Ireland & Scotland 14 day itinerary ~ HELP

While I can't give you any itinerary advice, the reason why people are often told it is too much is that we often see, "I have 14 days and want to see England, Ireland, and Scotland!" type posts. Most of these are from first time travelers and they try to cram way too much in and don't take into account how much time gets eaten up by moving place to place. My philosophy is see more by seeing fewer places. Does your 14 days include arrival and departure day? If so, I'd probably pick Scotland and perhaps see a bit of Northern England or else just focus on Ireland. With 14 full days on the ground, then both could be covered with a good chunk of one day being eaten up by changing countries.

I don't know about Ireland but you could spend more than 2 weeks just in Scotland. If you really want to do both countries than fly into Dublin and out of Scotland. Usually for us its Glasgow. Give us some idea of what you like and what your rough outline is right now and we'll be better able to help and let you know if it is realistic or not.

If you really want to see both in 14 days, it can be done, but you need to accept the fact that you will not see everything. Here is a sample itinerary with 14 days on the ground.

Day 1: arrive Dublin
Day 2: see sights in Dublin (consult RS guide for top priorities)
Day 3: see more Dublin sights
Day 4: check out of Dublin hotel, get rental car (probably at airport), drive to Dingle region
Day 5: Dingle peninsula
Day 6: Dingle peninsula
Day 7: check out of Dingle hotel, drive to Shannon & turn in car, fly Shannon to Glasgow or Edinburgh
Day 8: (OK, let's say Edinburgh) see sights in Edinburgh (consult RS guide for top priorities)
Day 9: see more Edinburgh sights
Day 10: Edinburgh and/or bus or train to easily accessible day trip such as Roslyn Chapel or Sterling
Day 11: check of out Edinburgh hotel, get rental car (probably at airport), drive to Pitlochry or thereabouts
Day 12: see Cairngorms or other highland locations
Day 13: drive to Fort William by way of Loch Ness
Day 14: drive to Glasglow, turn in car, stay in airport hotel and fly home next morning

As you can see, this will give you two cities and two out-in-the-countryside excursions.

One of the big reasons many people say don’t try to do both countries in the same trip is because of the time you waste getting from one to the other, whether you fly or take a ferry, it’s a lot of time spent in transit that could be better spent seeing the sights, and just a week or so in each country is no where near enough time. If you haven’t booked anything yet I would highly recommend you pick one country or the other. With Ireland you can fly into Dublin and out of Shannon (or Belfast if you want to see the north) or vice versa. With Scotland you can fly into Edinburgh and out of Glasgow. Two weeks in either country is a decent amount of time, but three weeks would be better. With two weeks you will be able to see a lot, but not everything, and even though both places look small on the map it takes a lot longer to get from one place to the next than you might think. Check the Secret Scotland web site, and Irelandyes web site for some sample itineraries to help you get started. Keep in mind that September will still be fairly busy in both countries and you should start booking accommodation as soon as possible. Try to spend at least a couple of nights in each place you stop if you can so you aren’t constantly packing up each morning and hunting for your next hotel at the end of each day.

It just depends on what kind of travel experience you prefer. I think two countries in two weeks is fine - but that’s because that is the kind of trip I like.

I fit in whatever is on the top of our “must see/do” list and save the rest of it for next time. (I always assume that we’ll be back!)

I also don’t think of the time spent traveling between countries as a waste of time - for me, it’s part of my travel experience and I enjoy it.

I say go for it, but definitely fly open jaw in both countries.

The bad thing about trying to do both countries in such a short time is that you have to cover larger distances, so you spend more time in transit than you would if you just stayed in one country. I think both Scotland and Ireland are places where it's really nice to settle in and get to know the countries a little bit. What you are proposing is a quick couple-of-highlights-in-each-country tour. I prefer the former, but if you like the latter, go for it.

I'd probably start with both couples listing their top 5 sites for each country then work from there as to whether you should combine or stick to one or the other.

