The Seals Take the Stage

Seal in the water with its mouth wide open and tail up, Rathlin Island

The seals take the stage

About 2 hours · Adults £35 · Under 16s £27.50 · departs Ballycastle Harbour (outer pier)

The puffins have taken their bow. The water belongs to the seals now: hauled out at Rue Point, bobbing in the coves, shining. Two unhurried hours into Rathlin Sound with the cliffs, the lighthouses and the crew's stories of the coast.

Sail with the seals

Three seals hauled out on the seaweed covered rocks at Rathlin Island

Meet the cast

The famous banana pose, the flopped-out sunbathers, the curious heads that pop up to watch the boat go by. We keep the engine low and take our time. We can't promise wildlife, but the crew will always help you look.

Rue Point lighthouse, the black and white banded tower on the low rocks at Rathlin Island's southern tip

Rue Point: the seals' own lighthouse

East Light / West LightRue Point

The seals bask right under Rue Point, the little lighthouse at Rathlin's southern tip. From there we sail on beneath the towering cliffs to the East or the West Light, whichever coast the ocean picks that day. On the eastern run you'll also pass Bruce's Cave, where a king hid in 1306. Two of the three lights in one easy sailing.

Arrive 15 minutes before departure · warm layers and a coat (Dryrobes are great) · mixed indoor and outdoor seating · Weather dependent.

Want to go ashore too?

Our Wild Rathlin experience adds a whole hour ashore at Church Bay to the seals, cliffs and lighthouses. About 3 and a half hours all in, adults £42, under 16s £27.50.

Book the island day

Two seals resting together on the kelp at a Rathlin Island haul-out

The seals never leave

Two hours, one comfy seat, the whole cast waiting.

Pick a date & book

The Seals Take the Stage