That was a tough journey for you considering the time spent standing around in the cold, and your absolutely right about your preferred choice of Hannon coaches who would want that messing around with separate transport, and finally I concur with your shock at the price of food on the ferry, I learned the hard way many years ago when taking my young family to France by ferry that food was a rip off on board so I always have prepacked supplies and a flask👍
I seen your video on Hannon Coaches and decided to try them on December 2022 first class service the driver checked my reservation in Glasgow and it was totally hassle free I will be using them in future
Actually it does wait as going to Glasgow a few years ago, the ferry was 1.5 hrs late and wen we disembarked there was bus waiting for as and in matter of fact it was Ulsterbus bus, which was strange as there was no ulsterbus but on board. Coming back to Belfast there was a cash on the route from Glasgow and we were stuck for around 3 hrs but we arrived one hour after the departure time of the ferry but the ferry was still there, well some said that the ferry was waiting for us other say that there was a lot of vehicles who meant to go on the boat stuck on the route and it had to wait for all of us.
Scott, I seen you again on Saturday a steward at hampden, was a very wet day indeed. Didn’t want to disturb you at your work but you were doing a good job of protecting the fence between the two stands 😂👍🏼
I had the same thing in 2011 I think it was when I went on eurolines coach from London to cairnryan the on as foot passenger then a ulsterbus that also listed it as one trip
Just to confirm. Return with Hanson is £78. Return with Citylink is £50. Living in NI I've travelled this route with Citylink many times. I found it excellent value. For an extra few quid you can travel on to Edinburgh, Fort William........Prior to covid you could book this route through translink and they even gave you complementary travel to/from Belfast from anywhere in NI.
Are you showing passport on that crossing? My friend claims he showed passport, but he was drunk, he could be also going from ROI. I have a suspicion that he was going from Derry to York through Dublin
@@yannikoloff7659 Every now and then police will be there to check suspicious travelers, I've never noticed any pattern to it, but if your friend got asked to show ID, then they thought he looked like a junky or potential terrorist.
The city link coach actually belongs to ulsterbus/translink as they run the route on behalf of city link and the vehicle is stored at ulsterbus’s Stranraer depot specifically placed for this route. The reason for the airport bus is they use what ever bus and driver allocated to that specific duty. Hope this helps
Yes you can see Translink's Great Victoria Street office address on the citylink coaches and the driver's high-vis vest and uniform have the Translink logo They use the airport bus as most passengers travelling on this route have bags and the Airport Express 300 bus is configured to carry bags with the fitted baggage racks unlike normal Metro/Ulsterbus fleet
I've greatly enjoyed your videos for some time, but I must say, I think this is a horribly unfair and pernickety take on the service, that (along with the "right on cue" Hannon Coach vehicle driving by at the end) makes me seriously wonder if you have received payment from Hannon Coach to talk the competition down. At 4:55, you're unhappy because you think the bus won't wait for you if the boat is delayed; but at 10:45 you're unhappy because it actually will? At 5:40, you say that being issued a ferry boarding pass when you travel with CityLink is an "inconvenience" and that this is a plus for Hannon Coach because you don't need one with them. Seriously?!? At 10:10, you claim that you can't think of can think of one advantage over Hannon Coach. I can - the price. CityLink charge £30sgl/£50rtn for adults, £24sgl/£40rtn for students and £23sgl/£39rtn for children. Hannon Coach charge £39sgl/£78rtn return for everyone. That's £9-16 extra for a single and £29-£39 extra for a return - hardly "very similar" like you claim. Even worse, Hannon Coach still to this day claim on their website that the increased price (which used to be a very reasonable £29sgl/£58rtn pre-Covid) is only temporary because of Covid restrictions on coach capacity and the old fares will return when they are lifted. Restrictions on coach capacity in both Scotland and NI were lifted eighteen months ago in August 2021.
What I really don't understand is why you were up and about in central Belfast at 4.a.m, 2.5 hours before the departure time? And isn't there some hair-splitting going on here - one company takes you to the terminal, where a lift or escalator lets you board directly to the deck where you'll sit and eat. The other, after a wait, drives you onto the vehicle deck - from where you drag yourself up several flights of stairs. The difference at Cairnryan might be an issue as you say - but if the Citylink bus waits for up to 90 minutes it's not a huge area of concern.
Yes, I've done this journey and it was really good value. The ferry was delayed and they held the coach at Cairnryan. The journey along the Ayrshire coast on a summer evening was just beautiful. Nice ferry too.
To be fair Scott, the Ulster/Citylink runs more frequently than the Hannons. 3x a day vs 1 or 2 (depending on the day). There used to be a 920 to London which I used regularly. It was always pretty seamless.