I'm a more in depth traveler altho I have done both Rick's 14 day Best of Ireland and 10 day Best of Scotland. I'd probably stick to one or the other particularly as you've got different currency for each.

If the 14 days includes travel days, you'll lose 2 to begin with as most flights from the US leave on Day 1 and arrive Day 2 after an overnight flight. You'll lose your day 14 if that is your departure day (you'll arrive home the same day) You'll lose a day in between if you change countries. Sorry if this is information you know - wasn't sure if you had traveled to Europe or not and some don't realize travel time counts.

Thank you for all of your advice. We have decided to just do Ireland for two weeks. Any suggestions to see as much as possible is greatly appreciated!

If reservations are available, see if you can stay two nights at Ashford Castle (they have special two-night packages), as that will give you time to relax from your vacation a bit, as there really is no reason to leave the Ashford grounds while you are there. Whether you stay at Ashford or not, if you like outdoor activities, sign up for the Hawk Walk at the School of Falconry at Ashford Castle. You will each get your own hawk, there will be short introduction where you learn about hawks, then your small group will take to the garden/woods to launch and land your hawks (each person has a big thick leather glove), and it is an incredible experience. You can see videos on YouTube.

The drive in the Connemera region is fabulous, and Sky Road is listed in National Geographic's 500 Journeys of Lifetime book.

I've not been to Dublin, so I can't advice re: that destination, and I have not been to Newgrange (but if we were to return to Ireland we would definitely go there), and Gant's (sp?) Causeway was also enjoyed by my sister and her family.

But we have first-hand experience with the more Southwestern section of Ireland. We have visited the the Rock of Cashel and we highly recommend that for about 2-3 hours, and we would recommend an overnight at the Old Presbytery Inn in Kinsale, then head west toward the Dingle...don't miss Connor's Pass (fabulously lovely), then go up to Kenmare (great place to eat lunch or stay overnight), the Muckross House and grounds are worthy of visiting, as is the Bunratty Folk Park (a great example of what life was like in Ireland when my grandmother was a young girl), stopping in for coffee or lunch in Adare is nice, especially if you go to Adare Manor (fabulous manor house hotel); if you are in/near the Shannon area, two nights at Dromoland Castle would be nice, too. Dromoland has a fabulous walled garden and you can actually dine at one of the restaurants with a view of that garden, you can ride bikes around the lake, etc., and like Ashford Castle, it would give you a bit of a break from driving and your vacation. I will never forget the fabulous breakfast we had there, as our plates were delivered simultaneously as the waiters lifted the huge sterling silver covers ;)

Then while you are near Shannon, head over the the Cliffs of Moher and its visitor center. I've not been to the Aran Islands but a friend visited and loved the day trip. The Burren, heading out of Doolin is also worth seeing....fascinating rocky landscape. Galway is a fun city for lunch...Key Street has many cute shops,street musicians and places to eat......then head toward Connemera with a stop at the Kylemore Abbey.....then on up to your two-night stay at Ashford.

If you are flying into Dublin, you might consider doing a multi-city airline booking, so you can fly out of Shannon. If you fly out of Shannon to return home, I would suggest visiting the Bunratty Folk Park on your last day, so you won't be looping around so much.

When we visited, we stayed at a combo of fabulous high-end castles (Ashford and Dromoland), then more modest B&Bs, and then also the delightful Old Presbytery Inn. We liked mixing up more modest accommodations with some splurges, and it sort of evened out our budget a bit. We did not self-drive, though. We hired a driver. But, sounds like your group is comfortable with the driving....just be sure to reserve an automatic,load up on the optional insurances, and add an extra 30% of time for your journeys. Some of the road signs are confusing when on the narrow country roads.

Have fun!! We loved our time in Ireland.

Maggie, would you mind sharing who your private driver was? How you found a private driver.

diveloonie,
I will send you a private message via the forum rather than clog up emiben 2012's thread.