Travelling from Belfast to Dublin

• By: Editor
• On: 05/Sep/08
• In: Dublin Travel Tips

By bus…

The Belfast to Dublin route is well serviced by bus, and there's a joint cross-border bus service provided by Bus Éireann, the Republic of Ireland's bus service, and Ulsterbus for the Belfast to Dublin Airport or Dublin City route. Ulsterbus is operated by Translink, and is a division of Translink, Northern Ireland's public transport operator, and the route to Dublin is operated by the Goldline Express. The departure point for bus travel from Belfast to Dublin is the Europa Bus Centre during the day and from Glengall Street at night. The Europa is a combined train/bus station, and is just a short distance from the Grand Opera House, and close to the Europa Hotel.

There's an hourly service, day and night, from Belfast to Dublin Busaras or Dublin Airport, operated by Goldline Express or Bus Eireann. This is a pleasant journey where you can enjoy the fine scenery of the North East of Ireland. The journey takes about a 2½ hours

It's important to remember that nighttime services from Belfast operate from Glengall Street, not the Europa Centre, which closes at night.

For a full and comprehensive listing of bus services have a look at the Belfast to Dublin timetable.

The Europa Bus Station is located at Great Victoria Street, Belfast. Busaras in Dublin is located on Store Street, Dublin 1, and close to O’Connell Street.

Due to competitive nature of the road route between Belfast and Dublin, there's another independent coach operator called Air Coach which services the Belfast to Dublin Airport route. The route departs from Jurys Hotel Belfast and services Dublin Airport. Again, this journey would take 2½ hours.

Check out the Air Coach website for details on fares and route times from Belfast to Dublin.

By rail…

The train station in Belfast is located at Great Victoria Street, in the same complex as the Europa Bus Centre. Like with bus travel between the two cities, there's a great cross-border service jointly operated by Northern Ireland Railways and Iarnrod Eireann (Ireland's rail service). This service operates eight journeys in each direction Monday to Saturday, and 5 journeys on Sundays. The trip by rail takes just over two hours with some stops at Portadown, Newry, Drogheda, Dundalk and arriving at Dublin's Connolly Station. Connolly Station is located on the Northside of the city on Amiens Street and is a short journey from Dublin city centre.

For further details on train times etc. check out the Translink website.

By car…

If you're driving from Belfast to Dublin is a very pleasant drive with plenty scenery and places of historic interest along the way. And to shorten the route, the main urban locations of Newry, Dundalk and Drogheda are now bypassed via the M1 motorway. There is a toll bridge, the Toll Plaza on the M1. Access for a car is just 1.80 Euros. From Belfast just follow signs for the M1.

Driving from Belfast to Dublin.

Maybe you'd like to hire a car. Check out our partner Nova Car Hire.

Belfast & Dublin Airports

Belfast has two airports, the George Best Belfast City Airport and the Belfast International Airport.  The former is located just 2 miles from Belfast city centre, and the latter is that bit further out, approximately 18 miles from the City Centre.

So if you're venturing forth to Dublin from Belfast  for some retail therapy, business or sightseeing and need somewhere to stay. Check out our Dublin hotels page.