Travel to Ireland Scotland and England May 14 - June 4 2013

If you are planning on going to Ireland you will probably want to do a separate car rental there. The cost of taking a car on the ferry will be high.

Rick had put in his book that if you were going to be using a car 21 days or longer to lease a car. We were not sure what that all entailed. My husband is 6 foot 9 inches so we need to make sure we can get a car that he will fit in.

Do you already have tickets booked? It sounds as though you will have twenty one days, so need to take off at least departure day as most flights leave in AM. Arrival day will give you a half a day. So now are down to nineteen days. You could rent car, drive some in UK, end up in London, night train to Edinburgh, rent car there for anything outside Edinburgh then fly to Ireland for a few days with car rental there and fly back to Manchester. I personally think it is too much, would just do UK, Scotland and save Ireland for another trip.

I would agree to save Ireland for a trip on it's own. Add Wales instead. Amazing scenery and lots of castles. Enjoy

We visited all three countries on our second trip across the pond. It isn't ideal, but can be done. It's a good idea if you want to sample all three, then decide which one you would like to visit later in more depth....My suggestion: When you land in Manchester, fly immediately to Shannon. Spend about 4 days exploring that area which is IMHO the choicest bit of Ireland. Pick from Dingle, Kenmare, or Connemara, which is NW of Galway. You will need a rental car. Stay in small towns where you can walk to pubs or country hotels with on site restaurants. Skip cities - you don't have time for them......Next, fly to either Glasgow or Edinburgh. Rent car, visit Glencoe, Skye, Plockton, Loch Ness (Inverness has several good restaurants and is a pleasant small city). (about 570 miles) Return car in Edinburgh, allow yourself one full day to explore the city.....Train from Edinburgh to York. Take a full day to explore York. Get another rental car at the York train station. Drive towards Warwick and Kenilworth - explore both castles, then work your way down towards the Cotswolds, Wells, Salisbury, Winchester. Pick and choose, depending on your interests.(about 375 miles) Return the car to Heathrow, spend your last few days in London. The Green Park Hilton is very centrally located for exploring the main tourist attractions, the Bloomsbury area is also fun.....This plan emphasizes utilizing your time most efficiently, not maximizing budget $$$$.

You can physically hit Ireland, Scotland and England in your nominal 3 weeks. We'll get people here that want to do what you're proposing in a week which is totally irrational. I've stopped responding to these since I find myself being more sarcastic on rereading my post than I intended. Even so, you will find yourself spending a lot of time rushing off to the next stop which will cut into your ability "to see things and meet the locals." The more geography you want to cover the more carefully you need to plan. Definitely focus on travel times between your planned stops. Before I comment on recommendations, I'd need to know more about your interests. With knowing nothing, I recommend you go by the suggestions in Rick's Ireland and Great Britain books. They are a great place to start looking. As for fitting into the European cars, they have standard sized cars that are just like you see in St Louis. Many of the same models exist so look at what's available. If you want an automatic, be sure to reserve it. I wouldn't recommend one car for the whole trip. First, I don't think that rental cars can be transported between Ireland and Britain (insurance issues). It's also faster and probably cheaper to fly rather than take a ferry. If you skipped Ireland, you could keep a rental through England, Scotland and Wales. Whether you keep a car while spending time in a city comes down to the rental costs and any parking fees you may incur. Keeping a car a week or more usually gets the best rate; but if you park it for three days, you will pay more per driving day. Plan, plan, plan.

Thank you all who posted a reply. Boy we have some decisions to make.
We will do more research and go from there. Thanks for all the suggestions there were much appreciated. Very thought provoking.

Just returned from England and Scotland and really recommend you change your mind about trying to see so much in so little time. There is so much to see in every country you could spend all of your time just in one county, or region. Depending on your tastes London is a not to be missed. I really loved York can walk the whole city. I have been to Engalnd 4 times this time went to the Lake District and thought it was absolutley beautiful. Also love Devonshire and the Cotswolds. On my first trip we rented a cottage for a week in the Cotswolds was a great way to see the area. There are also great day trips from London and Edinburgh. I love driving in England just wouldn't recommend driving in London not necessary and way to crazy and confusing. Scotland was great and I loved Edinburgh, absolutley don't drive there. I found the driving in Scotland frightening. The roads are very narrow, mostly two lanes and no shoulders. Almost all of the locals we met stated that they thought we were brave to drive in Scotland. They told us if went to the west and highlands we would be on one lane roads. We went to St. Andrews it was lovely and then to Stirling after that headed south into Engalnd. Much bettter driving. I want to go back but really don't think I want to drive there. Everyone has a different comfort level with driving so I guess you have to way the pros and cons and decide. One thing to remember if you rent a GPS there is no gaurantee it will be waiting when you pick up your car. That's what happened to me. Reserved it then it wasn't available. Make sure to take good road atlas, and study up on "round abouts" if you don't have them in your area.
You will love Great Britain anyway you choose to see it!!