Advice on Bristol, Dublin, Galway, Donegal, Dingle, Edinburgh, Manchester?
Jan 12th, 2014, 08:16 PM
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Advice on Bristol, Dublin, Galway, Donegal, Dingle, Edinburgh, Manchester?
Hello all!
I need advice!
Two of my friends and I (ages 24-28) are planning a trip to the UK this June (2014). We have 3.5 weeks to travel around (not including flights from the US). Any advice you have on things to do/see or restaurants/specific foods to try or B+Bs/hostels to stay at would be much appreciated. I have been reading forums/blogs about these places, but I am now posting here to get advice about our planned itinerary and any other advice you might have regarding restaurants/B+Bs/etc. As background on us, we are interested in meeting people, eating local foods, seeing the landscapes, learning about the history, and seeing some shows in London. We do not drink/go to clubs. We are just interested in experiencing the culture, seeing and learning a lot, and having a good visit. Budget is about $3500 (excluding airfare to Europe).
So, our planned itinerary is as follows:
Fly into Bristol. Stay 2 nights (visit Cardiff while there).
Fly from Bristol to Dublin via Ryanair. Stay 2 nights.
Rent a car, drive from Dublin to Galway/Cliffs of Moher/Aran islands. 2-3 nights.
Drive from Galway to either Dingle (2 nights) or Donegal (2 nights).
Drive from either Dingle/Donegal to Dublin. Return rental car.
Fly via Ryanair from Dublin to Edinburgh. 2 nights.
Train down from Edinburgh to Manchester. 1 night.
(visit Liverpool if there is time)
Rent car, drive from Manchester to Keswick. 2 nights.
Drive back to Manchester, take train down to London.
London, 6 nights.
Train from London to Paris.
Paris, 4 nights.
Is this itinerary too rushed? Are there any cities we should see that I did not include but are sort of along the way of this proposed route? Any places on here that you do not recommend? If we had to cut out either Bristol or Edinburgh, which would you suggest skipping? And, any opinions on Donegal vs Dingle?
Also, as I mentioned above, any advice about places to stay/restaurants to try would be great. And, does anyone know of special events/festivals happening in any of these places during June?
I’ve gotten a pretty good idea about the trains/car rentals/flights from what I’ve read online, but any advice on that would be appreciated as well.
I know this is a lot to ask – I appreciate your help, time and advice! Thank you.
-LMC
I need advice!
Two of my friends and I (ages 24-28) are planning a trip to the UK this June (2014). We have 3.5 weeks to travel around (not including flights from the US). Any advice you have on things to do/see or restaurants/specific foods to try or B+Bs/hostels to stay at would be much appreciated. I have been reading forums/blogs about these places, but I am now posting here to get advice about our planned itinerary and any other advice you might have regarding restaurants/B+Bs/etc. As background on us, we are interested in meeting people, eating local foods, seeing the landscapes, learning about the history, and seeing some shows in London. We do not drink/go to clubs. We are just interested in experiencing the culture, seeing and learning a lot, and having a good visit. Budget is about $3500 (excluding airfare to Europe).
So, our planned itinerary is as follows:
Fly into Bristol. Stay 2 nights (visit Cardiff while there).
Fly from Bristol to Dublin via Ryanair. Stay 2 nights.
Rent a car, drive from Dublin to Galway/Cliffs of Moher/Aran islands. 2-3 nights.
Drive from Galway to either Dingle (2 nights) or Donegal (2 nights).
Drive from either Dingle/Donegal to Dublin. Return rental car.
Fly via Ryanair from Dublin to Edinburgh. 2 nights.
Train down from Edinburgh to Manchester. 1 night.
(visit Liverpool if there is time)
Rent car, drive from Manchester to Keswick. 2 nights.
Drive back to Manchester, take train down to London.
London, 6 nights.
Train from London to Paris.
Paris, 4 nights.
Is this itinerary too rushed? Are there any cities we should see that I did not include but are sort of along the way of this proposed route? Any places on here that you do not recommend? If we had to cut out either Bristol or Edinburgh, which would you suggest skipping? And, any opinions on Donegal vs Dingle?
Also, as I mentioned above, any advice about places to stay/restaurants to try would be great. And, does anyone know of special events/festivals happening in any of these places during June?
I’ve gotten a pretty good idea about the trains/car rentals/flights from what I’ve read online, but any advice on that would be appreciated as well.
