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Please help make us an Itinerary. Ireland, Scotland, Reykjavik, Iceland.

We had planned to go to Thailand but decided instead to do the UK.

I've seen so many fantastic itineraries people on this board have helped others with it thought I would give it a try. Thanks in advance!

Family of 4. Parents are mid 40s. Our children are 22 and 23. Girl/boy All in good health and active.

****edited AGAIN to update a change in plans based on some advice given. We keep adding nights!

Our travel dates are now May 21st to June 9th 2017. (Was the 7th)

As of now, our plan is to go from Minneapolis to Glasgow on 5/21. Overnight flight. Arrive Glasgow mid morning after a short layover in Iceland.

Then on to Ireland by flight or ferry the same day for 10 nights. (22-31).

Flight or ferry on 6/1 back to Scotland for 6 nights June 1-7.

Flight out of Glasgow to Reykjavik on the 7th. Stay the night of the 7th and 8th and depart on the afternoon of the 9th.

Depart Reykjavik to Minneapolis on the 9th.

We want to see scenery, castles, magnificent views, pubs and beer and have fun with the locals.

Obviously need to see the touristy destinations but in Ireland and Scotland would probably really like to get off the beaten path.

Thanks in advance for any help or guidance.

Posted by
349 posts

We also plan to use airbnb/VRBO/Homeaway for the first time. Kind of nervous about that

My daughter and her friends used it on her European trip last month and it worked well for them however.

Only interested in private houses and apartments. Hopefully this is a good choice in Ireland and Scotland.

Posted by
2605 posts

From what you've written there seems little desire to go to London at present, so add those days elsewhere.

Posted by
7175 posts

I think you need one week minimum each for Ireland and Scotland, preferably 10 days. For me it makes sense to leave Ireland for a dedicated fly in/ fly out job, eliminating the need for extra flights from London to Ireland to Scotland. Take the train to Edinburgh, with a stop in York, and then hire a car for Scotland.

London - 3
York - 2
Edinburgh - 3
Pitlochry - 1
Inverness - 1
Skye - 1
Fort William - 1
Glasgow - 1

Posted by
7175 posts

If it was me I would book flights on separate days rather than juggle an extra booking on the same day and stress over possible delays causing a missed flight.

May 21 Depart Minneapolis (overnight flight)
May 22 Arrive Glasgow, then head to Stirling/Loch Lomond/Trossachs [1]
May 23-24 Edinburgh [2]
May 25 Fly Edinburgh to Dublin
May 25- June 3 in Ireland [10]
June 4 Fly Dublin to Glasgow
June 4 Glasgow [1]
June 5 Fly Glasgow to Reykjavik
June 5-6 Reykjavik
June 7 Depart Reykjavik for Minneapolis

Posted by
6849 posts

Sorry, you're not going to like what I have to say.

First, stop counting "nights" in places. You're probably not going to Europe to sleep. Count days. Next, stop counting your arrival or departure days as actual usable days. They're not. Also, unless you are super-human, I don't think you're going to enjoy flying half-way around the world (get much sleep on planes, do we?) then charge out of the airport and head off for several hours of surface travel followed by sightseeing - you're going to be jet-lagged, cranky, probably wiped out, and will want no part of castles or lochs - you're going to wish you were home in bed (or at least in some bed). Next, accept the fact that when you fly somewhere within Europe, that pretty much wipes out that day. Yeah, you get to go out and eat dinner or something, but it's not realistic to count that as a usable day for seeing/doing stuff other than getting from one place to another. OK, now that we are being honest with ourselves, how many days do your really have? Looks to me like:

  • 2 days in Scotland
  • 9 days in Ireland
  • 1 day in Iceland

Hmmm. I think your plan is unrealistic. You waste a large portion of your trip going between places you won't get to spend any real time in, plus you're doubling back (Glasgow>Edinburgh>Dublin>Glasgow). Your trip, as currently planned, is basically a trip to Ireland for 9 days plus several airports. Trying to tag Iceland and Scotland as you zoom past isn't a very effective use of your time. Why waste all that time going back and forth?

