Bindery

My wife and I would like to visit England, Scotland and Ireland in late March/early April for 12 days.
We would leave from Tampa FL, thinking of flying into either London or Dublin, then coming home from the other. We would rent a car in each and drive and see the sites, staying in BnBs or hotels along the way.
We have been to London before, so we would not need more than a day or two there.
We would like to visit the Warner Bros. Harry Potter park outside London.
We enjoy visiting castles, historic sites, old churches and pubs.
I would think we would need 2 separate car rentals, one in the UK and one in Ireland.
Also would need a way to get from the UK to Ireland.
I have planned other DIY trips in Europe so I have made DIY plans before.
I would appreciate any suggestions and comments anyone would have.

bvlenci

12 days is really nowhere near enough time to see much of England, Scotland and Ireland. You could easily spend all 12 days in any one of those countries.

Maybe you should make a list of exactly what you'd like to see in each country, and then make out an itinerary, so you can see what would be possible.

There are ferries from the UK to Ireland. From Wales, you can take a ferry to the Dublin area, and from Scotland you can take a ferry to the Belfast area.

bvlenci

I sent that away too soon. I wanted to say that you can also fly from various cities in the UK to various cities in Ireland.

With so little time, maybe you should choose three base cities, one in each country, and take a few day trips from there. In that case, a car probably wouldn't be necessary.

Macross

We always fly if short on time. I have only taken the ferry once to the UK from France because we wanted to see Portsmouth. It was a pleasant trip but flying from EDI to Dublin is a short one hour flight. Get an early morning or late night flight so you don't waste most of the day. You might be able to base in London, Edinburgh and Dublin. I don't think you will see much else and you would not need a car. Public transportation is good in all three places. A day trip from Dublin to see a bit of country is possible with a tour. Wild Rover tours are very good. So much to see in all three places.

janisj

Please clarify -- 12 days total -- or 12 days on the ground (a 14 day trip)?

If 12 days total you will only have 9.5 days free which is enough for 3 nights in London (you would need 3 nights to give you 2.5 days and allow jetlag recovery and a day at WB Studio), a couple of days in Edinburgh, and a teensy bit of Scotland . . . or London Dublin and a teensy bit of Ireland.

If 14 days total (11.5 days free) you could do London and have a bit longer driving tour around a couple parts of Scotland, or the same around parts of Ireland.

Neither option is enough time for London, Scotland an Ireland

KyraS

Don't rent a car in London; you won't need it and it will be an impediment. Public transit is the way to get where you want to go in London. For day trips outside London, the train is a good option for many destinations.

You can fly or take a ferry to/from Ireland, but I don't think you have enough time to do justice to London AND Ireland AND Scotland. In fact, I'd just stay in London the entire time, or possibly just do Scotland. If London holds no appeal for you beyond the Harry Potter studios (note this is not a theme park as in Florida), and you know what Dr. Johnson says about London, then perhaps skip London this trip.

If it must be two destinations, then I'd fly into London, take the train to Edinburgh, and fly home from there (or the reverse).

janisj

>>If it must be two destinations, then I'd fly into London, take the train to Edinburgh, and fly home from there (or the reverse).<<

ditto

bilboburgler

Loads of cheap flights from Britain to Ireland and lots of airports. While I too would limit myself to only one island it is doable. Flights need to be booked 90 days out to get a good price. I'd book my car through auto-europe who is a broker to get the best contract and the best prices. Flying open jaw saves back track time so fly into London out of Belfast/Edinburgh/Dublin/Shannon.

In terms of transport I'd only book a car in Britain if I wanted to see the countryside as trains are generally better for getting about city to city. In March the countryside is still a bit dull and can be wet.

Ireland is a bit different as the train system is less well developed. It is also more likely than Britain to be wet. For this reason and this reason alone I would not visit Ireland during this visit. Save Ireland to June/July.

Advice above is all good.

Southam

www.skyscanner.com can help with European one-way budget flights. Your idea of flying into one city and out of another is efficient (I expect you know you must use a multi-destination search function.) Into one country and out of another? Not me, either, in your short time span. Some will argue that the United Kingdom should be devolved into the three (or four) countries it actually is, giving some indication of just how different the sights and experiences can be.