OK, this may be too general, but I'm planning a 2 week-ish trip in October to the UK, and am trying to narrow down the places to visit.

My boyfiend and I will be flying into London, probably the 27th/28th of September. Staying in London for a day or two (I wanna ride in the London Critical Mass, so that's the 29th), and leaving to visit my parents in the Cotswolds shortly thereafter. Visit with the parents till the 5th or so (5 days), then head off for another 6 days.

Now's the question. We've been talking about seeing Dublin and Belfast, or we could also head to Edinburgh and Glasgow. I'm torn on which route to take.

Is one itennary easier than another (ie, transportation and lodging). I'm really not wanting to rent a car, as I'm a lousy driver, and the BF can't drive a stick.

Would you recommend an open jaw ticket and leave from Ireland or Scotland? We'll be coming from Minneapolis.

Also, we've been thinking of maybe a hostel (with a private room) or B&B, I've never stayed in either, so I'm a bit lost in picking those as well.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Either would be fine. Whichever you choose do try for open Jaw -- either in to London/home friom Glasgow, or in to London/home from Dublin.

My choice would be Scotland (purely subjective) I MUCH prefer Edinburgh to Dublin, and Glasgow is a great city, Belfast is OK.

The logistics would be similar-ish. Where in the Cotswolds? Depending on the location you could fly to GLA or EDI from Birmingham, or take the train up north. Getting from Edinburgh to Glasgow is a piece of cake - quick trains city center to city center. 3+ days in edinburgh and 2 days in Glasgowwould be a good taste.

Or you could fly from B'ham to either Belfast or Dublin. Belfast makes more sense since you could stay there a couple of days then take the train down to Dublin and fly home from there.

But like I said - for a city visit I'd choose Edinburgh/Glasgow hands down.

(If you were deciding between the SW of Ireland or the NW of Scotland it would be a toss up but you'd need a car for those)

I also liked Edinburgh much more than Dublin. I have not been to Belfast or Glasgow, although Glasgow sounds much more exciting to me based on my research.

Also the weather in Edin. may be more inviting in October - less rainfall on the east side compared to Ireland or the west.

Note transatlantic air choices are fewer from EDI or GLA than from DUB. No nonstops to MSP, but okay connections through Amsterdam or Newark.

I've been to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast, but not Dublin. I was very intrigued by the short stay I had in Northern Ireland, but for the kind of trip you are thinking of, I'm joining the Scotland band wagon.

Edinburgh/Glagsow are so close to each other (just over an hour by very frequent train), and there'splenty of history, culture, walks, nightlife, good food etc. to keep you busy. You could easily do day trips from either city by public transportation and see a bit of the rest of Scotland.

I've been to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin. I'd say the transport to the Scottish cities is easier, takes less time, and those cities are (IMHO) more interesting. And I just got back from Dublin yesterday. I had been there twice before, and really didn't enjoy my four days there this time.

As for Hostels or B&Bs, well, that's personal choice. I'd go for B&Bs, as you won't have to share rooms with others (you might at a hostel, though you can request private rooms they're not guaranteed). B&Bs usually charge per person (like £30 per person) so watch the prices. However, breakfast is included, and that can shave off a lot on your budget. Meeting the host/esses is very nice, as well.

Other than not wanting to drive, is there a reason why you are wedded to the big cities? There are smaller cities you could get to by plane/bus/train that are nice as well, such as Perth or Kilkenny.

Thanks for the advice everyone. It seems like there's a strong sentiment for Scotland here! I'm going to the library to check out some tour books.

I'm sure I'll be able to get to a pub in either location!

to answer a couple questions, My parents live in Cheltenham, which seems to have pretty good train service. We might take a day trip to Cardiff when there.

As far as being set on the big cities, well, not really set per se, but we're city dwellers at home, so there's a certain comfort level, and for a first trip we were just wanting to hit some of the highlights. The stuff you learn about in school, ya know?

Hi AL,

Do you prefer Irish or Scotch Whisky?

I will add my vote for Scotland - although like Ireland very much. Edinburgh is much much nicer than Dublin our view, the scenery in Scotland is stunning and the people very friendly.

Well, I asked my boyfriend if he had any preferences, and all he said was that he wanted to see someplace we hadn't been before. Thanks, dear. That wasn't much help.

I'm starting to lean towards Edinburgh. Maybe call that a base and take day trips. Any advice on good day trips?

We can always go back to Ireland later. I'd really like to take one of the bicycle tours there in the summer.