I know this is a lot to ask – I appreciate your help, time and advice! Thank you.
-LMC
Jan 13th, 2014, 12:53 AM
#2
"Fly via Ryanair from Dublin to Edinburgh. 2 nights.
Train down from Edinburgh to Manchester. 1 night.
(visit Liverpool if there is time)
Rent car, drive from Manchester to Keswick. 2 nights.
Drive back to Manchester, take train down to London.
Once in Edinburgh, it's pointless training to Manchester, by-passing Keswick, then driving North again then back to Manchester.
Hire a car in Edinburgh, drive to Keswick then Manchester. Hand back car, then train to London. You need at least two nights in Manchester to see the city, which is full of history back to Roman times and I'm not sure what would keep you in Keswick for a night. Maybe just call it a stop on the way to Manchester. You really don't have time to go across to Liverpool. If you want recommendations for restaurants, hotels and things to do in Manchester, just ask.
Train down from Edinburgh to Manchester. 1 night.
(visit Liverpool if there is time)
Rent car, drive from Manchester to Keswick. 2 nights.
Drive back to Manchester, take train down to London.
Once in Edinburgh, it's pointless training to Manchester, by-passing Keswick, then driving North again then back to Manchester.
Hire a car in Edinburgh, drive to Keswick then Manchester. Hand back car, then train to London. You need at least two nights in Manchester to see the city, which is full of history back to Roman times and I'm not sure what would keep you in Keswick for a night. Maybe just call it a stop on the way to Manchester. You really don't have time to go across to Liverpool. If you want recommendations for restaurants, hotels and things to do in Manchester, just ask.
Jan 13th, 2014, 02:40 AM
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Im not a great fan of either Manchester or Liverpool (despite living near the former), but Rubicund is right (if you are determined to see Manchester) see Keswick on the way down. Unless youve done York before, I would do Edinburgh - Keswick - York - London.
Jan 13th, 2014, 08:43 AM
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I'd skip the Bristol/Cardiff portion of your trip and fly directly to Dublin. This will give you a couple of extra days that you might enjoy using to drive to Belfast, the Antrim Coast and the Giant's Causeway before going to Galway. It should also be a cheaper option for you as it will eliminate one flight (Bristol-Dublin) and flying to Dublin should also be cheaper than flying to Bristol.
If you want to stay in hostels (which my young adult children have done many times in Europe), then look at Hostelworld.com. (They found the reviews on Hostelworld a great way to avoid the "party central" hostels.) If you want to stay in B&B's, then look at the reviews for B&Bs on Trip Advisor in the towns you are planning to stay.
If you want to stay in hostels (which my young adult children have done many times in Europe), then look at Hostelworld.com. (They found the reviews on Hostelworld a great way to avoid the "party central" hostels.) If you want to stay in B&B's, then look at the reviews for B&Bs on Trip Advisor in the towns you are planning to stay.
Jan 31st, 2014, 06:52 PM
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Hello everyone,
Thank you for all the feedback! It was helpful, and helped us to replan our trip a bit. I’ve been reworking things, and changed the nights to days to get a better idea of how much time we'd actually have in each city. Anyways, I wanted to give a complete update on our planned itinerary for future posters or further feedback, which is why it’s taken me so long to say thank you.
Anyway we’ve decided to fly into Shannon instead of Bristol (Bristol was originally the cheapest fare I could find, then it went up and now Shannon is a LOT better…)
Then rent/hire a car to go up to Galway for 2.5 days – spend 1 day on Aran islands
Drive to Dingle for 2.5 days, drive by Cliffs of Moher on the way down
Drive to Dublin, where we will return the rental car and stay for 3.5 days.
Fly to Edinburgh and stay for 2.5 days
Rent/hire a car and down to Windermere instead of Keswick, possibly stopping outside of Carlisle to see Hadrian’s wall, and stay for 2.5 days, do some hiking, etc.
Drive to Liverpool instead of Manchester, return rental car, and spend 2.5 days there. (Rubicund and stevelyon, you were right about it not making sense to go from Edinburgh to Manchester then up to Keswick - thanks).
Train or bus to London, stay for 7 days (this is taking into account the half days required for travel), fly out of Heathrow.
We decided to cut out Bristol, Manchester and Paris out trip (sadly), it was just a little too much for us. And I wish we had time/funds to see more of Scotland! My dad lived there for two years and loved it... That being said, we are considering adding a few days to go from Dublin to Belfast, then to Edinburgh. We also increased our budget to what I think/hope is a liberal $4200 (about 2500 pounds, 3100 euros).
