We recommend pre-booking your tickets via the 'Book Tickets' button at the top of this page. You can still pay on arrival, but pre-booking helps us manage the number of people in the museum to ensure your visit is as safe and enjoyable as possible. Once inside the museum, there is no time limit to your visit!
If you are visiting with a Membership Plus card, you do not need to pre-book your ticket.
For any queries related to booking online please call our booking line 028 90 428 428.
The museums have operated as two separate museums for a number of years now as the Ulster Folk Museum and the Ulster Transport Museum. This means we no longer do a dual ticket that gets you into both museums on the same day as one experience. The Ulster Folk Museum has a separate website (ulsterfolkmuseum.org) and you can book a ticket for that museum here.
We are able to scan your ticket on entry either from a printed ticket or on a smartphone or tablet. Proof of booking is required to enter the museum. If you forget your pre-booked tickets, we can check your booking reference but this may take a little longer to check at admissions and delay your visit.
Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. In extenuating circumstances, please call our booking line on 028 9042 8428 our team will work with you as best we can to reschedule your visit.
Yes, we take bookings for groups of over 15 people – and you get a 10% discount! We have a dedicated page for group bookings, find out all you need to know and to book here.
The only discount scheme we are part of is Membership Plus. You do not need to pre-book your ticket, just show your membership card at admissions. If you have any queries in advance of your visit, please call our booking line on 028 9042 8428.
For affiliate member organisations such as Irish Museums Association, Art Pass or International Council of Museums, please call our booking line on 028 9042 8428 to book your ticket.
No, unfortunately since the change to Universal Credit, we are unable to offer discounts.
Yes. Visitors with a registered disability can enter the museum for free and access helpers or carers accompanying them on the day are also offered free entry. Carers/helpers cannot come for free on their own. Visitors may be asked to confirm their eligibility by presenting one of the following:
We have a limited number of mobility scooters and wheelchairs available for any visitor with additional accessibility needs. These can be booked in advance by emailing us. Please state that this is for ‘Ulster Transport Museum’ in the email subject.
No, adhering to our Visitor Regulations, all children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult when visiting the museum.
We estimate that most of our visitors will tour the museum site anywhere between 2 to 2.5 hours. There is no time limit to your visit and you can enjoy the exhibits and galleries at your leisure. If you are also planning to visit the nearby Ulster Folk Museum, we recommend you leave a further three hours to explore that museum.
The last entry time will be 45 minutes before closing. (Please check museum opening hours at the bottom of this page).
Note: you will need to book a separate ticket to the Folk Museum, as the museums operate separately now. Check out ulsterfolkmuseum.org.
Yes, our car park is open until 6pm on the days the museum is open and free for all visitors. There are also two e-charging points for electric cars (EV).
We also have bike racks located on-site, down at B Galleries (Land, Sea and Sky building). Please note, however, there are no facilities within the museum to store personal belongings.
The Cultra train station on the Bangor line stops right beside the Ulster Transport Museum and it's a 5-minute walk to the entrance.
We have a dedicated page on 'getting here' - click here for all the information you need.
Tickets cover access to both A and B Galleries within the Ulster Transport Museum and we would encourage you to visit both galleries to get the best experience.
Due to the nature of the two gallery buildings being separated by the grounds of the Ulster Transport Museum, visitors may wish to spend time outside and then re-enter the museum. Just hold on to your ticket and show it again at admissions.
The coastal path gate will be opened and closed daily in line with the museum's opening hours.
Summer hours: 1st March - 30th September, open Tuesday - Sunday 10:00-17:00.
Winter hours: 1st October - 28th February, open Tuesday - Friday 10:00-16:00 and on weekends Saturday - Sunday 11:00-16:00.
Of course! Please go via A Galleries for admission and the gift shop. Entry to both galleries is included in the cost of your ticket. Visitors will have to show their tickets to the team member located at either gallery reception and you're allowed to re-enter the galleries as many times as you like on the day.
It just helps us manage the number of visitors to expect in the museum on any given day. You will notice in the booking portal - which can be accessed via the 'Book Tickets' button at the top of this page - that your ticket shows up as £0.00, whether you have an Individual Membership or Family Membership. You are essentially enabling us to record your visit in advance.
If you prefer to book over the phone please call 028 90 428 428 (Monday - Friday, 09.00 - 16.00. Note these are our membership admin opening hours, not the museum opening hours).
HMRC has deemed priority booking to be an additional benefit to members and therefore we are unable to offer priority booking for members as a result.
We would ask that members bring their membership card with them so our visitor team can either validate your pre-booked ticket on arrival or record your admission on our system. We can also accept a member’s photographic ID for validation of tickets.
Yes. We have two exhibit buildings, A Galleries and B Galleries, and all the different exhibitions within them are open. The 'Our Place in Space' outdoor trail has now taken off! So it is no longer there as a free outdoor experience to do.
