I am visiting Cardiff and Edinburgh in September for the Rugby World Cup and I have never been outside the U.S. Can someone please advise me, as I have many questions. Please don't laugh
1. First, is it feasible and practical to drive between the two places and how long would it take by car as opposed to other modes of transportation?
2. How much should I look to spend on food per day in both places? Also pubs?
3. Any suggestions as to what I ABSOLUTELY must do while in Edinburgh or Cardiff?

Thanks in advance for any help you may give me
Veronica

I forgot a few.
What is the policy on gratuity for services
Also, is there anything that I absolutely must not do? I dont want to leave as a hated woman

Hi Mona,

1. No it is not feasible to drive between Edinburgh and Cardiff. But you can get cheap flights to via http://www.bmibaby.com
I just checked and flights in September are currently £2.99 plus tax !
Distance by road is about 380 miles and that would be 7 hours if your lucky.
You can travel by train as well I suppose but that would be several hours too, maybe someone can help with that.
2. I can't speak for Edingburgh, but Cardiff is reasonably cheap to eat, but it does depend what you like. The restaurants here are pretty much the same as anywhere. Pubs offer the best value and the city center is full of them, there are supermarkets that sell salad meals and stuff like that too. So I reckon a pub meal will set you back around £5 or £6, of course other resaurants will be more, but its probably the same as where you live. If your really really desperate we have Mcdonalds too !!
I can recommend pubs in the city center for value, any pub in the Wetherspoon chain is really cheap, Brains pubs are good value too.
3. In Cardiff the city center is pretty compact, you should visit Cardiff Castle, the civic center, National museum for Wales, Cardiff bay, National assembly building, visit the edwardian arcades for a spot of shopping. Millenium stadium tour, just outside cardiff, is Castle Coch, Caerphilly Castle, Museum of Welsh life at St Fagans. If you are into sport, Cardiff City AFC football.
There is a new water center opening soon, this will enable white water rafting indoors. Further West is the Gower peninsula truly beautiful place.

So there are a few to start with, if you have any specific interests let us know.

Sorry can't help with Edinburgh, perhaps Caroline will be along soon to cover that area.

Ciao

Muck

If I were you, I'd go by train

Go to http://www.rail.co.uk/ for timetables.
It will take about 6 1/2 hours.

You could drive.
If you look at http://www.rac.co.uk/web/routeplanner/
It will give you detailed driving instructions. They say that it will take
7 1/4 hours. That would be a bit tiring, especially if you have never driven on the left.

Finally, you could take a bus.
That will take you about 12 hours, but will probably be the cheapest way to go.
See http://www.nationalexpress.com/

As for tipping. Around 10-12 % is about the norm. Some restaurants will have a service charge included.
You don't tip barmen/maids, but if you are ordering a big round, you might add "And one for yourself", but it is not expected.

If there's a cheap flight, then of course that's the way to go.

Sorry, forgot the 2nd post... Gratuity is not necessary, I never tip anyone.

And if you don't want to leave as a hated woman, don't wear an English rugby shirt ;-)

Muck

Wow I didnt expect such a timely reply and so thorough. Thank you all very much. I will look into all those places and sites. And if I have any more questions, I know where to direct them

Any suggestions for lodging. Is a hostel a good idea, or should I do A B&B, or just a traditional Hotel.

Oh, and should I trade in my currency for the Euro or the Pound or will US Dollars be accepted easily?

Hi,
If you want to keep expenses down, there are plenty of popular, decent hostels in Edinburgh. Check out St Christopher's Inn, for example (http://www.st-christophers.co.uk/edinburgh-hostels)

You will need pounds in the UK, as euros or dollars won't generally be accepted. The easiest way is to withdraw cash from an ATM when you arrive, and to use credit cards for hotel/restaurant bills, etc.

Edinburgh - Plenty of pub grub for less than £10. I would not miss Edinburgh Castle and although I have not seen it, I think visiting the former Royal Yacht Britania which is moored nearby would be good too.
I don't know about hostels, but I have stayed in Taylors Hall hotel which is nearby and reasonably priced, although
no palace!http://www.royalmilehotels.com/edinb...hall_hotel.php

<<< Go to http://www.rail.co.uk/ for timetables >>>

Go to www.NATIONALrail.co.uk for timetables - and prices.

But as others have said the easiest way is to fly. Just remember that other people will think the same way so get booking ASAP

<<< Oh, and should I trade in my currency for the Euro or the Pound or will US Dollars be accepted easily? >>>

In the UK we use the pound, not Euro, not USD, not New Turkish Lira, nor any other currency.

And some advice - get rid of your Scottish banknotes before you leave Scotland as they can be difficult to spend elsewhere in the UK, let alone exahcnge once you've left the UK

Agree entirely with Mucky, fly - we visit Cardiff several times a year and if you book well ahead you can get flights for £15-20 each way. *However* you may find that flights for your dates are already more expensive just due to the RWC.

But driving is grim, don't do it - as Mucky says it takes at least 7 hours, or more like 9 if you're unlucky.

The train also takes quite a long time & is unreliable, so I'd say fly if you possibly can.

I'm concerned though, that you haven't already booked accommodation - do it now (for both cities) !!!

I've discovered we've made a big mistake. We booked for a weekend's worth of operas in Cardiff in early October : it's turned out there is a quarter final that weekend and accommodation is either non-existent or very expensive. (E.g. the Novoptel website said no vacancies : I rang up & was quoted £225pn - as opposed to £80pn the last time we stayed there.) The tourist board website suggests accommodation in Weston-super-mare !!!

I normally check if there's rugby on before booking anything in Cardiff in Feb/March, when the 6 Nations is on. But silly me - I didn't think to check for October, when this tournament is supposed to be happening in France.

