Derry/Londonderry Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

The bus station (Map p645; 7126 2261) is on Foyle St, just northeast of the walled city.

Bus 212, the Maiden City Flyer, is a fast and frequent service between Derry and Belfast (£9, 1¾ hours, every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday, 11 on Sunday), calling at Dungiven. Goldline Express 274 goes from Derry to Dublin (£14, four hours, every two hours daily).

Other useful Ulsterbus services include the 273 to Omagh (£7, 1¼ hours, hourly Monday to Saturday, six Sunday) and the 234 to Limavady and Coleraine (£6, one hour, five daily Monday to Friday, two Sunday), continuing to Portstewart and Portrush twice daily.

Lough Swilly Bus Company (7126 2017) has an office upstairs at the bus station, and runs buses to Buncrana, Carndonagh, Dungloe, Letterkenny (£5, 30 to 45 minutes, nine daily Monday to Friday, five on Saturday) and Greencastle (one hour, three daily Monday to Saturday) in County Donegal. There’s also a bus from Derry to Malin Head (£6, 1¼ hours, two daily) via Carndonagh on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday – a very scenic trip.

Bus Éireann (in Donegal 353-742 1309) service 64 runs from Derry to Galway (£13, 5¼ hours, two daily) via Letterkenny, Donegal and Sligo; another four a day terminate at Sligo.

The Airporter (7126 9996; www.airporter.co.uk ; Quayside Shopping Centre, Strand Rd) bus service runs direct from Derry to Belfast International (one-way/return £15/25, 1½ hours) and George Best Belfast City (same fare, two hours) airports. Buses depart hourly Monday to Friday, every two hours on Saturday and Sunday.

Train

Derry’s train station (referred to as Londonderry in Northern Ireland timetables) is on the eastern side of the River Foyle; a free Rail Link bus connects it with the bus station on Foyle St. Trains to Belfast (£10, 2¼ hours, seven or eight daily Monday to Saturday, four on Sunday) are slower but more comfortable than the bus, and the section of line between Derry and Coleraine is very scenic. There are also frequent trains to Coleraine (£7, 45 minutes, seven daily), with connections to Portrush (£8, 1¼ hours).

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Air

City of Derry Airport (7181 0784; www.cityofderryairport.com) is about 13km east of Derry along the A2 towards Limavady. There are direct flights daily to Dublin and Glasgow International (British Airways), London Stansted, Liverpool, Nottingham East Midlands and Glasgow Prestwick (Ryanair).

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