mariz66

hi

i am planning a trip to Scotland, Ireland and Iceland on June 11 til June 30. Please help in helping my plan our trip.
Flying in to London from Asia on June 11, arriving 6:30am.
I'm thinking of flying to Scotland or train would be better?
Interested places to see in Scotland are:
Isle of Skye for Fairy pools, old man of storr, kilt rock, maybe Portree, Eilean Donan Castle, ring of Brodgar?
Isle of Mull to see Staffa, Trossachs and puffins
glasgow, glencoe, inverness? finnich Glen?

then proceed to Northern Ireland?
what route should I take? I can skip Ireland if too much and just spend 10days in Scotland
where else can you recommend? I'm open to suggestions.
I am thinking of renting a car.

janisj

Just the places on your list in Scotland - mostly on islands and far apart would take than 10 days. Just a minimum of 2 days (3 nights) each in the Trossachs, on Mull, on Skye, and Orkney would require more than 12 days because of the travel time between.

So you need to cut back your expectations or increase the time.

>>I'm thinking of flying to Scotland or train would be better?<<

Depends on where from -- if you mean flying up from LHR the same day you arrive -- then fly. If you are spending any time in London, then take the train from.

(You also listed iceland - are you going there too?)

BigRuss

What's with Iceland? Was that a mistake in the tagging of your post?

If you're going to Scotland without spending time in London, fly onward. To get to Scotland by train would require going into London by Piccadilly line (45-50 minutes, plus wait time) to Kings Cross or by Heathrow Connect/Express to Paddington station (30 or 15 minutes, plus wait time) then transiting across London to Kings Cross (20-30 minutes by cab from Paddington) and then boarding a train that will take 4.5 hours.

Do you want to go only to Northern Ireland or to Ireland? Northern Ireland is in the UK so whatever visa you may need to enter the UK will work. Ireland is not and you may have other requirements for entry.

janisj

>>Was that a mistake in the tagging of your post?<<

I don't think it was a 'mistake' since Iceland is also mentioned in the thread title . . .

Tony2phones

19 days for 3 countries.. Possible. many folk cram more places into less time.. It depends HOW? you aim to split the time you have.. It depends HOW? you are wanting to travel.

The thing is that you could spend all the time in any of the 3 countries and there are folk on many forums who will tell you to do just that. Personally I know its not going to be my holiday and if you tell me how long you have for Ireland I will be happy to run you through a hit and run road trip if that's what you want.. I Know you are not going to have 10 days, probably not even 7 on the ground but that can give options.

Fly Scotland to Cork, up the west coast to Galway east to Dublin and I presume you have tagged a flight between Dublin and Reykjavik

mariz66

sorry for the late reply:

Asia to London then fly onward to Glasgow Or should I fly straight to Inverness instead? I'm thinking Glasgow since its a shorter plane ride.

Here's my itinerary for Scotland
Day 1: Glasgow
Day 2: Glasgow-Oban
Day 3: Oban to Mull via ferry to Craignure
Day 4: Mull
Day 5; Mull to skye
Day 6: Skye
Day7: Skye to Inverness
Day 8: Inverness
take tour to Orkney from inverness, ( day trip tour, 14hours via viatoe or the like)
Day 8: fly to dublin
any idea on how to go to skye from Mull with car?
DO you think this is doable or still too much?

Tony2phones; I'm dreaming of seeing Ireland and Northern Ireland too.
I have my lists of places to see;
cliffs of Moher, Giant Causeway Titanic/ trinity college? st Patricks catheral
Is 5nights enough?

Yeah, going to Iceland too! Maybe 8nights? Any suggestions?

Tony2phones

Land Dublin, bus straight to Belfast (be better to fly straight there) City and titanic day 1 Tour of the Causeway day 2 drop to Dublin airport bright ans early on Day 3. Express bus to Galway from Dublin Airport. see the Cliffs and Burren via a tour, night 3 in Galway, Day 4 back to Dublin

More than I would normally recommend..

