PORTRUSH is a popular tourist destination in any year, with its beautiful coastline and many attractions across the town, now add one of the biggest golf tournaments in the world to the mix…
The Open will once more descend on the Antrim seaside town, with 278,000 fans expected to attend Royal Portrush to see their heroes chase the Claret Jug.
In order to facilitate the influx of fans, the Causeway & Glens Council have installed restrictions on roads in and around the town.
Translink, Northern Ireland’s public transport provider, will be running specific public travel specials for the event.
The organisers of the tournament have advised anyone travelling to The Open to plan in advance, leave extra time for journeys and use public transport including additional bus, coach and train services.
Bus Travel
Translink have advised customers that the services to and from Portrush will be very busy throughout The Open.
Any passenger travelling on the special services that will be put on must have their journeys pre-booked on the Trannslink Journey Planner app or via their website.
Passengers are to arrive at their stations 30 minutes before the departure time, and the seating will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis.
Details for the Bus specials can be found by following this link
Rail Travel
From Belfast
There will be additional early morning trains from Belfast with ticket pre-booking available online on selected services, along with additional evening services from Portrush and Coleraine.
There will also be enhanced capacity on normal timetabled services to Portrush.
Passengers boarding trains in Belfast will be able to travel directly to Portrush without changing.
From Derry
An hourly service will operate to/from Derry~Londonderry and Coleraine, terminating at Coleraine, where a bus service will be available to transport passengers to Portrush.
General Advice
The rail travel advice is similar to that for those travelling via bus.
Passengers are advised to arrive at least 30 minutes early to their station before departure and anyone travelling on a rail special price should have their pre-booked ticket ready.
Road closures and parking
For those fans who are travelling via the roads, please be advised that there are multiple road closures in place in and around the Portrush area to ease congestion and ensure the safety of the residents and visitors alike.
The following roads will be closed to through traffic between the hours of 6am– 10pm from Sunday, July 13 – Sunday, July 20, 2025:
- Bushmills Road/Dunluce Road – between Crocknamack Road and Magheracross Car Park
- Ballybogey Road – from Ballymacrea Road/Ballymagarry Road to Dunluce Road
- Portstewart Road – between Glenvale Crescent and Coleraine Road
- Whiterocks Road – between Dunluce Road and Portrush beach
There are some roads on which vehicles will not be permitted to stop for any reason; a full list of these can be found on the TrafficwatchNI website.
A diagram of the changes to the roads around the coastal routes is available via this link.