Apparently National Express are bringing it back later this year - will be handy for me as I can get to Carlisle a lot more easily than Glasgow so I get to cut the corner
Airport buses showing up on the 923 Belfast Europa - Stena Terminal happens quite a lot normally the driver that does the stena run will then do several runs from Belfast Europa to Belfast International Airport after so taking the Airport vehicle on the short run to the Stena is perfectly fine it saves having to take the bus back to the depot and swap to a airport bus plus the driver will have to do a first use safety check etc on the airport bus which takes time you don't need a fancy coach on a short run from Belfast Europa to Stena plus the airport bus is perfectly acceptable for the stena run it has plenty of seats and luggage space. Plus the 923 services is jointly ran by Ulsterbus & Citylink the vehicle you travelled on to Glasgow is owned by Ulsterbus despite it being in Citylink livery there is several Ulsterbus coaches over on the Scottish side most in Citylink livery to operate the 923. And finally the bus will wait if the ferry is delayed as it's a guaranteed connection I have seen the bus on the Belfast side be delayed over an hour before cause the ferry was late.
You know, personally....I'm going on 21 years as a bus driver in Scotland and after all the years that has passed and all the crap I've taken as a bus driver, I can honestly say that I f#####g hate travelling on buses. Imagine waking up after taking a nap and seeing Glasgow....I'd stay on the coach and go back to Ireland. This little adventure you say?? Arriving in Glasgow, I guess arriving in hell wouldn't be that much different.
@@Marc-so2cd to each their own, I guess. The city centre is nicely tidied up, there's some great architecture, both Victorian and modern, there's a very lively cultural scene, and the city feels a little less full of itself than Edinburgh. It's not a perfect city, far from it, but I like cities with just the right amount of grit.
I have traved on Stenaline from Dublin to Holyhead, I have not payed that price for the standard breakfast. Also what items did you buy, I noticed that there was 3 items on your bill?
Their prices seem to gone up excessively even for the times and quality is diminished compared to a few years ago, so I stopped buying. The food service on the old Stena HSS was much superior IMO.. in the 00s they had a very extensive menu for a ferry service.
07:07 The receipt reads-- "Breakfast Grill £11.50 Nestle Black refill £3.00 Princess Gate Still £2.20" (The last item is bottled water) The fry is still expensive at that price.
How the world is changing is crazy, i have 0 problem waiting 15 mins for a bus and i really couldn't care what name was on it as long as i caught my ferry on time and i get to my destination on time. I would be raging for paying £17 on that breakfast rather than complain about a bus
Fantastic video as usual, thanks for sharing! Did you know ScotRail also do a through ticket from anywhere in the UK to Belfast? Just pop it in a journey planner. It includes travel to Ayr by train, bus to Cairnryan, ferry to Belfast and then bus from the Port to the City Centre. Would be great to see you do that on one of your videos, and would make an interesting comparison to the two coaches you’ve done between these cities? 😊
And the bus between Ayr and Cairnryan is dedicated for that purpose - so if the boat is late, it will wait. It will wait a bit for the scheduled Glasgow-Ayr train f it is late, but I think it will leave so it can catch the boat.
The rail and sail is Glasgow to Belfast and the train leaves Glasgow at 11:34 which you get off at Ayr and get the bus direct to Cairnryan for the half past 3 sailing and gets to Belfast port at quarter to 6
One advantage, if you have an NEC (Bus Pass), is that the Glasgow/Cairnryan/Glasgow part of the journey is ‘free’, so there is a good cost saving there.
@@ajorngjdonaydbr we did that for a school trip. Glasgow to South of France, 30+ hours, a stop every 3 hrs (for driver breaks), 40 14-year old...lets go with interesting experience...
@@roloduarte3100 tell you should try Ennis in Clare a total dump rough as anything not a guard in sight . That's the banana republic we live in But I suppose they can speak as Gaelige to the burglars and correct there grammar lo 🤭🤔
Did the outward journey Thursday, back to Glasgow tomorrow. Done this trip many times with City link, no issues. Actually do perth to derry return, £66! Cheaper than hannons Glasgow to belfast, and would have to add an extra £20 to £30 for the extra bits to the £78 hannons charge. So can nearly do it twice for same cost, with city link.
It's like everything over here, half the lies you hear aren't the truth! You are right I would only ever travel if the coach was going on ferry as well.
Never used citylink before, only hannon. Think I'll stick with them in future, despite being more expensive. Last time I was going for a concert, however, and the ferry was delayed by 6 hours. Just stuck at the port for hours. Missed a couple of bands but got there eventually. Coach driver was lovely and we all got free meal tokens for use on the ferry as reimbursement of some kind. Hannon coaches are unrivalled.
From a econmical standpoint it does not make much sense to have a bus (+ bus driver) board on a longer ferry crossing. There is really no need to transport the empty bus when you can just have one bus on each side. However from a passenger standpoint it makes the journey less comfortable.
An idea for a timetable challenge for you: Glasgow - Oban - Barra - up the outer hebrides by bus and ferry - Lewis - Ullapool - Inverness - Glasgow. Lots of train, ferries, everything. What could possibly go wrong and end up with you camping out at a very small ferry terminal? Perhaps not best done until the weather improves!
I've done journeys with both companies and I would choose Hannon Coaches every time. Also with Hannon Coaches you're not dragging your suitcase round the ferry behind you. Quite hard to do when you're carrying a tray of food.
@@philbailey4605 but would you at least concede that dragging your bag off one bus, checking it in at the ferry terminal, then reclaiming the bag and transferring it onto the Glasgow bound bus is a little annoying?
@@j2simpso Not particularly. I've travelled on the 923 service for a number of years and had no problem with it. Booked with Hannons once and they cancelled the service with less than a week to go because there was insufficient passengers for the service to operate. Needless to say I will just stick to the Citylink/Ulsterbus service.
Hannons also let you bring a bike with you. Last time I travelled a woman turned up with a huge framed picture which was very carefully stored by the driver.
The REAL 'elephant in the room' - and backwards step on the Glasgow-Belfast corridor - is sadly the demise of through rail-sea journey options since the relocation of all remaining ferry services from Stranraer to Cairnryan a few years back. The rail-bus-ferry alternative via Ayr is a poor substitute and as someone who regularly travelled with a bicycle to Belfast many times in years gone by, the new order of things is a no-go as the train doesn't link with the ferry and even without heavy luggage bus travel from Ayr involves an extra change. That unfortunately is what passes for 'progress' these days with disjointed and uncoordinated transport policy between modes: To think going even further back it was possible to travel from London, the Midlands and NW England on a direct train, day or night, to Stranraer to connect with the ferry - that is now only possible via Holyhead/Dublin and an additional train or bus journey to reach Belfast
I did this trip for the first time last summer going over to Ireland and it only cost £50 for the return fare this also included getting the 212 Belfast to Derry bus also, granted the journey is a little longer and having to get onto the ferry as a foot passenger than going straight on the ferry on the coach is only a slight inconvenience, in other words its what people prefer, cheaper fare for a slightly longer journey or slightly more for the convenience of the bus going on the ferry. the Citylink ticket is excellent value in my opinion as you could pay £30 for the ferry itself if paying for the journey in stages.
As I have a disability and can't walk anywhere without walking sticks, it would have to be the Hannon Coach service as dragging a case and dealing with tickets etc would be a minefield. If you need assistance you have pre arrange and although I haven't used this service it's not always easy, even if you arrange it it's not always forthcoming.
What an adventure! Good you worked out what was happening, because it seems easy to lose sight of the connections. Scott, why arrive at 4am when the coach doesn't go for 2 hours? Did you think their might be passport control and customs? Enjoyed every minute of this video, and over too soon 🙂
@@mattbosley3531 I got the ferry from Belfast to Birkenhead in Feb 2020 and had to go through customs at Birkenhead. I didn't to get to Belfast though.
@@ianrobertson2634 Are you sure it was customs and not just that rather intrusive police checkpoint Merseyside Police insist on doing at Birkenhead? You never seem to get hassled by police at the other end in Belfast.
@@rachel.mcgowan It might have been, it was three years ago but all I remember is having to go through barriers for passport checks and questions. It took me by surprise as I wasn't expecting it.
I travel this way all the time to Belfast. When you arrive at the ferry terminal you have a choice to put your luggage into the hold or take it with you onto the boat. If you have mobility issues they offer an assistance bus that takes you directly onto the ferry. If the ferry is late arriving the coach that picks you up at the ferry terminal will wait for you. The Citylink bus will also take you on to Derry that is included in the £50 fare. They also go to Edinburgh. Hannon only go to Belfast or Glasgow. Citylink run 3 buses away. If they have no passengers to pick up or drop off at Ayr they just stay on the road to Glasgow. The difference between the 2 operating companies. Is hannon take there coach onto the ferry. Citylink you have to go on as a foot passenger. It is up to the individual if they want to pay an extra £28 for that privilege.
I think u kind of missed the big picture The bus is based in Stranraer , it won't leave until the ferry arrives, the economics make it cheaper not to tie up a coach on a ferry Do we know that the airport bus didn't continue on to the airport ,as it's only a short diversion into the docks ,But I do get his point with hannons , you don't have to touch your luggage until u depart at the other side, for twenty quid I would go hannons all things being equal.
Seriously...minor inconveniences. Real travellers don't worry about things like this. These are the issues of a middle class habitual complainer who's never actually done any real rough travelling.
I've made that same mistake. Last time I went on city link I didn't realise I was meant to be a foot passenger and sat at the port bus station waiting for my bus until it was too late. They did transfer the tickets to the next day when I asked them about it but I'm disappointed they haven't fixed that ticket yet.
