My husband and I are headed to Scotland, England and Ireland next year...thinking about April or May. We have 14 days total. We live in northern CA and are thinking we might fly from San Francisco to Edinburgh then overnight train (or fly) to London and then fly to Dublin and then home. OR, SFO to London, then Edinburgh then Dublin. We are early 50's and love history, wandering around old cobblestone streets, music, good food, nice hotels and meeting people from around the world. (I've been to 23 countries so far.) What itinerary makes the most sense? Where are the best old, historic, walkable parts to see in each place? I am thinking three nights in Dublin, four in Edinburgh and the rest in London since it's so big. (I've been to London before but, 20 years ago and hubs has never been.) Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Welcome to Fodors

OK -- now time for bit of a reality check. You live in CA and have 14 days total . . . So with the overnight flight and an all day flight home - you will net 11.5-ish days on the ground. And you'll lose about a half a day with each city change.

>>I am thinking three nights in Dublin, four in Edinburgh and the rest in London since it's so big.<<

If you truly have 14 days total that division would give you 3 nights/2 days in Dublin, 4 nights/3 days in Edinburgh, and only 5 nights/4 days for London. So -- IF you mean JUST Edinburgh, London and Dublin - then sure you can squeeze all that in but will not have much time in London which is ENORMOUS.

And if you intend to fit in any day trips or rural bits - then I'd limit it to either Scotland + London or Ireland + London.

No matter what option you choose - it really doesn't make much difference which order you do them.

For just 2 weeks, I'd suggest cutting either Dublin or Edinburgh (I'd cut Dublin myself failing particular interests). Add those days to the other 2 locations.

The interests you list can be found, unless you add more detail, in all of those cities. For instance, if the music you love is Irish music then Dublin would stay.

Are you thinking of renting a car anywhere to indulge specific inclinations, such as historic places not readily accessible by public transport? It all makes a difference and I suggest you do more work to pin down places you consider essential and return for input. At the moment I think your wishlist is a bit too general for much useful comment.

Good points. I will do more research...perhaps we should just do England and Scotland this time and leave Ireland as another trip later. TBD.

oh - meant to ask where in NorCal? Are you by any chance convenient to SMF? If so, consider flying out of SMF instead of driving down to the Bay Area. There are lots of options w/o the I-80 slog, possibly having to stay over night, and paying for SFO parking. (If you are IN the Bay Area -- you can safely ignore that advice )

OH darn. We were posting at the same time - and unfortunately, since you are on a sort of 'posting probation' for the first few days. You won't be able to post again til tomorrow - but bear with us. Soon enough you'll be unleashed

It's unanimous, 3 Northern Californians.

It would certainly be a shame to visit Ireland and not get out of Dublin. Fourteen days is really very little even for London and Edinburgh. I would suggest a day trip or two from London and also a day trip from Edinburgh.

I am tagging along for the ride here as we plan for my husband's 50th to visit London and Ireland (skipping Dublin) as we want to focus more on the West coast - maybe Galway and south. We would do the opposite - more time in Ireland 9-10 days with a stop in London before flying home.

To the OP - we are close in age and interests and just returned from a terrific time in London (I hadn't been since 2001 and it was my husband's first trip. I have him hooked and we are going back in May 2020. If you are interested in our trip report you can view it here . We got great advice here - janisj is incredibly knowledgable, as are so many wonderful people who take the time to post here.

I struggle to imagine doing Ireland in 11 days let alone the other areas.

Choose one and come back again

I'm not an expert like the others are, but I agree with them. 2 weeks is barely enough for one country, and on my prior trips I've done about 1/2 of either Ireland, Scotland, or England in 2 weeks.

Here's a recent itinerary which I took this year after heavy research from the Fodorites. Trip report England/Scotland June 20-July 6. Part 1 . In about 15 days, we went (from South to North, not in chronological order) London, York, the Dales, Alnwick, Traquair House in Scotland, and Edinburgh. Wonderful trip.

Scotland is my favorite country in the world to visit, but I grew very fond of Northumberland and Yorkshire on my last trip. Your description of what you like make York almost mandatory. Edinburgh is a great city and far more compact than London, although Edinburgh is uphill both ways wherever you go.

We're similar, I'm 60 and my wife is 55, and y undergrad degree is in History. I have to agree with Bilboburgler - I'd pick one, and come back and do another.

Thanks for the info, your itinerary looks great! Yes, after more research we decided that we were trying to do way too much. (Our, friends just did all three in 15 days and loved it but, we want to see more in each place.) We might be able to get a few extra days - like 16 total and decided that we will see two countries this time. Either England and Scotland OR Ireland and Scotland. I would love to spend two weeks in each but, this is a start. I've been to around 25 countries, there is so much I still want to see! We love old cobblestone streets and York looks amazing. Thanks for the tips!

