DH just won 2 business class tickets to London to be used by June!
 

To my fellow travelers,
I've only been to London although DH was born there. With these tickets we are now planning a trip. You were all so great with all my other trips, I am now asking for more advice.

We will want to spend at least 3 days in the London area. We have family who we can stay with in London. We then want to get out. My first inclination is to do the British Isles. Since we don't have 28 days, I need to be realistic. I may be able to squeeze 17 days total out of the trip. We are looking to go around Memorial Day.

I loved theCanadian mairitimes and have always wanted to see Scotland. I hear Ireland is great too. Should we just stick to the English countryside and Scotland? Will about 2 weeks be enough?

At this point, I don't even know where to start. We will be on a budget, so we will drive and do B and B's where we can.

I know the routine....I need to focus, but it's come up so suddenly and with the $$$, I want to be able to get a bang for my buck.

Thanks to all of you in advance,

I don't want to throw more options into the mix, but I guess I will anyway!

Easyjet and I think some other low cost carriers (Ryanair maybe?) fly out of London. So basically you have all of Europe open to you. Where haven't you been that you really want to see?

I would go on the the Easyjet and Ryanair websites and see where they fly.

Congratulations - wonderful luck

How cool is that??? Congratulations!

With 17 days, I would definitely add Scotland to the mix--at least Edinburgh, which is a 4.5 hr train ride from London.

Since you've only been to London, I'd also take the Eurostar to Paris for a few days. It will give you another flavor of Europe.

Keep us up on your plans--sounds wonderful!

Scotland is incredibly beautiful. Are you golfers ? I loved the Highlands, the Isle of Skye...

Look at a calendar and see if any major events going on during your time. Avoid those areas then, since prices of B&B's will be higher.

Wales is pretty awesome too

I would certainly advise at least several days in Scotland and late May early June is an ideal time to visit (before the main hoilidays and the very busy main tourist season)This link will help you plan your trip in Scotland.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g1....Scotland.html

This past June/July we took the MIL (82, handicapped),SIL to London/Ireland/SW England for a 14 day trip.

Day 1,2,3 London

Day 4 Ryanair Gatwick to Dublin, drove over to Trim for the night.

Day 5 Drove around MIL ancestor's home in Castlepollard then down to our rental cottage near the Shannon.

Day 6, just hung out at the cottage and relaxed

Day 7,8,9,10, did ROK, Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty banquet, drove around Kerry area.

Day 11, Ryanair from Shannon to Bristol, drove to cottage near Chippenham.

Day 12, 13, 14 did Bath, Stonehenge, Avebury and Bourton-on-water, ending up at B&B near Gatwick.

Day 15 flew home.

The cottage in Ireland was fantastic, Hazel Cottage and the price was amazing.

Yes, in May/June it will be a little colder than when we went, but we have also done an Edinburgh/Bath/London 10 day driving trip in April and loved it.

Given the OP's interests, I say stick to England and Scotland. London definitely deserves more than 3 days. And it's the best place to get over jetlag.

17 days is not a long time. You need to get some guidebooks (at the library?) or picture books to get an idea of where exactly you want to visit. If you like stately manors, gardens, etc, buy the Great British Heritage Pass. It gives you admission to hundreds of sites.

Rental cars, especially ones with automatic transmission, are expensive. You might want to speed things up with a one-way train trip to or from Scotland. But buy the train tickets early. Big savings that way.

May is a very good time to go. Better weather then, longer days, and you'll see the beautiful British countryside at its springtime best.

Finally, the only other option I'd consider is a short trip to Paris via the Eurostar. But again, in order to save money, buy your tickets early.

We did 16 nights in the UK--7 in London, 9 in Scotland--in 2007. You can check out my trip report by clicking on my name, if you are interested.

If you're going to be in London in that timeframe, and have some friends who can help you with the logistics, one thing I would suggest doing is trying to go to one of the dress rehearsals for Trooping the Colour (the actual ceremony is the 2nd Saturday in June, but dress rehearsals are held the preceeding two Saturdays). There are some hoops to jump through to get tickets, but it's well worth the trouble.

Stick with England and Scotland. You'll find plenty to do/see. I would extend your time in London and plan on doing a couple of day trips from there.

If going to Scotland, it'd best be done by train as your time is limited. It would also be cheaper than renting a car. Flying to Edinburgh or Glasgow is a possibility,however I generally find it more of a hassel than going by train, and the time is about the same. But do look into airfares for
Edinburgh/Glasgow.

Once in Scotland you can get to the Isles ( which ones are you interested in?) fairly easily but will be limited by the train routes.

As suggested you could to the Eurostar to Paris for a few days, but don't try to include Paris if you plan on Scotland. There's a tendency for people to overload their itineraries. Keep it reasonable and you'll have a much better trip.

teach905 - You could approach this trip from a completely different angle and find the freedom of the open road and destination!
My trip report on our May 2008 visit to the British Isles could be of some use to your planning.

Click on my name and your will find:
"Beautiful Britain - Our Spring Fling through England, Scotland & Wales"

I also did a report on our 2 days in London which can be found on the same link.

What great responses so far. We spent 10 days in Paris in April of this year. I have only been to London in the UK. DH has family there, and there is very little siteseeing left to do. I think I want to see the war rooms...I missed that on previous trips. Other than that, it will be visiting some family and friends. I like the idea of Scotland. DH won the tickets at a golf tournament. I would say he won, wouldn't you?

Keep the suggestions coming!!Thanks!!!

With a golfing interest,how about a trip to Edinburgh and out to St. Andrews and the East Neuk. Or you could do Royal Troon & Turnberry in Ayreshire ( close to Glasgow which is also a good stopover for a few days) and perhaps get in a quick trip to Arran which would give you a bit of the Highlands/Isles feel.

Ayreshire has a lot to offer so don't dismiss it too quickly.