In Edinburgh, try the new Edinburgh Central Hostel - it only opened about 6 months ago & it supposed to be very nice, with all rooms (from single to 8-bedders en suite). It's fairly central - just outside the city centre (in my old office block !!) - and on a good bus route (the number 12 goes from just across the road to Murrayfield).

http://www.syha.org.uk/SYHA/Web/Site...rghCentral.asp

Otherwise I'd advise phoning the tourist office & seeing what they have - www.edinburgh.org.

Edinburgh is quite expensive for restaurants but you can get a decent pub meal in both places for £5-10. Depending on where you drink, a pint of beer is c.£2.20-£3.50. If you want to save cash you could buy sandwiches to take away from a sandwich shop or Marks & Spence - c.£2-3. Let us know when you have booked your accommodation and we can recommend cheap eats & pubs nearby.

As for sightseeing in Edinburgh, the main sights are generally perceived to be the Castle and the Palace, with the Royal Mile which runs between them. I'd recommend starting with a circular open-top bus tour of the Old (mediaeval) and New (Georgian) Towns. There are several different tours which all depart from Waverley Bridge but Guide Friday is best as it has a live guide. A ticket allows you to get on and off as many times as you like during the day. Take a full circuit to get a good overview; then you may want to carry on round back to the stop nearest the Castle, walk up to the Castle & tour that, then walk down the Royal Mile to the Palace and tour that, then get back on the bus.

Depending on your interests, other attractions which may appeal include the Museum of Scotland, the new Parliament building (opposite the Palace, tours available) and the former Royal "Yacht" Britannia. If you want to go to Britannia (very interesting audioguide available), don't bother forking out for another tour bus but just get the regular number 22 bus to Ocean Terminal. There are also the 5 National Galleries - 2 are outside the city centre but a free bus runs between them all (www.nationalgalleries.org).

If you are interested in theatre, music, clubbing, contemporary art, etc. get 'The List' when you arrive - it's the fortnightly listings magazine covering Edinburgh & Glasgow.

Any more specific questions, just shout.

Misplaced bracket - that should have been

all rooms (from single to 8-bedders) en suite

Bookmarking -- thank you for very useful info.

Mucky has given you somr good advise, but as someone else said you are laeving it late booking rooms. You need to do this ASAP as a lot of rugby fans have already done so. As for the fligts the earlier you book them the cheaper they are. As it gets nearer the dates they will go up in price. And when ever there is a big rugby match like the 6 nations the prices are very high for the weekend. So if there is the World cup it my be even higher.If you are having problems with accomadation or flights to Edinburgh then look at Glasgow. Bmibaby aslo fly Cardiff to Galsgow and it is a short train ride from Glasgow to Edinnburgh about 1hr ish.

caroline_edinburgh I just re read your post. I work for a large comapny and sometmes people that come to Cardiff for work and stay over forget about evenst in the Staduim. There has been many a time someone thought they would just drive over and book a room. When when a big footy game was on ,or maybe a Thursday before a big rugby match, they either have to stay miles away or have decide to just go home. Another firend came from Hull for a big Rugby league cup game with about 5 others. The nearest hotel they could get was in bath. So then ended up driving from bath to cardiff watching the game and going abck to Bath. They missed all of the build up an dthe atompshere of staying in Cardiff. So as we have said you need to book a room now. Have you seen the fixtures yet, so you do know the dates. It is just that Cardiff is the 15th and 16th Sept then Edinburgh is the 18th Sep , then back in Cardiff on the 20th sep. Edinburgh on the 23rd.

I've just been looking up the fixture list. What on earth two games are you coming to in Cardiff and Edinburgh?

15/09/2007 Wales Australia B Cardiff 15:00

"16/09/2007 Fiji Canada B Cardiff 14:00
18/09/2007 Scotland Romania C Edinburgh 21:00
23/09/2007 Scotland New Zealand C Edinburgh 17:00"

Even I, a died in the wool Scottish rugby fan, am thinking about NOT going to the Romania game

1. I think you've got the message. Don't drive.

2. If you self-cater, you can live very cheaply. You might want to try the University halls of residence for cheap, cheerful and functional.

3. Edinburgh pubs? Too numerous to mention them all, but here's your starter for 10...

Café Royal, the Barony, Mathers, the Diggers (posh name the Athletic Arms), the Roseburn, Bert’s, Sandy Bell's, the Ensign Ewart and the Abbotsford.

4. In Edinburgh, you must go to the castle. I would hav eth national Museum of Scotland as a close second.

5. Don't sweat tipping. Do what you're comfortable with. (The Welsh are all tight so and sos

6. Speak soft, smile and don't support England in anything, anywhere.

15/09/2007 Wales Australia B Cardiff 15:00

"16/09/2007 Fiji Canada B Cardiff 14:00
18/09/2007 Scotland Romania C Edinburgh 21:00
23/09/2007 Scotland New Zealand C Edinburgh 17:00"

I am going to all of those games. Me and some friends just wanted to be in a fun place for some fun rugby- ANd good company in the pub after the games. Didn't want to go all the way to France and drink wine Althought I do love wine, it just doesnt mix well with the gentleman's (or woman's ) game of rugby. The New Zealand/Scotland game should be worth the trip alone. And then there's Australia/Wales.

Since many of you have said there is probaby no accomodations in either place, who has an extra room?

Also, if anyone is looking to meet a few crazy Americans who love the game and drinking just as much, let me know. We would love to hang out and have a brew ---or a boot---or a zulu warrior---with you.

Mona

we don't live in Edinburgh, but if you want to meet before the All Blacks game, we'd be up for that.

What do you think your accommodation budget is- per person per night? And how many of you are there? And what age are you?