Updates:
3/10/2023: I've noticed that in 2023, there was actually an additional Rail and Sail timetabled service from Stena Line for the summer, 1st July – 30th September for the 15:30hrs sailing from Belfast and the 19:30hrs sailing from Cairnryan. Hopefully this will return next summer and perhaps one day become all-year-round.
1min summary
If you want a good value service that runs 3 times a day, the Scottish Citylink/Ulsterbus service from Glasgow Bus station is a good bet. If you're happy to spend a bit more money to be driven on to and off the boat, potentially leaving stuff at your seat, take Hannon Coach. If it suits your timetable and if you're continuing from Glasgow by rail, take Scotrail's Rail and Sail option. If sitting on trains as much as possible (vs. buses) is important to you, you'll need to read on.
Introduction
For getting between the UK "mainland" and Northern Ireland on an integrated ticket (which tend to be cheaper), you have a few options. This post is about getting from Glasgow, which is well connected to the north of England and the rest of Scotland.
The route from Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK (or from the north of Ireland to the UK, depending on your politics) used to be via Larne on the NI side and Stranraer on the Scottish side. Both ports where connected by railway lines and there was even a time that sleeper services could take you on to London. Stena Line moved their Scottish terminus from Stranraer to Cairnryan in 2011, and stopped sailing from Larne a long time ago. So these days, if you want. straightforward journey by land and sea, you will need to sit in a bus for at least part of it.
Although trains are usually nice and more comfortable than buses, I think integrated ticketing of journeys is far more important than what vehicle I am in, especially if we're talking about short-ish distances. This is a bit of a gap on the otherwise-fantastic website seat61.com: bus connections are usually ignored. The site lists only one connection to Belfast via a ferry from Scotland per day, because that's the one service you can buy integrated rail tickets for (which is great, see below). This page expands on that option to include two other competitors that will sell you a ticket from Glasgow to Belfast and potentially beyond.
Although the bus going on the ferry with you could be considered a slightly bigger impact on the climate, I'm going to consider it a plus here from an integration point of view. Feel free to keep it in mind for your own decision making.
All prices are one-way from Glasgow without any additional discounts, for example if you're a student, or have a railcard or coachcard. Hopefully the single and family prices will give you a feel for the price range. They are based on enquiries from around April 2023.
Option 0 - via Stranraer: For the stubborn
If you have plenty of time on your hands and money is not tight, you can take a train all the way to Stranraer and get a taxi to Cairnryan. You'll need to pay for the train fare, the taxi, and the foot passenger fare on the boat.
Timetable:
Scotrail (from: https://www.scotrail.co.uk/plan-your-journey/timetables) + Stena Line
Advantages:
Most of the journey is by rail, you don't necessarily have to go via Glasgow if you get a connection via Kilmarnock. The price is predictable from Glasgow.
Disadvantages:
Price is less predictable because this isn't the standard Rail/Sail fare. The railway line to Stranraer seems to get slower and slower the closer you get to Stranraer, but maybe that's part of the attraction!? This option takes the longest.
Rough cost from Glasgow for:
- One adult: £9.10-15.20 + £20 + £25.00-£35.00 --> £62
- Two adults and two children: £27.30-£45.60 + £20 + £75.00-£105.00 --> £150
How to book:
Your chosen rail operator for the rail part, taxi for Stranraer (e.g. McLeans), stenaline.co.uk or stenaline.ie if you want to pay in Euros.
Option 0.5 - Via Larne
Once you've gotten yourself to Cairnryan (see Options 2 & 3), you could take the P&O service to Larne and take the train from there.
Timetable (using rail as far as possible):
Scotrail (from: https://www.scotrail.co.uk/plan-your-journey/timetables) + P&O + Translink
Advantages:
Good if you want to avoid transfer buses all together (though you'll still need a taxi from Stranraer)
Disadvantages:
Price due to so many different tickets/operators. You might also not be keen on P&O after the agency workers scandal a while back.
