It's one of the most varied spots on this stretch — and a good deal of it costs nothing.
Fair Head and Ballycastle Beach are the real standouts, but don't overlook Bonamargy Friary, the seafront playpark, or the animal farms nearby. With 48 places listed in and around Ballycastle, there's enough to fill several visits.
The best days out near Ballycastle
Ballycastle Beach
Kintra Boat Tours
Rathlin Island Ferry
Causeway Coast Boat Tours
Ballycastle Seafront Playpark
Ballycastle Golf Club
Bonamargy Friary
Ballycastle Museum
Niche Coastal Sauna
The Salt Spa at The Salthouse
Moyle Way
Pans Rocks Cave / The Devil's Churn
Pans Rocks Snorkel (Ballycastle North Beach)
Trench Farm
Kinbane Head & Castle
Knocklayd Summit Walk
Fair Head
Ballycastle Farm Shop
Fair Head Cliffs Stargazing
Torr Head
Fair Head crag
Murlough Bay to Fair Head Clifftop Walk
Fair Head Cliffs (GoT — Dragonstone Cliffs)
Broughgammon Farm
Dunfin Farm
Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
Murlough Bay
Watertop Open Farm
Causeway Coast Way: Ballintoy to Carrick-a-Rede
Larrybane Headland (GoT — Renly's Camp)
Causeway Activities Sea Kayaking
Ballintoy Boat Tours
Armoy Round Tower
Ballintoy Harbour
Ballintoy Harbour snorkel site
Ballykenver Farmshop & Kitchen
Rathlin Island
Loughareema (The Vanishing Lake)
Rathlin Boat Adventures
Rathlin Island dive sites
Altnahinch Reservoir (PAE)
Rathlin Island Ferry & Seabird Centre
White Park Bay
Old Coastguard Station
Torr Head Loop
Tor Head Seal Viewpoint
Sheans Horse Farm
Altarichard Forest Stargazing Site
What's on near Ballycastle
- 1AugHeart of the Glens FestivalCushendall
- 2AugGet Wet Stay Safe - Swim Safety TrainingCushendun
- 5AugDuplo Club — Ballycastle LibraryBallycastle Library
- 5AugJunior Storytime — Cushendall LibraryCushendall Library
- 5AugGaelscoil an Chaistil Parent & Toddler (Ballycastle)5 Kilns Road
- 5AugCushendall RollerdiscoThe Glens Youth Club
Days out in Ballycastle — your questions
What are the best days out in Ballycastle?
Start with Fair Head for dramatic clifftop views, or take the Rathlin Island Ferry for a full island day. Ballycastle Beach is perfect for families, and Bonamargy Friary is a great free stop. Watertop Open Farm is a brilliant pick if you have young children along.
What free things are there to do in Ballycastle?
Quite a lot. Ballycastle Beach and Ballycastle Seafront Playpark cost nothing. Bonamargy Friary and Ballycastle Museum are both free. Head to Fair Head or Torr Head for a coastal walk that won't cost a penny. Pans Rocks Snorkel at Ballycastle North Beach is free too.
Where can you go on a rainy day near Ballycastle?
Ballycastle Museum is the main indoor option — free, and a good way to get a feel for the area's history. If you're happy to embrace the weather, Niche Coastal Sauna or The Salt Spa at The Salthouse offer a warmer, more sheltered afternoon.
What's good for young children near Ballycastle?
Ballycastle Seafront Playpark is free and right by the sea — younger kids love it. Watertop Open Farm and Dunfin Farm are both good for animals and open-air exploring. Ballycastle Beach itself is hard to beat for a simple, fun day out with little ones.
More about Ballycastle
Ballycastle is the gateway to Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland's only inhabited offshore island, reached by a regular ferry from the harbour. It also has a place in the history of technology: in 1898 Marconi's engineers made one of the world's first commercial wireless transmissions across water, between Ballycastle and Rathlin.
Every August the town hosts the Ould Lammas Fair, one of Ireland's oldest traditional fairs, drawing tens of thousands for its stalls and old treats like dulse and yellowman. Nearby rises the dramatic cliff of Fair Head, and Ballycastle sits about midway along the Causeway Coast, handy for the Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede.