Kintra Boat Tours

Kintra Boat Tours Family-run wildlife boat tours from Ballycastle harbour. Cruise the Causeway Coast and circle Rathlin Island with a crew who knows every cave, cliff and colony.
(1)

Puffins in season, seals, seabirds and lighthouses. Book online. 🐧 Kintra Boat Tours is a family-run wildlife tour company sailing from Ballycastle harbour on Northern Ireland's Causeway Coast. Our crew take you out to Rathlin Island and
along the North Antrim cliffs in search of puffins (April to mid-August), seals, seabird colonies, sea caves and all three Rathlin lighthouses, including the fam

ous upside-down
West Light. Wildlife is wild, so we never promise a sighting. Our skipper know the best spots and we always do our best to find it, and even on a quiet day the cliffs, caves and coastline
put on a show. Bring your binoculars. 🐧

Tours run in season, weather permitting.Layers and flat shoes recommended, toilets onboard, and there is a tour for everyone from toddlers to grandparents and your pet as well! Book online at kintraboattours.co.uk to be sure of a seat, or at the Ballycastle Visitor Centre.

The best of this week aboard Selkie! ⚓1. A buzzard soaring high2. The seals chilling on the rocks3. Gannet diving4. Kinb...
13/09/2026

The best of this week aboard Selkie! ⚓

1. A buzzard soaring high
2. The seals chilling on the rocks
3. Gannet diving
4. Kinbane in the sun
5. It's still its favourite rock!
6. Manx shearwaters over Rathlin Sound
7. Gannet caught close by

Wildlife being wildlife, every trip is its own lucky dip 🎲
Which one is your favourite?

Monday and Tuesday are our only sailings this week: Wild Rathlin Landing on Monday and Rathlin Seals and Lighthouses on Tuesday. Book here 👉 https://kintraboattours.co.uk/pages/daily-sailings?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=best-shots-of-the-week

12/09/2026

Tonight we are doing a bit of a recap for August ⚓

We had some amazing encounters last month! From all the juvenile birds at the start of the month to the last puffins. Multiple dolphin encounters, bottlenose and common, and even diving gannets. But our highlight was the sunfish! Definitely. And our seals popped up nearly every day along the way.

So we had an amazing time. Lean back and enjoy the 26 second recap of our highlights, wildlife and scenery!

September sailings are our last before the winter break. Come and see the coast with us 👉 https://kintraboattours.co.uk/pages/daily-sailings?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=reel&utm_campaign=august-recap

10/09/2026

Looking for seals? We asked James! 🦭

You have a variety of options for finding them in and around Ballycastle. First, you can wander the bay and the harbour, like the harbour wall, to spot a seal or two out in the water. Alternatively, you could go over to Rathlin Island with the Rathlin Ferry and walk down to Rue Point, about 2.5 miles each way, so give yourself an hour or so.

Or if you want the easy way: come with us! On our tours we sail right by Rue Point and the other spots where we normally see them lounging in the sun.

One important thing if you explore on your own: please stay at least 100 metres away. Remember these are wild animals and we do not want to scare or disturb them.

Wildlife being wildlife, every trip is its own lucky dip 🎲
But the seals rarely make us wait long. We hope you find them!

Come and see the seals from the water 👉 https://kintraboattours.co.uk/pages/rathlin-seals?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=reel&utm_campaign=where-to-find-the-seals
If you want to explore on your own, this is the link to the ferry 👉 https://www.rathlin-ferry.com/

Beak facts are back, and this time the quiz comes with them! ⚓Meet the S**G. She is smaller and slimmer compared to the ...
08/09/2026

Beak facts are back, and this time the quiz comes with them! ⚓

Meet the S**G. She is smaller and slimmer compared to the cormorant. She nests in the sea caves we pass on our way to Rathlin. Three facts first and two questions. Enjoy! 🐧

A little deeper for the curious ones: in the breeding season she has an emerald green eye and bright yellow skin at the base of her bill. And her name is an old word for tufted, after the little crest she grows every spring.
Wildlife being wildlife, every trip is its own lucky dip 🎲

Big thanks to our onboard photographer James 📷
Facts from Ulster Wildlife, the Wildlife Trusts, the RSPB and Wikipedia 🤓

More beak facts and quiz next Tuesday!
All our sailings 👉 https://kintraboattours.co.uk/pages/daily-sailings?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=beak-quiz-shag-sep08

Last Sunday's Carrick-a-Rede trip, dolphins included! 🐬⚓The clips in between are straight from the bow riding session, s...
06/09/2026

Last Sunday's Carrick-a-Rede trip, dolphins included! 🐬⚓

The clips in between are straight from the bow riding session, sound on!

