Northern Ireland on a Budget: Complete Money-Saving Guide

Northern Ireland is one of the cheaper corners of these islands to visit. Most of the famous sites are free, the National Trust covers the rest, and pub food costs a third of what the same meal does in London. A couple can have a week here for what three days would cost in Dublin. Here's how to do it without skimping on the good bits.

The free list

The country has a habit of putting its best assets out in the open. None of the following costs a penny beyond the car park:

• The Dark Hedges — beech avenue, signposted, lay-by parking on Bregagh Road.
• Belfast murals — self-guided walks on the Falls and the Shankill. (A black-cab tour adds context, the walls themselves are free.)
• Belfast City Hall — free guided tours most weekdays, beautiful Edwardian interior.
• The Ulster Museum — free, central, a good three hours.
• Causeway clifftop path — the walk from White Park Bay to the Giant's Causeway is free, only the Causeway visitor centre charges.
• Cave Hill — three-hour walk above Belfast with the view that gave Swift the shape for Gulliver's giant.
• Beaches — Portstewart Strand, Whiterocks, Benone, Murlough. Small parking fee at one or two, everything else free.
• Inch Abbey, near Downpatrick — twelfth-century Cistercian ruins, riverside, unstaffed.
• St George's Market, Belfast — Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Free to browse, lunches £6–10.
• Botanic Gardens, Belfast — Palm House and Tropical Ravine, both free.

The cheap list — under £15

• Giant's Causeway — £13.50 adult for the visitor centre and car park. Free if you walk in from Causeway Coast Way or park at Runkerry Strand. National Trust members free.
• Carrick-a-Rede — £14, includes the bridge crossing.
• Dunluce Castle — £6, ten minutes' drive from the Causeway.
• Crumlin Road Gaol — £13, Belfast's most surprising tour.
• Old Bushmills Distillery tour — £15 standard, ends with a tasting.

Where to sleep without paying hotel prices

Hostels — £18–30 per bed

• Vagabonds, Belfast — central, easy walking to everywhere.
• White Park Bay YHA, between Ballycastle and Bushmills — coastal location on the National Trust beach.
• Derry Independent Hostel, Aberfoyle Terrace — quiet, ten minutes' walk from the walls.

Most hostels have private rooms for couples around £45–60, cheaper than a chain hotel and usually nicer.

B&Bs — £60–90 a double room

Northern Ireland still has a strong B&B tradition and you'll often eat better at breakfast than you would in a chain hotel. Look outside the headline towns:

• Ballycastle, Ballymoney, Bushmills village — cheaper than Portrush, and twenty minutes' drive at most from the Causeway.
• Newcastle, Annalong, Rostrevor — base for the Mournes, cheaper than Belfast.
• Enniskillen, Belleek — Fermanagh prices undercut the rest of the country.

Self-catering — best value for three nights or more

A two-bedroom cottage or apartment for £80–110 a night, split between four, is the cheapest way to do a family week. Northern Ireland Tourist Board's discovernorthernireland.com lists vetted self-catering. Airbnb works fine in the cities.

Food

Shop the way the locals do

• Lidl and Aldi — across the country, the cheapest weekly shop.
• Tesco and Sainsbury's meal deals — sandwich, snack, drink, £3.40–£3.85. Better than a service-station lunch.
• Bakeries — most towns still have one. A wheaten loaf and a half-pound of butter, you'll eat well for a fortnight.
• Pack a lunch — most beaches and walks have picnic tables and they all have views.

Eating out cheaply

• Pub lunches — £9–13 for a plate of food. Dinner is usually double. Eat the main meal at one.
• Fish and chips — £8–10. Morton's in Ballycastle, Mauds in Portstewart for the ice cream after.
• St George's Market — Saturday lunchtime, £6–10 for proper street food.
• Early-bird menus — many restaurants knock 20–30 per cent off if you order before 6.30pm.
• Ulster Fry — most B&Bs include one. Sit at it slowly and you can skip lunch.

Getting around without overpaying

Hire car (the cheap option for two or more)

• Book early — £25/day if you book a month ahead, £60+ if you walk up to the desk.
• Compare on Kayak, but book direct with the rental company.
• Manuals are £10–15/day cheaper than automatics. Most rental cars in the UK are manual.
• Buy excess insurance separately online (£3–5/day from iCarHireInsurance) rather than at the counter (£15–25/day).
• Fuel for a week of touring — about £60.

Public transport (solo or no driving)

• Translink iLink day/three-day/week tickets — £8.50/£20/£37 for unlimited bus and rail across Northern Ireland.
• Causeway Rambler bus (summer) — runs from Coleraine round the Causeway sites for £6/day.
• Belfast Metro day ticket — £4.50.
• Rural services are thin. If you're staying off the main routes, the car still wins.

Skip the tour buses

A coach tour of the Causeway from Belfast is £40–70. Two of you in a hire car cover the same ground for around £20 in fuel and parking and you stop where you like. The one tour worth paying for: a black-cab tour of the Belfast murals (£35–40 for the cab, split between the passengers). You can't replicate it on foot — the drivers are the point.

A three-day budget run

Day 1 · Causeway Coast

• Dark Hedges (free), Ballintoy Harbour (free), Giant's Causeway (NT or walk in free), Dunluce (£6).
• Pub dinner in Bushmills — £12–15.
• Hostel or budget B&B near Bushmills — £25–40.
• Roughly £45–65/person.

Day 2 · Belfast

• Ulster Museum (free), Botanic Gardens (free), St George's Market lunch (£8), black-cab tour of the murals (£15/person split four ways), City Hall tour (free), Cathedral Quarter pint.
• Belfast hostel — £20–30.
• Roughly £40–70/person.

Day 3 · Choose by the weather

• Mournes — free, packed lunch (£5).
• Glens of Antrim — free, fuel only.
• Titanic Belfast as a treat — £25 adult, plus lunch £10.

Things worth paying for

Don't skimp on these:

• One proper seafood dinner — Mourne Seafood Bar (Belfast), Harry's Shack (Portstewart), the Ferry House (Strangford). £25–35 a head.
• A distillery tour — Bushmills £15, Echlinville £15. You're not going to fly here and not.
• The black-cab murals tour.
• National Trust touring membership if you're doing more than two NT sites.
• A decent pair of waterproofs. Saved before you got here.

Hidden costs that add up

• Counter-bought rental insurance — £100+ extra on a week.
• Hotel parking — £10–15/night in central Belfast. Book a hotel with included parking, or use NCP Tomb Street.
• Card surcharges at small B&Bs — some still charge 2–3 per cent. Carry cash if it bothers you.
• Eating at the Causeway visitor centre café — pricey for what it is. Pack a sandwich, eat it on the cliff.
• Roaming charges — if you're on a non-UK plan, get a Lebara or Lyca SIM at the airport for £10.

How does it compare?

• vs. the Republic of Ireland — roughly 10–20 per cent cheaper, mostly because of the exchange rate and lower restaurant prices.
• vs. England or Scotland — broadly similar.
• vs. London or Edinburgh — much cheaper. A hotel night in Belfast averages half what it does in central London.

The single best thing about a Northern Ireland trip is that the headline experiences — the Causeway, the Mournes, the Belfast street art, the trad sessions, the sea — are almost all free. The cost is mostly food, sleep and the car between them. Plan around that and you'll do it well.

See also the three-day itinerary and the accommodation listings by county.