Northern Ireland · Antrim coast · Premium route guide
Causeway Coastal Route - Belfast to Derry
Belfast to Derry on the A2: glens, sea cliffs and the Giant's Causeway.
194 kilometres of coast road from Belfast to Derry/Londonderry, following the A2 round the Antrim coast instead of the fast inland A6. The full route on the map, a GPX built from our own track, and rider-vetted stays along the way.
- Distance
- 193.7 km
- Peak elevation
- 256 m
- Elevation gain
- 1,534 m
- Best months
- Apr–Oct
- United Kingdom · Northern Ireland
- One-way
- 100% paved
The route
One way from Belfast to Derry/Londonderry: up the shore of Belfast Lough to Carrickfergus and Larne, along the A2 coast road past Glenarm and Carnlough to Cushendall, over to Ballycastle, then west past Ballintoy, the Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle and Portrush to Coleraine, Downhill and Mussenden Temple, and on along the A2 to Derry. Pins are motorcycle-friendly stays other riders have vetted.
3 verified stays within 30 km of the route. Click a stay pin to see details. Know one that should be here?
Works with Garmin, TomTom, BMW Navigator, Calimoto, Kurviger, komoot, MyRouteApp. Import as a track to ride the exact line. Road data from OpenStreetMap (ODbL); elevation from SRTM.
Track vs. route, how to load this into your GPS
What you are downloading is a GPX track, a dense, road-snapped breadcrumb of the exact line, with elevation on every point. It is not a GPX route (a short list of turn waypoints your device re-plans between). Tracks preserve our road choice; routes let the device pick its own way and can send you down a boring motorway shortcut.
How to use it on your navigator:
- BMW Navigator / Garmin Zumo / zumo XT: import as a track, then Convert to Route (or Trip Planner, new trip from track) if you want turn by turn prompts. Keep Recalculation off so it stays on our line.
- TomTom Rider: import the GPX in MyDrive, it loads as a track / itinerary. Enable Follow the exact route so it does not re-plan.
- Calimoto: open the GPX and choose Import as tour, Calimoto follows the track line.
- Kurviger / komoot / MyRouteApp: open the GPX and pick Import as track to keep the road choice. Only choose Import as route if you want the app to re-plan for your bike profile.
- Google Maps / Apple Maps: these do not read GPX. Use the map on this page for turn cues, or import the file into a GPX capable app first.
Rule of thumb: if your device asks "track or route?", pick track to ride our exact line, pick route only if you want the device to re-plan.
Elevation profile
From ~1 m at the base to 256 m at the top, 1,534 m of total climbing across the route.
It is 194 km with about 1,500 m of climbing, which is around 5 hours of riding without stops. Nobody rides it that fast; with the Causeway, Dunluce and a few cafes it is a full day, and many riders stop a night in Ballycastle or Portrush.
The route stays on the coastal alignment. Do not let the satnav pull you onto the inland A6, which is quicker and misses the whole point.
Why ride it
The stretch from Larne to Cushendall is one of the great coast roads in Europe: the road hugs the shore under the cliffs, with the Glens of Antrim opening up inland one after another. West of Ballycastle you get the famous sights back to back, all a few minutes off the road.
Hazards
Coaches and tourist traffic around the Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede in summer, wind on the open coast, and diesel and sea salt on the surface near the harbours. Town sections in Larne, Coleraine and Derry are slow.
Fuel
Fuel is easy: Carrickfergus, Larne, Ballycastle, Portrush, Coleraine, Limavady area and Derry all have stations. The quietest stretch is the A2 between Cushendall and Ballycastle.
Best months and difficulty
April to October. Difficulty: easy. Good A-road surface, no passes, and plenty of places to stop.
What to see along the way
- Carrickfergus - Norman castle on the shore of Belfast Lough.
- Glenarm - Start of the classic coast road section under the cliffs.
- Cushendall - Village at the foot of Glenballyeamon, a good coffee stop.
- Ballycastle - Seaside town with fuel, food and stays. Ferry port for Rathlin Island.
- Ballintoy / Carrick-a-Rede - Turn for the rope bridge and the harbour. Busy in summer.
- Giant's Causeway - Basalt columns and visitor centre. Expect coaches.
- Dunluce Castle - Ruined castle right on the cliff edge beside the A2.
- Portrush - Resort town with plenty of food, fuel and stays.
- Mussenden Temple - Clifftop temple above Downhill beach.
- Derry/Londonderry - Finish, inside the old city walls.
Rent a bike
Rent a motorcycle or scooter for Causeway Coastal Route - Belfast to Derry
Flying in? Pick up a bike near the start of the route. We've pre-filled the pick-up city with Ballycastle / Portrush - change it if you're basing elsewhere.
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Verified stays within 30 km
Automatically selected by proximity to the traced route, no editorial cherry-picking. Sorted by how close they are to the road.
Ridden this road and stayed somewhere great?
This whole directory grows one rider recommendation at a time. Add a stay and it will appear on this guide automatically if it is within 30 km of the route.
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