What would you do in Belfast alone?

[BrunchMonster]

I was thinking of doing a city break towards the end of August somewhere, and Belfast is looking high on the list for reasonable Ryanair flights (well, if I can get enough if an underseat bag?!) . It will just be me alone - I wish I had people to travel with, but I just don't, so I am trying to get more used to travelling alone and doing interesting things anyway! If not August, then potentially October is another option to go.

Would three nights be reasonable? I could get there very early on the first day and leave fairly late on the second, as long as I can get a train back home that late on this end. It looks like the Airport Express bus is the best way to the centre?

There are at least 3 Premier inns that come up on my search, a city centre one, a cathedral quarter one, and a Titanic quarter one. Are they are decent locations, and equally nice, or are the newer ones better? (titanic looks newest?).

As I'm alone, I need safe walking to places. And OK places to eat alone without it being too embarrassing, if anyone has any ideas. I'm interested in the Titanic stuff, maybe the jail tour, maybe a black cab tour about the Troubles (that might be too pricey alone - are there equivalents with group tours?), museums, history, theatre, classical music, landscapes - I'd quite like a day trip to the Giant's Causeway, but not sure there's enough time. On the other hand, it's just me going, and I know that when you are sightseeing alone, you end up seeing things a lot more quickly than with a family but also can end up a bit overwhelmed by trying to fill the time.

Any suggestions for good plans to fill three to four days would be appreciated. Which of the tourist things have you enjoyed most? Which things have you combined well in a morning/afternoon?

All hail the gods for the traybakes! salivates

That's one of my favourite threads ever ❤️
I don't even particularly like sweet food.

I was in Belfast at the weekend - airport bus 300 was very easy to get into centre and stopped about 5 times once near the city, so you don't have to go all the way to Europa bus station. I downloaded the app and you can buy your ticket online, just needs activating before use. Or buy at the machine at the stop - a long queue. We arrived about 08:30 am on Sunday and got bus at 08:45. I didn't know that the shops don't open until 1pm on a Sunday. Walking tour is recommended as the guides are great

Enjoy your trip OP.
Titanic Museum is fab.
The rope bridge is great.
If you wanted to get out of Belfast but didn't want to go all the way up to the Giant's Causeway there is a fabulous cliff walk called The Gobbins which is in Islandmagee along the Antrim coast. Fairly unusual and a bit of an adventure.
thegobbinscliffpath.com

I did the cab tour afew years ago and it was absolutely brilliant. The driver was unbiased but very informative.
He also just took the mick out of me for an hour as I looked a bit worse for wear from the night before.
Honestly a fantastic and friendly city. I would go back again although I'm not ready to travel by myself yet.

I'd definitely go for the Cathedral Quarter Premier Inn as opposed to the Titanic. It's much closer to shops, pubs and restaurants. The Titanic PI is a bit out of the way-great for the Titanic Museum but not much else! We had to get taxis everywhere when we stayed there. Much preferred the location of the Cathedral Quarter.

Sorry, just noticed up thread that you've booked the Cathedral Quarter PI!

For a similar price, you could stay somewhere other than a mediocre Premier Inn.
We went last autumn and stayed at the Tara Lodge. It's 10-15 mins walk along a main road from the city centre or you can get a bus, train or taxi.
It's a lovely hotel inside with fab staff and amazing breakfasts.
As it's in a student area, there are bars, cafes and takeaways galore. You would not stick out on your own or feel unsafe.

Loads to see & do in Belfast and yes agreed Cathedral Quarter your best bet for hotel location as many cool restaurants/bars within walking distance. I would suggest coming over again for a visit to take in the stunning Causeway Coast, definitely more holiday vibes than city break. We just need the weather now, hasn't stopped bloody raining for about a month ☂️

I stayed in the Cathedral Quarter PI alone, and it was fine. Felt fine walking about on my own.

I started with a hop on/hop off bus tour, as i often do on such breaks. It gives an idea of the layout of the place and the main attractions.

I enjoyed the Ulster Museum and Bot Gardens. City Hall was far more interesting than I expected. Titanic Museum is good.

I was there for a week, also did Crumlin Road jail, and the Ulster Folk Museum - which is more out of the city and needs a day. I hired a car over the weekend and drove all round the coast, to the Causeway and Port Rush (swam in the sea,; somewhat fresher than the English Channel that I'm more used to,) and also the coast road to the south by the mountains of Mourne. But you won't have time for all that, so you'll have to ho back some time.