You want to go to Ireland? Great - fly to Ireland, not to Scotland or Iceland. You'll re-gain several more days that are largely wasted with your current plan. If you insist on getting a tiny taste of a second country, pick one - not two. You could eek out a few days in Scotland or Iceland but you really need to minimize the back-and-forth travel that burns whole days each time you move (and believe me, I usually travel at a frenzied pace...).

I know that's not what you want to hear. Sorry,

Posted by
2 posts

While david offers a few good pieces of advice and insight that are fairly well known, I can't help notice what an EXTREMELY condescending and snarky tone he gives. It's obvious that David thinks very highly of himself.

It comes off as EXTREMELY arrogant and a know it all. it seems you nearly break your own arm patting yourself on the back for how much smarter you believe you are.

While somewhat informative, your post could have been entirely different while still providing information and suggestions.

Posted by
349 posts

Thanks for the replies.

I like djp-syds idea of arranging flights on separate days. Will look into that and see how that works. Hopefully I can avoid back tracking and going through the same cities as much as possible. Unfortunately, we can't fly into or out of ireland on our way there or home. They don't go into Ireland during our time frame (if at all)

Posted by
349 posts

David, I understand what you are saying with days vs nights. I was counting nights simply as an easy way to count . Not planning activities. I understand. Thanks though. It took a while to make my wife understand that concept on our last trip planning.

The reason for iceland is because the airline being used is iceland air and Reykjavik is a stop both ways and they allow you to layover if you like and we want to spend a few days there at the end since, well, why the heck not!?

All it does is add days on the end of our trip so it doesn't make sense to count it as hurting our schedule while worrying about back tracking etc. Because we will be there anyway . Which is fine. I understand that we could spend more time in Scotland if we cut this out but we plan to return to Scotland and may or may not ever get back to iceland. Sure, it's possible but going to get it crossed off the list

Also, Iceland air doesn't fly into Ireland (at least in our time frame) So there is no way around some back tracking in Scotland. We have to come into either Glasgow or Edinburgh before going to Ireland and then come back to Glasgow or Edinburgh before heading "home" through iceland

I will get a chance in a few hours to take another stab at this. Thanks

Posted by
6849 posts

Vick - I do understand the Iceland connection (in fact, on my very first trip to Europe decades ago, I flew Icelandic Air and stopped in Iceland for a few days on the way home). OK, I get that - I also get that doing that flight also limits your options (because you're stuck with the limited connections that airline offers). I would just suggest you consider this: which commodity is more precious (constrained) for you - money, time, or opportunities. I assume you have picked iceland Air based on low price (getting a "free" stop in Iceland is an extra goodie). Nothing wrong with that. But I would just suggest you not be blinded or obsessed with the chance to save a couple hundred bucks, if that seriously compromises the rest of your trip. You do have other options that would not leave you with so many inefficiencies/constraints. Have you considered setting aside the whole Iceland Air thing and just looked at your options for a trip that was better optimized for what your travel goals are? If you look into flights from MSP to your actual destination - Ireland - you might end up with flights that cost a bit more, but that might "buy" you many more days of usable time in Ireland, a more relaxed pace, and a more enjoyable trip. I understand everyone has a budget and getting cheap flights is great - just remember that there are often other "costs" (if you prefer, trade-offs) when you focus exclusively on getting the cheapest flight.

I think it's generally true that for most North Americans, with very limited vacation time, trips to Europe are few and far between. So we (especially) need to make smart choices for those few times we get to go to Europe. For me, it's often well worth an extra monetary cost if that expense gets me a better trip (staying in the old city center rather than a less expensive suburb, to allow more time for fun stuff; renting a car in rural areas, rather than saving money by taking the trains exclusively, etc.). Those are trade-offs I gladly make. Only you can decide, of course, I'm just suggesting you weigh the choices carefully - by taking a "cheap" flight, you may be giving up lots of other stuff and that "cheap" flight might not really be a bargain. Good luck.

