We are going to be traveling to Ireland next fall but my husband wants to see Scotland and possibly Wales in the same trip. Since I do the itinerary I don't know if we should fly to Ireland with side trips to Scotland and Wales or fly to London and do Wales and Scotland first and then fly to Ireland? Since we want to spend just a few days in both countries and the majority of time in Ireland I don't know where to start? Someone suggested we rent a car and ferry on over to Scotland or Wales? Has anyone done this and, if so, I'd really appreciate any recommendations! Thanks!

One thing to look into is the relatively cheap prices to fly from UK to Ireland. Even with taxes, it is often around $25 to fly from Edinburgh to Dublin.

This may make your planning easier.

carolann,

How long will your trip be? How long do you want to spend in each country? What specific places do you want to see in each country?

Knowing these things might help us make recommendations.

If just a few days means less than a week I would stay in either Scotland or Ireland, but not both.

Agree w/ BrimhamRocks - How much time are you talking about? 2 weeks, 3, 4 or more? That would make a HUGE difference re which place(s) you could visit and the best ways to travel.

You would need a car in Wales and Scotland, so I guess the ferry would be your best option (just ask the car rental people about their policies on taking the car on the ferry--most have no problem with it, but you do need to tell them). Renting a car in Wales or Scotland and then renting another car in Ireland won't be very cost effective, unless you're spending at least a week in Wales and Scotland.


But the logistics of the whole thing may prove difficult, unless you're up for a lot of driving.

In answer to your questions on our trip to Ireland, Scotland & Wales, we hope to be gone approx. 3 weeks with 10 or so of those days in Ireland. That leaves at least 5 days for Wales and Scotland each. We 're not sure of where we want to go in either of those two countries since I'm just starting the process but it sounds as if, from your recommendations, we could either rent a car and ferry it over or get some inexpensive flights from Ireland and rent a car when we get there? I'll pursue both ideas. I'll be reading the travel talk web sites from everyone to decide where we'll go but any suggestions from you would be appreciated. We've been to ireland twice but never to the other countries. I'll have alot of research to do before we decide!
Thanks again for your help!