Information of England-Ireland-Scotland

Tom,

What do you want to see? What interests you about the UK? How much time do you have? If I were you I would look into a land tour or combination of land tour and your own travel. It's very easy to get around in the UK. There is good public transportation and the language issues are really small. If you like history and are fit then the Rick Steves tours are good. You will do a fair bit of walking, but probably not more than you would on your own if you are interested in seeing sights and museums. But Rick's tours are for the separate countries so you'd have to pick. You might want to focus on either Ireland or England and Scotland.

I lean away from cruises because your time on land is so limited and it's really hard to see anything on your own.

Maybe someone with more experience cruising the British Isles will respond as well.

Pam

I agree with Pamela. The UK is very easy to do on your own... especially England, Scotland and Wales. The train system in Ireland is somewhat limted. I love the UK- we've been more than 40 times and I still want to go back. Rick's tours seem to be well liked. If you want to do it own your own, give us more info about what you like, what you want to achieve/get out of the trip, what your time is like (how many days/weeks) and what your budget is. It will also help if you let us know your "must haves"- ie do you want 4 or 5 star hotels, or b&bs... do you want private bathroom or are you comfortable with "down the hall"... that kind of thing. What is your travel style? Have you done the "pack light" thing before? I know it seems like a lot... but the more you share the better our answers will help.

Think about narrowing down you scope- maybe pick just a few locations- London, York, Edinburgh, Inverness.... that you could use as a base. If this is your first European trip, maybe just one city- ... Let us know more and we'd love to help.

Pam and Toni, thanks for your reply. After talking to my wife about this trip you guys are right, a cruise is really not the way to go. My wife's great ancestors came from Scotland and Ireland. While over there we thought we would take in England.
I was thinking of taking about 2-weeks over there. I would like some B&B's but also 4-* hotels. As far as what to see I am really not sure, like to take in as much as I could, also seeing small towns. How would you suggest I start if we went on our own? How would I book lodging and would I need the help of someone over there. Thanks forany info Tom

Tom, I would start by reading a couple of travel books. Of course since this is the Rick Steves website we have to recommend his! He has a book just on England and one on Ireland and a Great Britain book that covers England, Scotland, and Wales, with lots of information about his picks for the best sights. It's not a comprehensive view of the country but it's great if you want someone else to do some of the "weeding out" for you. I have found almost all of his advice spot on for my taste [the only bad advice so far was strolling down the Champs Elysees in Paris. Did nothing for me]. The books will also give some sample itineraries. Even easier - take a look at the UK Tours listings on the site and see what looks/sounds interesting to you. Obviously there are lots of other tourbooks out there too; I suggest you head to your local library and wander around the travel section to see what catches your eye.

I can also warmly recommend the RS tours - husband, daughter and I did the Germany-Austria-Switz tour a few years ago and had a WONDERFUL time. I loved having someone else do the planning for that trip, really enjoyed the fellow participants, and felt we totally got our money's worth. As Pamela pointed out, you do have to be reasonably fit as there is a fair amount of walking and standing. We combined our tour with a week on our own visiting family history locations in Germany and Alsace before the tour started. Depending on how much time you have, you could combine one of the London or country tours with some time on your own.

Happy planning!

Tom, you need to get some guidebooks. Rick Steves has a great one for Ireland, but the Scotland information is limited so think about picking up another. Lonely Planet is almost always good and the Footprint Guide if you can find it is good.

Toni made some good suggestions on place to visit, but you mentioned that your wife's ancestor's come from Scotland. Have you done any research as to what part of Scotland they come from? Also, go to Borders and pick up some of the magazines on Scotland and Ireland. For Scotland I recommend Scotland Magazine, The Highlander, History Scotland. The last two will have some heritage information that may interest your wife.

I would recommend spending at least a couple of days in Edinburgh and then choosing a couple of other places to use as a base. Like Toni, I love Inverness. There are lots of day trips from there. But I also like Pitlochry and Dunkeld in Perthshire.

Let us know a little bit more about your interests--history, gardens, castles, music, whisky, photography and scenery....

It's been too long since I've been to Ireland so I can't help there.

Pam

Personally, I feel it is a bit much to try to do all three in one 2 week trip. But if you pick one city in each country and spend 3-4 days in each, you could get a taste. For example-
Day 1- land in either Shannon or Dublin-

Day 2-4 Shannon (or Dublin) with 1 day trip out

Day 5- fly to Edinburgh (or Inverness)

Day 6--8 Edinburgh with one day trip out (Sterling or St. Andrews or Roslyn or Highlands exloration)
or Inverness with one day trip (Orkneys or Isle of Skye with Eliean Donnan included)

Day 9- train to London

Day 10-13 London with possible day trips to Windsor and one other (Canterburry, Dover, Stratford-upon-Avon, Cardiff Wales, Bath)

Day 14 Fly home

Do read Rick's book and maybe Fromer's or another similar guidebook. Watch some of Rick's videos or TV shows. Other than Ireland, the UK is very easy to travel by train. And you have all kinds of options for hotels/b&bs.

Personally I'd perfer something more like this
Day 1 Arrive London

Days 2-5 London London with possible day trips to Windsor and one or two others (Canterburry, Dover, Stratford-upon-Avon, Cardiff Wales, Bath)

Day 6 train to York (one night)

Day 7 train to Edinburgh (two nights)

Day 9 train to Inverness

Day 10-13 with day trips to Isle of Skye, Culloden Battlefied with Clava Cairnes, curise up Loch Ness with stop at Urquart Castle

Day14 fly home from Inverness or Glasgow

Or spend the whole 2 weeks in Ireland. Rent a car and take your time driving from place to place. Stay one or two nights, then move on. We've only been to Ireland once, but I remember the Ring of Kerry was beautiful and so was the Dingle penisulia.

Thanks for all your information. Is that tour company just called, RS Tours? Tom

Which tour company? If you are thinking about taking a Rick Steves' tour- just check out this website. for day trips- there are lots of companies that operate in most cities. London Walks, Mad Maxx, Gray Lines, etc.

My wife and I just returned from England and we are in your age bracket. This time we stayed in London and did day trips by train. By train you can see a great deal in a day. It's easy and comfortable. We went to Hampton Court, Windsor, Oxford, Blenheim Palace, Wimbledon, Greenwich, and the Cotswolds (better if you have a car). If you haven't been to London before there is just tons to see in the city. If you are into museums and historic sights you are going to the right place. I would recommend researching you hotel choice and find a good one close to the tube line.

Tom, sorry for my unclear abbreviation- when I mentioned RS tours I just meant the Rick Steves/Europe Through the Back Door tours from this website. There are several itineraries for the UK; read through them and see what interests you. If you decide to go it on your own, I warmly second the recommendation for London Walks; we have done a number of their walks and found them both interesting and fun.