wanderlust86

I am in the first stages of planning a trip to Ireland and Scotland next summer. We would be flying in from the US and the whole trip would take two weeks.

As far as budget, we plan to keep it on the lower end of the spectrum. We are ok with staying at hostels etc.

I have never visted Ireland or Scotland, but I did live in London (and hopefuly we can throw that into the trip even if its only 2 days).

I'm not sure what must see places there are in Ireland and Scotland, or of the best way to get around.

Do any of you have route suggestions that I can build my trip upon?

Thank you!

Tony2phones

Tight.. Ireland is a week to 10 days same for Scotland then 2 days London..

You need to check some guides (Not Rick Steves) to get unbiased (hence the previous brackets)ideas on some must see and some want to see and the do's...

Logistics, fly into London and out of Dublin (either way round as fits time/price) Train between Scotland and London. between Scotland and Ireland might be governed by the amount of Baggage and itinerary..

Itinerary.. I could tell you mine, everyone else could tell you theirs but its your trip not ours.. What I will suggest is 2 days London, 5 days Scotland, 7 days Ireland.

scotlib

Hi wander .. is the trip 2 weeks or do you have 2 weeks once you've arrived? If first and last days are travel, then it's 12 days to plan, not 14.

Scottish Youth Hostels Association, http://www.syha.org.uk
England and Wales, http://www.yha.org.uk
I see Northumberland House mentioned for self-catering in London,
http://www.lsevacations.co.uk/Accomm...and-House.aspx

Open jaw makes sense .. check some some trial dates and see if there's a difference .. into Ireland out of London vs into London out of Ireland.

Depending on your airport options, maybe into Shannon visit around and get to Dublin, fly to Scotland and visit, train to London, visit, home?? You'll never be backtracking

Must sees .. what are your interests?

sparkchaser

I agree that 2 weeks is tight.

What are your interests? What do you dislike/not want to do?

wanderlust86

14 days including travel, so 12 days to actually explore.

I have never purchased an open jaw ticket, but I definatly need to look into that.

As for interests, I love history and culture, and GOOD FOOD. My bf is of Irish decent (Even though he doesn't know anything about being Irish) and this trip is very important to him. So I would love to plan something where he can learn about his heritage.

Itallian_Chauffer

Expecting to see Ireland in 5 days, Scotland in four is tantamount to 'seeing' London in two.
As long as you accept THAT, the trip IS do-able. You CAN sample a BIT of those two countries -- but, you won't get a lot of time to explore them.
For Ireland, maybe two locations -- Dublin and either Galway or Killarney as bases. In Scotland maybe Edinburgh as a base; for a city/big town-centric visit.
If you want to have a chance to experience Ireland, then forget Scotland, give Ireland at least 9 days and then, finish up, in London.

sparkchaser

I suggest a full day in Inverness, i.e., 2 nights. See Loch Ness (I recommend the cruise that leaves from the hotel and goes to Urquhart Castle), go to Culloden Battlefield, see Clava Cairns, and go to either Gellions (if you're lucky catch Schiehallion playing) or Hootanannys (local trad music and ceilidh).

janisj

>>14 days including travel, so 12 days to actually explore.<<

Actually more like 11 or maybe 11.5, and depending on how much you suffer from jet lag it could be even less. No matter what time you land on what is day 2, you can't manage more than half a day of seeing/doing anything. Any 'heavy duty' sightseeing is usually impossible til day 3.

Then you lose half a day in the moves between Scotland/Ireland/London. So in 'real life' 2 weeks nets you only about 10 free days. I'd choose a bit if Scotland + London OR a bit of Ireland + London. You still would have to be very selective re where to go.