Posted by
349 posts

Thanks.

After talking with the wife we are probably going to stick with Icelandic Air but we may just use that extra time to explore Scotland as you suggested.

As we've researched a bit more it appears we can only fly in and out of Glasgow. Which is fine.

I think on the way 2 Ireland from Glasgow (probadly start in Dublin) we will fly. But we may end up in Belfast at the end of the Ireland trip and I thought a ferry ride might be interesting to go from Belfast to Glasgow.

I'm interested to hear people's thoughts on that idea or other input.

Posted by
7175 posts

I would also agree that those 2 days as a Reykjavik stopover may be better utilised in Scotland, and instead arrange a direct connection home.

Posted by
9269 posts

I think stopping in Iceland is a great idea. The flight will probably land early in the morning, so perhaps consider a day or two here on arrival instead of at the end of your vacation?

Not everyone is wiped out after a flight. There is no reason why you can't plan some activities your first day. Visit a spa, or even go riding out in the fresh air, then get to bed early.

Not everyone needs a full day to switch cities either. Being organized means you do your check out of your hotel the evening before leaving and have your bags packed. Have breakfast and leave. Then you have the whole day at your disposal to do what you like.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g189970-Activities-c61-Reykjavik_Capital_Region.html

Don't pay attention to the snarky naysayers here on the forum. Just because they can't manage, doesn't mean that you can't.

Loved Edinburgh. Our favorite tour was the Underground Vaults done by Mercat Tours. Stayed in a lovely B&B that looked directly out on Arthurs Seat. It was an easy walk to the Royal Mile and had good bus connections to go the beach or other destinations. Wish we would have gone on one of the Literature tours being offered here instead of wasting our time on the New Europe free tours. (worst tour in my life!)
http://www.guest-houses-edinburgh.com/
https://www.mercattours.com/tours/history-walks

Posted by
5678 posts

If you want to get off the beaten path in Scotland, then you need to get out of the Central belt--Glasgow-Edinburgh. Although I will say that there are some great places to see in Edinburgh and Stirling, but if you want to get off that proverbial path, you need to head north or west. Go to Mull--not Skye--everyone goes to Skye, it's beautiful, but you can get the western isles experience on Mull as well. And stay on the island. Don't stay in Oban and do a day trip! Another idea would be to just head west toward Argyll. Head west and then down toward the Mull of Kintyre. I went to a festival in Tarbert in 2001 and there was hardly anyone there. Kilmartin Glen had a few. The history of Kilmartin is fascinating. Or head really north and catch another flight and go to Orkney or Shetland. At that time of year the light will be very late into the evening. If you do stay in the central belt area and decide to explore the Trossachs, really explore them by taking the small wee roads and going as far up the glens as you can. Balqhiddar comes to mind. Also, Glen Lyon near Aberfeldy.

Pam

Posted by
349 posts

I updated my OP as we have made some modifications and actually have extended the trip even more. Posting it here too so it might be easier to follow in the thread.

Looks like:

10 nights in Ireland
6 nights in Scotland
2 nights in Reykjavik

Here is the travel itinerary so far.

May 21st to June 9th 2017. (Was the 7th)

Our plan is to go from Minneapolis to Glasgow on 5/21. Overnight flight. Arrive Glasgow mid morning after a short layover in Iceland. (We are going to go ahead and plan to just get to Dublin right away on the 22nd.)

Then on to Ireland by flight or ferry the same day for 10 nights. (22-31).
Flight or ferry on 6/1 back to Scotland for 6 nights June 1-7.

Flight out of Glasgow to Reykjavik on the 7th. Stay the night of the 7th and 8th and depart on the afternoon of the 9th.

Depart Reykjavik to Minneapolis on the 9th.

There was a decent price difference for leaving on a Wednesday from Glasgow and no difference to stay extra in Reykjavik so we changed our original plans to leave Glasgow on the 4th and are now leaving on the 7th. Go figure!

Seems like I always end up doing that. Always stay longer than the original plan!