I have three friends who are planning a 2-week trip to the UK in May-2012. They just decided against renting a car, and I'm trying to help them brainstorm their options. Is there a good pass/passes for them to purchase which would let them follow this basic itinerary (alternate suggestions welcomed), using public transportation?:

Beginning and ending in London (not counting London in the 2-weeks):
Stonehenge - Bath - Cardiff
Waterford - Dublin - Belfast
Edinburgh
York - Stratford-upon-Avon - Oxford

Is that 1 itinerary?? I think you have way too much to fit into 2 weeks in that list.

How many days are they planning for each place? Are they spending any time in London (they could do Stonehenge and/or Bath as daytrips). Cardiff is not the most interesting place to go in Wales...are they just going there to stay in Wales?

Can you give us the big picture here?

Do they have 2 weeks PLUS London -- or 2 weeks altogether and are not visiting London?

In either case--that is not a 2 week itinerary. Even a full on 'If-this-is-Tuesday-it-must-be-Belgium' coach tour wouldn't try to hit 5 countries.

I agree with jamikins - there's enough for a month there, unless they are simply going to wave at places as they go past.

London - fly to Edinburgh, then work back to York - Stratford - Oxford - Bath - Stonehenge - London would work, as would

london, Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, York, london, or

London, Stonehenge, Bath, stratford, york, oxford, london.

You need to lose at LEAST 3 places just so you aren't sleeping in a different place (if not country) each night. I'd drop Waterford, Belfast, Cardiff & Stratford-upon-Avon. Then it becomes London-Bath-Bristol-Fly to Dublin-Dublin-Fly to Edinburgh-York-London

You could do Stonehenge as a half day trip from Bath using Mad Max Tours and Oxford as a trip from London

Point taken. As usual, way too many possibilities in the "brainstorming" stage of a trip. I simply took where they basically want to go, and got the itinerary off of an 11-day "Britain and Ireland" tour package. Granted it was "highlights!"

Two of them will stay in London for 7 nights, prior to touring. The third will arrive in time to tour, so day trips from London would eliminate that person. (Which might be okay. Good suggestion.)

I thought that giving them some UK public transport information, (e.g. BritRail Pass + Ireland for 10 days travel; Ryan Air or EasyJet; National Express Coach; ... ?) would show them what is realistic. Then they can eliminate some towns.

I mean to say that day trips from London which would eliminate one person from seeing Bath, Stonehenge, or Oxford, might be okay. Not that they should whack her ...

"<i>got the itinerary off of an 11-day "Britain and Ireland" tour package</i>"

Big BIG mistake. Those tours spend hours and hours each day stuck in a coach. They drive past many (in some cases - most) of the sites and only get out to 'visit' maybe one or two sites a day. The luggage is out in the hall by 7:00, they leave after an early breakfast and don't pull in to the the next stop over hotel until dinner time.

That is simply not doable on your own -- and who would want to?

After a plan like your first one -- they might <i>whack</i> you

I think you're working at it ( itinerary) a bit backwards. Since they seem to be interested in the larger towns and cities, public transportation is not really an issue...easily done. First they should decide exactly where they want to go (original plan not really feasible, need to do some downsizing) and how long they want to spend in each place. Then the transportation details can be worked out. For example a BritRail Pass may or may not be cost effective depending on where they plan to travel and how long they plan to stay.There are flights to/from Dublin/Belfast into either Cardiff/Edinburgh or London.