Northern Ireland Boat Trips: Coastal Cruises, Island Hopping & Lough Tours
Northern Ireland Boat Trips: Coastal Cruises, Island Hopping & Lough Tours
Northern Ireland has over 300 miles of coastline, two of the largest loughs in the British Isles, and a scattering of islands that range from birdwatcher’s paradise to silent monastic ruins. The best way to see much of it is from the water.
This isn’t a place with massive cruise ship infrastructure — the boat trips here tend toward the personal, the small-scale, and the genuinely memorable. A rigid inflatable bouncing past the Giant’s Causeway. A slow cruise through the islands of Lough Erne. A ferry to Rathlin where the only traffic jam is puffins. These are experiences that transform your understanding of the landscape. From the water, Northern Ireland looks different — wilder, older, more itself.
Causeway Coast Boat Trips
Giant’s Causeway Sea Tours
Seeing the Giant’s Causeway from the sea is a fundamentally different experience from walking along it on foot. From the water, you grasp the scale of the basalt columns — they rise directly from the ocean in formations that look like the work of a mad architect. The hexagonal pillars continue below the waterline, visible through the clear water on calm days.
Several operators run boat trips from Portrush and Ballycastle along the Causeway Coast. The most popular routes pass the Giant’s Causeway columns, the Amphitheatre, the Organ Pipes, and — weather permitting — continue east toward the Carrick-a-Rede area. Trips typically last 60-90 minutes on rigid inflatable boats (RIBs), which means you’re close to the water, moving fast, and getting a certain amount of spray. Waterproof clothing is provided or strongly recommended.
What you’ll see: Basalt formations, sea caves, nesting seabird colonies (spring and summer), and occasionally dolphins and porpoises. The cliffs between the Causeway and Ballintoy are among the most dramatic on these islands.
Practical details: Trips run primarily from April to October, weather dependent. Book in advance for July and August. Combine with a land visit to the Giant’s Causeway for the full picture.
Portrush to the Skerries
The Skerries are a chain of small rocky islands off the coast of Portrush, home to Northern Ireland’s largest cormorant colony and significant populations of other seabirds. Boat trips from Portrush harbour circle the islands, providing close views of the birdlife and the rugged geology.
On clear days, the views back to the mainland are superb — the white curve of Whiterocks Beach, the dark headland of Dunluce Castle, and the Causeway Coast stretching east toward Ballintoy.
Rathlin Island Ferry
The ferry to Rathlin Island from Ballycastle is Northern Ireland’s most essential boat trip. It’s not optional. If you visit the north coast and don’t cross to Rathlin, you’ve missed something important.
The crossing takes 25 minutes by fast ferry or 45 minutes by the slower vessel, across the Sea of Moyle — the narrow strait between Northern Ireland and Scotland. On a clear day, the Mull of Kintyre is plainly visible, and you understand viscerally how close these islands are to each other.
Rathlin itself is L-shaped, about 6 miles long, home to around 150 permanent residents and — in breeding season — hundreds of thousands of seabirds. The RSPB Seabird Centre at the West Light is the highlight: puffins, razorbills, guillemots, and kittiwakes nesting on the cliff face, visible at eye level from the viewing platform.
Practical details: Ferries run year-round but with reduced winter schedules. Summer services are frequent enough for a comfortable day trip. See the full Rathlin Island guide for everything you need to plan your visit.
Strangford Lough
Strangford Lough is a large sea inlet on the County Down coast — technically a lough, practically an inland sea, and ecologically one of the most important marine environments in Europe. Getting out on the water here is revelatory.
Strangford Lough Wildlife Cruises
Several operators run wildlife-focused boat trips on the lough. The star attractions are the resident harbour seal colony — one of the largest in Ireland — and the huge flocks of overwintering birds: pale-bellied Brent geese, which fly from Arctic Canada to spend winter on Strangford’s mudflats, along with waders, ducks, and divers in extraordinary numbers.
Trips typically depart from Portaferry or Strangford village and last 1-2 hours. The best wildlife viewing is from October to March for birds and year-round for seals, though summer brings basking sharks to the lough mouth.
For the broader context on what makes this area special, see the Strangford Lough guide.
Strangford Narrows Ferry
Not exactly a “boat trip” in the tourist sense, but the small car ferry between Strangford and Portaferry — crossing the tidal narrows at the lough mouth — is one of Northern Ireland’s most pleasant short journeys. The crossing takes 8 minutes through fast-running tidal water with the drumlin islands of the lough spreading out behind you and the Irish Sea opening ahead. It runs every 30 minutes throughout the day.
