Where to stay in County Antrim: Larne, the Glens or Ballycastle

County Antrim is a long, thin coast road with a few large attractions at each end, so the base decides how much of your trip is driving. The County Antrim travel guide explains the sights, and this page settles where to sleep. It sits inside a wider Northern Ireland trip, where most visitors also want Belfast and the Giant's Causeway. For most first visits the honest answer is Ballycastle if Rathlin matters, Cushendall if the Glens matter, and a night at each end if you have three.

Three questions decide the choice. The first is what the trip is for. If the plan is the Rathlin ferry and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, Ballycastle saves the longest drive of the day. If it is the glens, forest parks and village stops, a base in the middle of the coast road keeps every loop short. The second is how you arrive. Ferries from Scotland dock at Belfast and Larne, according to Tourism NI, and Belfast International Airport lies inside the county, so a first or last night near Larne or Carrickfergus fits a ferry or an early flight. The third is the calendar. Puffins reach Rathlin from late April to early August, according to the RSPB, and that is also when the coast is busiest.

Price bands below are per night for a double room: $ is a simple guesthouse or hostel, $$ a mid-range hotel or inn, $$$ an upscale country-house or spa hotel. No rates are quoted because they change with the calendar, so check the final price, including any local charges, at booking. Most coast stays are small, so rooms run out before big hotel blocks do.

The southern end of the county is the practical base. Carrickfergus Castle overlooks Belfast Lough, and Tourism NI describes it as an excellent example of what the Normans built about 800 years ago and among the best preserved medieval structures in Ireland. Larne is the start of the coast road and a ferry port, with sailings to Cairnryan in Scotland listed by Tourism NI. If your trip begins or ends with a ferry, a night here removes the early-morning transfer.

The Gobbins Cliff Path also sits on this side of the county, near Islandmagee. The official site says the path can only be visited on a guided tour and asks you to book online, and it describes a seasonal opening, so confirm dates before you plan a night around it. A base here makes that booking easier to fit, since you can arrive close to your tour time instead of driving in from the north.

The trade-off is distance. From Larne to Ballycastle you cover the whole coast road, and a Rathlin morning from this base means a long early drive. The towns are also less scenic after dark than the glens villages. Use this base for logistics, not for atmosphere.

Glenarm and Carnlough are small harbor villages on the coast road, a short drive apart. Glenarm Castle has belonged to the McDonnell family since 1686, according to Tourism NI, and its walled garden is open to visitors and sits on the Antrim Garden Trail. That gives the area a daytime anchor that does not depend on the weather as much as a cliff walk does.

The appeal is calm. Evenings are quiet, the villages are compact, and the coast road is at your door in the morning light. It suits couples, gardeners and anyone who wants to drive slowly with frequent stops. It is also a sensible midpoint if you split the coast over three nights: one at each end and one here.

The limit is choice. These villages have fewer restaurants and bars than Ballycastle or Carrickfergus, so book dinner ahead and check opening days for off-season weeks. If you plan a Rathlin morning, the drive north is long enough that Cushendall or Ballycastle is the better base for that day.

Cushendall is the natural base for the glens themselves. Tourism NI counts nine Glens of Antrim, with Glenariff, the Queen of the Glens, among the best known, and Glenariff Forest Park lies a short drive inland. Cushendun, a short drive north, is the village Tourism NI links with its caves and the Game of Thrones filming, and the Moyle Way, a 32 km route from Glenariff Forest Park to Ballycastle, starts from the same area.

The village suits walkers and photographers. You can fit the waterfall walk at Glenariff, a 3 km boardwalk trail that nidirect describes as including a steep climb with steps, and still return for a long dinner. The forest park gates open by 8 am and are locked at dusk, which shapes the day: arrive in the morning, not at sunset.

The downside is that everything else is a drive. The Rathlin ferry, Carrick-a-Rede and the Causeway are all north of here, and you should plan around a car; check Translink if you cannot drive. If those are your priorities, move to Ballycastle for the second night.

