Jayne12

Hi to you who is reading this post of mine,

I am troubled over how many days i should spend in Paris, Dublin & Edinburgh. I have limited days of travel (from 31st Dec to 8th January) and my first stop is at Paris, last stop at Edinburgh. As of now, i have plans of spending New Year's day in Paris (31st Dec to 2nd January). Should i spend another day in Paris (till 3rd Jan)? I will need to spend a day to travel from Paris to Dublin. That will leave me either 1 day in Dublin, 3 days in Edinburgh or 2 days each in both cities (if i spend another day in Paris). What do y'all suggest?

Many thanks in advance!

-Budget traveller (both in time and $)

sparkchaser

I'd skip Paris and spend my time in Dublin and Edinburgh, but that's just me.

SeeDee

Two days in both Dublin and Edinburgh looks better balanced. January weather is likely to be similar in both cities so you may be limited to indoor activities and not to wander beyond the city centres.
When in Edinburgh though, you might consider taking the bus out to Leith and visit the retired royal yacht Britannia.

Tony2phones

Depends what you want to achieve by visiting these cities. Visiting Dublin for a day will get an Irish stamp in your passport but won't mean you've been to Ireland..

If I was to pick somewhere to spend New Years Eve it would be at a decent Hotel in Edinburgh rather than Paris but its not my trip and as said I have no idea what you want from the locations.

If it was my trip, New year Edinburgh 3 days, fly to Cork, get the bus/train to Killarney for 2 nights giving the middle day to take a tour? then Train to Dublin. Of course if you have no interest in seeing Ireland and just seeing Dublin then split the trip in 2 and just do Edinburgh~Dublin.

nytraveler

Sorry but I just on;t think you have time for those 3 cities given the time necessary to travel between them and the fact that most of your time in Paris will be holidays. And many places in Paris are closed on Jan 1. You will have to google to see which places might be open.

If it were me I would spend the whole time in Paris - or split between Paris and Edinburgh at most.

fuzzbucket

Paris is not known for throwing a big party on NYE, and the day after, many places open late, if at all. If you want to walk around or take the Metro, you can do plenty of that in Paris, though.

The Eiffel Tower will be open (weather permitting), you can take a boat cruise on the river, the Christmas markets and some shops will be open around noon, and enough restaurants and cafes are open so you won't starve. If there's anything else you particularly want to see or do, make sure to check the official website for opening hours on New Year's Day.

janisj

>>If I was to pick somewhere to spend New Years Eve it would be at a decent Hotel in Edinburgh rather than Paris<<

Edinburgh puts on one of the biggest/famous New Years Eve parties anywhere -- it s called Hogmanay. However, because of the huge party, it is also the most expensive time to visit the city. And hotels book up far ahead.

You have a short time so I'd do Paris first and then Edinburgh after New Years and skip Dublin. Trying to fit in all 3 cities will be really rushed.

Christina

well, I've been in all those places and if you must visit all 3 in 8 days, I'd probably schedule at least 2 days each Dublin and Edinburgh. That would be okay for the highlights of each. I'm just not big on one day visits, why even bother going to Dublin ifyou were just going to be there one day? I wouldn't. If it were on the way somewhere, sure, why not, but not when you have to go out of your way to get there and then to fly frm there to Edinburgh. What a waste of time and money for one day. This is an unusual itinerary for a budget traveler.

I"d probably drop Dublin, but otherwise, I would do something like 4 Paris, 2 each the others. And I agree, I'd go to Edinburgh first and Paris last for festivities, but if hotels are a lot more in Edinburgh, maybe not. That is a very expensive time in Paris, also, BTW, so not sure you'd be ahead. But they don't have a real famous NYE thing.

janisj

People may not understand Edinburgh at New Years -- it isn'y that hotels are a lot more . . . they are a <B>LOT</B> more. Like 2 to 3+ times the normal room rates.

Maybe these will give you an idea.

http://www.visitscotland.com/cms-ima...y-street-party

http://www.wildnavigator.com/wp-cont...1/DSC_8572.jpg

http://www.warble-entertainment.com/...l1231_1231.jpg

The city is absolutely packed and one can't get inside the festive zone without a ticket.

Gretchen

Why are you going to Dublin--and/or Edinburgh in such a short length of time. And for a budget traveller you have chosen places far apart and longish transport times to get between. Does this seem to even be a viable trip to people.

janisj

I think Paris at the beginning and Edinburgh in the first week of January works just fine -- there are quick flights. But of course the weather (in both cities) will be wintry and the days short -- very short in Edinburgh.

mjs

I also do not understand trying to see Dublin/Edinburgh/Paris in a week for a budget traveler. I find the appeal of Ireland to be mostly in the countryside for me so I would drop Dublin and just do Edinburgh and Paris or even just Paris by itself for a week.

Tony2phones

Scotland does New Year like Ireland does St Patricks and there is no need to be in the Festival ground to get the general buzz and there is no need to break the bank the term I used "decent hotel" mainly referred to one that has a bar and some facilities rather than a 5* rating. You could even consider Glasgow for NY eve and day.

janisj

>> there is no need to break the bank the term I used "decent hotel" mainly referred to one that has a bar and some facilities rather than a 5* rating.<<

You underestimate the situation in Edinburgh over Hogmanay. A central city travelodge - no real lobbies let alone bars - which normally can be had for £35 to £65 charge from £125 to over £170 over the holiday. I just ran a dummy booking and <u>not one of the four properties</u> I tried had any availability

Tony2phones

Probably why I stuck to Aberdeen or Glasgow. Edinburgh really has gone daft.. the guest house we use out on the city coast still has rooms at a decent price if anyone's fit enough for a 3 1/2 mile walk to the Royal Mile?

Christina

3.5 miles isn't that far -- not to walk but they have buses there. I didn't stay right in the center, either, I remember having to take a bus to get to those central attractions from my B&B, but I never considered that a big burden.

janisj

Buses can't get to some of the central areas because of the road closures. I am just trying to explain -- UNLESS one has already made arrangements for Edinburgh over New Years and wants to deal w/ the HUGE crowds, it will be much easier and much cheaper to visit the following week. It is much more congested than during the Festival/Fringe.

Gretchen

Do we think Jayne has left the building?

janisj

She is another brand new member who may be sitting waiting for an e-mail from Fodors. Ain't going to happen.

keithl

As others have said, you could do two out of the three cities - Edinburgh and Dublin are probably the easiest and cheapest.

Edinburgh on Hogmanay sounds great, but actually is a bit of a bloomin' nightmare. The streets start getting closed off at around 3pm, and if you don't have a ticket you won't get anywhere near the main celebrations (the only time I've tried to do it was when I lived in central Edinburgh, only for it to be cancelled because of the wind!) You could look at staying outside of Edinburgh, but you have to factor in travelling - and the fact that most public transport will be closed on the 1st, and operating to a reduced timetable on the 2nd.

My advice? Unusually in this case, ditch Edinburgh. Ditch Dublin, too. Spend your time in Paris - a leisurely week in a beautiful city - and come and visit Edinburgh and Dublin when you have a bit more time to do it.