The thing about being alone is, will you be lonely? The good thing about going with a group is that you will have the camaraderie of the others. I did some travelling alone in Scotland and England when I was younger and I found that I was very lonely, until I met up with some friendly fellow-travellers. Then I was okay. So I can completely understand wanting to take a tour.

The appropriate tour probably depends a lot on your age bracket and your desire for activity--biking, hiking, etc. I would shy away from Steves simply because everybody would be American, but having a tour full of couples from England would not be great either. Have you found any organizations that specialize in single travellers?

BTW, Scotland is wonderful, I've been there several times and would go back in an instant. And don't worry, there are plenty of pubs! Every time I think of going to Ireland, I think about how beautiful Scotland is. But I know that Ireland is amazing too, and will get there some day. Especially interested in experiencing the pub music culture.

I usually do my own driving, but agree with Jaja. Do check out CIE they do both Scotland and Ireland. Many years ago I took a trip with them, and from what I remember, pretty much everything (except a few meals) was included in the price.

A few years ago I took my granddaughter on a tour of Europe with a different company, and I must have spent as much on "optional excursions" as I did on the basic one.

"I must have spent as much on "optional excursions" as I did on the basic one."

But they were optional. You didn't have to do those excursions. Most tours that have "everything" included also include excursions that not everyone is interested in. Not everyone wants all meals included eigther but you're paying for those in the price.

When I do group travel I look for tours that have enough free time that I can get out on my own and do my own excursions. I also need to get away from the group occasionally.

I avoid "everything included" tours.

We are doing a tour with Insight vacations going to Scotland, Ireland & England. We chose them because of hotel locations, the locations & excursions included.
I've read a lot on some of the companies less expensive actually end up costing the same or more in the long run with the hotels being in less central locations.
We are doing Paris on our own though!

<<We chose them because of hotel locations, the locations & excursions included>.

That's a good point. When choosing a tour you have to decide what is important to you. I doubt than any will perfect, but many are good.

Having to pay for transportation from a hotel to the center can add up.

Our thoughts exactly! It's my Mom & I going and it's our first trip to Europe!
We are directionally challenged & we decided to do a tour the first time.
We are already planning on going again next year, if possible & we are hoping to be brave enough to do it alone, lol!
I don't think a tour will be perfect, but it will give us a good overview & that's really what we want & the tour we picked is hitting the areas we really want to see!

Reese,

Sounds good. I've done the same, taken a tour then gone back on my own to the places that I liked the most. I think you and your mom will be able to do it yourselves next year. The internet is great for researching hotels, restaurants and sights. Seeing Paris on your own is good start. Have a great trip.

Thanks! We are really excited!
We started to plan the whole trip on our own and got overwhelmed trying to plan almost a month when we have never been to Europe. So we decided to do a tour and some independent!
We are looking at Italy next year with hopefully more family going!

<i>The reason for doing a tour is that I'm a single woman going alone and have no idea experience in either country. I'm used to traveling, AF brat, and been to Europe in a group, but hesitant to go by myself.</i>

Europe is full of solo women traveling around on their own. I've met them everywhere, as far as Greece and Bulgaria. There are few problems, only perceptions of problems. If you are worried carry an umbrella and be ready to swing it. You'll probably need it for the rain anyway.

I did Cork, Dublin, and Belfast on my own in B&Bs. It was beautiful. You meet the locals and travelers from around the world, but no Americans. Americans live next door to me. That's enough. The only thing that disturbed me were the suit stuffed marching *Belfast Boys*. The police were out in full force.

Scotland is so beautiful. Isle of Mull and Isle of Skye cannot be beat. We are going to Ireland this year so cannot speak of it yet. But Scotland should not be missed. A tour would be best for a single woman. As others have said, look for a singles tour that is not exclusively American.

<<There are few problems, only perceptions of problems. If you are worried carry an umbrella and be ready to swing it.>>

I'm not afraid of being assaulted, it never entered my mind. I don't know about Reese, but I like tours for a first visit, even if it's with Americans, when I'm taking a long trip through an unfamiliar country -- last one was 2000 miles through Turkey. There's no way I would have driven that distance alone (or taken public transportation) and seen all the places that I did. However, I will return to Istanbul alone.

