Please help me navigate my trip through the UK

Get a guide book sit down read it take notes (also so you can reference it when you get suggestions)
look at the maps and organized your trip. That is a lot easier than waiting around for answers here.
Post the itinerary here from what seems logical to you and then see what people say

Any chance you can fly into Dublin but home from Edinburgh ? Might be a cheaper option?

Sorry I'm not more help. Sounds like a whirlwind adventure.

Thank you for your replies.

To Jazz...

I will try to come up with some more concrete itineraries soon. I know the options I gave were a little bit go-with-the-flow, so I will sort of narrow it down from there. That said, I don't want people to feel constricted to those particular itineraries; if they thing they can build me a better course of action, please feel free to do so.

To Photobear...

My flight is already booked, so I'm pretty much set. Part of the reason I did it that way is I am pretty skittish about flying, and anything where a direct flight is an option is my best bet. Now, with that on the table, I did check flights from Edinburgh, and they were twice as much as the ones out of Dublin...and they had a stopover in Dublin anyway. So, IF I do fly from Edinburgh, I would rather just get a cheapie flight between Edinburgh and Dublin, and it will still end up being more cost efficient than the flight being from Edinburgh to begin with. It will still end up being the same flight itinerary, just on different airlines.

I figure I'll probably end up flying from either to/from Dublin or London. I had considered leaving my big luggage with my friends in Wrexham while I traveled the rest of the time, then stopping back by to get it on the way back to Dublin, but with travel time, that just may not be an option.

Whirlwind is about right. I am probably going to be a wreck by the time this thing is over with. Haha.

I'll just provide some info on St. Andrews. It's humanly possible to visit St. Andrews as a day trip from Edinburgh, but you won't have much time there because it's a long trip to & from. You'd be better off spending one night there if you want to see/do a lot.

What are your goals in visiting St. Andrews?

If it's golf, you could take the walking tour of the Old Course (be aware that "walking" mainly means standing around on the 1st/18th holes, listening to golf jargon and anecdotes about famous players). You could enjoy the British Golf Museum, which has a lovely cafeteria upstairs with a grand view of the 1st/18th holes of the Old Course. Alternatively you'd have time to play the Himalayas -- but not all three in one day trip.

If you're more interested in the university, cathedral, castle then I'm not as knowledgeable so perhaps someone else can chime in.

".....Maybe just do one crazy daytrip in London, see absolutely the crucial things I want to see in that amount of time, no dawdling, no soaking it in....just boom boom boom (which I'm not opposed to) ..."

Why? What's the point? If you have an interest in something then you'll want to absorb and experience it. To make a long trip to visit somewhere that interests you deserves a decent amount of time spent at it or is it simply a bragging opportunity to paste on Facebook et al?

London deserves at least a week to do it any sense of justice, any less and there really is no point, you're just wasting your time and money.

@epl

Thank you for some insight into St. Andrews. Yes, as a golf aficionado, that is my primary reason for going...just to be in a place with so much history, to stand on the hallowed grounds...it may sound nerdy, but St. Andrews has been at the top of my UK bucket list for a while.

@JC

Okay, no need to be so harsh with the Facebook comment. I am a goer on vacation, and it is not unusual for me to pack a lot of punch into one or two days. Yes, I am certain I could spend one week, two weeks or more in London alone. And you are right...to fully appreciate London, I am sure it deserves the time to soak it in. BUT, there are a lot of places I want to see, and I don't know when/if I will ever be back to the British Isles. There are certain things I would love to experience: the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, King's Cross Station, Trafalgar Square. But, behind those, there is a list of probably 30 things that would be great. That's why I am here...just trying to figure out how to divvy up my time and seeing what places are worth it and where to cut back.

It's most certainly not about Facebook bragging at all. Just trying to see as much as I can in the time I have.

melmay14, there are so many factors that it's hard to give good advice. I might choose option 2, but would check trains and flights before making final decisions. I suggest writing down in as much detail as you can the plan in different ways and take a good look at how long things really will take you in the various incarnations.

If I were choosing for myself, it would probably be Option 2 based on knowing London will be busier/more tiring than Edinburgh. You (I) might have more energy for London earlier in your trip, followed by what will probably be a bit more relaxing visiting with friends - and perhaps you could take a day there to see Conwy with them, followed by the last leg of your trip to Scotland. I would also say that since St Andrews is very important to you, go ahead and stay a night there. And you probably know you should drop the Cotswolds and York. :)

You really don't have time for everything/everywhere and no one else can decide which are top priority for you. It will be an amazing trip no matter what you decide - no bad choices!

Hello again! It was suggested that I do some more research and come up with some more concrete itineraries for people to look at, so after reading Rick Steves' Great Britain, and doing some more research, I have come up with some options. Now...these are not set in stone, so please feel free to give your feedback on amendments or alternatives you would recommend.