1. Full house on the bow, everyone forward for the headland
2. Two at the rail for the stack
3. The view from the wheel, cliffs in every window
4. Home again, Ballycastle harbour
5. Company at the cliffs, three fins under the chalk
6. Crystal clear, the whole dolphin beside the boat

We hope you enjoy these as much as we did on the day!
Wildlife being wildlife, every trip is its own lucky dip 🎲
Which one is your favourite?

Fancy your own day on the water?
Book here 👉 https://kintraboattours.co.uk/pages/daily-sailings?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=best-moments-of-the-week

Penny's Beak Quiz is back! ⚓On Tuesday we met the FULMAR, the "seagull" that isn't a gull at all. Four new questions thi...
04/09/2026

Penny's Beak Quiz is back! ⚓

On Tuesday we met the FULMAR, the "seagull" that isn't a gull at all. Four new questions this time, and Tuesday's facts wait at the end in case you missed the reel.
Score yourself in the comments! Penny will be marking strictly 🧐

A little deeper for the curious ones: A fulmar chick spends most of its childhood home alone. Mum and dad keep it warm for about two weeks, then both head out to sea for food and the chick sits on its bare ledge for another eight weeks or so, on its own, until it can fly. That is why it learns to spit so young: for two months that oil is the only thing between it and every hungry gull on the cliff 🎯

The fulmars are drifting off the cliffs about now too. They never go far though: they spend the winter out on the sea and are back at their ledges by midwinter. Whether one glides past the boat on your trip is still up to her.
Wildlife being wildlife, every trip is its own lucky dip 🎲

Big thanks to our onboard photographer James 📷 Facts from the Wildlife Trusts, the Scottish Wildlife Trust, the RSPB and Wikipedia 🤓

More beak facts and quizzes next Tuesday, in a different format!

All our sailings 👉 https://kintraboattours.co.uk/pages/daily-sailings?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=beak-quiz-fulmar-sep04

The August raffle has been drawn! 🎟️Two tickets came out of the hat: 476 wins a Kintra beanie, and 803 wins a rubber puf...
04/09/2026

The August raffle has been drawn! 🎟️

Two tickets came out of the hat: 476 wins a Kintra beanie, and 803 wins a rubber puffin! 🐧

Have a look through your pockets and your camera roll! It might be you! Send us a picture of your winning ticket in a DM or an email and we will post your prize out to you, wherever you are in the world.
September is the final month of our season, and the hat is filling up again. Every ticket on every sailing is in the draw!

Come meet us out in Ballycastle!
Book your September sailing here 👉 https://kintraboattours.co.uk/pages/daily-sailings?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=august-raffle-winners-sep04

01/09/2026

Beak Facts Episode 7: Meet the fulmar! 🌊

The "seagull" that isn't a gull at all!
She's a tubenose, one of the most interesting birds on the cliffs! Look for the tube on her bill: she drinks seawater and sneezes the salt straight back out of it.
And if you get too close to her nest? She spits a foul orange oil that wrecks a predator's feathers. Charming!!!

Turn the sound on and let Penny talk you through it! 🐧
Facts from the Wildlife Trusts and Encyclopedia.com 🤓
That's the last Beak Facts in this format this season! Penny's back next Tuesday with something new!

Come and meet her out on the water 👉 https://kintraboattours.co.uk/pages/daily-sailings?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=reel&utm_campaign=beak-facts-ep7-fulmar

Today we waved goodbye to one of our own. Steph! ⚓If you've been wondering why you never saw her on this page all season...
31/08/2026

Today we waved goodbye to one of our own. Steph! ⚓

If you've been wondering why you never saw her on this page all season, that's because she preferred it that way, and we respected it. But a proper goodbye matters just as much as a hello! So we sneaked the camera out during her last week, and she was too busy working to stop us.

Steph has been a brilliant part of our wee team. The briefings, the ropes, the stories on deck, and hands down the sharpest marine wildlife facts on this coast. If a fun fact on this page ever made you go "no way", chances are it started with Steph!

Thank you for all your hard work, all the stories, and every guest you sent home smiling. The whole Kintra team wishes you all the best for what comes next! 🧡

And her leaving rings the bell for the last sprint. September is the final month of our season, and we sail less often now than in high summer. So if you have been meaning to join us, now is the time!

Book here 👉 https://kintraboattours.co.uk/pages/daily-sailings?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=goodbye-steph

One more thing... there is a surprise coming this week! 👀 And the raffle will be drawn at the end of this week, while the crew takes a well deserved breather.

Address

BAYVIEW Road
Ballycastle
BT546BT

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Kintra Boat Tours posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Kintra Boat Tours:

Shortcuts

Share