Scotland & Ireland...Planning Block...help!
 

I am on then internet and even with all this technology and sharing I cannot plan this vacation outside of Edinburgh and Dublin [two or three days each as a base]. We are going to be in Scotland 0n June 25 and flying to Dublin on or about July 1/2. We cannot do drive by buses and are not too keen on trains except for long hauls. So we are reluctantly renting cars where appropriate....have driven in UK three times but not Ireland and Scotland. So please help me over this block with suggestions. We are looking for neolithic sites, 'real' castles, history and scenery. thanks.

We used Inverness, Scotland as a base for 3 nights. We rented a car in Edinburgh and drove up to the Highlands. Using Inverness as the base we drove over to the Isle of Skye - one of the most beatiful places that I have ever been.

Another day we left the car parked and took a tour bus to the Orkney Islands - lots of fun.

I had limited UK driving experience and found that once I got of the crowded cities, driving was easy.

Also, on the way to Skye you will drive along Loch Ness and some of Scotlands more famous castles like Eileen Dolan:

http://www.eileandonancastle.com/


While researching our trip we found this site helpful:

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/

on your other thread you ask about Fionnphort and Portree - but now we know you only have a week in Scotland altogether and are interested in neolithic sites among other things. (answering w/ useful recommendations is hard when the info is spread over different threads)

Some of the very best neolithic sites are in an area south of Oban called Kilmartin. Also some terrific castles like Kilchurn and Dunstaffsnage are in the same general area. So if you want an island/neolothic sites/castles/scenery - in a short visit, 4 days or so in/around days Oban, Mull, Iona, Staffa, Kilmartin would be very doable. Then you'd have a reasonable drive to Glasgow to fly over to Ireland.

Scotland is extraordinary. It's visually far more beautiful and varied than Ireland. The Isle of Skye is a lot like Scotland, but in miniature.

Don't be afraid to rent a car. You will see so much more and on your own terms. Your interests sound like our own. We drove through the Scottish lowlands first which offer seemingly endless views of gorgeous rolling lands around every turn with charming market towns along the way; then, we went far north, almost to the very top of Scotland.

North of Edinburgh the land begins to rise into a rocky evergreen forest, then somewhere north of Inverness (touristy) the trees thin out and the countryside changes radically. It broadens out and becomes wild and rough, punctuated by high rocky outcrops which have small rivulets falling dramatically down their faces from great heights. Sheep, heather, cliffs and rocks are everywhere and there really are stags standing silhouetted against the sky on top of crags. The farther north you go the more bare and flat the land becomes, almost like a moonscape. It's extraordinarily dramatic and unforgettable.

Driving back down Scotland's western coast along the Irish Sea is breathtaking with spectacular views of ancient mountainsides dropping steeply into sparkling blue lochs. Many of the lochs that open to the sea have sweeping sandy beaches running down to the mouths of what must be very tidal bays.

And, if you want to see lots of enormous, moody dark cliffs with waves pounding them, Scotland's west coast is where you will find them. The cliffs of Mohar and Dingle pale in comparison.

thanks for your collective insights. since we have seven days in scotland then seven in irelend, what about taking a plane from edinburgh after two days to inverness [50 minutes], then driving to skye for a few days, then down the coast to oban for a few days....then over to glasgow for flight to dublin. so much to see and so little time. I welcome your thoughts

A train to Inverness will actually be faster than a flight (or about the same really) when you factor in traveling out to EDI, advance check in, flying up, and getting your bags.

But Inverness is not that great a place - and you have very little time in Scotland. Pick ONE or at most TWO areas outside of Edinburgh. That is all you have time for. Scotland is a very big place and you only have 5 days (besides Edinburgh) so you can't see that much of the country. Base somewhere in/near Oban for 3 days for Kilmartin/Oban/Mull/Iona and then you'll have 1.5 days free to see the Trossachs and get to Glasgow to fly out

But then again - 7 days is nothing in Ireland either - especially when some time is spent in Dublin and then trying to get to the most scenic bits in the W/SW.

Unfortunately you are cutting both countries very short. 2 weeks in Scotland OR 2 weeks in Ireland would be better IMHO. But what's done is done, so don't try to rush about to see everything -- can't be done.