The cab tour didn't cover the whole city when I did it.
The bus did the city and Stormont

I would recommend the north coast for a day trip; make sure to stop at Ballintoy Harbour and White Park Bay. As another poster mentions though the Atlantic is quite bracing

Thanks for the suggestions!

Sounds like I definitely need to plan another trip back some day, especially when I'm a bit more confident about the idea of driving, as well as just travelling alone. There are so many nice-sounding places on the coast! Well and not just the coast.

The cab tour doesn't seem possible for one person at a reasonable rate; I thought there might be a site that put a few random people together, but doesn't look like it, but the hop-on-hop-off bus, plus a couple of walking tours, should be a good alternative.

I'll maybe add city hall to my list of things to see in the city. And the folk museum or Stormont or something if it turns out that the weather is too bad for the train/bus or coach tours to the coast, which given the current forecast might well be the case. Then again, I'm sure it's pretty in the rain as well, but I might be more likely to opt for the coach tour in that case, as they probably drive you much nearer the entrances and no waiting about for public buses.

Thanks for the info about the airport bus. I could tell it stopped en route to the bus centre, because I when I clicked on a couple of bus stops on the map, it was listed, but I've still not found a good app that actually shows the map of the route with all the stops listed. I'll download the app to buy the ticket - is that an airport express app, or just the translink app? For the train/bus potential day, I was going to get an ilink ticket, I think it's called, that is all day bus/train travel - do I need to validate it or anything, or just show it at train barriers/getting on the bus? I don't know if the 'rambler' bus just stops at all the stops automatically, or if I have to know where I am and press the button, but hopefully the little blue dot on my google maps will be helpful there! I expect that the main tourist sites would be well used. I find buses in cities harder than trains because you never know quite where to press the bell to get off, as even when you think you're near the destination, you don't know if there are other stops in the meantime. I like trains/trams/underground with clearly defined stops and signs!!

The distance from the airport to the city was a surprise to me, much longer than I had expected. (This is more important on the way home.)

Re airports- Belfast International Airport is far from the city, Belfast City Airport is very close to the centre and much handier!

If you are arriving via the 300 bus from the International Airport then the best stop to get of at for your hotel would be Ulster University on York Street. There is a direct bus service to the Giants Causeway from Belfast leaves Belfast at 9.20 or 10.20 so arrives 11/12 at the Causeway - it returns the other way at 3.10 or 4.10pm. (I live nearby and it was busy out there at 11.30/12 today). Your other option of the direct train to Coleraine and then get the Rambler this will allow you to go to Dunluce Castle, the Causeway and then on to Carrick-a-Rede. From there you will either need to get the rambler to Ballycastle or back to Coleraine. If you go to Ballycastle the 252 bus will take you down the coast road to Larne and from there you can get a bus or train back to Belfast or you will need a bus to Ballymena and then on to Belfast via bus or train (the stations are beside each other in Coleraine and Ballymena). There is a bus rambler ticket that gives unlimited travel for £10 after 9.15am.

Thank you, @ademanlu that's really helpful and just the sort of thing I needed to know. The Rambler bus is the one I had been looking at, 172/402 I think it was called, and it seemed to be a good deal with the day unlimited ticket (though i didn't know there was a time limit in the morning, which is useful - I have a couple of train options to Coleraine, one extremely early but would get me to Giant's Causeway well before the coach tours, the others rather later and would be somewhat before the coaches but probably still starting to get busy). Do the buses around there happen to have the stops indicated on a sign inside the bus so that you know where you are? It's so useful when they do! Of course I'm sure the driver will be helpful but it's always good to know when the stop is getting near.

I thought I'd have to get the bus back to Coleraine afterwards - maybe stop at Dunluce castle going back that direction rather than take time on the way out, but it's good to know that there are options via Ballycastle as well. Is that worth going spending a little time in - depending how early I go, and how often the buses between the places are, it might be good place to end up for lunch etc.

I will have to get an early train (between 6 and 7.30, depending on just how early I decide!) from Great Victoria St rail station, which google maps says is about at 15 min walk from where I'm staying. It's in the middle of the city, so I presume will be pretty busy and safe at that time of day with early morning commuters etc?

thanks @TheYear2000 and @EBearhug It's the international airport I'm arriving at (Ryan air!) so I didn't get much choice there, but I'll make sure to leave a lot of time on the way back (it's an evening flight so could be rush hour traffic too). I think the website says it's about 50 min but I'll allow plenty of extra.

