Ireland/Scotland 12 Night Itinerary Help

We have done road trips in both countries several times. With six nights for Ireland, I would not devote three of them to Dublin. Landing at Dublin airport, you could get your rental car and head up towards Trim and visit New Grange your first morning. Then head over to the west coast for most of your visit. While you might want to spend all of your time in Dingle, you might want to consider a few nights in either Galway (for Connemara) or Kenmare (for either ROK or the Beara Peninsula).......... For Scotland, you could head out from the Glasgow airport towards Loch Lomond, then base yourself in Fort William, a good central location. (We stayed at a very nice B and B just west of there right on the shores of the Loch.) From there, you can explore Glencoe one day, take the steam train to Mallaig another day or head up towards Eileen Donan and Plockton..... Then head NE towards Spean Bridge and loop back towards Edinburgh. (one full day there is enough on such a short trip)....... Get the AA road atlas for Great Britain (it includes Ireland) and the orange Michelin regional maps for Ireland and Scotland so you can study your options. (Amazon sells both) Also use the route planner at theaa.com. Have fun planning!

I'm not a huge fan of Dublin either. I would drop a night there and add it to the west coast. That would give you time to see the Burren as well as the Cliffs of Moher. Or you could stop somewhere one night between Dublin and Dingle -- that drive is pretty long. Otherwise, I think your plan is okay. I've only travelled around by car in Ireland, so I can't answer your questions.

How late are you getting into Glasgow? You might want to get your car and head up toward Loch Lomond. I stayed near Balloch one year. It's not far. And you'd be a bit more on your way toward the north. I know that there are people who are big fans of Oban, but I'm not. I would head over spend a couple of nights on Mull. ; ) Or I would head up as far as Fort Williams as was recommended earlier. Then you drive drive back via the A86 and the A9. You'll see more of the Cairngorms. Blair Castle is a great stop. I do like Stirling, but you can do that as a day trip by train out of Edinburgh if you want to. If you stick with your original plan, then drive back from Oban via the A85 and down to Calendar so you see the Trossach and if you are Monty Python fans stop off in Doune to see teh castle. ; ) Pam

Thanks to everyone for your comments so far. It seems like we have allocated to much time to Dublin so we will cut Dublin short 1 night. Other than Edinburgh were would be a good home base to experience some of the best of Scotland other than Oban? Or Oban a nice place for a few nights. We are looking for authentic Scotland but will only have 5 or 6 nights. Sucks that we only have 12 nights to spend between the 2 countries. Want to see the best we can in those 12 days, experience the real Ireland and Scotland, drink beer/whiskey but not be too rushed and on the go. Look forward to hearing more suggestions and experiences etc. Chad

You can't get all the way to Dingle from Dublin by train. I think it only runs as far as Tralee, maybe, then you have to take a bus. Train is not a good option in the west because it's just not that extensive. And yes, you could get from Dingle to Shannon in a day with a stop at Cliffs of Moher (though they are out of the way). Take the Killimer-Tarbert ferry instead of going around through Limerick, though. It will cut time and miles off of your drive.

Inverness makes a very good base for seeing the highlands. Blair Atholl is a good place to visit. For good whisky visit the Dalwhinie Distillery. Eliean Donan castle and Isle of Skye are also doable as a day trip from Inverness. Don't forget cullodesn and Clava Carnes. I'd put more time into Inverness than Edinburgh.

I wouldn"t waste much time in Dublin-or any! The "real" Ireland that you want is in the small towns. The west coast is our favorite; Dingle, Galway, and the Aran islands.