5 days on the Causeway Coastal Route
Belfast → Derry / Londonderry · 5 days · ~5h 10m total driving
Run it out of Belfast and the coast opens up gradually: castles first, then the glens, then the basalt. Five days means you can take the Rathlin ferry without wrecking the schedule.
Heading south · 5 days
Belfast → Derry / Londonderry
~5h 10m total driving
Day 1 · AntrimCauseway Coast
Belfast
City anchor — Titanic Quarter, Cathedral Quarter, the Black Cab tour, the entry/exit to the Causeway Coastal Route.
- Titanic Belfast
- Belfast City Hall
Day 2 · AntrimCauseway Coast
~1h 25m drive
Glens of Antrim
Nine glens running down to the sea. Glenariff, Cushendall, Glenarm.
- Glenariff Forest Park & waterfalls
- The Antrim Coast Road
Day 3 · AntrimCauseway Coast
~1h drive
Ballycastle & Rathlin Island
Ferry to Rathlin — puffins, a flipped lighthouse, the only inhabited Antrim island.
- The Rathlin Island ferry
- Rathlin West Light & the seabird colonies
Day 4 · AntrimCauseway Coast
~50m drive
Giant's Causeway & Bushmills
40,000 basalt columns, a UNESCO site, and the world's oldest licensed distillery next door.
- The Causeway itself
- Old Bushmills Distillery
Day 5 · DerryCauseway Coast
~1h 55m drive
Derry / Londonderry
Walled city, Bogside murals, the Peace Bridge — and the bridge to the Wild Atlantic Way.
- Walk the city walls
- The People's Gallery (Bogside murals)
7 regions skipped to fit your time
- Carrickfergus — Norman castle on the harbour, the song everyone half-knows the words to.
- Larne & the Antrim Coast Road — Where the Causeway Coastal Route gets wild — basalt cliffs hanging over the road.
- Cushendun & Torr Head — The quiet drive — caves, white-washed cottages, Scotland twelve miles across the channel.
- Carrick-a-Rede & Ballintoy — The rope bridge to a salmon fisherman's island. Ballintoy harbour next door.
- Dunluce & the Causeway cliffs — The ruined castle on the cliff edge, the coast path to the Causeway.
- Portrush & Portstewart — Two seaside towns, a championship links, and the surf at East Strand.
- Mussenden Temple & Downhill — A cliff-edge temple, the Earl Bishop's ruined demesne, and seven miles of empty strand.
Driving times are honest mid-range estimates. The WAW is full of small roads, and you'll want to stop. Plan for slower than Google Maps tells you.
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