ireland/scotland vacation

That should be very doable in 2 weeks. Pick up a guide book and start choosing exactly what you'd to see and where you'll stay each night. Try to stay a least 2 nights per location and you'll really enjoy the trip.You can fly into Glasgow and then pop on a plane to Dublin or Belfast - see a bit of Ireland and then return to Glasgow. Head for Edinburgh and then on to St Andrews. St Andrews is a great place to visit even for non-golfers. Check the cost of flights and then figure out if you'll get the best deal by flying in and out of Glasgow. Happy Anniversary!!!

The best start would be to pick up Rick's books on Ireland and the UK. Read all of them, there's good information in the beginning for trip planning (booking flights, rooms, exchanging money, cellphones, etc.), and then information on places to visit. Then come back with any questions you have!

You should look into an open jaw ticket...which means arriving in one city (Dublin) and leaving from another one (Edinburgh) of course it could be any to city that you decide one. You could talk a ferry from Belfast to Scotland. You will have to decide if you want to rent a car or use public transportation, and that would depend on where you want to go. You should get several different travel guide books and read about the areas you want to go to then that will help you decide if you want to drive or train/bus. As for St Andrews, if your husband wants to play the Old Course (or any other courses at St. Andrews) he will need to go to the starter box first thing in the morning and sign up, they will put him with another group of two or three (my husband has done this several times). He can rent clubs there, it's expense to rent clubs and play but it's worth the money if he truly loves the game of golf. He will also need to get a card from his home course/club where he plays, that states his handicap, if he doesn't have this he will not be permitted to play. There is no train station in St. Andrews the closest one is in Leuchars which is five miles from St. Andrews, you can take a taxi to St. Andrews. There is a lot of things in St. Andrews that you could go while he golfs. If you want a name of a good B&B there send me a PM and I'll tell you where we stay.

While you may find a flight from Edinburgh, you will find many more transatlantic flights from Glasgow, but I agree open jaw is more efficient. Also I think Robin means there is NO railway station in St. Andrews (there isn't!)

Marilynn, we toured all three of those countries in about 2 1/2 weeks. This is what we did: Three nights Dublin - Train to Galway - Three nights Galway - Bus then train then bus via Derry to Portstewart - Three nights Portstewart, N Ireland (LOVED it!!!) - One night Belfast (wish we would have stayed longer) - Flew from Belfast to Edinburgh (cheap) - Six nights Edinburgh (day trip to Glasgow. You could do St Andrews from there). We also flew very cheap for the day to London from Edinburgh. You will have a wonderful time. What a great way to celebrate 50 years!

Does your husband know where any of his Irish ancestors came from? If so and you can pin it down to a specific parish, that can be a moving experience. Even better if you can meet some distant cousins.