I've just returned from a repeat trip to Dublin and Edinburgh and thought I'd share a few thoughts. I'll add the disclaimer that these are my thoughts/opinions and that I've been to Dublin 15+ times and Edinburgh once before, so some of my advice may not be suitable for first-timers.

Arrived in Edinburgh after Aer Lingus flight Boston-Dublin and Ryan Air to Edinburgh. Both flights were fine, completely uneventful. Spent most of Thursday roaming the Royal Mile and seeing the Castle (again, for things we missed the first time) and shopping on Prince's Street.

Friday morning traveled to Roslin to see the Rosslyn Chapel (for those of you who read the book The DaVinci Code, this was a must). Take bus 15 or 15A from St. Andrew's Sq. to Roslin Inn. Don't blink or you will miss the entire town. The chapel was about 500 yards from the bus stop. Very intricately ornate on the inside, but covered in scaffold on the outside. It is crumbling away but looks as though they are doing their best to save it. This was a fun stop for me, particularly because I was so mesmerized by the book. Plus we were the only people there, which gave it a "hidden gem" quality to it.

Friday afternoon we took the train to Glasgow to look around. Personally, I really didn't enjoy Glasgow as I did Edinburgh. It wasn't as clean or nearly as architecturally intersting. But we spent about a half day there ambling about and visiting St. Mungo's Cathedral.

Saturday we took the Timberbush tour to West Highland Castles and Oban. I highly recommend it. It was in a smaller mini-van type of vehicle and the guide was excellent. We also had brilliant weather for most of our stay, and the driver sped away from most of the serious rain as it tried to catch up with us. The only castle we stopped at and climbed around on was Dunstaffnage. The rest (Kilchurn, Iverary, Stirling, Doune) were either drive bys or quick photo stops. (I'd visited Stirling before, and I recommend that as a day trip from Edinburgh as well.) Oban, however, was just brilliant. It is a small fishing village on a cove and while it has the potential to be overly touristy, I did not feel smothered by it. One thing I highly recommend is eating lunch from the green shack on the pier which has some of the freshest seafood I've ever had (and coming from the northeast of the US, that's saying something!) It was quick, cheap and just excellent. The smoked salmon sandwich and bucket of prawns were unreal!

Sunday we spent roaming Edinburgh and shopping, and also sitting in the gardens and people watching while soaking up some sun. A late afternoon flight on Ryan Air back to Dublin arrived 15 minutes early, which they reminded us of several times. Other than the luggage weight allowance, which we got around by combining our two pieces for less than 32 pounds, I was pleased with my experience with the airline.

Monday I spent revisiting some of my favorite haunts in Dublin. One new experience I had was the 1916 Rebellion walking tour. I am an Irish History buff and found this tour well run, well presented and fascinating. It is run by two guys who have written a very good book on the subject, and one of them takes you around and points out various spots integral to the uprising, with anecdotes and black humor to boot. The site for the tour is: http://indigo.ie/~1916/tourdetails.html I think if you did the walking tour, visited Kilmainham Gaol and Glasnevin Cemetary on a trip to Dublin, you'd get an excellent understanding of the Irish fight for independence.

I'm still trying to figure out the "Milennium" Spire on O'Connell Street. Built 3 years into the new milennium, it adds very little to the city, and in fact looks quite out of place. I am not alone in my dislike as most of the locals appear to feel the same. Dublin is also undergoing massive construction very similar to that which we've lived with here in Boston for the last 6 years. It really takes away from the beauty of a Georgian city, but understandably has to be done. I feel bad for people going there now for the first time and seeing it all torn up, because it is a lot nicer than that.

I was shocked at how expensive Ireland has become. I spent more money just to get around/live/eat in Dublin in 2 days than I did in Edinburgh for 4. This was my first time back to Ireland post-Euro conversion, and I had heard how bad it was but really could not imagine it this awful. It is a shame because I think in the end it will become as cost-prohibitive for tourists as it is for locals.

Yes, It was just announced that Ireland surpassed Finland as the most expensive place to live in the European Union.

We spent the last day taking a Rail Tours Ireland train/bus trip to Northern Ireland's Antrim Coast. The day was quite dreary. We saw 3 of the nine glens of Antrim. We stopped first at Carrick a Rede rope bridge, which if you didn't know is about a mile walk from the car park (for those who find it hard to get around, that is worth knowing). I found the bridge itself a bit anti-climatic but the waterviews were worth the walk.

Next stop was Dunluce Castle which was just a drive by photo stop, which was a shame because I had wanted to get inside a bit if possible.

Time was short so I sacrificed my stop at Bushmills Distillery for more time at Giant's Causeway. The Causeway was absolutely fascinating and more than I could have ever imagined. There are three ways to get down to the causeway from the car park: the coastal route steeply downhill about 15-20 minutes, the cliff route about 45 minutes and the shuttle bus. I did the coastal route down which was just about enough walking for one go, but took the bus back when the heavens opened and soaked us. Overall a great experience and one that made the day worthwile. (A note to those who watch Ground Force on BBC...Alan Titchmarsh was there on Tuesday filming a documentary for National Trust)

The train tour overall was not what I'd hoped. The driver got us back to Belfast too late to catch a 6:10 train, so we got back to Dublin at 10:15 instead of 8:15, which was a shame due to time lost in Dublin while doing nothing in Belfast but waiting for the train. While I felt the Causeway was worthwhile (for those who feel the need to ask that question) I wasn't too thrilled by the rest of the tour, for what my opinion is worth. I think the other tours on offer from Rail Tours might be more eventful.

