scotland or Ireland ?

Not sure it matters! Different people love both countries for different reasons. You don’t say why you are asking?? If trying to decide between them, I say do both!

Enjoyed both, but my wife and I liked Scotland more. Can’t say either one is more popular than the other.

Both are lovely. What are your interests? You can get great Celtic music in both places; great but different history in both places; bagpipes in both places; Whisky in both places, but differing kinds; beguiling accents in both places; Nessie--only in Scotland; Giant's Causeway--only in Ireland. Friendly people: Both Places.

As there more Americans of Irish descent than there are of Scots descent, Ireland is most likely the more popular of the two. Bord Failte has done a better job of promoting Ireland in America than the Scottish Tourist Board has.

That said, having visited both, I much prefer Scotland. The Scots we've encountered in Scotland are much more friendly than the Irish whom we met in Ireland. Perhaps we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Plus they don't serve haggis in Ireland!

However, the final decision is yours. Please be aware that if you are using your Visa or MasterCard to cover your rental car insurance, neither will cover you in Ireland, leaving you with a hefty fee for insurance coverages (and there are a lot of them!). In Scotland, you are covered for just about everything, as long as you completely decline the car rental company's insurance options.

As diveloonie recommended earlier, do both! Glasgow is only a short flight from Dublin, and vice versa. If you're using a budget airline (easyJet, RyanAir), be aware of the baggage restrictions and costs. However, you could always take the ferry from Larne to Cairnryan, as the Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead ferry has stopped service. This means that you'd have to travel to Northern Ireland to catch the ferry.

Let us know when you've made a final decision. best of luck!

Mike (auchterless)

"Glasgow is only a short flight from Dublin, and vice versa."

In addition, there are flights from multiple Irish airports to multiple Scottish airports, so you could, for instance, go right from Inverness to Belfast, or Edinburgh to Cork. If time is short, this saves lots of time not having to backtrack, and taking you directly to the parts of the countries that interest you most.

To find all the destinations from an airport, go to that airport's Wikipedia page. This is a great tip I got from this Forum, and very useful for planning. Of course, not all flights are daily, so you have to check on Skyscanner for your specific dates before making any definite arrangements.

The Scots and the Irish are, rightly, referred to as, " cousins", there being long stablished links between the two countries - indeed the, " Scots" were Irish originally.

As a Scot ( with three Grandparents who are Irish), the recognition of the Irish in the US has always intrigued me.

Scots ( and Welsh and, particularly, the English) probably had more to do with the establishment of the early US than the Irish; however the later influx of Irish to the East of the US and many remaining there to form an ethnic group, seems to have allowed them to retain their Irish identity, whereas the other Great Britain groups seem not to have - there is no St George's Day parade for example and the recent, " Tartan Day" celebrations are more tourist board led.

I believe that many Americans believe their roots are Irish when they are actually Scottish - Johnny Cash's daughter was surprised to discover that her family came from eastern Scotland not Ireland and the number of American people claiming Scottish ancestry increased after the release of the film, " Braveheart"!

Of course many Scots to North American went to Canada and there is a strong Scottish tradition there.

I would be interested in the views of people here as I am sure my knowledge of US history is quite feeble and my ramblings an incoherent stream of half facts I have picked up over the years; the fact that the main characters in one of the US' most celebrated cartoon shows consists of people of Scottish heritage does not strengthen my case one bit!( name the show and those characters!).

Sorry for the ramble!

To answer the OP's question - you can't go wrong visiting either, so visit both!