Most puffins have left for winter
On the water around Rathlin from April to the middle of August
Nobody tells the puffins the date. One week in August they are bobbing beside the boat, and the next they are away to the open sea until spring. That week has come for most of them: the big rafts are gone, and the few still about take some finding. They'll all be back in April, and this page will be waiting. Meanwhile, the sea is far from empty.
Wild Rathlin: Seals, Lighthouses & Island Landing Experience
About 3.5 hours · Adults £42 · Under 16s £27.50
The big island day in its quieter season. The towering cliffs and sea caves, seals in the coves, the lighthouses from the sea, then a full hour ashore at Church Bay before the sail home. Scenery plus landfall.
Pick a date & book
Rathlin Seals & Lighthouses Tour
About 2 hours · Adults £35 · Under 16s £27.50
The quieter season's own cruise: across to the seal haul-outs and along the lighthouse coastline, unhurried all the way. Most puffins have left for winter. The seals never do.
Pick a date & book
We can't promise wildlife, but the crew will always help you look.
Arrive 15 minutes before departure · layers and flat shoes · toilets onboard · Weather dependent.
See you in April
The few puffins still about take some finding, and by spring the rafts will be back on the water around Rathlin. Until then the seals hold the fort, and the quieter season has the coast to itself.
Book the 2 hour tour
Book the island day
