I am hopeful we are not complicating this trip more than need be.

We will land in London and spend a day or two and then take the train to York where we will stay with freinds. Then we take the train to Edinburgh, spend 3 or 4 days there and then fly to Dublin, spend 3 or 4 days there and then fly directly home from Dublin.

We may eliminate Edinburgh take the train back to London and fly to Dublin.

One problem remains that I have never mastered driving on the left.

We will see the sights within Dublin and Edinburgh and if necessary take either public transportation or a local tour company to see things outside the city.

Do you have any suggestions for making this trip simpler?

Thank you in advance.

If you decide to eliminate Edinburgh, I'd suggest flying to Dublin from Leeds Bradford International Airport (Ryanair).

Why skip Edinburgh? Great city lots of tour out if you cant find enough to fill 3 days. Add the extra day to Glasgow and fly to Dublin from there. No need to Drive, all the places you have listed are well served by public transport and or tours.

Compared to some trips people envisage on this site it seems the very model of restraint. It seems to be a very civilised and totally uncomplicated progress. It would be a great shame to miss out Edinburgh given that you are in York with friends, which should make your time there very simple. I guess it depends whether you have been to Edinburgh before or not. All 4 cities have so much to do within walking, taxi, public transport distance that it really doesn't seem to be a problem at all that you aren't going to be driving. Using the train between London, York and Edinurgh makes perfect sense and your 4 city plan isn't complicated and, personally, I see no need to try and make it simpler at all.

We loved Edinburgh and from what we know of you from your posts, I think you would too.
We stayed at a B&B there called 14 Hart - it was terrific. See my TR Adu.

Thank you all.

For once in my life I have shown restraint.

Thanks Basing, I will look it up.

We are old independent travelers who travel with the idea that is better to see a few places well than many poorly. I feel more confident in our choices after reading your advice.

We really enjoyed Edinburgh. We attended the Military Tattoo festival and loved it. Since you will be in York already (which we loved also) Edinburgh is only a couple hours away. Would be a shame to miss it. Even if you do not stay in the city, the buses are a breeze to take into the city. We were just ten minutes from town. We very much enjoyed riding the bus each day into town with the locals.

Absolutely agree with your comment that "it is better to see a few places well than many poorly."

And,as others have already said, Edinburgh shouldn't be missed...too easy to include it in your itinerary.

We are including Edinburgh and I sent an inquiry to the B & B Basing mentioned.

Edinburgh > Dublin; Scotland > Ireland. Neither is close.

Its less than 40minutes in the air from Edinburgh to Dublin if you want closer then I suppose Glasgow Belfast might cut 10mins. Takes me longer than that to get to the nearest town and back here in East Galway.

Adyu - if you stay at 14 Hart give my regards to the hosts James and Angela. James teaches Tudor history and Angela classical languages. Together they are a font of knowledge about Edinburgh and its history and our evening conversations were a highlight of our stay. The complimentary whisky that comes with your room was nice too after a day of touring.

Basing

They responded quickly. The want 92 pounds a night which is just for two people. We are thinking about it.

£92 per night - cheap for a good B&B

Like AR says. Particularly in Edinburgh - think London type prices.

We stayed at the Travelodge on Waterloo Place last time we were there under £50 room only, clean quiet central and just 2 minutes walk from the station. Plenty of places to grab breakfast to suit your tastes.

Thanks for the suggestions and insight.

We also stayed at a great flat in Edinburgh. If you see my 2008 trip report for Scotland, you can find details - it's now called the Trust House on West Bow, and is self-catering, but can be rented for short breaks. We had it for three days, but we had 6 people. It was a block away from the Royal Mile, incredibly convenient for the sites.

You don't need a car in any of the places you are staying. You will greatly enjoy each place, they have unique flavors, though I imagine you've been to some already.

Thanks Green, I will take a look. Mr. Adu had been to Dublin before she met me and I changed her life but we have never been to York and Scotland. We have been to London numerous times.

Mrs. Adu has been looking at apartments but the 14 Hart is sounding better and better.

Basing, the room was 82 pounds a night until I mentioned your name.