Scotland & Ireland - 2 weeks?

Caroline,

If you're going to do both countries in two weeks, then you'll need to make some choices. If Inverness and Edinburgh are must sees, then it probably makes sense to spend a few days in each and then pick a couple of places in Ireland in which to spend a few days each.

The west coast of Ireland is gorgeous, and you could definitely spend a week there without getting bored. Dingle is a charming small town and a great intro to Irish culture.

Best of luck with your planning.

Enjoy your trip!

You can do this. You might want to look into flying directly to Inverness. I would rent a car. You can spend a day or two in Inverness and make day trips out of Inverness--Culloden, Loch Ness and Urqhart Castle, Moray Firth. Then I would either go south to Perthshire and spend a day or two in Pitlochry, or Aberfeldy enjoying the scenery, taking some walks, or you could to Aberdeenshire and see some castles. If you are golfers you can take a look at St. Andrews on the way to Edinburgh. Then spend the end of your last week in Edinburgh. You can fly directly to Ireland from Edinburgh. I have to let the Irish travelers tell you how to spend that week!

I think Edinburgh and Inverness are excellent stops. I would also try to spend a couple of days on the Isle of Skye. It is a shame to go to Scotland and not see one of the islands. Skye is astoundingly beautiful. You will probably want to rent a car if you want to see the sights around Inverness and on Skye.

In Ireland, I would stick to the west coast if you just have a week. You could fly into Shannon. Dingle is my favorite spot, and there are other great places you could go -- The Burren, the Aran Islands, Cliffs of Mohr would all be pretty easy. People seem to love Galway, though I have only driven through it so I can't say much about it. Further north, Connemara is great, but I think it might be too much driving for a week. The driving in Ireland is slow and stressful, so pick a small area and settle in.

If you will be in Scotland you might consider visiting Northern Ireland and Donegal. It has gorgeous scenery and far fewer tourists than the areas in the west and southwest.

You might want to consider taking a ferry from Scotland to Ireland. You would avoid the hassle of turning in a rental car in Scotland, dealing with an airport, then renting a car again in Ireland. Edinburgh deserves a full day of your time, Inverness is a good location for a couple of days, Skye is spectacular. If you stay at the Flodigarry Hotel on Skye you can stay in the house where Flora MacDonald lived. Plockton is a really pretty little village near Skye. When we drove there we had to wait for five minutes for one of those shaggy Scottish cows to stop standing in the middle of the road.

Ireland is a small country with mostly slow roads. Good sites are Newgrange, Glendalough, Connemarra, Aran Islands, Delphi, Dingle, and the Beara Peninsula. We usually skip Dublin. You can fly home from Shannon Airport--less hassle than Dublin.

Hi Caroline,
My husband and I just completed a 2 week trip to London and Ireland. If you are starting in Scotland, Edinberg is a nice 2 day stop. People are very friendly. I would check flights on Ryan Air to Ireland. The ferry takes several hours and I wouldn't suggest taking your car from Scottland to Ireland.Also, the sea may be quite choppy at this time of year. Rent a car at Dublin Airport or, Kerry Airport or Cork. We stayed in Dingle Town on the Dingle Peninsula for 3 days at the Milestone House B&B. Can't say enough about how accomodating the owners were.In Dingle, they speak english and gaelic. It is a slice of the authentic Ireland. Be warned, the roundabouts in Ireland take some getting used to, but by the end of the week my husband had driving down. For food in Dingle Town, I recommend John Brennans and the Goat Street Cafe. Be sure you stop at Inch to see the ocean and do the Slea Head drive. Hope this helps.

Caroline, my wife and I returned 3 weeks ago from a 2-week trip to Scotland, N. Ireland and Ireland. We spent 3 days in Edinburgh, picked up a car and drove to Inverness where we spent 3 days touring the Highlands. We then flew FLYBE pretty cheaply to Belfast, where we picked up a car and spent 3 days in Belfast and N. Ireland, then 5 days in the Republic of Ireland. With that kind of itinerary you can get a pretty good overview of the 3 countries without working too hard at it.

You should rent a car in both. For Scotland, suggest staying in my son`s apartment in Carnoustie(seaside town famous for golf) which is also very central for day trips. Inverness just under 3 hours, Edinburgh just under 2 hours. Wonderful east of Scotland scenery with lots of castles and great local foods. Look at www.visitscotland.com to be inspired!