Ireland over Thanksgiving
 

My husband and I are trying to tie in a trip to Ireland with a trip to London. We arrive in London on Nov 22 (Sat am) and leave from London the following Sat pm. Is it reasonable to think that we could do Dublin for a day and then get all the way to the west coast for a return trip to London on Wednesday pm? Should we stay on the east/southeast side? Any suggestions for an itinerary would be very helpful.<BR><BR>Thanks :)

Unless you're just consumed with desire to see Ireland, I would save it for another trip. We've been to Ireland twice, for 10-12 days each time, and have barely scratched the surface. We also spent 10 days on our only trip to England and Wales, and can't wait to do that again -- there's so much to see! You didn't say if you'll have a car, but my personal suggestion would be to spend 3-4 days in London and then explore the countryside -- Bath, Bradford-on-Avon, Stratford, Stonehenge, Cotswolds are all easy and beautiful drives from London; we made it all the way to the coast of Wales, and would've loved to have a day or two more there. While Dublin is well worth a trip, you might have an equally enjoyable and much more relaxing vacation if you spend all your time in England. <BR><BR>I'm terribly prone to try to cram too much into a trip, and I'm slowly learning to relax and not do too much. It will all be there when you go again!

I agree. Go to Ireland on another trip. It's a complete waste to go To Ireland for two days. There are plenty of interesting things to see around and outside of London to keep you occupied for a week. Ireland is not made for drive by tourism. You need to get out of the car and enjoy.<BR><BR>Bill

If you really wanted to do an easy 2 day trip to Ireland, I would do this:<BR>Stay near Heuston station in Dublin-<BR>I stayed at the Ashling which is clean and reasonably priced. The bus/train station is across the street. There are city tours that are hop on, hop off, which allow you to see alot of Dublin in one day. On day 2, take an all day tour of the countryside (book ahead of time). Day 3, take the bus to the airport for 4.50 euro at the station. The all day tours are long but relaxing as you can sleep on the train and you get to see a lot in one day.<BR>

You can do Dublin for a couple of days, but trying to go to the west coast doesn't really make sense.

Jill,<BR><BR>I'd have to concur with some other Fodorites and say you'd be better off &quot;doing&quot; Ireland on a future trip. Two days in Ireland would be like having a single potato chip. It's not possible. To get real flavor of Ireland, you'll need a minimum of one week. Even then, you'd only be scratching the surface of this beautiful, historically and culturally rich, and always fascinating country.<BR><BR>Best of luck.