Ballycastle is the base for the north coast. The Rathlin Ferry runs from the town, and the National Trust places the Carrick-a-Rede car park on the B15, about 5 miles west of Ballycastle and 7 miles east of Bushmills. The Giant's Causeway sits 13 miles from the town by road, according to the National Trust, so one base covers all three headline sights without a long morning drive.

The practical gain is the Rathlin crossing. Tourism NI says pre-booking is mandatory, especially in peak season, and passengers must arrive 15 minutes before departure. Sleeping within walking distance of the terminal makes that timing easy, and it removes the parking question for the day. Parking charges apply at Ballycastle Harbour, according to Tourism NI, so check the terminal car park rules if you drive in.

The trade-off is distance from Belfast. A late flight or an early ferry from Larne is awkward from here, and a wet, windy day on the north coast has fewer indoor options than a city. Keep the Causeway Coast pages open for a rain plan, and check each attraction's booking page before you travel.

The table gives a short version of the choice. Read the "Nearby" column as what you can reach without a long drive, and keep your longest planned day in mind. A first visit with a Rathlin day and a glens loop usually works best as two nights in Cushendall or Ballycastle plus a night at the southern end if you arrive or leave by ferry.

If you only have one night, choose by the first morning. A Rathlin crossing, a Gobbins tour or a Carrick-a-Rede booking each has a fixed time, and sleeping near it protects the rest of the day. Everything else on the coast can move around it.

Puffin season on Rathlin runs from late April to early August, according to the RSPB, and the West Light Seabird Centre has already closed for 2026 and is due to return in spring 2027. If puffins are your reason to come, plan for May to July and book Ballycastle early, since small guesthouses fill first. Outside that window the island is quieter, and the cliffs and walking trails still make the trip worthwhile. Tourism NI also notes that the island suits a winter visit for people who want weather and empty paths, so the off-season is a real option, not a consolation.

Events change the picture too. Local fairs, festivals and race weekends can fill small rooms along the north coast, so check the Tourism NI events page for your dates before you book a non-refundable room. For the Causeway itself, the National Trust strongly recommends pre-booking the Visitor Experience, and the Carrick-a-Rede crossing needs a ticket booked in advance, so lock those in before you pick the night.

Read the Carrick-a-Rede page for current opening times, and the Rathlin Ferry site for the vessels and parking note. Booking order matters: book the fixed-time item first, then the room, then dinner.

Winter weather matters for your choice of base. Coast roads can be exposed, daylight is short, and a village with a pub and a warm room beats a remote cottage if the forecast turns. Ask the host about heating, drying space for wet boots and late check-in, since these small places often have fixed arrival windows.

The most common mistake is trying to see the whole county from Belfast in one day. The coast road is slow, the stops are many, and the return drive in the dark takes the pleasure out of the Glens. Two nights on the coast cost little more and give you unhurried mornings.

A second mistake is basing in the Glens and planning a Rathlin morning. The drive to Ballycastle is long, the passenger boat has a set arrival time and the window for a calm crossing can narrow with the weather. If Rathlin is the priority, sleep in Ballycastle the night before and treat the Glens as a second-day loop.

A third is assuming you can arrive without a booking. The Rathlin ferry, the Gobbins and Carrick-a-Rede each require advance booking, and small guesthouses may have fixed check-in times. Confirm each before you build the route.

Finally, check cross-border rules if you arrive by road from Dublin. Visa-exempt visitors who do not live in Ireland need a UK ETA to enter Northern Ireland, and the UK ETA explained page covers who qualifies and what it costs. Carry a passport even where nobody checks it, and read the transport planning page if you hire a car, since rental firms set their own cross-border terms. An eSIM plus offline maps is worth setting up before you reach the glens, and travel insurance is worth reviewing for weather-related cancellations.