Option #1
10/7 Arrive in Dublin, very early AM, get checked in and settled, sightsee rest of the day 10/8 Mass and more sightseeing, evening train or bus to Wexford or Cork or some other Irish town setting. 10/9 Spend day sightseeing in choice of town. Evening train or bus back to Dublin. Take overnight ferry to Holyhead. 10/10 Arrive early in Holyhead, take earliest train to Conwy. See sights and spend the evening in Conwy. 10/11 Take transit to Wrexham- day of rest, time for laundry, grocery shopping, etc. 10/12 Liverpool OR Cardiff or another Welsh village TBD 10/13 Liverpool OR Chester+ evening fun with friends 10/14 Time with friends+mass in Wrexham 10/15 Early train/bus to St. Andrews+Old Course at St. Andrews. Spend night 10/16 Early train to Edinburgh, spend most of day sightseeing Edinburgh. 10/17 Train to London, arrive in London. 10/18 Museums/traditional UK sights 10/19 Harry Potter OR day trip to Stonehenge OR Cambridge 10/20 Lion King/any other last minute sites/pack for home :( 10/21 Fly to Dublin to catch flight back to the US.

Option #2

10/7 Arrive in Dublin, transfer to flight to Edinburgh. Arrive in Edinburgh. Sightsee 1/2 day. 10/8 Train/bus to St. Andrews for Day trip.
10/9 Edinburgh sightseeing+Late flight to London. 10/10 Traditional London sights 10/11 Potter Tour/Lion King 10/12 Leave London for Glastonbury, stop in Wells, spend night in Bath. 10/13 Morning in Bath, travel to Cotswalds OR Stratford Upon Avon. Spend night. 10/14 Morning bus/train to Wrexham. Evening fun with friends. 10/15 Mass in Wrexham+Time with Friends 10/16 Liverpool OR day of rest 10/17 Liverpool OR Day of Rest 10/18 Leave Wrexham, stop in Conwy for a few hours before heading on to Holyhead. Late night ferry from Holyhead to Dublin. 10/19 Train to Cork or Wexford or some other Irish Village. Spend night. 10/20 Dublin sightseeing 10/21 Dublin sightseeing, leave for airport.

Option #3

10/7 Arrive in Dublin, Transfer flight to London. Get settled and see 1 or 2 sights, before an evening spin on the London Eye 10/8 Mass...somewhere and Traditional London sights. 10/9 Day Trip to Stonehenge OR Cambridge OR Potter tour. 10/10 Train to Edinburgh, possible stop in York. Spend night in Edinburgh. 10/11 St. Andrews- walk around Old Course but not on Old Course (because it will not be a Sunday) Back to Edinburgh 10/12 Sightseeing in Edinburgh 10/13 Train/bus to Wrexham- 1/2 day to do laundry, grocery shop, etc. 10/14 Spend time with friends 10/15 Mass+Time with friends. 10/16 Liverpool or Conwy 10/17 Liverpool or Conwy 10/18 Day of rest, evening with friends 10/19 Leave Wrexham for Liverpool, fly to Dublin. See Dublin sights in afternoon/evening. 10/20 Dublin sights+ quick day trip from Dublin 10/21 Leave for airport.

Phew! Just typing that all up was exhausting, haha! I know it's...A LOT. And, I know I won't get to do everything. And, like I said...feel free to give me your opinion on any one of these or all of them. Or "Skip Bath, go straight here" or "Do Windsor instead of Cambridge." Whatever insight you have, it will be much appreciated.

I decided to Add Option #4, a non-London option. My mom would prefer for me to avoid London, for safety reasons. Although she knows that anything can happen anywhere, logically....emotionally, it's another story. I can't imagine NOT visiting London, but for the sake of having an alternative, here we go.

10/7 Arrive early in Dublin. Sightseeing in Dublin after getting settled in. 10/8 Mass+ travel South to Wicklow, spend the night. 10/9 Travel South to Wexford for the Day Late ferry from Rosslare to Fishguard. Spend night. 10/10 Travel to Porthcawl, on to Cardiff. Spend night. 10/11 Travel from Cardiff to Bath. See Bath. Spend night. 10/12 Bath to Cotswalds . Spend night. 10/13 Travel from Cotswalds to Wrexham 10/14 Time with friends 10/15 Time with friends 10/16 Liverpool OR Conwy 10/17 Liverpool OR Conwy 10/18 Leave Wrexham, train to Edinburgh 10/19 See Sights in Edinburgh OR St. Andrews 10/20 See Sights in Edinburgh OR St. Andrews 10/21 Flight from Edinburgh to Dublin for flight to the US

option 1 reads in part:-

10/14 Time with friends+mass in Wrexham 10/15 Early train/bus to St. Andrews+Old Course at St. Andrews. Spend night

If you are talking about October 2017, the 14th is a Saturday and the 15th is a Sunday.

