Started thinking about a trip for summerish 2019. Want to hit areas outside London (like Cotswolds) for 10 days, Scotland for 10 and Ireland for another 10. Not sure it matters, but which direction would you all travel? Start in Scotland and work your way down to Ireland and then England, or stay in Great Britain and then Ireland, or . . . ? Look forward to what you have to say.
thanks
Warren
Yes, Wales
Start in Scotland and work your way down to Ireland and then England
no, because you're going back and forth across the Irish Sea
Do one island first then cross to the other
I would end in Dublin. I love flying out of that airport as you go through US customs on that side of the pond so if, like me, you always have a layover, you don't have to worry about the time for that once you land in the United States.
I would also put in to do Wales. My thoughts would be start in Scotland, then to England, then to Wales, and then you can fly from Cardiff to Dublin or another city or take a ferry across to Ireland. I wouldn't skip Wales, I went to Cardiff for a day for the Dr. Who museum there and really wished I had booked more time there, I loved it. The castle is beautiful, the waterfront is nice, and I only saw a fraction of what the city had.
We did a 28 drive tour of Wales and England last October. It was great. We didn't go to London or the SE England or N. Wales, we had done that before.
Here is my detailed trip report as well as our cruise home to the USA.
28 days in Britain and Celebrity Eclipse home
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=599139
We have been to Scotland and Ireland. I think a week in Ireland is enough. Also, I think a week in Scotland is enough. The more you research and plan your trip, the more things that you will want to see.
If you rent a car, be sure to have a navigation system or gps or cellphone with google maps. Also, if not used to driving on the left, get an automatic. Further, plan your drives to take more time, especially in Southern England with all its heavy traffic. Plan on spending some time in Northern England, Yorkshire, Durham and the Lake District are special. Also, Wales is special. I recommend for S Wales there are many castles to see. Tenby is a great place to stay. Don't miss St. David's.
The Cotswolds you can do from a hub, we used Chipping Campden to visit Oxford, Blenheim Palace, Stratford Upon Avon as well as the other towns in the Cotswolds.
You can opt to use the train, but if you don't rent a car and drive through the countryside, you will miss a lot of spectacular views. Check out eh book The Back Roads of Britain.
Great ideas.
thank you
Check airfares. One routing or the other might be significantly cheaper. If taxes out of London are as high as they seem to be, ending the trip and flying home from Dublin might be a very smart move.
Sure, you could do 10 days in England, then 10 days in Scotland, then 10 days in Ireland, but I would find this kind of trip unsatisfactory. Far better to get to know one place better. You could easily take multiple 30 day trips in England and still have a lot to see. If this were my trip, I would pick just one.
It might be better to skip Ireland and do that as a separate trip. I would definitely see Wales.
www.visitwales.com
Obviously fly open jaw. As you are arriving from Canada I’d fly into Shannon do the west coast of Eire ( 3 days) then drive to Dublin sight seeing along the way. Couple of days in Dublin then train to Belfast. Titanic Museum, the gaol, The Troubles tour, Botanic Garden, St Georges market, seafood chowder at Mournes, train back to Dublin. See Powerscourt and Glendalough ( need a 1 day car rental for this).
Then fly to Scotland or England. If you fly into Heathrow you could rent a car there and make your tour of the Cotswolds. Definitely need a car to properly see the Cotswolds and it’s an easy drive from Heathrow.
My thought would be to fly home from London but definitely research airfares and points of departure from the U.K. back to Canada.