Also consider a better option? Fly into Shannon from Scotland.. take a tour to the Cliffs and Burren from Ennis or Limerick night in Galway or Ennis. Bus to Dublin on day 2 or 3. Tour of the Cauesway and Belfast from Dublin. I wouldn't normally recommend that but you are pushed for time and lots of folk do actually do that long day tour. leaves a bit of time for Dublin.

mariz66

thanks Tony2phones

mariz66

sorry, forgot to ask about Aran Island. where can I fit it in?

janisj

>>any idea on how to go to skye from Mull with car?<<

Ferry from Fishnish to Lochaline and drive on to Mallaig and take the ferry -- about a 2 to 2.5 hour drive plus any photo stops

You are taking a 14 hour tour to Orkney and then flying to Dublin? Is there a flight that late??? (Viator doesn't do tours BTW - they are just a reseller of products offered by various tour companies)

On day two I would drive from Glasgow to Oban and catch the ferry on to Mull that afternoon. Then move everything up one day which will end up giving you an extra day in the Inverness area -- which means you could see places like Culloden, or Ft George, or Cawdor Castle, or the Black Isle or other scenic areas . . . or do an over night/2 days tour to Orkney.

Tony2phones

Arans can be done from Galway (Inis Mor, Inis Mean) or Doolin (Inis Oirr,Inis Mean) depends on your interests but possibly an Inis Oirr with Cliffs of Moher combi from Doolin might work.

One thing to factor might be the baggage aspect,, Backpacking might make a tight schedule a bit more flexable?

mariz66

hi
Thanks for your reply.
Need help again

From London, I'm going to fly to Belfast stay 3 nights and take ferry to Cairnryan. What will be my route if Glasgow is my last stop. Places I'm interested in is the same... Oban, Mull, SKye, Inverness to glasgow

janisj

>>take ferry to Cairnryan. <<

Not your best choice for this itinerary. Fly from Belfast to either Inverness (best) or Glasgow.

Pick up a car at Inverness then hit Skye, Mull, Oban and GLA.

Ferry to far SW Scotland doesn't fit at all (you'd have to take the train to Glasgow, then a bus or cab to GLA, collect a car there and head out)

mariz66

thanks janisj for taking the time out to reply. You've been of great help

mariz66

I found a rental car in Stranraer, Hertz, Is this a better option rather than flying to Inverness?
MAybe we can take a cab from Cairnryan to Stranraer??
What insurance do we need for rental car?
Thanks

janisj

>>I found a rental car in Stranraer, Hertz, Is this a better option rather than flying to Inverness?<<

Not IMO. Everyplace you mention visiting is in the north or far north so I'd fly to Inverness or GLA and do your itinerary either north to south or vice versa. (Now, IF you were planning on visiting the southwest and the Borders, Stranraer could make sense)

>>What insurance do we need for rental car?<<

Depends -- if your credit card or trip insurance covers your CDW then just the basic insurance included with the rental. Check justairports.com and you will get quotes with and without full coverage.

mariz66

thanks!

mariz66

hi

Need help again.
flying from dublin to inverness,
Day 1-2: Inverness
3-4: Skye
5-6: Mull
7: Oban
8-9: Glasgow
10: fly to Kef

what if I skip Oban (nothing much to do here)? where else can I go? Is it advisable to go from Island of Mull straight to glasgow? If not. where else is interesting to stay the night?

Thanks

janisj

It is better to think in terms of nights instead of days.

Is your plan to sleep in Inverness 2 nights, Skye 2 nights and so on?

If so I would drop Oban and add a night to Skye. It is a very large Island and traveling around is slow to very slow. 3 nights would give you 2.5 days on the island which is a good first taste. From Mull you would ferry to Oban and then have a nice/scenic drive to GLA where you should drop the car and then take public transport into the central city for your 2 nights there.

As for Inverness -- I would not stay IN Inverness city but in a nearby village or a rural B&B. The city is nice enough but is mainly a busy commercial center for northern Scotland.

mariz66

Oh no! I'm soo dead!
I got so excited to get available rooms at glengorm castle that I booked the wrong night.
there is a cancellation charge.

I can't believe they are almost fully booked for June!

How will I fix my route?

If flying to inverness on the 11th.
My booking is June 12-14 at Mull.
I can fly to Glasgow but I'm afraid with the long flight from asia to London and then flying straight to Glasgow then then a road trip to Oban will be too much.

Any ideas?