Combining 2 countries for 1 trip?
 

Hello,
My fiance and I have a couple of U.S. trips coming up this year and next (Hawaii for the honeymoon in Aug. and California with some friends in Feb.) and are thinking of traveling to Europe in 2006. He has been to Ireland before and I have been to France. We are definitely going to Ireland for this trip, and I would also like to do another country if possible in addition to Ireland. Maybe England, Italy, or France? Has anyone done this -- combined two countries into one trip? The flights between countries are relatively inexpensive ($119 for DUB-CDG, $220 for DUB-ROM, $79 for DUB-LHR). Any similar experiences would be appreciated! Thanks!

Absolutley. In fact, some of the most tiresome questions here on this forum are about an itinerary that involves five, six or more countries in one trip - - and the commonest advice is to pare down to TWO (or three)!

And on airlines, like ryanair.com - - or also see www.whichbudget.com - - you will find fares even a lot lower than those you cite.

Best wishes,

Rex

People often combine more than one country in Europe during one trip now that we have inexpensive airfares between many locations in Europe. Do recomend you do an open jaw to/from Europe in this case. The real question in terms of how to combine locations and or countries in one trip is how much time do you have? If you only have a week I would just do Ireland.

We have done an Ireland, Scotland, England trip, a Czech Republic and Slovakia trip, a Croatia and Slovenia trip, and just returned from a Belgium and France trip. We have also done more countries and single country trips. I think two countries is ideal -- especially if they are beside each other. Open jaw tickets really help with not having to waste time and money coming back to the beginning. We haven't always accomplished this, but often wish that we had!

Thanks for the tips so far...those websites are great, rex! We often use open jaw flights, we are doing that on both our upcoming trips to Hawaii and California. I find them to be very helpful when trying to see more than one place! Glad to hear that people do visit more than one country on a European visit. I agree that with only 1 week, we should just stick to Ireland, but I am hoping for 10-14 days. Anyone else?

beachgirl86, It depends on your traveling style. Do you enjoy being on the go? Do you want just a little taste of two countries or a more in-depth look at one? Ireland is a small country but looks are deceiving. Tiny, winding roads where you will average 35 mph. Lots of very different scenery where you will most likely make lots of photo stops. 10-14 days sounds about right for just Ireland. Even though your other country of choice may be just an hour or two away by air, by the time you drive to the airport, drop the car, check in, go through security, fly, arrive, rent another car...you have lost a full day traveling. For a whiz bang trip see two countries briefly. For a more leisurely trip see one.

Hi

Ireland to the Med is about a 2 hr flight.

There are several very cheap airlines travelling to France & Spain.

It is so cheap that many Irish come over to Languedoc for weekends.

Peter
http://tlp.netfirms.com

I have found it is better to stay in one country. The last thing you want is to be running from one treasure to the next ticking them off like finished chores.

Flying from one country to another need take no more time than you would spend going from one area to another withIN <i>one</i> country.

And it can cost less money, in many cases.

I've combined Ireland on one trip with England - but just London and a bit outside on that trip. Sort of an add-on. Thought it went pretty well to let one location be the &quot;primary&quot;, which was still Ireland, a favorite. I totally agree that Ireland can use up a few weeks just by itself. I suppose anyplace could though. It was fun to split it up that time.

But if you're flying, really, all the time overhead is in messing around with airports - waiting, getting to and from. So whether it's a one hour flight or three, I can't see that &quot;where&quot; would make much difference.

Take a look at list of budget routes from Dublin at http://www.whichbudget.com/en/cheapflights.php?from=DUB . Then see if you can get a reasonable open jaw itinerary with the two cities. Say, fly into Shannon, tour to Dublin, cheap flight on Aer Lingus to Venice, train to Rome, straight home from Rome. Or wherever.

No reason not to visit more than one country, and the travel time is a negligible factor. Some other points to consider:

Read up on Ireland before you decide. You might find that there's enough there for you to do and/or see to make that your only destination. That's especially true if you end up having 10 instead of 14 days.

I'm big on spending some time in cities and some time in the countryside during a single vacation. Consider whether it matters to you whether you're vacationing in a rural area or a city. You might decide, for example, to spend four days in London, then the rest of the time in the countryside of Ireland.

Consider whether you want some continuity of theme, of culture or history in your trip. Or do you want a big variety? Maybe you'd like to visit areas with a shared culture, like England and Ireland, or to be able to contrast the lifestyles (or the cuisine) in Ireland and Italy.

Lastly, consider what your actual travels will be. At the best, you'll have 14 days. 2 of those days will probably be your arrival and departure days. So that takes you to 12 days. Let's say 6 days in Ireland, then 6 days in (for example) Italy. There's a lot to see in Italy with only 6 days! Thinking about where you'll spend your time may help you decide where to go.

For personal input, my mom and I visited England and Ireland long ago, for about 2 weeks. We started in London for several days, then the southern part of England for a couple more, then 4 days or so in Ireland. We had a great time.

We went for a friend's wedding in Rome in March. We had an open jaw into London and out of Rome. We stayed in London a few days, then took an easy and inexpensive BMI flight to CDG, a few more days in Paris and an inexpensive flight on Volare from Orly to Rome. We used an inexpensive car service to LHR (Swiss Cottage Cars), the Air France coach from CDG, and a taxi from hotel to Orly was only 25 euros.

I also combined, London, Dublin and Paris on a fun solo trip last November using BMI and RyanAir. The key to this kind of trip is PACK LIGHT.

Go for it!! I live in an Atlanta suburb and going from one side of town to the other can be worse than going London to Paris.

From years ago, I formed the thought that the flight over and back was a major expense of any trip, so I developed the habit of trying to see as much as possible during a single trip. Flights cost relatively less now, but we still try to see three places in a three week span. I don't like to fly between destinations in Europe, however, as the train service is so good and gives you a better view of the countryside. Also, the train stations seem much more convenient than the airports; by the time you add up getting to the airport, getting through security, the flight time, and getting from the airport to where you want to go, the train trip is often faster, and certainly more comfortable. Open-jaw airline tickets, where you fly to one destination and return from another, make it very easy to see multiple sites without wasting time returning to your original arrival point. Of course, I've never been to Ireland, so I don't know about transport from there to anywhere else.

Just for point of reference we spent 14 days driving around southern Ireland and there are several things we would still like to see. Then we spent another 7 days stranded in Dublin as we were due to fly out on 9/12 - yet we were never bored. The person who advised reading heavily about where you plant to travel gave sound advice. You don't say where you are flying from. If you have to fly into Heathrow anyway (for instance) you could use a few of your days to drive the countryside out of London. Or, if you're really in a Celtic mood, take the ferry from Ireland over to Scotland or Wales.