Kayaking Strangford Lough
For a more intimate water experience, guided sea kayaking trips operate on the lough. Paddling through the sheltered waters between the drumlin islands — small, rounded, grass-topped mounds left by glaciers — is extraordinarily peaceful. You’ll see seals, herons, and possibly otters. Several operators offer half-day and full-day guided trips suitable for beginners.
Lough Erne: The Fermanagh Waterways
Lough Erne — really two lakes connected by a river, Upper Lough Erne and Lower Lough Erne — is Northern Ireland’s inland water paradise. The loughs contain over 150 islands, many accessible only by boat, some holding medieval ruins that have stood in silence for centuries.
Erne Water Taxi and Cruises
The Erne Water Taxi and various cruise operators run scheduled trips on Lower Lough Erne from Enniskillen, typically calling at Devenish Island. Devenish is the essential stop: a monastic site founded in the 6th century by St. Molaise, with one of the finest round towers in Ireland — 25 metres tall, perfectly preserved, visible for miles across the water.
The cruises also pass Castle Archdale, the wartime flying boat base where Catalina aircraft patrolled the Atlantic during World War II, and several other islands with ecclesiastical ruins. Commentary covers the extraordinary layered history of these waters — Celtic Christian, medieval, plantation, and wartime.
Practical details: Cruises run from Easter to September. Most depart from the Round O in Enniskillen or from Castle Archdale. The journey to Devenish takes about 15 minutes each way, with time ashore to explore the ruins.
Self-Drive Boat Hire
This is the real Lough Erne experience. Hiring a boat — anything from a small open day boat to a multi-berth cruiser — and navigating the lough system yourself. The waterways are well-marked, the traffic is minimal, and the freedom is absolute. You can pull up to an uninhabited island, tie off, and have a picnic with nothing but water and sky around you.
Day boat hire is available from several operators around Enniskillen and along both loughs. No licence is required for boats under a certain size, though operators provide safety briefings and navigation guidance. For multi-day cruising, fully equipped hire cruisers are available — a floating holiday through the Fermanagh Lakeland.
Upper Lough Erne: The Quiet Water
Upper Lough Erne is more maze than lake — a labyrinth of channels, islands, and reed beds that feels genuinely remote. Guided canoe and kayak trips navigate the quieter channels where you’re unlikely to see another boat. The birdlife is exceptional: whooper swans, great crested grebes, and hen harriers, depending on the season.
This area is also home to the Crom Estate, a National Trust property accessible by boat, with ancient yew trees, a ruined castle, and wildflower meadows running down to the lough shore.
Belfast Lough and Titanic Quarter
Belfast Harbour and Titanic Quarter Boat Tours
Several operators run boat trips from Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, offering views of the shipyard where Titanic was built, the Harland & Wolff cranes (Samson and Goliath), and the broader Belfast Lough. These are typically 1-hour trips on enclosed vessels with commentary on the maritime and industrial history.
The perspective from the water adds dimension to a visit to Titanic Belfast — you see the actual slipways from which Titanic was launched, the dry dock where she was fitted out, and the scale of the operation that made Belfast one of the great shipbuilding cities of the world.
Belfast Lough to Carrickfergus
Longer trips from Belfast extend out into Belfast Lough toward Carrickfergus, passing the Norman castle that has guarded the lough entrance since 1177. The castle is magnificent from the water — you see it as arriving ships would have for eight centuries.
Practical Information
Booking: Most boat trips in Northern Ireland are operated by small, independent companies. Booking in advance is essential during summer, especially for Causeway Coast RIB trips and Rathlin ferries. Lough Erne cruises can often accommodate walk-ups outside peak weeks.
Weather: This is the North Atlantic coast. Trips are weather-dependent, and cancellations happen. Operators will reschedule or refund, but build flexibility into your itinerary. Morning trips often have calmer conditions than afternoon ones.
What to bring: Layers, waterproof jacket, sunscreen (yes, even here — reflected sun off water), binoculars for wildlife trips, and camera. For RIB trips, secure everything you bring — it gets bouncy.
Seasickness: If you’re prone, take medication before boarding. The Causeway Coast can have significant swell. Strangford Lough and Lough Erne are generally much calmer.
Combining trips: Northern Ireland’s compact size means you can realistically combine a morning boat trip with an afternoon on land. A Causeway Coast RIB trip followed by a walk to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, or a Lough Erne cruise followed by a drive through the Fermanagh countryside — these are the combinations that make a trip memorable.
The water reveals what the land conceals. Get on a boat.