For driving times, I’ve added about an hour to whatever googlemaps said… hopefully that will account for getting lost/slow traffic/winding roads/detours/etc. We’re also going to rent a GPS.
And that’s the plan! Any other feedback about this new itinerary would be great. Thanks again for all the previous help!
Lisa
Thank you for all the feedback! It was helpful, and helped us to replan our trip a bit. I’ve been reworking things, and changed the nights to days to get a better idea of how much time we'd actually have in each city. Anyways, I wanted to give a complete update on our planned itinerary for future posters or further feedback, which is why it’s taken me so long to say thank you.
Anyway we’ve decided to fly into Shannon instead of Bristol (Bristol was originally the cheapest fare I could find, then it went up and now Shannon is a LOT better…)
Then rent/hire a car to go up to Galway for 2.5 days – spend 1 day on Aran islands
Drive to Dingle for 2.5 days, drive by Cliffs of Moher on the way down
Drive to Dublin, where we will return the rental car and stay for 3.5 days.
Fly to Edinburgh and stay for 2.5 days
Rent/hire a car and down to Windermere instead of Keswick, possibly stopping outside of Carlisle to see Hadrian’s wall, and stay for 2.5 days, do some hiking, etc.
Drive to Liverpool instead of Manchester, return rental car, and spend 2.5 days there. (Rubicund and stevelyon, you were right about it not making sense to go from Edinburgh to Manchester then up to Keswick - thanks).
Train or bus to London, stay for 7 days (this is taking into account the half days required for travel), fly out of Heathrow.
We decided to cut out Bristol, Manchester and Paris out trip (sadly), it was just a little too much for us. And I wish we had time/funds to see more of Scotland! My dad lived there for two years and loved it... That being said, we are considering adding a few days to go from Dublin to Belfast, then to Edinburgh. We also increased our budget to what I think/hope is a liberal $4200 (about 2500 pounds, 3100 euros).
For driving times, I’ve added about an hour to whatever googlemaps said… hopefully that will account for getting lost/slow traffic/winding roads/detours/etc. We’re also going to rent a GPS.
And that’s the plan! Any other feedback about this new itinerary would be great. Thanks again for all the previous help!
Lisa
Jan 31st, 2014, 09:03 PM
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Just a couple of ideas for the Ireland portion of your trip:
1. Consider overnighting on Inishmore. It gives you a chance to experience the island after the day-trippers have gone. We had an excellent meal at Ti Watty's Pub with the locals on the night we spent there. Also, by staying overnight, you can get a headstart on your sightseeing the next day and probably avoid a lot of the day-trippers by being "ahead of the pack" (we sure did). Renting bikes is a fun way to see the island. Aran Island Ferries has special overnight package deals.
2. If you want to save some money and avoid some crowds, consider seeing the cliffs at Kilkee and/or Loop Head (both free) as opposed to the Cliffs of Moher. That's what we did and we had a great time on the cliff walk at Kilkee. We passed 3 moms with strollers at the beginning of the walk and then had the rest of it all to ourselves!
3. While I know GPS is a way of life with most people your age, you can actually navigate Ireland with a map and some print-outs from Google Maps and save yourself the cost of renting a GPS. If you do get turned around at some point, just ask for directions--that's half the fun of traveling in Ireland!
1. Consider overnighting on Inishmore. It gives you a chance to experience the island after the day-trippers have gone. We had an excellent meal at Ti Watty's Pub with the locals on the night we spent there. Also, by staying overnight, you can get a headstart on your sightseeing the next day and probably avoid a lot of the day-trippers by being "ahead of the pack" (we sure did). Renting bikes is a fun way to see the island. Aran Island Ferries has special overnight package deals.
2. If you want to save some money and avoid some crowds, consider seeing the cliffs at Kilkee and/or Loop Head (both free) as opposed to the Cliffs of Moher. That's what we did and we had a great time on the cliff walk at Kilkee. We passed 3 moms with strollers at the beginning of the walk and then had the rest of it all to ourselves!
3. While I know GPS is a way of life with most people your age, you can actually navigate Ireland with a map and some print-outs from Google Maps and save yourself the cost of renting a GPS. If you do get turned around at some point, just ask for directions--that's half the fun of traveling in Ireland!
