Belfast to Cairnryan runs about 4 times a day, with the first departure around 07:30 and the last around 19:30. One passenger pays €11.88, every fee included. The fastest door to door is 3h 57m over 75 km, on services run by 1 operator across 1 mode.
What one seat costs
Every operator we hold on this corridor starts at €11.88, so there is no spread to show.
Typical fares · Priced for 18 September 2026
€11.88
When it runs, leaving Belfast
First and last sailing as the operators themselves filed them for 17 September 2026, counted in this direction only. The return crossing runs on its own timetable and this page does not speak for it.
- 07:30First departure
- 19:30Last departure
- 4Services per day
- 100%Run direct
Departures on 28 September 2026
Real departures, filed by the operators themselves. We hold no fare for these services, so there is no price here to mislead you.
15:0009:5542h 55m
IE ORK-FR ROSBrittany Ferries7 changes
Cork → Port Rodie
Bikes carriedStep-free
Brittany Ferries timetable15:0020:3729h 37m
IE ORK-FR ROSBrittany Ferries6 changes
Cork → Glasgow Queen Street
Bikes carriedStep-free
Brittany Ferries timetable
Sailings on 17 September 2026
Real sailings, with the fares the operator is charging. Check the season before you count on one.
07:3009:522h 22m
STENA LINEVessel STENA SUPERFAST VIIIDirect
BELFAST → CAIRNRYAN
from €38.00 €53.00
Vehicles carriedPets carried
11:3013:522h 22m
STENA LINEVessel STENA SUPERFAST VIIDirect
BELFAST → CAIRNRYAN
from €38.00 €53.00
Vehicles carriedPets carried
15:3017:522h 22m
STENA LINEVessel STENA SUPERFAST VIIIDirect
BELFAST → CAIRNRYAN
from €38.00 €53.00
Vehicles carriedPets carried
19:3021:522h 22m
STENA LINEVessel STENA SUPERFAST VIIDirect
BELFAST → CAIRNRYAN
from €44.00 €59.00
Vehicles carriedPets carried
Fares on the crossing run from €38.00 to €65.00 on 17 September 2026, depending on the sailing and on whether you take a deck space, a seat or a cabin.
Stena Line runs this service and does not sell it here. AFerry takes the payment.
Buying this journey
AFerry holds the sailings between these two ports, with the crossing times and the fares.
See Belfast to Cairnryan on AFerry
Or compare on BookawayOr compare on Direct Ferries
Partner link. We do not sell this ticket, and we earn nothing from this one.
Fares by date
What the operator is charging, by departure date.
17 September 2026
€38.00
STENA LINE
This crossing was checked for one date, and that is the only date we hold a fare for. The operator sells the rest of the season.
The ferry gets you into Cairnryan. It does not get you a bed, and neither do we.
A room in Cairnryan for the night the ferry gets in
Sort by distance from Colfin railway station and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
Search Cairnryan on Booking.comOr compare on Expedia
Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Belfast to Cairnryan
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €11.8890 days
- €11.8860 days
- €11.8845 days
- €11.8830 days
- €11.8821 days
- €11.8814 days
- €11.887 days
- €11.883 days
- €11.881 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 90 days ahead, at €11.88.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 0 percent. The dearest point is €11.88, 90 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits outside the cheap window, which opens around 90 days before departure. There is no advantage to booking this minute.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 1 days ahead, so there is no rush yet.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Belfast to Cairnryan and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
16:00 → 19:57
Both ends keep the same time, so the arrival is the departure plus the journey.
The shape of it
75 km
71 km as the crow flies, 6% further by the route services take. The bearing runs north-east.
Who lives at each end
348,005 → 3,757
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
How we know
Observed
Every operator on this corridor is named in a carrier record.
The route
What the journey looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 75 km against 71 km in a straight line, a detour of 6 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
Who runs this route
Cairnryan is small enough to see in an afternoon, which is easier without the luggage. Storing it is not our business.
Left luggage near Colfin railway station
Most of the points near Colfin railway station open before the first train and shut after the last one.
Check Cairnryan on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We do not run these networks. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Belfast to Cairnryan
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Belfast to Cairnryan?
The fastest journey from Belfast to Cairnryan takes 3h 57m door to door, of which 2h 31m is spent moving, on the ferry. Most services take around 4h 6m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from Belfast to Cairnryan?
The cheapest fare from Belfast to Cairnryan is €11.88, as of 17 September 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €11.88. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Belfast to Cairnryan?
The cheapest way from Belfast to Cairnryan is by ferry, at €11.88 for one passenger on 18 September 2026. That journey takes 4h 1m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
When should I book Belfast to Cairnryan?
Fares from Belfast to Cairnryan bottom out around 90 days before departure, at €11.88. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 0 percent, measured on 17 September 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Belfast to Cairnryan?
Sunday is the cheapest day to depart from Belfast to Cairnryan, at €11.88. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 17 September 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Belfast to Cairnryan?
October is the cheapest of the next 5 months to travel from Belfast to Cairnryan, at €11.88 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from Belfast to Cairnryan?
1 operators sell services from Belfast to Cairnryan across 1 mode: Stena Line. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Belfast to Cairnryan?
Every service we sell from Belfast to Cairnryan is direct, with around 4 departures a day and a fastest journey of 3h 57m door to door. No connection is needed, so there is no missed connection risk to plan around on this corridor.
Which station or terminal do services from Belfast to Cairnryan use?
Services from Belfast to Cairnryan by ferry leave from BELFAST and arrive at CAIRNRYAN. Allow about 1h 30m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Belfast to Cairnryan?
1 of the 1 operators we sell from Belfast to Cairnryan allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Observed service A carrier record shows this named operator serving this named pair, and we carry that through unchanged.
Where no operator publishes a fare for a corridor, the price here is our own estimate, worked out from the real distance and the real operator through a fare curve that follows lead time, day of the week and season. It tells you roughly what the journey costs. It is not a seat anyone has agreed to sell, and the payment step will not take it.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Belfast to Cairnryan on 17 September 2026: 75 km of route against 71 km in a straight line, 4 services a day, 1 operator a cheapest fare of €11.88, and 3h 57m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
Being on the water gives Cairnryan a set of days out that do not start at a station. We do not sell those either.
Day trips out of Cairnryan and across United Kingdom
Day trips that leave Cairnryan in the morning and cover a good part of United Kingdom by evening.
See Cairnryan on GetYourGuideOr browse Viator
Partner links. We do not sell tours or tickets. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.
The two ends, compared
Belfast reaches 88 places in 28 countries on services we hold, over distances from 71 to 5,107 km. Cairnryan reaches 1 places in 1 countries, from 71 to 71 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Belfast
- 88Places you can leave for
- 28Countries
- 31Operators