Best of England, Village England or Ireland??

We've been on all three and they are all different. It's like trying to compare apples, oranges, and pears. The unrivaled beauty of Ireland is what makes it so appealing. The best of England provides great variety. The Village England tour goes to many small to medium size places that make one really feel welcome. You booked the Ireland tour for certain reasons. Unless something has changed, why alter your original plans? Not being a smarty, but as a last resort you could always pick one from a hat and not second guess the selection as they are all so great you can't make a bad choice.

We did the Best of Ireland last September and the Best of England the year before that. They were both wonderful tours but Ireland won my heart. The people were friendly, the food was great, the scenery spectacular and the music was just wonderful. And the beer, not just Guinness but Smithwicks as well. There’s a lot of history to be had and some wonderful local guides that want to share it with you as well as an opportunity to visit The Epic Museum in Dublin and the Titanic Museum in Belfast, both done very well. But then this is all just my opinion. I know either tour will be immensely enjoyable.

Thank you TC and Margie. We are second guessing ourselves because of the bus time involved; Ireland especially seems like a LOT of time on the bus. We did the Village Italy last year and LOVED it so we were thinking maybe Village England might be similar without the long drives.

There is a lot of uncertainty in future travel. This ranges from no international recreational travel for the foreseeable future to travel with some sort of social distancing. Of course, we could get very lucky and have a vaccine or an easy medication and then things are back the way they were, but that’s a long shot. If I were looking at a RS tour for 2021, and I’m not for now, I’d consider a city tour. We have taken the London and the Rome tour. These were cities we had visited several times on our own but we greatly enjoyed both of these. They are shorter, and we paired them with other back to back tours, but for 2021, assuming RS tours are a go, one or two of these is a nice way to test the waters and avoid any bus travel. One hotel, a room you can sanitize (you don’t even need housekeeping, just get some towels if need be). They do use public transportation on these tours, and I’m not sure how they’d deal with that. And, maybe I’m deluding myself, but a shorter tour with no bus, one hotel just feels safer to me right now.

Funny Alan - but I’d feel much safer not being in a big crowded city - numbers have shown the more crowded a place is the faster and eaiser the virus spread ie: New York’s high numbers are man only because of population density , millions of people cram together to use public transport each day too !!

I’d take a Village tour myself - the hotel room is the least of your worries - you can bring some wipes and wipe down door knobs and switch plates and no one has shown any transmission from clean washed sheets ( let’s not get paranoid ) .

But ultimately if one is still concerned one shouldn’t take any tour or any sort as you are in fact in close quarters with 20-28 people each day ( other tour members ) .

OP, I love London , but hubby finally talked me into visiting Dublin 6 yrs ago ( and we’ve returned again 3 years ago ) and I have to say , Ireland is far prettier to me and the people ARE nicer !

...second guessing ourselves because of the bus time involved...

We didn't find the bus time all that bad. Even on days when the "itinerary" indicates so many hours, it's broken up by fairly frequent stops to view magnificent scenery, have lunch, loo breaks, or visit things of interest. In that respect the Ireland tour was not that different than the other tours we've taken. In my opinion the amount of bus time is not something to be concerned about. Hope this helps.

Thanks for all the replies. TC, I think we will stick with the Ireland tour, thanks for letting us know about the bus time involved with the breaks, etc. That was really our only hesitation, the beauty of the countryside was calling to us; we've been to The Giant's Causeway, and it took my breath away. I'm not "too worried" about the virus because I don't think RS will let us go unless it is safe (hopeful thinking) and it will probably wind up being next year anyway. A lot of the trip seems to be in nature, so hopefully not too much exposure there!