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Greetings fellow travelers. I and my travel companions (3 of us) are starting to plan a 14 day trip of Scotland (7 days) and Northern Ireland (7 days) for May of 2026. We would be flying into Scotland and flying out of Northern Ireland. I usually do the planning and the others go along :-) Anyway, our interests are to see the countryside, castles and ruins and experience the history and beauty of this ancient land. It would be ideal to Home base in one or two cities (In Scotland and Northern Ireland) and tour from there. Not interested in changing accommodations a lot.

  1. Touring by car. What are the rules here...can a car be rented in Scotland and driven to Northern Ireland and left there?
  2. Touring by train? There seems to be a lot of train tours, so is one tour company recommended over another?
  3. Are one day tours recommended or something longer?
  4. What is the options of traveling from Scotland to Northern Ireland? We have traveled to the Republic of Ireland on a 10 day road trip and it was amazing but stressful to drive, so I'm looking for a more laid back itinerary.

I know I'm being vague, but I need someplace to start. Any help/recommendations/links to sites would be appreciated. Thanks again.

Posted by
2650 posts
  1. Rules are up to the car hire company - likely prohibitively expensive if you leave the car in NI. Best to fly from Scotland to NI.
  2. Scotrail runs the trains in Scotland https://www.scotrail.co.uk/
  3. Too vague
  4. Fly or ferry (via car, bus, train)
Posted by
300 posts

I would definitely fly from Belfast to either Edinburgh or Glasgow- taking a hire car across will be expensive and getting the ferry takes much longer, unless you were planning to spend part of your time in Scotland around Dumfries/Galloway which is where the ferry takes you to.

There are trains in NI but they only really cover coastal areas- there's no train service into Armagh/Tyrone/Fermanagh- so it depends where you want to go. There is a bus network too but personally I would find it easier to drive. In Scotland the train network has much better coverage, tho a car will give you more freedom. Good luck with your planning!

Posted by
16989 posts

Whether you drive, train or use the extensive bus network in Scotland, the choice is yours. You can pretty much do the same in Northern Ireland. (Dont' confuse the coaches in Scotland to companies like Greyhound. They are so much better and a great value.)

Have you looked into one day or multiple tours from Rabbies? I've taken a few one day tours with them and if you search you will find they have a great reputation on this forum. How long a tour to take depends on where you want to go.

You really can't base your stay in Scotland to one city. It's too big. But depending on where you want to go, and how you travel, you could keep it at two if you didn't want to change accomodations.

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