Never known Irish sea ferries cancelled in July or August (Even the Swift).. being in Glasgow/Edinburgh the same day as landing in Dublin is the same whether you fly or sail.. just a more relaxed way of getting there with no baggage charges and less hassle..

Been there done that..more than once.

Tony: Huge difference, you are starting from ireland. the OP will have already flown over night to get to DUB.

Land a DUB, walk to a different gate, get on plane, land at EDI (preferable) or GLA. Easy peasy.

vs.

Land at DUB , bus to Belfast and port, 6.5 hours to Edinburgh. Really REALLY rough first day.

Thanks for all those answers. There's a good price on aflight that last until tonight (4 hours left !) for 800$(canadian)I can go to Glasgow from Montreal then flight back To Montreal from Dublin.

I Guess I can make the contrary (arrive In Dublin and flight back from Glasgow). Seems that we can put 28 days into that trip. 26 days are remaining for travel in both country.

I'm relaly on merge of buying that fly, but iM still hesitatnt to go there or Spoain or Italy...decisions, decisions...

Tony 2phones; what's the point of arriving In dubling, go right away to Scotland and then come back to Ireland ?

Apologies for not reading your question properly.

>>There's a good price on aflight that last until tonight (4 hours left !) for 800$(canadian)I can go to Glasgow from Montreal then flight back To Montreal from Dublin. <<

I'd book that for sure. And I'd leave it in that order. Canada to Scotland to Ireland to Canada makes terrific itinerary. You'd be in Ireland before the craziest crowds descend on Edinburgh.

Thnaks to all of you, it's relaly helpfull.

The flight is booked. There was not so many dates still avaible at 800$ (791 to be precise) and after making some calculation we decide to take 24 days.Leaving Montreal july 20 and returning august 12. I would have prefer to get for july only (something like 6 to 29) but it was more expensive.

Will read a bit but for now we plan to rent a car In Scotland. Since we flight in Glasgow mays be we can saty 2-3 days there, take bus (or train) to go to to Edinburgh (2-3 days ) and then rent a car for making Highlands (7-9 days)and then leave the car at Glasgow and take the plane frome there to Dublin (or Belfast?)

I've read that the first monday of august (august 3) is a public holiday In Ireland and Scotland. Does it means that i must not travel (or anything else that I should be advice about this date ) on that week-end ? Because 12-15 days in Scotland will get us to that exact week-end.

It looks that lodging is pricier than what we tought....I've jump on the flight deal without checking that first ( dumb I know...)

>>It looks that lodging is pricier than what we tought….<<

OK - where and what rates are you finding? Edinburgh will be more expensive than many places, but there are very inexpensive B&Bs almost everywhere else in both countries.

Since we have kids with many b&b are no go (not enough beds)and self catering is for 7 days minimum stay.

Can you show good websites to have an idea of those cheap b&b you are talking about ?

For 14-16 days in scotland where do you suggest us to go ? With kuds we like to stay at the same place for 3-4 days and make day trip from there

tostaky: If we are going to help we need more info . . . Where have you looked, and what is your budget?

>>Since we have kids with many b&b are no go (not enough beds)<<

That simply is not true. MANY B&Bs have family rooms that sleep two adults and 1 or 2 children. Now <i>some</i> B&Bs do have an age limit and don't accept very young children. But MANY also have family rooms.

I guess you know it better than me and you've been very helpfull up to now ! Do you have any idea for the daily accomodation budget we should plan ?

In Edinburgh we stayed at the Richmond place apartments. They were inexpensive and had no minimum stay. They weren't fancy but they were in a good location and had a small kitchen. There was a laundry room on the premises.

I would wait a while before booking the lodging. Many places have discounts if they see that bookings are running below average. It's too early for that now. I would start looking at prices in March, and check frequently after that. I use www.booking.com to find lodging.

I don't know how much reservation have to be make in advance. I Guess that since I won't be In Edinburgh for the military tatoo I could, like you have suggest, wait to rent something

I would not wait too long. While the Festival and Tattoo are in August, July is still pretty busy in Edinburgh. I'd try to get something booked in the city by sometime this winter -- December or January at least.

As for a reasonable budget for B&Bs elsewhere - count on about £75 to £100 per family room per night. Sometimes a little more or a little less.

Plus there are some terrific hostels in various parts of the country. Just depends on where you want to go.

In Edinburgh - if you can't find an apartment/self catering you could try http://www.53frederickstreet.com/index.html Though its rates increase £40 - £50 for summer bookings.

Have you thought about Travelodge or Premier Inns? These have large en suite family rooms which can sleep two children. You just pay for the room. Booked well in advance it is possible to pick up some really great rates if you pay up front. Take up their insurance deal, just in case you have to cancel.

Oh yes, I should have thought of travelodge and premier inn. Especially in Edinburgh Travelodge is fantastic for a family. There are several in the central area and would be by far the cheapest option. . . . If you book far ahead and pre-pay you can often get a fantastic bargain - like £35 to £50 for a family room. No charm, but clean, modern rooms