Suggestions for a Two Week Trip to Ireland, Scotland and Northern England

Sorry, but even if you had a full 14 nights on the ground, you are trying to do too much. You are going to have to edit your expectations. Use the Explore Europe "At A Glance" sections for each country, as well as the guidebooks to decide which places have priority for you, according to your own interests, then determine how much time each place requires.

After taking the RS 14 day tour of Ireland, I just don't see Ireland as a place where a couple of locations and taking day trips from them is feasible. Everything is so spread out. And lovely! And worth the exploration. You don't mention your planned method of transportation That will really make a difference, as public transportation isn't very efficient; except going from Dublin to Belfast.

Must see in Northern Ireland: Antrim Coast & the Glens area; Giant's Causeway, Carrick a Rede bridge.

Start figuring out your modes of travel. Traversing from Ireland to Scotland can be by bus & ferry or flying. It could take a whole day out of touring. If you are not planning to drive in Scotland/England; you need to make reservations on trains or arrange day tours. I would use Edinburgh as a base. If you still want to go to Northern England you may have time for Durham, York and Hadrian's Wall. We did England, Wales and Scotland on 2 trips of 15/21 days by driving and staying in the countryside, except for time in London. Unless you have to go to Ireland; it would be easier as a separate trip. Look at www.nationaltrust.org.uk which does have some sites in Northern Ireland, and www.visitscotland.com for ideas and useful info. Bon Voyage!

See this really helpful discussion from a recent thread proposing something somewhat similar:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/first-trip-abroad-2-weeks-for-entire-uk-enough

Short answer--limit it. Pick regions not countries, as there are far flung parts of Ireland that you could not include all of for example.

Thank you for the great feedback!

I have long wanted to see the C.S. Lewis sites in N. Ireland. I'm told they're quite nice, especially Little Lea, his former childhood home in Belfast. His home was located in the Holywood -- with one letter L -- area of Belfast. It's supposed to be nice to explore.

Scotland: It was fun to see Sir Walter Scott's home, Must See (https://www.scottsabbotsford.com/), Mary Queen of Scots house, Nice to see (https://www.thecastlesofscotland.co.uk/the-best-castles/scenic-castles/mary-queen-of-scots-house/) and ramble through Edinburgh, Must see. A quick trip to the Highlands, Must see, left an indelible impression, and I wish I could have spent more time there.

Republic of Ireland:

Must See: Dublin Writers Museum (https://www.dublin.info/writers-museum/), play at the Gate Theater (https://www.gatetheatre.ie/), multiple museums (https://dublin.ie/live/things-to-do/museums/), Glendalough, an ancient monastic center (https://glendalough.ie/).

Must see Near Dublin: Rock of Cashel (https://heritageireland.ie/places-to-visit/the-rock-of-cashel/).

Must see nature near Dublin: Wicklow Way Trail (https://www.wicklowway.com/). I've walked the entire 100 miles, but a section of it is good for a day walk

Must see nature on West Coast: Dingle Way trail (https://www.dingleway.com/). I've also walked the entire 100 miles of this, but a section is good for a day walk.

Must see: Evocative medieval towns are Kilkenny (https://visitkilkenny.ie/) and Ennis (https://ennis.ie/)

Nice to see: A visit to the Aran Islands -- a group of three islands emblematic of the soul of Ireland -- is fun: https://www.aranislands.ie/plan-visit

Way, way too ambitious for 14 days and you will be seeing everything through a windscreen. I assume you know that Ireland is a different country to Northern Ireland which is part of the UK. (If thinking of hiring a car, check that you can take the hire car between the two.)

Limit yourself to either Ireland and Northern ireland OR England and Scotland. Even them you will just be scratching the surface.

Must sees - that is very difficult as my list might be the list from hell for you! Choose places that appeal to YOU rather than what you are 'advised' to do by others.

I so appreciate everyone's responses. based on the feedback we've decided to focus on only Ireland for a trip or do Scotland/England over two weeks. Still ambitious but working thru the ideas submitted and digging in to Rick's books.

Our first trip to the Isles was in 1997, and we thought we'd do what you propose. Although the trip was certainly memorable, the strongest memories are of how tired I was of driving by the end of the day, and how exhausted we were when we got home. We spent one night in each in New Forest, Dartmoor, Port Issac, Libanus, Betts-y-coed, Glasgow, Applecross, Portree, Ardvaser, Loch Tummel, Sunderland, Drebly, Monsal Head, Brae, Wexford, Killorgin, Doolin(2nts), Galway, Dublin. Never had a reservation, didn't have cellphones, just a Rough Guide.

Although I still tend to prefer single night stays (because many of the things of interest to us are between towns), we ow shoot for 1-2hrs between stays. We now spend 21 days in just Ireland or just Scotland.

I would never recommend a trip like the above (and that was 21 days, not 14).

I'd suggest you either focus on a single country or small regions of countries if you must visit more than one.

Sorry, but even if you had a full 14 nights on the ground, you are trying to do too much.

I have to disagree. In two weeks it's perfectly reasonable to see major sights in Ireland, Scotland and north England. Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh and/or Glasgow, followed by perhaps Manchester. I agree the trip won't provide thoroughness, but 2-week trips seldom do.

jphbucks - that is eight major places in 14 days - even without the logistics of travelling between them, I'm not sure that I would consider that 'perfectly reasonable'. I'm not sure how much I would remember of any of them by the end. However, each to his own...

jphbucks - that is eight major places in 14 days

I only mentioned five places. ???

My mistake I was counting in Ireland, Scotland and north England as well....

Even so I just concentrating on the major cities isn't really 'seeing' however as already said - each to their own.

From Edinburgh you can do day trip bus excursions into the Highlands, Fife, the Borders, Northumberland, Ayrshire and the Lake District.
Likewise from Manchester to the Lake District, the Peak District and Chester/North Wales. And do Liverpool and York independently.
Some may purse their lips at that kind of strategy, too much travelling. Maybe, but there is an efficiency benefit. It will suit some, if not all.
Is that a strategy which appeals to the OP?

Thanks, isn31c! Definitely helps with some organization.

Lots of good ideas there for Edinburgh from isn31c, but that (along with seeing something of Edinburgh itself) will probably take up about half of your two week trip...