I haven't included much restaurant/shopping info only because I prefer to eat with friends or local haunts that appeal to me. I will recommend a meal at Deacon Brodie's in Edinburgh...I finally tried haggis and loved it! The salmon steak in cranberry sauce was well done too.

Glad I'm not alone in thinking Dublin was outrageously congested and expensive, even though I did enjoy it. It was my first time (I was there last week) and I was a bit overwhelmed with all the traffic and construction, especially since I was making my away around on crutches. Everyone was complaining about the cost of hotels and restaurants; even when I tried to escape to some inexpensive junk food, a Pizza Hut buffet was 12 euro (ouch!). The people were wonderful and friendly, and I very much enjoyed services at St. Patrick's Cathedral. I'm just hoping it's not as expensive when I travel to the other side of the country in the Fall. And, though it was slightly inconvenient, I'm glad I stayed in Dun Laoghaire away from the constant hustle and bustle.

I return to add a few points...same as Swan51, I got take out one night outside the city center. Chinese take-out for 2 people was about $31! And that was not a lot of food. CDs run about 22-24 euro. I am really disheartened by the price inflation. I don't go to buy the touristy stuff anymore, but rather books, CDs and things I can't get at home and find it just too much to indulge now.

I stayed at Jury's Christchurch, by the way. I know there's been a lot of discussion about it on here. I found it satisfactory. It was a bit out of the way for me after walking so much in Edinburgh. I also think after staying in such a wonderful B&B in Edinburgh I was spoiled and Jury's was a big let down. It is fine though, clean and in the city. The one rate policy made it less expensive than the usual B&B I stay at (sadly!) and more centrally located than that. I'd recommend it for travelers that don't need frills but rather just a place to lay their head.

Swan51, I hope you get back to Dublin after all the construction because it really is an attractive city!

Amy - couple of questions. I'll be going to Dublin in August, also flying RyanAir (from England). You mentioned combining your luggage to get under the 32 pound limit. That limit is per person isn't it? Did they allow you to weigh your luggage together for a total of under 64 pounds? - or did you have to repack stuff so each suitcase was under the limit? Also, did you notice if food in grocery stores was also extremely expensive? I have sometimes gotten food in grocery stores to put together a sort of picnic to save money and was wondering if this would work for Ireland. I'll only be in Dublin one day with the rest of my nine days spent in the more rural areas south and west. Any other tips you have for saving money?

Swan51 - I'm also staying in Dun Laoghaire. Did you find taking the DART into Dublin to be fairly easy? How long did it take and do you remember how much it cost? Thanks

Isabel, if you're taking the Dart from Dun Loaghire, consider taking it in the opposite direction from Dublin and hitting the next town south-Dalkey. Lovely little town with a couple of great restaurants (whose names escape me at the moment but I'll check back here later and try to post them). It's a small, seaside town that is home to Bono.

Isabel, my luggage was 4 kg. over, and my friend's was 5 under, so they deducted his "under" from my "over" and I didn't have to pay for being over. So in the end, they weighed them both together and made sure we were under 64 pounds total. It was tougher coming home after buying souvenirs in Scotland, but we got creative about putting heavier things in our carry-ons, which were never checked, weighed or even eyeballed.

I mainly bought candy bars (a weakness, sadly!) and soda in shops like Spars, but they weren't tremendously expensive. I can't speak to buying the makings of a picnic though.

I really can't think of ways to save any money. I walked more than I usually would because cab fares are high and I'm not a fan of buses. I thought getting take-out a couple nights would work, but not really. It is rather discouraging to be honest. And I really love the city, so I'm torn!

Amyb,

Thanks so much for the great trip report. I hope many others follow your example and post upon their return. My next favorite activity is reading about trips to Ireland - after going myself, of course!

Isabel
My husband and I do the picnic thing and we find that it costs us a lot less then buying lunches here, there and everywhere. The down side is that all food in Ireland has gone up in price so you can only buy enough for a few days, it's hard to bring with you stuff that must be kept cold. We did bring cold packs (no joke!) and a cooler with us and most B&B owners where too happy to let us refreeze the packs overnight.

Of course if you B&B it then you'll get your breakfast. If you eat your breakfast later in the day then you may be able to just do two meals a day and be fine. Lunch is less expensive than dinners in Ireland and often is the same portions and food as offered for dinner. Lunches in pubs are good (Bill will be sure to mention the Toasties) and realatively cheap. Obviously the more touristy an area, the more expensive. I found though that I got tired of pub food. Too much deep fried stuff and extremely plain sandwiches.

If you are interested in visiting many cultural and heritage sites then by all means buy a Duchas card. For 19euro you will be able to get into any Duchas site free of charge. SO worth it! You can look at their brochure at any Duchas run place to see where else they have sites and decide for yourself if the cost is worth it. FYI: An adult ticket into a standard castle is around 6+ euro.

B&Bs are mostly cheaper than hotels as we discovered this past April.

Hope this helps some!

Wendy