Sharon

Mr.& Mrs.are planning 3 week mid-May trip to England/Scotland/Ireland. Need HELP! Have travel books/literature to plan day to day stuff, but still missing the essentials... getting there & back and routes to take. Can anyone tell me if it's feasible, financially or otherwise, to fly into London (which one,Gatwick? Heathrow?)and out of Shannon? We'd like to travel from London to Scotland, to Ireland & out of Shannon. Also, HOW TO FIND a travel agent who's reputable & genuinely interested in helping find best deals for our wishes, needs, budget?

wes fowler

Sharon, <BR>Whether you fly to Heathrow or Gatwick is dictated by the airline you're flying on; Delta to Gatwick, British Air to Heathrow for example. You can get to London from Gatwick in about half an hour; half that from Heathrow. Once in Britain how do you plan to travel? Auto? Train? Combination of both? Are you planning on staying in hotels or B&Bs? A travel agent can help you with hotels since agent's commissions may be involved, but will be of little help with B&Bs. Give us some more info so our advice will be more useful and meaningful.

Sheila

Can't help with the macro stuff, but if you want assistance with planning what to do when you get here, let us know

FrankR

You can fly cheaply from Scotland to Ireland with Ryanair (Prestwick to Dublin), or sail on the Seacat to Belfast.(seacat is the fast ferry) <BR> Some flights from London to the US stop at Shannon (I think) so you might be able to board there.Failing that you can probably get a cheap flight from Ireland to London.Another cheap airline is Easyjet.

John

Hi, Sharon, <BR>Any travel agent can arrange an "open jaw" itinerary, where you fly into one airport and home from another, responsible for your own travel between the two. It's cheaper if the same airline serves both airports, which I don't think is that easy with Shannon and the London airports. Otherwise you may find it cheaper to fly back to the original arrival airport for departure. I checked on Expedia, for example, and for a routing from NYC to London, then departing from Shannon, the fare was $50 cheaper by flying from Shannon back to London, then over the water, than it was straight from Shannon to NYC. Two or three hours longer, of course. <BR>For travel between Britain and Ireland, there's a Gorgon's knot of flight or ferry options - better you have a desired itinerary first, then you can plot your connections, none of which are especially difficult.

Deirdre

Hi Sharon! <BR>As a former employee of a huge travel agency here in Seattle, I recommend you just sit down and call a few places. If I were in your shoes I'd try to find a large agency with a leisure travel department. They should have an Anglophile on staff that will have useful information and interest in what you are doing. Or show up in person to a couple agencies and ask for brochures-keep an eye out to see who pays the best attention to what you are really looking for. <BR>These days anyone can book a flight, but a GOOD travel agent is a very vauluable resource. <BR>

elvira

Finding a travel agent is like finding a doctor or hairdresser: ask others for recommendations (if you work, does your company have an agent they use? A neighbor that recently took the kids to DisneWorld?). If no one comes to mind, then look for a company that is a member of ASTA and call. Explain what you need; some agents are cruise experts, others know Europe railways like the back of their hand. Find the agency and agent that can help YOU. Be sure to ask what fees they charge (since the airlines have cut the fees to travel agents, the agencies have had to assess fees on their services). <BR>Last, but not least, you can do your own searches for airfares through sites such as travelocity, preview travel, etc. <BR>If you have a map of the British Isles, you can draw your itinerary to determine from where you want to depart in order to arrive where you want.

Karen

On our first trip to the Uk, we, also, felt like "country bumpkins", but after many trips, these are my suggestions. If you are going into London, fly into either airport, although we have found Gatwick to be much more tourist friendly. After four or five days in London, out to Gatwick again and pick up your rental car. We always choose a company that will drive you away from the terminal to their agency. That way, you are out in the country while you experience the "wrong side" of the road from the "wrong side" of the car. Personally, I would never make reservations, except in big cities. Especially in mid-May, you will have no trouble finding all sorts of B&Bs of all sizes, quality and prices. If you make reservations you are going to pass many great places while you are trying to find the place you have committed reservations. I would head out to the Cotswolds for 2-3 days, head up to the Lake District for 2-3 days, go across to the York area for 2 days and on up to Scotland. I would drive around Scotland for 3-4 days and go on into Edinburgh for 3 days and drop off the car and fly to Ireland. This brief route would take you just into the essentials, which is all you are going to have time for, unless you skip Ireland till later.

julie

Don't know where you live, but we are in Seattle and when needing help in Britain, we use "Elsie from England" here in Seattle. She is a native of England and very helpful to us, finding good hotels, B&B's, etc. You can find her on the web, if you choose, or someone local to you who is from there.