I'm assuming that the dates precede what is happening that day, not follow.

If so, are you aware that you are talking about a Saturday Mass? And that trains start pretty late on Sunday mornings (especially in Wales)? The last Sunday I can look at at the moment is the previous week, the 8th. The first train to Chester from Wrexham General is at 10:54, getting you into Leuchars gone 6pm, and you still need a bus or taxi to get you to the Old Course.

The details are:

Train 10:54 Wrexham General [WRX] to Chester [CTR] 11:14

Arriva Trains Wales service from Shrewsbury to Chester

Train 11:28 Chester [CTR] to Crewe [CRE] 11:47

Virgin West Coast service from Chester to London Euston

Note the 1:22 layover in Crewe

Train 13:09 Crewe [CRE] to Edinburgh [EDB] 16:20

Virgin West Coast service from Birmingham New Street to Edinburgh

Note the 45 minute layover in Edinburgh

Train 17:05 Edinburgh [EDB] to Leuchars [LEU] 18:03
ScotRail service from Edinburgh to Aberdeen

If you did that trip on the Saturday you could leave Wrexham General at 5:58 and arrive at Leuchars by 12:05, or sleep in and get a train at 8:01 and arrive at 13:23 giving you much more time with your mashie niblick. (6:04 and 8:02 weekdays).

It would be easy to do a day trip from Edinburgh to St. Andrews, take train from Edinburgh to Leuchars, its an hour train ride. round trip ticket is £15.60, then take cab from Leuchars to St Andrews (5miles). That trains twice an hour.

That's great that you have friends to visit. When we visit my daughter's uncle and her cousins in London, it makes the trip much more valuable. Finding who and what you personally have a good connection with is important.
I'd vote for the flight to London for several days, since there is so much there and it is not a short distance to get there from where you're landing.
I have a huge fear of heights and did go on the London Eye when my daughter and I lived and worked at the Girl Scouts' hostel there. I went at night to avoid looking directly down. Also held onto the seat most of the time. :) But really, it mostly took me farther *away from all the sights I wanted to see, so I wouldn't do it again. Seeing the glass ceiling of the Waterloo station was good when we saw the Harry Potter movie in that iMax, but mostly not a priority for me. At least I can say that I did it (good thing I took a selfie, most of my family did not believe I really went).
It's important to get specific about what is fun for YOU when you travel. I find Girl Guides and Mensa events when I travel, but that's dorky for other people. Figure what you'd really enjoy, who it is that you want to spend time with, what would be fun for all of you, what you're really not willing to miss, and have a great trip!
-Alison

You are making the mistake that many Americans do = trying to cover too much ground over widely spaced parts of the UK.

Looking at your latest plans, why Porthcawl? The town is not up to much although some nice beaches lie about a mile to the west. By the time you have reached Porthcawl, you could easily have stayed on the direct train from Fishguard and been in Cardiff - where you should stay for maybe 3 nights. From a Cardiff base, you could visit (20 minute train ride north of city) Caerphilly Castle and either return to the city or take a Stagecoach bus back to Cardiff but get off at Tongwynlais and see Castle Coch. You could also take a bus from Cardiff (32A) out to St.Fagans Castle & Museum of Welsh Life - which would take at least half a day. You could also do a day trip to Bath from Cardiff by *train for about £20 return. (Doing The Cotswolds without a car is very difficult). When done with Cardiff - you could easily take a direct train to your relatives in Wrexham.

• Some disruption to train journeys east from Cardiff will take place this autumn due to electrification work. http://www.visitcardiff.com www.cardiffcastle.com http://cadw.gov.wales/daysout/castell-coch/?lang=en http://cadw.gov.wales/daysout/caerphilly-castle/?lang=en https://museum.wales/stfagans/about/ http://www.visitwales.com

Trains = www.nationalrail.co.uk - pre-book specific trains for longer journeys to get lower prices.

Nigel, you are so right, thank you. To be fair, I have looked at umpteen different bus/train/ferry/flight options and they are all starting to blur together. But, if schedules weren't out that far, yes, it's likely that I just sort of guessed. Also, with mass, you are correct. I would do a Saturday evening service if possible. (I know it is possible, it's just a matter of if it's possible within the time frame of when I get there)

Thanks, Alison. I am a history/lit nerd, so things like seeing the Magna Carta, going to Stratford-upon-Avon, seeing the birthplace of golf...those things just appeal to me so much. At the same time, I have always been intrigued by the monarchy and the pomp and circumstance of the London scene. I guess I have two halves warring with myself about what kind of trip I want. Also, it is absolutely great that I have friends to visit, but it makes it kind of complicated too. It sort of splits things up with wanting to be there for weekend activities. And also, one of them may or may not be seeing some of the sights with me so...that would affect my itinerary as well.

