Planning a trip to Ireland, Scotland, Wales

I'd suggest you reconsider the amount of territory! Three weeks is not enough to do all 3. Also- Scotland and Wales are WELL served by the rail system. You would not need to drive. You could see a great deal of those two countries in 3 weeks. Then do Ireland on another trip- it will need a good bit of time and driving is probably the best way to see Ireland unless you go on a group tour. Check out other posts on this board for suggesstions.

I agree with Cynthia that you can do this. I think I would get two cars. One for Ireland and then pick up another in Wales. You might want to explore that idea.

The loop sounds good too. I would include a visit to Stirling Castle. I would make sure to get off the A9 on the road north to Inverness. You might want to break up the trip in Aberfeldy or Dunkeld or Pitlochry. Think about doing Lochness as a day trip from Inverness and take the more northerly route to Skye through Plockton. You'll need to do a quick side trip to see Eileen Donan if you want to see that particular castle. (There are lots of castles in Scotland and I managed 8 trips to Scotland before visiting Eileen Donan.) You can go over the Bridge to Skye and then take the ferry to Mallaig on to Fort William, Glencoe. Again, try the wee roads. PM me if you have any questions. I'll be glad to help.

Pam

If you really want to see all three areas and think this may be your only chance to do so, then go for it! Plan your trip as a week of Ireland, maybe 5 days in Wales, and the rest in Scotland (more land there, so it takes longer). To use your precious sight-seeing time most efficiently, I recommend a rental car. Realize you will just get a sample of each location and don't try to see it all. For Ireland, I would go with counties Kerry and Galway and skip Dublin. I've only been to Wales once, so I can't suggest much there, although I believe the north is the better bit for castles and scenery. For Scotland, I would do a loop which includes Inverness, Skye, Glencoe, and Edinburgh with a day trip out to see at least one of the border abbeys (I prefer Dryburgh Abbey.) If you want more specifics, send me a PM. Fly into Shannon if possible, fly home from either Edinburgh or Glasgow---they aren't that far apart.

Just returned from Wales. Many beautiful sights in Snodonia National Forest as well as the Brecon Beacons Forest. The Bodnant Gardens in North Wales are amazing. Driving can be treacherous. I would consider going into a base town and taking day trips.

I just left Wales as well, and adored the north. I would highly recommend making a base somewhere such as Bangor, then doing day trips to places like Caernarfon, Conwy, Beaumaris, Llanberis, etc. It's been the favourite part of my trip thus far. Love you Wales!

I would suggest narrowing things down to an interest, and then planning from there. For example, I'm into castles and history, so I've been hitting places like Northern Wales, Carlisle, Edinburgh, etc.

I would NOT want to drive in a lot of these places, and the public transport is excellent.

Top 3 favourite places... Wicklow, Northern Wales, and now Northern England.

I can't speak for cars in Wales, but it driving in Scotland is not difficult. You clearly don't need a car in either Edinburgh or Glasgow. I would plan any trip so that you end up in one of those cities so you can ditch the car. There are also places that you can get to by train--Inverness, Pitlochry, and so on. But first there are places that you absolutely need car. Skye for example has limited public transportation. Also, the roads are fun! I love the wee roads. I'm headed back to Scotland next week, and the only thing I'm disappointed about is that I'm not renting a car and so can't enjoy a drive through the hills. Pam

Thanks for all the good advise. What it the best time of year to travel to this area? Considering weather and crowds.

I'm not going to ask how senior you are, and anyroad a lady who would tell you her age will tell you anything, but I hope not so senior that you won't want to drive. My sister and I are both seniors (even tho she won't admit it.) and we still drive in the UK. After London, my favourite city is Edinburgh. We seem to usually travel in September and quite like it. Since you know where you want to go you probably have some ideas of what you want to see. I have a huge map on my office wall and I put sticky dots on the places I want to go to and start plotting my course from there. Check out some books from the library or look at the big coffee table books at Barnes & Noble. You'll soon have plenty of ideas. I've been to Wales, I should say, been through Wales before and this is the year we spend quality time there. Powis Castle in Wales and Sterling in Scotland are favourites of mine. The route suggested by a Cynthia sounds just the thing.

I like the end of August early September. The days are still long, but the crowds have started to diminish. September is great in general. That said remember that this is a maritime climate. The number one rule is thou shalt not allow the rain to stop you. There is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing!

Pam

PS I suspect that June is wonderful too, but I can never get away at that time of year.

Lee- We have been to Scotland during July/August and Nov./Dec. We enjoyed both. We did get more rain and some snow (just enough to be beautiful) in Dec. We enjoy the Christmas markets- Edinburgh has a very good one. I doubt there is a "bad" time for Scotland. That said, if you are interested in lots of "landscape" or seeing the countryside, I'd suggest May - Oct. Just so you have the longer days. And I mean REALLY long- in July the sun came up before 4:00am and didn't set until after 10:00 or 11:00. In winter the days are very short (dusk sets in before 4 or 5:00), but we still enjoyed it. My husband loves taking pictures of the Scottish moutains and countryside and I sketch. It is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Inverness is in my top 3 cities, with Aviemore my absolute favorite village ( and we have traveled extensively).