>>that we will see two countries this time. <<

It will help if drop the idea of 'seeing two countries' in your 2-ish weeks. Think of specific cities/regions. You cannot 'see' Scotland in 2 months let alone one week. Same with England. But if you have a list of a few places you want to visit - say Edinburgh and St Andrews/Fife, or Edinburgh and Glasgow, or Edinburgh and Stirling, or Edinburgh and the Borders . . . something like that could be done in the week-ish you seem to be allocating to Scotland - But that is 'seeing' a teensy part of Scotland. And London + York, or London + Oxford/Bath. - that could be done in a rushed week - but again that's a teensy corner of England.

Getting a guide book or two will help you narrow things down.

Guide books on the way...thanks.

We spent 5 weeks in Ireland & northern Ireland and wished we had planned another few days.
The trip to Scotland I'm planning for 2020 is 6 weeks and I have to leave out a lot.
I'd pick one country and enjoy it.

Thanks all. Sadly, we have full time jobs so two weeks is what we have to work with, maybe 15-16 days max. Based on guide books, we're likely going to visit London, Bath, York, Edinburgh and Cotswolds. That's a great start anyhow!

>>London, Bath, York, Edinburgh and Cotswolds<<

That is an LOT in 2 weeks - barely doable but pretty much at a full run. More practical - say 5 or 6 days in London (which would be about a minimum to get a taste plus dealing with the jet lag at the beginning) a couple of days in Bath, 2 or 3 days in the Cotswolds. Since it takes 2 nights to net 1 day -- just those three would pretty much fill your two weeks including travel time. Stretching to 15-16 days you could add a couple of days in York or Edinburgh -- but not both.

OR a doable 2 week itinerary would be Edinburgh+York+London with maybe a day trip to either Bath or Oxford from London. And with 16 days Edinburgh+York+London plus a couple of days for the Yorkshire Dales or one of the more rural areas near Edinburgh.

Thanks! I will look into that. I appreciate your advice.

Hi there, I have travelled extensively with my sister, both in our 50's. We have travelled Europe every year for the last 7 from around mid May until the end of June.... you would be bonkers to travel from Australia to Europe for any less than 4 weeks to warrant the long haul IMO.... This year we spent a week in London and visited the Chelsea Flower Show amongst other things, trained it to Edinburgh for 3 nts, train to Oban for 2 nights, back to Edinburgh and did a 2 nt/ 3 days tour with Highland Explorers to the Isle of Skye. Flew to Dublin and did 3 nts there then picked up a car and drove around the coastal and country areas for about 3 weeks.... trying to squeeze in all those destinations in such a short time will simply ruin the trip. So much time wasted at ether airports or car pick up places.... If you havent been to London, start there and spend your entire 2 weeks, some in the city and then do a circle of the south east, the Cotswolds, Oxford and Bath.... so stunningly beautiful.... Edinburgh was a big disappointment for us.... dreadful weather, sheets of rain, as was Oban. Couldn't get out to see what we would have liked or planned to see and it was ruined.... expensive accomodation, rail tickets, etc, all for nought.... The tour of Isel of Skye was absolutely BRILLIANT.. we are not 'bus tour' people, but this was the very best way to visit the area and it was a stunningly beautiful place.... highly recommended, but go with a short tour, don't try and do it yourself, you will miss too much...
Ireland countryside was lovely, some great scenic places to visit and lovely people, but IMO the cities are very disappointing compared to the rest of Europe, There is no glamour, it's poor man's Europe. Dublin was very ordinary, a seedy area full of delapidated pubs. and no specacular sights in the city. Trinity College is touted as a 'must see' but its tawdry compared to the magnificent colleges and universites in Oxford and Cambridge!!!
Our carefully planned trip was really disapointing in parts but really great in others. But for a first stop London/England gets our vote. There is a LOT to see, and I mean A LOT. And some wonderful destinations only a short train ride away as well.....

I think you're on the right track, but I don't like bouncing around a lot. I spent a week in London several years ago and did a day trip to York. I don't recall feeling like I needed to stay any longer than a few hours in York.

Also, I just wanted to put in a plug for considering Dublin for another trip since someone else trashed it in an earlier post. Dublin is a wonderful city if you can appreciate the old juxtaposed to the new. I don't recall the pubs being rundown but I do recall enjoying a whiskey and listening to live Irish music. There are so many old churches they don't all even register on the travel guides. If you like history, I'd suggest visiting Killmainham Gaol, Glasnevin Cemetery, or 14 Henrietta Street. If you're up to it, you can climb O'Connell's tower at the cemetery and, on a clear day, see a sweeping view of the city. There's also Howth, a coastal town a short train ride away. Not to mention the literary greats, the theater, the libraries and the bookstores. I won't compare it to other cities. It's just different.