My husband and I (seniors) are late-blooming travelers. Our first trip overseas was last year to Paris with another couple. Our second trip will be this summer when we fly in and out of Heathrow for a month's vacation. We'll spend a week in London and another week in the Bath/Stonehenge area with another couple. After that, we'll be by ourselves. We plan to rent a car and spend 2 nights in Stratford and 2 nights in York before driving north to Scotland. We were thinking of spending 5 days in Scotland and then flying from Edinburgh to Ireland for another 5 days before flying back to England. I'm having difficulty planning for the last 10 days because I'm realizing that there's so much to see and do in both countries. In Scotland, we want to spend a couple of days in Edinburgh and perhaps drive to Oban. So, I'm wondering, should we allow 6 days in Scotland and then travel to Amsterdam rather than Ireland for 4 days? I originally wanted to go to Ireland because I wanted to travel the countryside and see green hillsides and quaint villages and eat in local pubs, but to do that I'm afraid we would be spending a lot of time in the car just driving, which doesn't sound very relaxing.
Reading the posts here I realize most people traveling this summer already have reservations for accommodations and we don't even know where we're going. Would appreciate hearing from anyone who's been to those countries.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32353 posts
Carol, As the others have mentioned, Ireland and the Netherlands are very different. Is there one that you're perhaps "leaning towards"? While there are some similarities between Ireland and Scotland, there are also differences, some unique sights and a very interesting (and at time tumultuous) history. I'd highly recommend using "open jaw" flights, inbound London / LHR and outbound from whatever location you choose for the second part of your trip. You might find it helpful to have a look at Rick Steves Europe on Oregon PBS over the next month or so. For example, on Mar. 4 Scotland's Islands & Highlands will be airing (repeated several times over the next week or two). You could also have a look at several short video clips: Dublin Dingle area Ireland & Scotland Tour presentation (this is over an hour, but might provide some good information to help with your decision) Netherlands Windmills Amsterdam As you're planning on driving, you might consider packing along a GPS unit along with a good Map. While GPS units are not infallible, I've found they're sometimes VERY helpful to have! If your choice is Ireland, I'd suggest trying to allocate a bit more time than four days. Good luck with your decision!
Posted by
Genesee, ID
1840 posts
You can never see everything on one trip. Never. We fly in and out of Schiphol at Amsterdam. Seattle, to Amsterdam, to Glasgow and the reverse. We have never been to Ireland. Much of Scotland is similar to Ireland including the Gaelic language. You can do everything you wish, green hillsides, etc. in Scotland. It might be a good idea not to use the phrase"quaint villages" unless you want people to call Medford "quaint". Maybe Pamela can offer more help.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
1068 posts
I am hesitant to say this, but.... Ireland and Scotland are really very different. I don't want to sound rude. I just... they're different! Very! So if you choose Ireland, it will not be "more of the same." And with the time you have, you could fit Amsterdam in, if you chose. Quite easily.
Posted by
OP
Southern Oregon
682 posts
"You can never see anything in one trip" sigh I guess that's our main problem. So many places we want to go, limited by time and money. Also, we are the type of travelers who linger at sights, wonder what's "beyond the next bend," and are tempted to make unexpected stops. I've always wanted to go to Ireland and Amsterdam and husband's first choice is Scotland. We originally planned to fly "open jaw", returning back to the U.S. from Ireland, but couldn't use our United mileage points because as of right now, Continental is not accepting United points. If we could have booked our return from Dublin, we wouldn't have thought of going to a different country. Ken, thanks for affirming the usefulness of a GPS. We are planning on adding Great Britain, Ireland to ours. Thanks also for the tip about the Rick Steves PBS specials. We are leaning more toward Amsterdam right now because of our limited time after Scotland.
Once we make our decision, I'll be posting more questions about Scotland and either Ireland or Amsterdam. Thanks for all your responses.