Britain and Ireland
 

My husband and I are planning a trip to Scotland and Ireland and probably London in June or July of 2005. Could someone please help me with "must see" places we should see. I have a choice of several tours also. Could you suggest any tour that covers a great deal in 14-19 days?

There are several strong biases here among many of the "regulars".

1. In most cases, you can get more of the exact trip you want for a better price if you do not go on a (commercial) "tour".

2. There is no more a list of "must sees" in these three diverse destinations than there is where you live. But tell us what part of the world you live in, and what would be your list of "must sees" there (or substitute any travel destination you really like), and perhaps "we" can suggest things that seem to match your likes and interests.

3. Books are the place to start when you are at such an early stage, trying to make up your list of dream destinations. The biggest, most picture-filled, coffee-table size books are the best for getting the "fever". Get thee hence to the biggest public library or bookstore near you. Logistics, lodging, and practical aspects on stringing your destinations together can come once you have your wanna-see list(s).

Best wishes,

Rex Bickers
Floyds Knobs, Indiana

Westminster - I agree with Rex's comments. You need to research, read books, etc, and then decide what "do you" want to see. Don't do a coach tour, you only get spoon fed on those trips, and the passengers never really have enough time to see the attractions, eg. I spent the day in Bath, where coach tours spend a lot less.
I found on my first trip to Britain, that we purchased a month long, Heritage Pass, and we visited soooo many castles, gardens, etc, that we had "information overload". We raced around Britain trying to see as much as we could. On our 2nd trip, we slowed down, only saw a few castles, so we started to smell the roses, talk to the locals, and concentrated more on various regions, rather than trying to see everything. Our last trip (5th trip - we have a son living in London, hence the reason for visiting Britain so often), we tended to only visit the National Parks, and do what we like best, walking.
As for England - the 3 national parks abreast of one another, ie. lakes district, yorkshire dales, and north york moors, would have to be best areas to visit in all of Britain. Having visited Edinburgh many times (again relatives living there), I much prefer the Scottish countryside, the Highlands, the west coast islands, Mull, Skye, etc.
As you can see we both enjoy, the quiet rural countryside and quaint villages of Britain, as opposed to busy cities.
We still have memories of eating/drinking in a village Inn at a place called St.Neots in Bodmin Moors. The fires were burning in the pub, one dog hogged the fireplace, good conversation with the locals, nice dinner, fast flowing stream near the pub going under an old packhorse bridge, and to top it off, the church nearby was practising "Bell ringing", and not one other tourist in sight. This village was well off the tourist beaten track. So as you can imagine, having a rental car, and getting out there & exploring, the little out of the way places, can have their magic moments.
PS - the same goes for Ireland (My favourite pub is Vaughans Pub in the little village of Kilfenora, up near The Burren.

Bringing your message back up "to the top" since it's your first message ever here (on the Europe forum)...

Welcome.

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