London, Ireland, Scotland-only 2 weeks which 2 do should we see this trip?
 

Hello Fedor’s helpers,
My husband and I are planning a trip to the UK and due to shorter vacation allowance only have approximately two weeks. Our niece is attending school in Ireland therefore that is one spot we need to visit. Therefore should we do Ireland and London OR Ireland and Scotland? We want to experience the culture and enjoy each one and realize we cant “see it all” that is one reason we are dropping one destination to return to on another trip.
I appreciate any advice you have, thank you in advance for your time.
Cheers,
Kerry

>>Therefore should we do Ireland and London OR Ireland and Scotland?<<

No one can possibly answer that for you . . . Well -- you can't see all of Ireland in 2 weeks, let alone all of Scotland. Don't think in terms of 'countries'. Get some guide books and work out the handful of sites or areas that most appeal to you then work out a reasonable itinerary. Where in Ireland is your niece studying? That would partly determine which part(s) of Ireland you want to visit. What time of year is this trip? That would help determine if it should be a city-centric trip or if rural areas are doable.

Two weeks in just Ireland with maybe a few days in Northern Ireland would be pretty jam packed right there. Especially IF you mean 2 weeks total including travel days.

Or a week split between some bits of Ireland and a week in London with maybe a day trip to Oxford or someplace.

Or 10 days in Ireland and 3 or 4 days in Edinburgh . . .

Something like that.

When?
Interests?

I'd want to divide up a two-week trip between countryside and city. If you're exploring Ireland's countryside, then you might want to see London after that. Your niece might be studying in Dublin, which is a far cry from London, IMHO. We were not wild about Dublin, to be honest.

I love Dublin and would maybe do Ireland and Edinburgh. You can get an early am flight to EDI and not waste much of the day on travel.

Thank you so much, yes you are correct in saying no one can truly answer my question. I guess just looking for generic opinions. We are looking at guidebooks etc. My niece is studying in Dublin and we will see her for a short visit if possible but not a must do and she is working on her thesis so her schedule may not permit much of a visit.
We plan on going early June for two weeks not including travel days. Have also thought about Scotland another time and focusing on London area and Ireland..we just have to make more trips or come when we have much more time.
Thanks again for your advice it’s greatly appreciated.

We are looking at early June or May/June...looking at flight options. Countryside and History with the local culture. Looking online/guidebooks, we will figure it out ha.
Thanks for your response:)

Good Idea on the flight.
Thank You :)

Thank you, dividing up the country and the city sounds great. We are aware that we won’t have time to see it all and will just have to go back or pick what we would call our favourites.

OK -- reading between the lines a bit -- It doesn't sound like Ireland is any sort of 'must' except for maybe a day or two in Dublin to visit with your niece if possible. Dublin is a very short flight from anywhere in the UK so maybe concentrate on something like:

Fly in to GLA or EDI, spend 10 days or so in Scotland say 3 days in Edinburgh and a week touring around a bit by car. Fly to DUB, visit your niece, see Dublin, fly home from there.

OR . . . you could fly into London, spend the 10+ days 6 or 7 days in London and say 3-ish days somewhere like the Cotswolds or Kent, fly to DUB, fly home . . .

Dublin is ok for a long weekend. There are a few museums of note, some left over from the British empire and some describing how they escaped from it. You'll get a range of story lines but generally pro escape. Dublin also has the DART train system which gets you out to the local towns and villages. Howth is my favourite and might interest if you just want a healthy day out after a long flight.

London is one of the world's two alpha cities (the other is New York). It has 10 million inhabitants plus from most of the countries in the world. Museums are free (mainly, though special shows and some private museums have a charge). It has lots of parks, local markets and up-class shops along with all the usual services. London trains offer you easy access to the rest of the country. So you could, for example, take the train to Oxford, tour the colleges, then walk along the river (Thames/isis) to Radley or Didcot and catch the train back to London.

Thank you, well done reading between the lines :).
I have actually been exploring that option.

Thank you!