The A Galleries is the first building you'll come to from the car park and train station, where our famous trains are and where you'll also find the TITANICa exhibition. B Galleries down at the bottom of the site (or the first building you'll come to if you come in from the coastal path) is our Land, Sea and Sky gallery, where the Museum of Innovation is also.
All our galleries are open for you to enjoy and you are allowed to get on board our trains and trams unless told otherwise by signs or our visitor guides on the day. Have a look at what all you can 'see & do' at the museum.
Single-use visitor maps are available on arrival to help you navigate the museum buildings.
Yes, we can provide guided tours for larger groups up to 20 people on request by contacting info@nationalmuseumsni.org. There is an additional charge for this (£120 per group of up to 20).
Dogs are allowed in outdoor spaces at the Ulster Transport Museum however they must be kept on a short lead at all times. And we ask that you please pick up after your dog. Water bowls are in place outside B Galleries for dog owners walking within the grounds of the Transport Museum.
Dogs are not permitted in the gallery buildings unless your dog is an assistance dog. Assistance dogs are specifically trained and needed by their owner/user to service them. This includes:
Yes, however there are certain points in the museum you should be aware of that are more accessible than others.
You will have to go outside to go between A Galleries and B Galleries, as they are two separate buildings. There is an accessible pathway between the two buildings however, please note the journey from B Galleries to A Galleries is uphill.
There are lifts in both the A and B Galleries which are serviced every three months and are fully operational with the help of a Visitor Guide. You should know, though, that the ramps in B Galleries, although working, they cannot take heavy loads. So for example, a mobility scooter can’t be placed on them.
The gravel path connecting the museum grounds to the North Down coastal path can be challenging in some parts for prams, wheelchairs and scooters.
Two hours is recommended for a visit to both A Galleries and B Galleries, bearing in mind there's a walk between both galleries.
Yes, you are allowed to get on board our trains and trams and any other vehicle as part of our exhibitions unless told otherwise by signs or our visitor guides on the day.
There is a natural recommended route in place in A galleries due to some ramps but more so to make sure you don’t miss anything!
We have two mobility scooters available as well as battery-powered wheelchairs and manual wheelchairs, all of which are bookable ahead of your visit by emailing info@nationalmuseumsni.org.
Mobility scooters can only be used within the grounds of the Ulster Transport Museum. As you can access the North Down coastal path from our grounds, please make sure you return the mobility scooter where you collected it.
Yes, however there are certain things you should note:
If arriving by train, there is an accessible route to the museum from the platform, just follow the Translink signs.
You will have to go outside to go between A Galleries and B Galleries, as they are two separate buildings. There is an accessible pathway between the two buildings; however, please note that this is uphill on your return.
The gravel path connecting the museum grounds to the North Down coastal path can be challenging in some parts for prams, wheelchairs and scooters.
When you arrive at Cultra Station, you will come across the Transport Museum first. From there, it’s a 15 minute walk to the Folk Museum. Please note the walk is uphill.
No.
There are public toilets in both the A Galleries and B Galleries, which are managed and cleaned on a regular basis. Please ensure you follow the guidance we have put in place for everyone’s safety when using our toilets and keep in mind that several disabilities are hidden when it comes to using adapted toilets.
At the moment, we do not have a Changing Places facility. We have been granted approval for Changing Places toilets (subject to funding), so this is a facility that we hope to have in the future.
The Period Products (Free Provision) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 is legislation introduced on September 1, 2025, that makes period products free and available to all people who need them while in Northern Ireland.
In line with our responsibilities as a public service, we are committed to ensuring that period products are available free of charge in our toilets from this date.
If you have any questions about this provision, or if you experience any difficulties accessing period products at the museum, please speak to a member of Visitor Services on site.
The Midlands Tearoom in A Galleries is open every Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday. It's also open Tuesday through to Sunday across July and August and during the Easter School holidays. Outside of these times, there are vending machines with hot and cold drinks and confectionery. We have an allocated seating area where these can be enjoyed.
You’re welcome to bring a picnic to eat outdoors, and we have increased the number of picnic tables available on site. Food and drink are not allowed to be consumed in our galleries, beyond the allocated seating area, in order to help us protect our collections.
There are also drinking water stations outside, located at the front and to the rear of B Galleries, where you can fill up reusable water bottles, helping our sustainability efforts
There is a new drinking water station installed outside, near the B Galleries, where you can fill up reusable water bottles. Thank you for helping towards our sustainability efforts.
The main gift shop is located in A Galleries.
Please note, we are unable to allow visitors to try on personal items such as jewellery but we are offering a full refund on all items (excluding earrings and food) up to 60 days on presentation of receipt and all returned sale items will be held off sale for 5 days. Every purchase supports the work of our museum.
No, we also accept cash payments in GBP Sterling and Euro (notes only). Any change we give in return will be in GBP Sterling.
Yes, we have free car parking for visitors and it is open until 6pm on the days the museum is open. There are also two e-charging points for electric cars (EV).
Of course! You can use the toilets in the reception area of A Galleries at the top-end of the site, near the route to the train platform.
