Scotland or Ireland with teenagers
 

I am in the very early stages of planning a family trip for next July with our family. Do you think Scotland or Ireland would appeal more to teenage girls? Of course, I know it depends entirely on what they enjoy, but can you give me a general feel for the differences in the countries. It will at least give me a starting point before I begin in depth research.

Scotland and Ireland share the same positive traits, so I don't think one would appeal more than another to teenage girls. Maybe someone else has a different opinion.

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Need more info (as noted) but my daughter was quite keen on Scotland as a youngster. We went at many stages before she was old enough to appreciate architecture, or ancient history. She like the fancy stores in Glasgow's Princes Square, the beaches north of Dunoon, the ferry rides out from Oban to the isles and the shockingly coloured, very sweet desserts that the Scots go in for (Banoffi Pie, &quot;Petit Fours&quot;, Sticky Toffee pudding).<BR><BR>As she got older she got into the scenery of the highlands and the wonderful castles of the east coast. <BR><BR>You know your kids' tolerance for beauty versus entertainment; both Ireland and Scotland offer either. Dish it out in doses they can influence.

Thanks for the replies. They have traveled quite a bit and love quaint villages over big cities--also enjoy meeting interesting people. I was just curious as to how you would explain the differences in the two cultures (please excuse my lack of knowledge) and landscapes...

A-ah, you've said the magic words. If they enjoy small towns and &quot;quaint villages&quot; where you meet and get to know the locals, I rather think Ireland may serve you better.<BR><BR>The Scots (and much of my family still lives there) are more standoffish. They are wonderful folks when you get to know them but not nearly so welcoming to strangers (esp. in small towns) as the Irish.<BR><BR>I realize this is a tremendous generalization, but the Irish are almost professionally good hosts to tourism and seem to delight in showing off their villages to strangers. The Scots take more of an approach that if you are worthy you will figure out the good bits for yourself.

I've been to Ireland and Scotland quite a bit. And I love both. But I find them quite different. Personally, if I wanted to hike and generally experience nature in great diversity, I'd go to Scotland. It has tons of inland lakes, mountains, gorges, islands, beaches (cold!) etc.. I'm from Colorado and it feels a bit more like home. You get the sense that there is a bit more money - wider roads in general, less obvious poverty. <BR>Our first trip to Ireland, we spent a month and saw every little village (at least it felt like it!). I came home and said I'd never go again, I loved Scotland... and didn't like Ireland. But friends invited us to come with them to a cute, small village in County Cork. Luckily, we agreed. We hike, do a bit of siteseeing, hang in the pubs, ride horses, go to the Gallic football games (at the local highschool!)... and even went to a wedding reception. I have gotten to know and love the locals and the Irish people. We find it to be a great first stop in Europe - it's great to unwind, move to vacation mode, get used to the time change.... and then we move on. Last year we did Ireland and Rome. This year its Ireland and the South of France. It is quite cheap to fly from Ireland to the rest of Europe.<BR><BR>Many folks on this forum talk about seeing lots of different Irish villages - kind of a &quot;hit and run&quot; Irish vacation. My opinion, that's not the way to experience Ireland.

Again, thanks for the info. This will be our last chance to travel as a family before one of the kids goes to college and I want to make the right choice.

gtr--you really can't make a wrong decision here, as I basically said earlier. And while I'd lean toward Ireland because I know it so much better than Scotland, I have to say that I don't find the people of Scotland to be standoffish, or less friendly than people in Ireland.<BR><BR>Both places have good cities for shopping (Edinburgh and Dublin), beautiful countryside, and scenic towns. Ireland does have less picture-postcard villages, but there's a reason for that, which I won't go into because I don't want to start a big row on this discussion.<BR><BR>And I prefer to hike in Ireland because there really aren't any snakes.

I have been to both recently. They are vert similar to an outsider. The north of Ireland (Ulster(spelling?)...Northern Ireland) have the same roots. I have to tell you about one thing that is common to both Ireland and Scotland. Do not be suprised if you hear the F word used in conversion. I worked in Scotland for nearly a year. The F word is very common and used within a family conversation at times.<BR>But I would recommend either area for a vacation.

Here's a vote for Ireland... we enjoyed Scotland immensely. But I think the village atmosphere and friendliness of the Irish will appeal to your teens. Tralee and Killarney are a bit larger and will have some shopping if they are interested.