Rough cost from Glasgow (assuming train to Stranraer) for:
- One adult: £9.10-15.20 + £20 + £25.00 + £8.20 --> £62
- Two adults and two children: £27.30-£45.60 + £20 + £90 + £23 (Family & Friends ticket) --> £168
Interestingly the foot passenger fare alone is a bit cheaper than Stena Line on this route, perhaps because the distance is a bit shorter
How to book:
Your chosen rail operator for the rail part, taxi for Stranraer (e.g. McLeans), P&O Ferries + buy a Translink ticket on the train/at the station
Option 1 - Integrated Rail Ticket via Ayr
This is the best option if you're coming from further afield and the timetable works for you. You take a train from (and maybe also to) Glasgow and take the train onward to Ayr. If you are coming from the south, you don't necessarily have to go via Glasgow if you get a connection via Kilmarnock. At Ayr you are met by a bus that takes you to the boat. At Belfast there is no official bus transfer from the port, but you might be able to buy a ticket from the 924 transfer bus driver (Option 2, below) and there are local buses (service 96) and taxis. It might also be possible, from a UK ticket office, to buy train tickets beyond Belfast to the rest of Ireland. See Seat61.com for details.
Timetable:
Stena Line or Seat61
Advantages:
Predictable, fair price, no risk of there being no space left/tickets sold out
Disadvantages:
Only runs once a day, and, sad but true: a direct bus from Glasgow will probably save you time, bus does not go on the ferry, so you have to take your luggage off and on with you, although Stena will check in your large bags so it isn't a huge hassle. No transfer bus from the port to Belfast Europa Bus Centre.
Rough cost from Glasgow for:
- One adult: £35
- Two adults and two children: £105
How to book:
See Seat61.com
Option 2 - Ulsterbus/Scottish Citylink
This service goes from Glasgow but is integrated into the National Express/Eurolines network, so, you can get tickets from Ulsterbus, Scottish Citylink (who run the Scottish side) or National Express for the 923/924 service from Glasgow to Belfast. This can be combined with a rail journey to Glasgow. Although the bus stops at Ayr, getting a train to Ayr will not save you time, and the bus station in Ayr is also not beside the train station (as is the case in Glasgow, see below).
Timetable:
Advantages:
Predictable, fair price, service runs three times a day, you can bus a ticket through to Belfast and beyond
Disadvantages:
Two tickets if you want to combine with rail. Small risk of having less rights if you miss a connection, though I imagine services in both directions would be flexible in this situation as long as the bus has seats left.
Rough cost from Glasgow for:
- One adult: £32
- Two adults and two children: £114
How to book:
Citylink or National Express or in person at a National Express/Eurolines ticket agent of your choice
Option 3 - Hannon Coach
The timing of this service is almost identical to Option 2, but it's a standalone service, so can't be combined with other bus tickets. As we are concentrating on transferring to a train in Glasgow, this doesn't really matter. The other two big differences with this service is that it goes on to the ferry, so there is no faffing around with getting off a bus, getting luggage, and checking in again, and that once a day, it continues to points beyond Belfast (Sprucefield (for Lisburn and many express bus services to other places) and Lurgan). Of course, you get off the bus yourself during the crossing, but you don't have to take your luggage or go through Stena Line's check-in. This kind of service is normal on the English Channel to France/Belgium and used to be (and still is?) how the Dublin-Holyhead bus service also runs.
Timetable:
Advantages:
Predictable price, the bus goes on the ferry with you saving you a lot of effort, option to go to places beyond Belfast (again, without any need to transfer) once a day.
Disadvantage:
A bit pricier than other options
Rough cost from Glasgow for:
- One adult: £44
- Two adults and two children: £176
How to book:
Changing stations in Glasgow
The caveat with Options 1-3 is getting from Glasgow Central or Queen Street to Buchanan St. Bus station. They are not beside each other, however either walk is doable, or you can take a local bus or taxi. I've done the walk from Glasgow Central to the Bus station in horrible weather, and it was fine. Google says the walk from Queen St. to Buchanan St. is 7 minutes.
Summary
The train (incl. bus from Ayr) and "public" bus services are almost identical in price and both signficantly cheaper than the "DIY" option 0 (even if you remove the £20 I've added for the taxi). Hannon Coach costs a bit more, but is also basically premium service and has the advantage of through travel from Glasgow to Belfast and points beyond.
Sources:
Stena Line, National Express, Hannon Coach, Scotrail, National Rail, P&O, Seat61.com