Great Britain and Ireland in 23 Days

Will not comment on the Ireland part. however for , Day 1-9; days 16- 23. It is all doable and you will get a good overview of Britain, without really spending enough time anywhere to truly get to know it. With only an overview of Britain as you are doing- Cardiff does not fit in. It is much lower on the scale of attractions. Skip Cardiff (besides you will only have an hour or so there anyway)- go directly from Bath to Tintern, up the Wye valley a short way and then cut across to the Corswolds. Day 8- thinking about it, you are back tracking a lot- spend the morning in Cotswolds, then Stratford and overnight in Warwick .. you are partly on the way to Wales. Driving makes sense- but you need to use the driving time as sightseeing (you are doing a LOT of driving). Be flexible so that you can deviate if you see something interesting. You arent giving yourself enough time to enjoy anything I would however delete Ireland from your plan and give those days to the rest of your trip, spreading it out a little so you can actually enjoy the places you are at, rather than merely driving though. I would spread those 7 "found" days to North Wales- 1; Cotswolds- 1; Inverness/Edinburgh 2; York and moors 1; London 2. York to London- ditch your car in York and take a train. Thats a long drive and a car is a disadvantage in London.
Also do the smae on first day- train to Bath and pick up car there

I agree with Brian on your itinerary. You'd probably be more relaxed leaving Ireland off this trip. Ireland is worth a good two weeks in it's own right. There does seem to be a lot of people that come to this forum intent on seeing both islands in 9 days or so. You're the first one that actually has a schedule to hit the high points. Unfortunately, I think you'll be shell shocked at the end of your trip. On Day 3 you will be driving like a maniac to get to Avebury, Glastonbury, Wells, Stonehenge and then back to Bath. You'll not have time to see much of anything that day. You might consider going to Stonehenge and Avebury on your way to Bath on Day 1. That would assume you land on an early flight. Another popular stop out of Heathrow (if that's where you're arriving) is to see Windsor Castle. That still makes it possible to do a "drive by" for Stonehenge but Avebury would be too much. You didn't specifically say what you were doing on the ferry trips about your car but you don't want to transport them back and forth. You'll save lots of money on the ferry trips by not taking your rental car. I'm not even sure they will let you take rental cars back and forth. The goal is not to "check off" many sites on your visit but to enjoy your trip and truly see the sites.

I, too, agree with Brian. Please don't drive the first day - you should NOT combine jet-lag and driving on the "wrong" side of the road. Unless you have some special reason to visit Inverness I would go from Skye to Edinburgh. I would also recommend dropping the car in York at the latest - there are good trains from Edinburgh to Durham and Durham to York, unless you plan to visit Hadrian's Wall from Durham. There's even a scenic train from Skye (well, Kyle of Lochalsh on the mainland) to Edinburgh. I also agree that you should skip Cardiff and generally slow down. Can't comment on the Ireland section, but you really need more time for places like York and Edinburgh and the area around Bath.

Brian, Ken and Kathy - Thank you for your thoughtful replies! You have all confirmed what I suspected - Ireland is another trip in itself. And I taking your advice and going to slow this down to just Britain. I'll beef up my time in the areas you suggested (Bath, Cotwolds, Wales, Edinburgh, York and London). I appreciate your help! -Nancy

If you have 24 days for GB, I suggest you get RS Great Britain book if you don't already have it. You can look at what interests you and what doesn't. Spend more time where you're interested and less where you're not. Rick doesn't recommend much time in Scotland on the 3 week trip but you've got a couple of extra days to consider. From your original plan you are somewhat A-R (like me) which will let you really focus on your options. Everybody is different so look at what you and your husband are interested in. This forum has beaten driving on the "wrong side" to death. I don't think it's a big deal but I also get the automatic. The price premium isn't that great in GB but it is high in Ireland. Driving to Bath lets you see some sights enroute if you arrive in an early flight. It's hard to get a car in Bath on a Sunday so keep that in mind. You can lose the car in Edinburgh and take the train to Durham, York and London. That will keep you from seeing Hadrian's Wall or any of the other more rural sites. You can hit Hadrian's Wall on the way from North Wales to Oban. Lot's of options. Plan, plan, plan.

I'm glad to hear that you liked the advice- I think that it is perfect. Leave Ireland for another trip and beef up the areas already mentioned. I would probably leave off Inverness, but do make sure you have some time in the Highlands on the drive from Skye to Edinburgh. I would also give a full day to Snowdonia and another to Conway/ north Wales.