ashley_korda

I few questions if u were doing this trip
1. Where would you go... Sample itinerary.
2. How would you travel... I.E. rent a car take public. Coming from Chicago never driven on other side of the road :/ flying in and out of Dublin
Thanks so much!

janisj

Sorry - but no one can plan an itinerary for you out of thin air.

You could go anywhere - and my favorites might be of no interest to you. Why did you choose Ireland and Scotland, are there places you must visit or do you have no ideas at all? Have you any guide books?

(You could spend your 3 weeks in JUST Ireland or JUST Scotland and still not see everything so you need to focus a bit and have at least a basic framework - then we can help you refine things)

ashley_korda

Ok so yes these are the two countries I want to go to. They are places I have always wanted to go made up my mind and am going. I am a history and nature nerd so that has helped me. In Ireland I would like to do Dublin i have a concert thre on the 14th,Killarney national park and surrounding area, also would like to go to Galoway art festival while I am there. I have a friend in Ahoghill NI as well that I would like to see. On to Scotland I am interested in the castles seeing Inverness and Culloden battle field for a start. What do you think?

Tony2phones

Calling Galway, galloway is no way to make friends. The locals are not great on the Arts Festival some free stuf but most of it is a money making exercise rather than a local festival.
Anyway running from the 15th -28th puts it behind your fixed date in Dublin. what are the other dates in and out. It is also a point that you can fly from any irish airport to a Scottish one (vice versa) so Dublin Scotland is not an essential.

anyegr

Have you already bought the airline ticket? It would save time to fly open-jaw, into one city and out of another, instead of having to travel back from Scotland to Dublin again.

You say you have a concert on the 14th in Dublin. You do not say when you actually arrive in Dublin. The 13th or earlier?

A quick Google search shows that the art festival is the 15th to 28th July. It may be a good idea to make sure you have a place to stay before you actually get there. You should also make sure you know what shows you want to see, what days they are on and of course get tickets in advance.

How are you planning to get from Ireland to Scotland? Plane or ferry?

I agree with janisj. Ireland and Scotland both have a lot to see and one can easily spend 23 days in only one of them.

Since you already have that concert in Dublin I would advise you to only do Ireland this trip. You say you like history and nature. Well, Ireland has a lot of that.

ashley_korda

Also glendalough and the wiklow mountains and brun na boinne in lreland.
In Scotland dunnottar castle and if there is time I would love to ride the Jacobite steam train and go to one or a couple of the isles. It's a long list this is why I'm having trouble planning. Because really I want to be able to just take the countries in and enjoy myself. So should I rent a car?

ashley_korda

Ok so hmm that is the question plane or ferry and open jaw yes would be the best way to do it in to Dublin on the 11th and out of Edinburgh on the 5th of August.

janisj

W/ your wish list in Scotland - I'd probably stick to Dublin and Galway in Ireland - maybe 7 or 8 days to give you enough time to attend the festival and spend the rest of your time in Scotland.

Dunnottar is fabulous - and by a couple of the isles are you talking about Skye & Mull - or the Outer Hebrides - or Orkney - or Islay - or Arran? In any case they are on the opposite side of the country from Dunnottar.

For that sort of itinerary you'll want 3-ish weeks and a car except for the time in Edinburgh.

I'd fly from Dublin or Shannon to Glasgow, collect a rental car there, tour the west coast for about a week to see Mull/Iona and Skye, stop in Ft William (but not IN Ft William) and catch the Jacobite out to Mallaig and back (it will be a single day excursion - no need to stay over night since you will have already stayed on Skye.

Then north to near Inverness (again - not IN Inverness) to visit some of the northern sites like Culloden/Ft George/the Black Isle etc) for 2 or 3 days.

Then east to Aberdeenshire/Deeside for the Castle trail, Dunnottar, Stonehaven, etc. 2-ish days.

Then Glamis Castle, into Fife for a couple of days. St Andrews and the fishing villages.

See Stirling and the Trossachs (2-3 days) before turning the car in at EDI and spending the last 2 or 3 days in Edinburgh. Fly home from EDI.

This whole loop GLA - EDI will take 18-20 days.

ashley_korda

Well Janisj that is the best advise I've gotten yet! Thanks so much I was starting to think the same thing! And spend most of my time in Scotland enjoying myself and traveling around!