I went to Ireland myself and drove and got miserably lost in a raging thunderstorm, missed my turn because I could hardly see the road, and got back to my B&B five hours later than I should have. The owner was worried sick and was about to call hospitals. If I'd had someone with me who could have watched for the turn, it would have helped, but driving on the left, trying to get around the "roundabouts" in blinding rain was a nightmare.

I have not been to Scotland and it sounds wonderful. I hope Reese will let us know how her tour works out.

@ Luisah.

I'm not afraid of being assaulted either. It's more what you described, first visit in several unfamiliar countries & honestly not overwhelming or driving ourselves crazy trying to plan details. We love the idea of an overview & returning on our own and knowing a little bit more of where we are & where we want to go!
The tour we picked is a really good fit for where we want to go & what we want to see.
I believe Insight gets people from all over the world on their tours & I'm really excited to meet & share with everyone!
I will certainly come back with a report! We go towards the end of September!

Might be a simplistic solution - but why not try to do both and get a taste of both if you have two weeks. Good cheap air links between the two countries and also ferry links?!?!? There are a few reports on this site where that has happened.

As for alanRow's comment - he/she is either a troll or stupid - or most probably both.

I've been to both. Ireland is a fine country, but, in my opinion, Scotland is the better tourist destination. The scenery is more dramatic in Scotland, the history is more interesting, and Edinburgh beats Dublin, hands down, in my opinion. Like I said, Ireland is a fine country to visit, but if the choice is Scotland or Ireland, I'd do Scotland. I also wouldn't split my time between the two unless we're talking about more than two weeks.

As to taking a tour, frankly, I don't like bus tours and, if it were me, I'd take some other trip that I felt comfortable doing alone rather than doing a bus tour. But, if you have to do it, I think you may want to consider the Rick Steeves tour. I suspect that his groups will be younger than what you'll see for most of the other tour operators.

Don't know if this would be a fit for you, but you might want to look at Back Roads Touring Company out of the UK, http://www.backroadstouring.co.uk. I took a 4-day trip in the west of Ireland a few summers ago and it turned out to be me (USA) and 4 folks from Australia plus the Irish driver/guide.

I benefited from the camaraderie, the very small bus/van which could go places larger tours did not go, and the time before and after to be on my own. Many of their tours are arranged so you can continue on to another after completing one. They have tours in Ireland, England, Scotland, and some places in Europe.

BTW, I have been on Rick Steves tours and they do serve as an introduction that you can follow up on your own later.

Ireland's nice; Scotland's outstanding.

Dunno why you need a tour, though. Both countries' official language is English (though the Irish insist on learning Gaelic, which they call Irish), the people speak something akin to English, there are automobiles available for rent and semi-usable roads to drive on. Driving on the wrong side of the road isn't so bad, but the Irish and Scots drive like Europeans.

As for the two itineraries (based on the 11-day Scotland and 14-day Ireland on the RS website) -- if you take the Scotland trip, you can easily extend for a few nights in Edinburgh to tour the city, take a day trip to Stirling Castle or Glamis (birthplace of the Queen Mum) or Perth (Scone Palace, which is important in Scottish history). Edinburgh is worth more than the 1.5 days you'll get on that tour. The thought of pittering about for a half-day in Inverness in the middle of the tour is also a negative (as is FIVE hours in a bus on Skye).

If you take the Ireland itinerary, you're go go go go go for 14 days with no rest, and the option of taking an extension to stay in Dublin is far less attractive. <b>In addition, that itinerary has FIVE days where you'll be on the bus for 5 hours or MORE, and another pair where you'll be on the bus for 4 hours.</b> That sucks.

P.S. -- The Dublin/Edinburgh difference really warrants the Iowa/California comparison.

You should look at this company:
http://www.railtoursireland.com/

You can do daily or two-day tours around Ireland, or even a series of day tours if you want, and then have a few days to yourself. That way you get the best of both worlds: some company, and some privacy.

I would also say that Ireland Scotland are both totally doable as a single woman, esp. if you're comfortable traveling alone. Without language issues to complicate things, that is!

Good luck!
www.changehere.wordpress.com

You might try a short tour, then some solo traveling. I've done that, mixing short tours with days at either end where I travel about alone and see things not on the itinerary.

One group not mentioned here I could recommend is Wolfhound Tours in Ireland. My sisters just came back and loved it! He doess 5 and 6 day tours, small groups, WONDERFUL B&B's, but they book up. They are "Adventure tours" and include a lot of hiking, bike riding, kayaking, etc.