Paris scotland Northern Ireland and london

hi, look at traveling in some type of path and not backtracking and so on. also, you may want to look at round trip (r/t) flights in/out of the cities you want to go to and see how airfairs are. Sometimes, the cost cost of getting to/from a city from the usa will decide where you start. also, look at different days of the week and weekends flights. you can also try flying in one city and out another too. i more or less did you trip last year and was like this: > Dublin > Edninburgh > London > Normandy > Paris > amsterdam. a started in Dublin and flew out of Amsterdam. But i was lucky to find a one way ticket out of amsterdam fairly inexpensive. Im flying in/out of amsterdam this fall ,but no such good luck in one way ticket though. just a comment. 2 weeks isnt alot of time for your trip. if you want to see anything in London and Paris those could take 4~5 days each thats more than half your days there. Edinburgh can take 3 days. Also, the days i state are so you are not rushed in my opinion (imo). as far as cars, it would depend on where you want to go. I used trains from Edinburgh to London to Paris and it was nice. If you want to drive in N. Ireland or ? i can see that but dont discount the trains to some of the larger towns. happy trails.

rajh, Given the four places you mentioned, you might consider something like this: > Book open jaw flights, inbound Paris, outbound Belfast or Dublin. > Arrange your route this way: - Paris (EuroStar to London) - London (East Coast Rail to Edinburgh) - Edinburgh (EasyJet to Belfast)
- Belfast & northern Ireland Without having some idea on what you want to see in each place, it's difficult to know where a rental car will be useful. You won't need a car in Paris or London, as they both have excellent transit systems. Good luck with your planning!

Thanks so much ! how many days do you think would work Ray? P.S I love Portland!

@ rajh, what i wanted to do and see in the places i listed, it was: 3.5 days - Dublin (more than enough time too) 3.5 days - Edinburgh (again more than enough time to see what i wanted)
4.5 days - London 4.5 days - Paris (could use more time). the 1/2 day is my "travael" day. I try to leave early and arrive early so i have most if not all day to do something when i arrive. i want to stress that you will have different likes/interest and you inintary could be different. I used RS books for most of my guide but didnt follow it to the letter. I googled "things to do and see in (insert city name here)" and also looked for things to do. I also didnt spend 24/7 doing sightseeing. I tried to plan my days 0800~1400/1500 doing thins and then the rest down time chilling, people watching and wondering around. also, i will note that i stayed in the city with exception of Dublin, I went to the Irish National Stud outside of town. others will give some insight too. Glad you loved PDX. I like it too. Born here and like all of the diverse things to do/see in the area. Florida was nice, but the humidiy in the east coast and south turned me off. I was surprised too that the beaches were too hot to walk on with bare feet when i was there. ouch. but i guess its why there wasnt anyone useing them at the time either. happy trails