James, you are right. That's my typical vacation style anyway...go go go. Trying to do too much. I think probably, it would be best to save London for a someday family London/Paris trip, and I can see some of the "off the beaten path" places that I know my family would have next to no interest in. BUT...then I think, what if "someday" never comes? As far as Porthcawl, I read it was a lovely little sea town. That's all. I am not married to the idea of going there. But, like I said, I read it was lovely, and I dig lovely.

UPDATE: I am still unsettled on itineraries, but as I am within 2 months, I am hoping to make a decision soon. I really need to get my accommodations sorted. It's difficult to make decisions when the transportation schedules aren't out that far yet. It's a domino effect, because I can't plan one stop without having the last stop sorted out and so on and so forth.

If you do want to see the Magna Carta, in the British Library right near King's Cross; there's a place that is mostly a student accommodation hall building (I am being offered grad school accommodation there this Sept, but am still fairly undecided til the 15th) called Garden Halls which rents out rooms to travelers on Booking.com.It's a nice, newly renovated building and also has tennis courts, has some gardens, etc. It is only about 2 blocks away from the British Library. Generally King's Cross has nearly every bus converge there, and the best bus, #24, has a stop about 4 blocks away from Garden Halls. #24 goes to Big Ben, Trafalgar, the top sites. Lots o' Royal stuff in London, of course. Windsor's so easy to get to from Heathrow, low-stress, not-crowded royal stuff there. If you validate your ticket you can go back for free on other days, and they started to have a changing of the guard there, too.

I've found that revolving my itinerary around particular friends and family to visit is not a good idea, the more I depend on them to be available, the more likely that their plans change. :) It's a Murphy's Law thing for me. Plus when my Dad lived in Australia and would visit here in the US, I would constantly keep others on track with the idea that it was our job to go to him, not for him to have to go to all his family members. I would arrange an event for everyone to meet up at, that was completely convenient for *him. I find it's best to arrange my own travel, do what I love the most, and then to invite others to meet up with me, wherever I'm going. The ones who really make me a priority do show up.

As with everything else, keep in touch with your own inner guidance :) And have fun!
-Alison

Hey friends....
Getting down to the nitty gritty, so I have narrowed down my options to the following...these aren't set in stone, obviously; I want to remain somewhat flexible on my trip.

1) Flight into Dublin early AM 10/7 Hop flight to Edinburgh, landing in Edinburgh, mid morning. Uber or bus from airport to lodging to either drop off bags or check-in if early check-in is a possibility. See some quick sights along Royal Mile/High Street. Evening Mass, dinner, then in for the evening. 2) 10/8 Early Train/Bus to St. Andrews, getting to the Old Course sometime before noon. Hopefully earlier than later, but, we'll see. Walk the Old Course. Play the Himalayas. St. Andrews Cathedral, This and that, train back to city. 3) 10/9- Morning at either Edin. Castle or Brittania- Afternoon train to York. Get settled. 4) 10/10 Sightseeing in York. Spend night. 5) 10/11 Early train/bus to Wrexham, resting, visiting friends 6) 10/12 Day trip to Conwy 7) 10/13 Day trip to Liverpool 8) 10/14 and 10/15 with friends, Afternoon/evening train to Bath. 9) 10/16 Sightseeing in Bath, rent a car 10) 10/17- Drive to/through Cotswalds 10/18- Drive to Stratford upon Avon 10/19 Drive to Cardiff, fly to Dublin 10/20 Sightsee Dublin/ 10/21 Fly home

2) 10/7 Flight into Dublin early AM. Sightsee the rest of the day. 10/8 Early bus/train to Kilkenny See Sights 10/9 Early bus/train back to Dublin, flight to London- see sights, London Eye 10/10 Harry Potter or Lion King, sightsee 10/11 Early flight to Edinburgh, Sightsee 10/12 St. Andrews, back to Edinburgh 10/13 Edinburgh+ late bus/train to Wrexham. 10/14 Friends 10/15 Friends 10/16 Day trip to Liverpool 10/17 Day of Rest 10/18 Early train/bus to Conwy, 10/19 Llanwrst, Fairy Glen via car back to Conwy. Late train to Holyhead. Overnight ferry to Dublin, arriving in Dublin early AM. 10/20 Sightseeing through Dublin 10/21 Flying home.

Again...none of this is chiseled in stone. And, obviously only I know the kind of vacation I will want. But, taking these two options into account...would you consider one more doable than the other?