I am planning to take my sister, my daughter-in-law and my granddaughter on a trip to Ireland in early July. We hope to fly to London and spend two days there, then on to Scotland for a day or two and then to Ireland for about 10 days. Does this plan sound reasonable? Should I buy airline tickets now or wait until after the first of the year?
Posted by
Clarksville, TN, USA
959 posts
"A day or two" in Scotland? I'm curious what you're planning to do there. Is it possible for you to at least give yourselves three days? Not sure how much you could see in a day or two. You could easily do a few places in Ireland in a week... But maybe we need more details of your wants for the trip... I would start watching airfare now. Doesn't hurt... There generally is no known time when it's "better" to buy an airline ticket, so just start pricing as soon as you know your exact dates.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
1068 posts
I also question your allocation of time. A "day or two" in all of Scotland, two days in London, and then 10 days in Ireland? If you are Ireland buffs, of Irish heritage, have friends/relatives there, or all three or a combination that makes Ireland your focus and the point of the trip, then I would consider stripping out the detour to Scotland (far north - travel time - etc.) and add a day to London and a day to Ireland. London can easily fill up three packed days. Then some travel time, and Ireland - which can easily fill up 11 packed days! (Of course, any of those countries can easily fill up a packed lifetime, but we all know that. :D ) Going all that way to Scotland to spend possibly less than a couple of days doesn't seem like a wise allocation of time. The other option, of course, is to do your couple of days in London, then spend about half of the remaining time in Ireland and half in Scotland - which would go some way to justifying your travel time up to the land of the pipes and the bluebells.
Posted by
OP
Newport, OR, USA
2 posts
Thanks for the input. The main focus of our trip is Ireland because of our Irish heritage. My sister and I want to spend some time in the Irish town where our great-great grandfather was born. My daughter-in-law and I have been to London before, but wanted to show the others a few highlights and maybe see a play one evening. The Scotland part was sort of an after-thought, thinking maybe we could get a taste of it and maybe take a ferry to Belfast in Northern Ireland and then continue to the rest of Ireland from there, but I'll certainly consider your suggestions. Maybe we should save Scotland for another trip. Thanks, Maxine