ulster Folk museum is good too, but requires a bit of walking. Apart from that, the beaches and National Trust places on the north coast are great!

He did say this, you should trust your DF!!

Portrush is definitely a more attractive place to stay with local things to do. Bangor is just a commuter town. As a PP mentioned you could consider Newcastle as an alternative 'seaside town' - but if not into walking/ hiking, Newcastle probably isn't the right place for you either as it's main selling point is the mountains and forests as well as the sea. Also I wouldn't recommend the other 'ports' (portstewart or portballintrae) if not big walkers - there are no arcades or attractions in portballintrae other than the sea and portstewart is very spread out. It is unlikely to be overly warm (expect high teens, be pleasantly surprised if over 20 degrees). Locals will act like it's about 10 degrees warmer outside than it actually is. Rain is extremely likely. Today we're expecting 16 degrees and rain but I'm still taking the kids to the North coast for a beach day (with wetsuits - which can be hired in Portrush). Public transport is not great here but for day trips on the train to Belfast / Derry I recommend the 'Family & Friends' Ticket - it's not that well known about, but it's £24 for unlimited day travel on all public transport across Northern Ireland for 2 adults and up to four kids, much cheaper than driving and parking

As a ex-local of BC, I’d pick Portrush over BC. As mentioned, lots to do in area and car essential. The Fair is maybe worth visiting in BC or even day before on the Sunday as lots going on. Coastline is beautiful; enjoy yourself.

What’s BC?

Ballycastle

Thanks - I love Ballycastle but would also pick Portrush over it.

Oh, I didn’t see the extra replies. Thank you all so much for all the advice, we have booked a place in Portrush!

Thank you, this is an excellent tip about the train ticket, the kids love a train trip. And I did wonder about wetsuits, it’s fab to know they’re hireable.