I've done the citylink route before, it has always been a local bus to the ferry terminal then the citylink coach. As for the London National express/Eurolines bus I'm not sure. Before they reduced the service to 1 per day, the RailSail was also useful and relatively affordable if coming from the Highlands/Aberdeen
I used Hannon Coach from Glasgow to Belfast after a cancelled flight, and it was perfect. This weekend we are using Hannon Belfast to Glasgow, a positive of Hannon is that it is direct and doesn't go via Ayr. I have used citylink in the past and going through Ayr is a pain and adds onto the journey. Other positive with Hannon is if you are bringing bags it is free and you can leave them under the bus, no need to be bringing it onto the boat.
Such a shame , great idea . But it needs to work , obviously the bus is now the only option with the ferries out of the two Cairnryan ports . Train to Stranraer with Cairnryan some distance is not and option .they need to explain it better . I prefer to pay for the parking at Stena line terminal Cairnryan. Will not go with P&O ongo ferries in case the ship sinks with foreign crews. You get what you pay for I guess. P&O foreign crew or the bigger better Stena line ships.
Done the trip many times , never had a problem. I use my disabled bus pass on the Glasgow cairnryan , cost is exceptional value . In fact just waiting on the winter schedule to open and I will book my bus for Belfast Xmas markets
Mm re travel between Ireland (NI or Republic) and GB, they are along with Isle of Man and Jersey and Guernsey, all in the " Common Travel Area". So travelling anywhere therein for any Irish or UK passport holders is a doddle. One does NOT need a passport, but one should carry some Photo ID tho. But now soon the UK Govt in its mega brexit frenzy is stating that anyone travelling from the staying in the EU Republic, up to NI (currently no issues at all for anyone) and if not UK or Irish (eg an American or Dutch) must have a uk visa!! Both tourist boards and the Irish Govt have protested. And anyway if one travelled by private car, how can that be enforced with so many border crossings. Yes it can on the scheduled cross border trains or coaches but not otherwise..daft!!
Jeezo, after just watching this, don't know why I seen it a year later, anyway, the breakfast looks a rip-off, the Cal-Mac ferries have a better deal on breakfast and the food is good. Great video as always
£16.70 for a breakfast?? For that price I'd be wanting double the quantity and free range eggs, dry aged bacon and proper Cumberland sausage and a pint of fresh brewed Colombian Coffee. What you got there for that price was an insult as well as being mediocre.
I did this trip with National express during the day and enjoyed it even though you go on the ferry as a foot passenger but lovely trip up the west coast of Scotland.
What a bizarre service! Never come across a "through" ticket that's actually two separate bus tickets and a third ferry ticket before. I've done the Belfast-Liverpool ferry before as a foot passenger but on the overnight crossing with a small cabin - that's perfect. Not sure about the 4am start! Rather you than me Scott!
It has always been a "Shipside" service, I don't recall it being advertised as anything other than that in the past. No doubt that is why Hannon saw an opportunity to run a better service in competition as they have successfully done.
My Citylink bus was waiting at Cairnryan, even with a half hour or so delay, if it can reassure some people. Not sure how that works if the ferry is an hour or so late, but yes, the bus waited.
been doing this for 25 yrs never had any bother from omagh to glasgow. if you are disabled there is a minibus as you go throgh customs which will take you onto the boat then back off to which bus your getting at the otherside. agree the food is over priced and not good at all. but its cheap compared to taking the car.
Always interesting to see value travel options. But you are always negative in your videos, by the way I gave you a thumbs down because you told us to when you were eating breakfast.
You suffer for your art Scott. Hanging around in the freezing cold at 4:00 am in the morning waiting for a bus station to open Riding a weird airport bus to the ferry terminal, then coughing up over 16 quid for a lousy looking breakfast. But we appreciate your endeavours. Thank you.
Citylink far cheaper and the livery of the bus from the Europa to the ferry port what does it matter its a bus it gets you there Hannon more expensive not worth it
Your food is cheap come down our way to New Zealand. Same here one bus takes you to the port across by ferry then another bus at the other end to your last stop and if your boat is late buses will wait for you
Good video. Even before I watched it I would never have considered it over the Hannon offer which slick and luxurious compared to the service buses used by City Link and Translink. Hannon might be a bit more expensive but you more than get what you pay for.
Nice reportage, plus 1 for Hanson Coaches then. I can’t believe the price of the cooked breakfast onboard the Stena ferry was £16:70. I take it from the thumbs down sign that it wasn’t very nice? That’s daylight robbery!!
nice to see you in my home City the Reason for the Airport Decker is the connection to the sterna line boat is work of an Airport Duty and as it can be very busy at Certain Times a Decker marks sense also the 923 is a Ulsterbus service but run in Conjunction with Scottish Citylink and the coaches are based at a small Depot in Stranner