Isabelle

I would determine which London airport by which hotel I was planning on staying at in London. The air bus that used to go to Victoria Station is no longer in service so if you are staying anywhere below Hyde Park you will need to take a cab either from the airport or from the closest airbus stop. I found it very inconvient . The Gatwick express goes into Victoria station. I go to England every year and have used both airports and have flown from Dublin to Gatwick on BA.

Mary

Years ago I did a similar trip, but over 4 weeks. I got a rail pass for England and Scotland, then ferried to Ireland on the Sealink. In Ireland, I used buses and trains (not recommended for Ireland; it really limits you). I have to say that, overall, I was sorry I tried to fit so much in; it seemed like most places passed by too quickly. The suggestion above to fly to Ireland from the UK is a good one, for you'll save time. (The Sealink was great, but, at least then, took rail travel through Wales to reach.) Get out your phone book and start calling agents. See how they respond to your questions, and use your judgment from there. As a last word, I really would consider the following question: Do you want to be constantly on the move, or stop and see places in some depth? If you want something more leisurely, I'd limit the trip the England and Scotland, and go to Ireland another time. (Or vice versa.)

Jo Ann

Sharon, <BR>We 2 retirees took our first trip to UK last Sept and planned our entire trip with British Tourist Authority packet, Internet,etc. without travel agent. <BR>We did get the BritRail passes ( l week for trains, l week while in London for underground and buses, l week with rental car which was a "package deal" and , we think, at good prices as well as offering varied transportation. We surely were glad we opted not to rent a car in London!!! Rural areas are OK, but one must really think, "keep left"!! Don't skip Wales; we loved it. We stayed 3 days in Fishguard on S coast where tours leave for Ireland. We stayed at Manor House on Main St in that small fishing village. Had a top floor room with lovely view. Hosts are Davises and she is a gourmet cook. She prepares wonderful meals in the small restuarant downstairs. Prices were reasonable and it was one of the best B & B's we stayed in. We explored via town bus systems towns along S coast of Wales at a leisurely pace and were impressed with the friendly people. We too are country bumpkins from small mtn. town in Appalachia, so this area suited us to a tee and would recommend it as an R & R stop in the middle of your trip as we did. We took the train from Scotland down to Fishguard which was a long trip, but since the boats leave there for Ireland, there are at least a couple of trains per day. <BR> <BR>If you're interested, I can give you specifics like addresses, etc. and places to see. Manor House B & B do not have a website nor e-mail, but I corresponded and booked via mail several months ahead. <BR> <BR>We stayed in a lovely B & B in Edinburgh called Ellesmere House located on the oldest public golf course in the world. It was a long walk, but pleasant one through a park and reasonable. We had a lovely downstairs "front room" with the nicest bath we found (even wash cloths furnished !) I think you can get reservations there through SmoothHounds ( similar to our AAA, I guess) which has listings of B & B's, hotels, etc. all over UK. Some of them even have pictures of rooms, houses and rates as well as maps to get there in the boondocks locations. <BR> <BR>Good luck; enjoy planning your trip; with the internet and Fodor's, it's fun to "do it yourself" I think. <BR> <BR>Jo Ann <BR> <BR>

Donna

Hi, Sharon: You have been getting some excellent advice here. May I just offer some concise thoughts? <BR> <BR>Fly into London Heathrow on American and take a taxi to your hotel. Use public transportation during your stay in London. Stay 5 days there: see the Tower of London, get tickets to Phantom of the Opera, take a double decker tour of the City, tour Westminster, spend an afternoon at Harrods, do a couple of half-day walking trips. Relax and don't try to do it all. Don't mess with a car. <BR> <BR>Then take the train to Edinburgh. Stay a night, then train your way to two other locations in Scotland: Aberdeen area, then over to Isle of Skye. Don't mess with a car. <BR> <BR>Then take a ferry to Ireland. Ireland is where you want to rent a car. Plan your Ireland trip to go from Dublin driving across to the West Coast by Clare. Try not to make Dublin the first city you drive through . . . . get your driving practice out on the open roads. <BR>I'd recommend the Kinnitty castle in Birr, Offaly as one night, then work your way to Adare to stay at Adare Manor, then take the car ferry across the Shannon and work your way up the West Coast to Clare, stay at any B&B there, then through the Burren, up to Galway and Cong, stay at Ashford Castle, then work your way down to Shannon, turning in the rental car at Shannon airport and fly out of there. <BR> <BR>Make the travel arrangements as simple and thorough as possible, before you leave, so you can relax and enjoy your trip while you are there. <BR> <BR>Our very best wishes for a wonderful trip. Donna

Ellen

To find a travel agent who is a specialist in the country you want to visit and one who would be located near you, call the tourist boards for the regions, i.e. the Irish Tourist Board ((800) 223-6470 in the US) has travel agents called "Shamrock Club Members" who have passed a test as experts in Ireland, Scotland has Scotsagents, and Britain, Britagents.