billybobadilla7125

Hey guys, im are planning a trip to the UK in May next year and i need help figuring out what city should be our starting poing between MANCHESTER or LONDON?... we plan on visiting Scotland, Wales and Ireland. We want to visit cities like Dublin, Edinburgh, York, but we also want to explore London. I plan on renting a car and on using the train. What do you guys suggest? is it easier to travel to Ireland, Scotland and Wales from Manchester or should i start in London?

janisj

Welcome to Fodors. OK -- where you start really makes no difference -- once you figure out your itinerary, then you can decide where to fly in/out of.

But my first question is . . . how many weeks (months really) do you have for this trip? You have listed four countries.

Right now its impossible to give useful advice because your plan is too broad with too little detail. Are you ONLY visiting the cities you listed (London, Edinburgh, Dublin and [perhaps] Cardiff)? If so there is no reason to rent a car. Cars are a HUGE liability in any UK or Irish city. Whether you need a car at all depends on your final itinerary.

Please fill in some of the blanks . . .

billybobadilla7125

We will be in the UK for 2 weeks. The cities i mentioned are not the only cities we want to visit. Idk how much we can see in 2 weeks but we want to see at least one city in each of those countries. A place that we definitely want too see is the Isle of Skye and i believe we will need a car to get there. I was thinking if i landed in Manchester it would be easier access or closer access to Ireland, Scotland or Wales but idk, i was planning to spend at least 2 days in those countries and then i could finish my last couple of days exploring London ... Some advise would be appreciated... my itinerary is still in the initial phases...

Jean

Your list isn't possible in two weeks. I suggest you prioritize the top 3-4, maybe 5, destinations with some sights between points. Personally, I'd skip Ireland because of the time lost in transit and because the best bits (IMO) are far from Dublin. Getting to/from Skye also takes time and only makes sense if you plan to see/do other things in western Scotland. Wales is an outlier. If you haven't been to London before, I suggest you give it more time than "a couple of days." Most of the major sights in London require (or strongly recommend) advance-purchase entry tickets, and this can really impact how much you're able to see in a day.

Travel_Nerd

I am going to be a bit frank here, it is a bit hard to offer advice when, so far, you have little to no direction.

Why each country? What draws you to each of them and to the cities you have chosen? Have you done any research as to what you actually want to see in them? That is where you need to start. Get some guidebooks and read up and plan on what you want to see.

Then plot out distances between them. From there, you will need to whittle it down. And yes, you will.You have far too many cities in such a short time and seemingly just a list - almost like you're checking them off.

And, for example, while I thoroughly enjoyed Cardiff, I hesitate to understand travel to it without a reason, especially when there is much more to see in Wales outside of Cardiff. Have you considered that at all?

Once you've done some research, come back with a framework and from there we can offer additional advice. Imho, janisj (already responded) and others who likely respond our some of our experts on the UK. Definitely heed their advice.

Edit: where are you coming from? Also, is your two weeks 14 days on the ground, or does that 2 weeks include your travel to/from the UK. If the latter, then you would only have 11.5 - 12 days on the ground, even shorter time to get everything you want accomplished.

janisj

I feared you were talking about a short trip. What you have laid out is sort of like asking - I want to visit California, Washington, Arizona, and Utah and definitely want to see San Francisco or Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City plus Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park and Olympic NP . . . in two weeks. Where should we fly in to?? Where to fly in to is the least of your issues.

Okay - Is it two weeks home to home? If so, the 11 or 12 days you have is MUCH too short to see Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland -- even IF you only mean one city in each country. If you are coming from North America you may be jet lagged the first couple of days so now you're down to 10-ish productive days. Then you'll lose about half a day flying or taking trains between those major cities. So now your net sightseeing time is about 8 full days.

If you have two weeks what you should probably focus on is something like: Scotland and a few days in London - OR - 5 or 6 days in London and a week split between a couple of scenic parts of England - OR - (just) Ireland - OR - (just) Scotland - including Skye will eat up a at least 4 days by itself (most of a day to get there, most of a day to get back and two days on the island)

bilboburgler

Idk?

Travel_Nerd

Idk = "I don't know."

bilboburgler

Thanks

I wanted to offer, if you don't know, why are you offering advice, but I guess that is one dull joke.

bilboburgler

To the OP, just to support previous comments, you are coming for a tiny holiday, you need to cut your cloth accordingly

Rubicund

Everyone has just about summed it up. You are trying to cram far too much into a short(ish) length of time If Skye is a must, there's no point in going there for a one or two night stay. It's too far from anything else you want to do and needs at least three nights. You need to make some decisions based on the time you have available as janisj breaks down for you. If you can fly into Glasgow and then drive up to Skye (not immediately after you touch down-give it at least an overnight then do so. After Skye you could cut across Scotland , stop at Edinburgh for a couple of nights, drive down to York for another couple of nights and train down to London for your second week and fly home from LHR.

You can play around with your time and do Ireland then Scotland, fly into Dublin and out of Glasgow, but the pssibilities are endless.

billybobadilla7125

thank you all who replied, everyone gave me good pointers and advice,... ill make sure to do my homework and read up on the places we want to visit and from there ill lay out a framework. ill get back to you guys once i finish my itinerary if i need any help and or advice.... sometimes i get too excited about trips that i get way ahead of myself lol

billybobadilla7125

Thank you, you gave me really good ideas, i liked how you laid it out for me

Eardsteppan

My advice is don't use trains. Even if, by some miracle, they are not on strike, they will be delayed and cancelled and you probably don't want the stress

bilboburgler

welcome to Fodors

generally I would not use cars, either the road is jammed, or the too narrow, and parking the silly things that you will only use for less than 10% of the time is crazy. They have their uses, but only for special things

wasleys

In cities you do not want/need a car. Also remember in London you have to pay a daily congestion charge . Public Transport in London and Edinburgh is very good and a car is a nio brainer. York is compact and nearly everywhere you may want to visit in the city is a walkable distance.

Madam397

I would add that if you do decide to concentrate for example on travel in Scotland, are you prepared for driving on the opposite side of the road and the steering on the opposite side of the car than you are used to? We were just back from Scotland and a few extra days in London, having been there before and there wasn't anyway that we would have considered driving. We traveled entirely by train, from Glasgow to Edinburgh, from Edinburgh to London and from London for a day trip to Windsor Castle as well as back to the airport for our return flight. When we landed in Glasgow, there was an airport bus when we exited the terminal which dropped us almost outside our hotel entrance. We used public transportation in all the places we visited as well as walking- tram, bus, the underground, all so easy to use to get where you want to go.

Jean

We love driving around Scotland!! To each their own.

janisj

if one is competent driving on the right, one will be competent driving on the left, absolutely no need for a car in ant UK city, but for vast areas like much of rural Scotland, having a car is the only practical option. Sure you can do Edinburgh , Glasgow, Inverness, Ft William, and Aberdeen by public transport . . . But to see much of any of the glorious scenic bits one either needs to drive or tak a small group tour like with Rabbies.

Madam397

Not planning to argue with anyone. My husband's friend who is a very experienced traveler, driving thorughout the U.S. Canada, Europe, Africa and so on had his first accident while driving on the right in the car rental parking lot and the second accident while out and about so for us even though we are accomplished drivers, that stress wasn't worth it for us as senior citizens plus because we were traveling in October and only for two weeks, not heading to the north of Scotland, we opted for the train and did a one day tour out of Edinburgh to places like Stirling Castle, the battlefield, Dumferline Abbey and Rosslyn Chapel.