10 days Scotland/Ireland help please!
May 22nd, 2011, 12:47 PM
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10 days Scotland/Ireland help please!
My husband and I are taking his mom and dad (both 75 yrs old) to Scotland and Ireland in August. We have already bought tickets for the Military Tatoo in Edinburgh Castle so will be scheduling our travel around that event. The impetus for this trip is twofold, we have always wanted to take his mom to Scotland as her ancestors hail from Dunfermline and she has always wanted to go there; also, she has been fighting cancer this last year, will have her last chemo in early July, and this has been an excellent thing for her to look forward to.
I really need help planning this trip so we strike a balance between enough down time for her but wanting to see some pretty cool things. So far we plan on arriving in Scotland around the 5th or 6th of August and going to Cameron House Loch Lomond for the first two nights, figuring the guys could golf a day, she can rest if need be, and then we can see the sights surrounding that area. Then off to Edinburgh, stopping in Dunfermline on the way, and staying in Edinburgh for two or three nights. The tatoo is the 9th, so figured we would leave the next morning to fly to Dublin OR Galway.
We really are not interested in big cities, or shopping. We'd like to go to pubs where the locals hang, hear the music they sing, and see the beauty of places like the Cliffs of Moher. My mother in law wants to stay in a B & B that looks like something out of Lord of the Rings. (and so would I!!) Can someone please tell me places we should absolutely see, even if they aren't on the top tourist list of places to see, as we are only going to have 4 days to explore Ireland... I should probably ask, given what information I've shared, would Galway or Dublin be a better choice to visit?
Any help at all would be very appreciated!
I really need help planning this trip so we strike a balance between enough down time for her but wanting to see some pretty cool things. So far we plan on arriving in Scotland around the 5th or 6th of August and going to Cameron House Loch Lomond for the first two nights, figuring the guys could golf a day, she can rest if need be, and then we can see the sights surrounding that area. Then off to Edinburgh, stopping in Dunfermline on the way, and staying in Edinburgh for two or three nights. The tatoo is the 9th, so figured we would leave the next morning to fly to Dublin OR Galway.
We really are not interested in big cities, or shopping. We'd like to go to pubs where the locals hang, hear the music they sing, and see the beauty of places like the Cliffs of Moher. My mother in law wants to stay in a B & B that looks like something out of Lord of the Rings. (and so would I!!) Can someone please tell me places we should absolutely see, even if they aren't on the top tourist list of places to see, as we are only going to have 4 days to explore Ireland... I should probably ask, given what information I've shared, would Galway or Dublin be a better choice to visit?
Any help at all would be very appreciated!
May 22nd, 2011, 12:57 PM
#2
Only time for a couple of very quick comments just now . .
1) you will LOVE Cameron House (I ran into Sean Connery one time I stayed there
) Being right on the shore of Loch Lomond,your MIL can just sit and enjoy the scenery if she's tired.
2) My initial thought -- w/ someone recovering from Chemo, I'd very seriously consider dropping Ireland. Not because it isn't lovely -- it is. But there are so many glorious parts of Scotland, you'll already be there so no extra airports/security/schlepping . . . and 10 days is really not long enough to do either country real justice. W/ the travel/jet lag/etc -- your 10 days will only net you 8.5 - 9 days for touring.
1) you will LOVE Cameron House (I ran into Sean Connery one time I stayed there
) Being right on the shore of Loch Lomond,your MIL can just sit and enjoy the scenery if she's tired.2) My initial thought -- w/ someone recovering from Chemo, I'd very seriously consider dropping Ireland. Not because it isn't lovely -- it is. But there are so many glorious parts of Scotland, you'll already be there so no extra airports/security/schlepping . . . and 10 days is really not long enough to do either country real justice. W/ the travel/jet lag/etc -- your 10 days will only net you 8.5 - 9 days for touring.
May 22nd, 2011, 01:54 PM
#4
Just an idea to consider -- and topping this willgive others a chance to chime in . . .
If your MIL really want to see Ireland, maybe spend the 8 days in Scotland-- we can give you lots of ideas of where/what as you work out your itinerary.