Ballycastle is lovely for a ramble around - it's not very big but it has a kind of olde worlde feel to it (at least I think so!) Morton's is an award winning fish and chip shop, worth trying.

The place will be rammed on Fair Day but quite a sight to see! Maybe not if you are allergic to wasps though - they swarm around the yellow man!

I do hope you enjoy your stay and come back and tell us how it went!

PS the airport is 20 miles from the city centre, bus takes around 40 minutes.

My 16 and 19 year old are on their way to Belfast now for 3 nights. Hope they have fun. The weather looks better there today than where I am (SE England)

They are going on a city bus tour on one of the days and Giants Causeway tour on the other.

Just got back from 4 days in Belfast.

We got the Airport bus into the city. £12.50 return (valid for a month- buy at the airport or pay the driver)

Day 1: We did the free walking tour of Belfast. 2 hours long and great for getting your bearing. 11am and 2.30pm each day. Tip at the end.

We had a picnic lunch outside the city hall and looked around the exhibition inside (free) and went to see the Titanic memorial.

We stayed at an airbnb in the north of the city, so hiked up to the castle to see the sunset and take in the views.

Day 2: We did the bus tour to the Giants Causeway. 10 hour tour stopping at various castles, harbour villages etc. McComb coaches via tripadvisor £30. A fantastic day out, great guide, 2 hours at Giants Causeway and a pub lunch stop.

Day 3: Victoria Centre viewing deck (free), walk through Queens university, Botanical Gardens (free), Ulster Museum (free).
Lunch at Umi falafel near the university (delicious Lebanese food)
PM Belfast Political tour - conflicting stories walking tour. An interesting concept. You tour the Falls road, with its murals etc with a Republican ex prisoner who tells you about the troubles from his community's point of view. He then passes you through the peace wall where a Unionist meets you (ex British soldier) and takes you down the Shanklin Road and tells you his story of the trouble's from his community's point of view. A fascinating tour, but left me frustrated and depressed at how divided the communities still are. £23 per person

Day 4: Crumlin Road Gaol. Very interesting. £14.50
Lunch at Mumbai 27 in the Cathedral Quarter.
Titanic Museum - very busy but a good afternoon. £24.95

Airport bus back to the airport.

(We booked most of the museums, tours via tripadvisor and got 10% off which saved about £20)

that is so almost exactly the itinerary I have planned. Glad to hear the coach tour of the Giant's Causeway worked out well, as that's my plan if the weather is less nice for doing public transport. Was it really crowded or not too bad? Glad that so many of the other museums were free, as I'm quite keen on that!

I was looking at that walking tour as well, and the jail tour. I hadn't planned on the castle but might be an idea for a nice evening. I've heard the Titanic museum can get pretty busy - I was considering going quite late in the day, like 4 or 5pm or something (I think it was open til 7pm), though it's possible I'll be there on bank holiday which might be busier no matter what.

Glad you had a good time! The restaurants sound good too, though on my own I might be doing more take-away or something but if I can get brave enough, I might splurge on a nice meal one night.

Hadn't thought about tipping. I rarely bring cash so I must make sure I have some for things like walking tours or bus tours. How much do you normally give, and is it obvious how/when to give it?

I’m from Ballycastle but living in London. I would give the Lammas Fair a wide berth if you’re in NI when it’s on and not waste your time going to it. As nice as BC is, there isn’t that much in it but the scenery is lovely and I miss it. Portrush/Portstewart have nice beaches too. Ballintoy is also pretty. I would also not worry about missing Dark Hedges. You can’t park near them and they are less impressive than you might imagine.

I think the north coast is worth seeing and the advantage of having a car is that you can take it at your own pace. I’ve been in the Causeway Rambler before and the bus driver was in a serious rush to get home so no leisurely drive!
I love Belfast, went to Queen’s so south of the city is very nice. Titanic museum is worth seeing.

BC has a nice cafe called Ursa Minor - they do amazing pastries! The Salthouse Hotel just out of the town (steep walk up Dunamallaght Road) is nice for a cuppa and the view. Looks over the sea and Rathlin Island. Go there rather than the Marine Hotel (where you’ll wait 10 hours to get served). There’s not much of Dunluce Castle left so pick wisely where you stop if taking buses. Public transport isn’t as frequent as you might be used to. Bring an umbrella and waterproof with you also. The best part about your visit will be the people. They are the best!!