4 of us are trying to visit both Ireland & Scotland using these tours. Has anyone done that? How did it work out for you? This is probably the only chance one of us will have to travel overseas. We're in our 70's, all in fairly good health & mobile.
Ireland first: June 19 – 25 (Fri – Thur) Heart of Ireland in 7 days
Scotland: second June 28 – July 5 (Sun – Sun) Heart of Scotland in 8 days
Thanks for any insight/advice.
Mary
Taking back to back tours isn't uncommon, here's a fairly recent post with replies:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/ireland-scotland-back-to-back-5930d224-5034-466d-b946-93e5a1855b94
We've taken back to back tours and everything worked out well. Having a few days between the two will give you a chance to either see other things of interest, or to have a little down town before the second tour. If possible, try to go over at least one or two days before the first tour. One never knows what delays might come up. Both tours are great -- enjoy!
Two tours shouldn't be a problem especially since you have a couple of days off in between.
Keep this in mind....the Ireland tour ends in Dublin and the Scotland tour starts in Inverness.
There are no nonstop flights between Dublin and Inverness.
The one stop offerings are ridiculous in routing and cost an arm and a leg.
My suggestion is to take the short flight from Dublin to Glasgow. Then you can get a direct train to Inverness.
But....if you want some great scenery, take the train from Glasgow to Fort William. It is one of the prettiest train journeys in Scotland. (Through parts of the Highlands.) From Fort William get a coach to Inverness. (There is no train between Fort William and Inverness.) The train station is literaly across the street from the coach stop in Fort William.
I've done this journey from Glasgow to Inverness and it was worth it.
The Ireland tour doesn't spend a lot of time in Dublin. If you're able to go over before the tour starts, fly into Dublin and spend a couple of days there before traveling to Ennis to meet up with the tour group.
Thanks to all for your feedback & great suggestions! Much appreciated!!!
From Fort William get a coach to Inverness.
Translation for us foreigners: "Coach" in Ireland or the UK means "bus". No Wells Fargo stagecoach experience needed.
As others have said upthread, no serious issues with what you are proposing. You'll have a blast.
I'll just add this: Both Ireland and Scotland are wonderful, and you will love any time spent in either. But these tours are quite short - you will get a nice taste of both Ireland and Scotland, but you'll only be getting a taste in those 7 + 8 days. If you can manage it, come early and stay late - add days on your own before and/or after. Both Ireland and Scotland are super easy for (presumed) North Americans to do on their own, with no language barrier and familiar cultures - even if you've never been abroad before.
You will have fun no matter what, but adding a few (or more than a few) days will get you even more fun, if you choose to do it. Enjoy!