Then on morning 8 (or evening 7) fly to Shannon and spend 2 days exploring the cliffs of Moher, the Burren, maybe the Aran's if the weather is decent, and fly home from Shannon.
That way you can see a really lovely/dramatic part of Ireland and not be rushing through two countries (even 5 full days wouldn't let you see a lot so 2 days concentrated in a smaller area will give you a very nice taste of Ireland)
If your MIL really want to see Ireland, maybe spend the 8 days in Scotland-- we can give you lots of ideas of where/what as you work out your itinerary.
Then on morning 8 (or evening 7) fly to Shannon and spend 2 days exploring the cliffs of Moher, the Burren, maybe the Aran's if the weather is decent, and fly home from Shannon.
That way you can see a really lovely/dramatic part of Ireland and not be rushing through two countries (even 5 full days wouldn't let you see a lot so 2 days concentrated in a smaller area will give you a very nice taste of Ireland)
May 22nd, 2011, 07:44 PM
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Perhaps I will sound like a broken record, but if you will be in the Galway area consider staying at An Caladh Gearr Thatch Cottage outside Spiddal: http://tinyurl.com/c24oyg . It is a lovely thatched cottage (of course) and she has only three rooms so you may have the place all to yourselves.
Perhaps not Lord of the Rings but still charming.
Perhaps not Lord of the Rings but still charming.
May 22nd, 2011, 08:05 PM
#6
Oh - a way to get your thatched cottage. There is an evening flight from EDI to Galway -- so you could fly to Galway the evening of day 7 and stay 2 nights at An Caladh Gearr. You'd have 2 full days to see Connemara and the Burren and still fly home from Shannon on day 10.
May 22nd, 2011, 10:39 PM
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The Cliffs of Moher will be uber touristy - when we went there there were bus tour buses for miles and so many people. The Burren was lovely but not particularly accessible. Both can be done in a day trip - a longish day trip from Cork.
Cork is a nice place to visit - also a couple of nice little villages around it that are easily accessible by public buses. Kinsale and Cobh are lovely day trips from Cork. If you do go to Cork there is a wonderful little pub called Tom Barrys on Barrack St - It was pleasant every time I went there (I lived in Cork for a while). Also there is an Italian restaraunt called Ristorante Rossini on Princes St. It has wonderful food - book ahead - I never saw this place empty, usually there was a line coming out the door. Ignore the decor the food is worth it
The English Market has wonderful fresh food as well.
Cork is a nice place to visit - also a couple of nice little villages around it that are easily accessible by public buses. Kinsale and Cobh are lovely day trips from Cork. If you do go to Cork there is a wonderful little pub called Tom Barrys on Barrack St - It was pleasant every time I went there (I lived in Cork for a while). Also there is an Italian restaraunt called Ristorante Rossini on Princes St. It has wonderful food - book ahead - I never saw this place empty, usually there was a line coming out the door. Ignore the decor the food is worth it
The English Market has wonderful fresh food as well.
May 23rd, 2011, 08:54 AM
#8
"<i>The Cliffs of Moher will be uber touristy - when we went there there were bus tour buses for miles and so many people. The Burren was lovely but not particularly accessible. Both can be done in a day trip - a longish day trip from Cork. </i>"
That really isn't doable. Cork > Doolin > Ballvaughan would be a 4 hour drive w/o any stops - and then there be the drive back to Cork.
That really isn't doable. Cork > Doolin > Ballvaughan would be a 4 hour drive w/o any stops - and then there be the drive back to Cork.
Jun 24th, 2011, 06:21 PM
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You will be in Edinburgh during the Festival. Do you have accommodations reserved already? If not, they will be difficult to find.
It does sound like too much travel for a person still weak from chemo. I would find one central spot in Scotland, stay there for a week or so, and do day trips by car as she felt like it. Maybe some place like St. Andrews.
It does sound like too much travel for a person still weak from chemo. I would find one central spot in Scotland, stay there for a week or so, and do day trips by car as she felt like it. Maybe some place like St. Andrews.
