Scotland or Ireland?
 

I will be visiting friends in Southern England this spring and would like to tag on a one week tour in either Scotland or Ireland. If you had to pick one, which is best for scenery, fun things to do, sightseeing?

could be cheaper to get to ireland than scotland some great cheap flights available with bmi baby.com or ryan air.com<BR>train travel tends to be expensive and take hours.scotland is a wonderful place the scenery tends to be more rugged and dramatic than ireland but the irish scenery is very beautiful in a mellow kind of way.

There was a thread similar to this a few months ago. You could probably still find it in a search. As I recall, consensus was pretty evenly split. I think it's a very difficult call, and assure you that you would not be disappointed in either!

I'd give a slight edge to Ireland since you'll be in southern England. Both countries are beautiful and have lots to see. I will also give another edge to Ireland's food.

Ireland's nice, but Scotland is spectacular! And you couldn't find a nicer group of residents.

I vote Scotland... you can find everything that will fill your days, and the evenings with folk at the pub, and on the street during the day, cannot be beat. Have a grand time!

I second the vote for Scotland. With apologoes to all the other people in the British Isles and Europe, the Scots are just the nicest people! Scotland is very beautiful, with lots of great history. Don't just go to the cities, though. Get yourself to the Highlands. Spectacular.

Thank you for your opinions. I was leaning toward Scotland, then Ireland, then Scotland again... I don't know yet, but it sounds like either will be a good trip.<BR><BR>What about weatherwise? When could I expect the most sun or at least a little. May, June, early July? Also, are these countries super-crowded like Italy in summer?

Scotland!!! The country is so peaceful and the people are very nice. It is very magical and mystical. You will see!

I spent three weeks in each, and preferred Ireland by a long shot. In fact, I'm going back in May.

You can't go wrong with either one. Flip a coin, pick a number from one to ten, whatever. If someone held a gun to my head and made me pick one, I'd pick Ireland. But maybe the next time I was threatened with lethal force I'd pick Scotland.

Definite preference for Scotland for range of countryside. Re: point on flights. Yes Ryanair etc have cheap flights to Ireland - but lots of cheap flights to Glasgow Prestwick and Edinburgh as well - tons of flights with Ryanair to Prestwick over the past 12 months at less than 15 quid each way so daft to make references to flights to Ireland vs expensive trains to Scotland. ONe thing to bear in mind is the countryside you see on the train - nice from Durham north if you go to Edinburgh. Before then a lot of the trip is tedious. Car journey A68 once you get north is great.

After spending 2 weeks in Ireland, I thought I had found paradide. That was before I discovered Scotland - absolutely love it there! While I really enjoyed Ireland, it doesn't compare to Scotland in my opinion. I'd love to be hopping on a plane to Edinburgh right now.

Regarding the &quot;sun&quot; question, I spent 6 weeks in England and Scotland about 5 years ago. I arrived in mid-May and left at the end of June. It rained most of the time in May and was in the 70's and 80's for most of June. Careful - I inadvertantly got the worst sunburn of my life in just a very short time near the water. I spent just a few days in Ireland so the comparison may be weak...but Scotland was fabulous. I echo the comments on the people and exploring the highlands and coast.