I’m trying to plan a trip, with a travel partner, to England/Ireland for July 2016. This would be my first trip overseas.
Because of our tight working schedules (and budget), our trip is only 10 days long. Ideally, I would like to fly into London (spend 2-3 days and see only the major sights) then fly to Ireland to spend the rest of our time there. My travel partner asserts that it’s cheaper to buy a round trip ticket to Ireland. Once we are there, we would explore Ireland for a few days, fly to London, explore that city for 2-3 days, fly back to Ireland, explore there some more, and then fly home…Even just typing that up is confusing to me … I’m worried about logistics and wasting precious sight-seeing time on airport/taxi travels, checking-in/checking-out of places, etc. I’ve researched flights on Kayak, etc. and I’ve found some relatively inexpensive ones that would enable us to fly into London cheaply then fly home from Ireland without all that hopping and skipping around. My partner is nervous that the airlines that are offering the flights aren’t quality airlines.
I want to be wise with our time and money. Does anyone have any advice for how to go about this short trip? Is it cheaper (and “safer”) to buy a one way ticket through a more “reliable” airline and just stomach all the hopping and jumping back/forth between the two countries? Or is it possible to find a good (yet “safe”) deal into London which would enable us to streamline our trip? Are we being foolish trying to fit too much into too few days? Any sort of advice/suggests from those who have gone before are more than welcome! Thanks!
Posted by
205 posts
I don't quite get this but if you are planning to rock up in London with a one way ticket the immigration officer won't be impressed. I would have thought open jaw is the way to go? I really can't see the point of hopping back and forth between London and Dublin. You'll lose half a day each time so that's two of your ten days gone shuttling from one of London's six airports to Dublin. (If I am following this correctly).
Also what does your friend mean by "quality airlines"?
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
I see you have checked into "open jaw" tickets - flying into London and out of Dublin. It would save you flying back and forth, and leaving from Dublin instead of London would save you the airport fees that you incur leaving from Heathrow. You book it as a "multi-city", not as two one-way fares. It would also save you hours and hours of time, because each flight will require a couple of hours for security, etc. By flying into and out of Dublin, and going over to England mid-trip costs you basically a whole day of your trip. It could well be cheaper to fly into and out of Dublin, but you have to add in the "value" of that lost time. it's at least worth checking out an open jaw itinerary. What airlines have you found? We can tell you whether any of them are problems or not.
You can easily see a lot in 10 days - I have made shorter trips. How are you planning to get around in Ireland?
Posted by
Royaume-Uni nul points, pas plus
2507 posts
What you want are multi city (open jaw) flights that allow you to fly into London and fly home from Dublin (or vice versa) and it seems you have found these on Kayak. As you don't state the airlines it's not possible to say if these are "quality airlines".
Between London and Dublin its cheap and easy to fly with airlines such as BA, Aer Lingus, Ryanair, Easyjet and there may be other perfectly safe airlines.
"Are we being foolish trying to fit too much into too few days?"
Probably - It seems your main focus is Ireland so why not just stay there? London for a couple of days is very brief as there's simply so much to see and do.
Posted by
OP
9 posts
Thanks for the input! The flights that I saw were through airlines such as Air Canda, British Airways, and Westjet. We haven’t gotten down to the nitty-gritty of planning out the itinerary, but in terms of getting around Ireland, we were going to look into trains, buses, bus tours, etc.
Posted by
Eugene, Oregon...Formerly Ventura, CA
2261 posts
Travel smart! Time is money, so don't waste it. No sense in the back and forth at all. I would suggest laying out a realistic itinerary for Ireland, and work from there. Note that jet lag may be a factor for your time in London at the front, so plan accordingly. I agree that dropping London may be worth considering depending on what the priority for Ireland really is. Decide on what's important there first.
Edit: I see your later post now. Is there a possibility of renting a car and driving in Ireland for you? While not for the faint of heart, it is the best way to see Ireland. You can strategize somewhat to avoid driving in large cities, i.e. rent car on your last day in Dublin before heading South, or West, etc.