tropicalice

I’m 21 and I’m planning on going to the UK for 3 or 4 weeks in September.
I plan to stay in: London, Redcar (friend in northeast England), Edinburgh, and Dublin.
I need suggestions on the order to see those places, and the cheapest/best way to get to them I had in mind to fly into London take a train to redcar and then a train to Edinburgh and lastly fly to Dublin, and home from there. I would rather see these places thoroughly and am trying to figure out how many days in each would be sufficient I was thinking:
London -7 nights
Redcar - 3 nights
Edinburgh- 5 nights
Dublin – 6 nights
Any input on itinerary and lodging is greatly appreciated! I’m on a budget so I’m trying to book all of my transportation and lodging so I have an idea on how much money I will need! Thank you!

janisj

Your itinerary is fine -- trains in England and Scotland, then fly to Dublin then fly home.

Of course I don't know what sorts of things you want to see/do, but I <i>might</i> cut a night or two from Dublin and add them to either London (using the extra time for a couple of day trips to places like Oxford or Dover) -- OR -- squeeze in a couple of days in Glasgow.

What is your budget for accommodations?

Pegontheroad

I'd get a guidebook if I were you. I'm a very experienced traveler and I never go without a guidebook.

bilboburgler

Redcar will be a unique experience, for the other cities I would surf the city in the search engine on this web site to see what others like to do

Hooameye

"I’m 21 and I’m planning on going to the UK for 3 or 4 weeks in September.
I plan to stay in: London, Redcar (friend in northeast England), Edinburgh, and Dublin."

Just to save you getting into arguments/fights while your there, Dublin (Ireland) is not in the UK, it's a separate country.

sheila

Sounds fine. I can send you some bits and pieces for Edinburgh, if you email me; I suggest you look for B&Bs in locations you like

tropicalice

THANK YOU ALL! I was trying to stay away from B&B's because I've found they are a little more expensive, and the cheaper ones are in someones home.. I really dont have a budget I was thinking about 3,000 but I havent got that far in the planning because I need so much help!

janisj

No, 3000 doesn't help much (3000 what BTW -- $, £, € or ??? )

We meant >>How much do you want to spend per night for accommodations?<<

"<i>was trying to stay away from B&B's because I've found they are a little more expensive, and the cheaper ones are in someones home.. </i>"

Virtually ALL B&Bs are in someone's home. Are you asking about youth hostels? Otherwise, B&Bs will be about your cheapest option.

tropicalice

what is the B&B atmosphere i dont want it to be akward being in someones home or feel bad coming in late etc. So i guess im looking more along the lines of hostels

GBbabe

Dublin Internationl (YHA) hostel is nice and nicely located.

If you join Hosteling International, you can book through their site and usually get lower prices than non-members get.

There are several good hostels in London. Earl's Court YHA was totally refurbished ten years ago and is still getting good reviews and is very near the Earl's Court tube station.

I can't say about Edinburgh, haven't stayed in a hostel there.

Have a great time.

SkyeHigh

I'd say use hostelling international and the Independent Hostels in Edinburgh and Dublin are mostly okay, certainly safe and fun. In Edinburgh High st hostel and Royal Mile hostel have fantastic locations.

http://www.syha.org.uk/

http://www.hostel-scotland.co.uk/

Given you have lots of time in each place, I'd cut down on London by 2 days and consider surface from Edinburgh to Dublin with a stop in Belfast - it's incredible for atmosphere and friendliness. For train tickets buy single fares and be prepared to be flexible, the savings are high.

www.trainline.com or
http://www.scotrail.co.uk/

Are both good for fare comparisons.

tropicalice

Thank you all very much, im a very inexperienced traveler, as you can see. At this point in my planning I am debating Megabus and Britrail.

I will not be renting a car so im expecting to take cabs around each city when i get there but as far as getting to each city im not sure which would be cheapest.

Also the one way airfare is alot more expensive than a roundtrip using just london. So i have to work in the costs etc of getting back to london from dublin.

any suggestions?

thanks! Bree

janisj

"<i>I will not be renting a car so im expecting to take cabs around each city when i get there. . . </i>"

You won't need cabs. Cities have very good/cheap public transport. (No one needs to rent a car)

"<i> . . . but as far as getting to each city im not sure which would be cheapest.</i>"

Britrail is just a train pass and may not be a good option for you. They are pretty expensive and just buying your train tix in advance will likely be cheaper. Megabus is a viable option, but trains are better for long journeys.

And you'll probably want to fly from Edinburgh to Dublin.

nytraveler

You need to do a lot more research.

1) the Republic of Ireland is NOT part of the UK - it;s a separate county
2) In the places yuo will be renting a car is a nonsense - since there is large scale public transit. This is not the same as a train pass - but local transit systems within each city - that have to be paid for individually.
3) I really like Dublin but 6 days there is too much - you should plan on spending some days seeing the countryside (and for this a car is much the best option) - inside Dublin use feet - it's a small city

PatrickLondon

Britrail sounds like something specially devised for marketing to overseas visitors, which would make me instantaneously suspicious of unnecessary expense. For train travel within the UK, check out www.nationalrail.co.uk (which represents all the train operating companies) and www.seat61.com.

For options to fly between London and Dublin (likely to be your best option), check out www.skyscanner.net.

As a Londoner, I haven't owned or car or bothered much with taxis for the best part of 40 years: get yourself oriented with
www.tfl.gov.uk (for London - get yourself 7-day Travelcards on Oyster)
http://www.dublincity.ie/RoadsandTra...transport.aspx (for Dublin)

alanRow

<i>Also the one way airfare is alot more expensive than a roundtrip using just london. So i have to work in the costs etc of getting back to london from dublin.</i>

Look up "multi city" or "open jaw" tickets where you fly from home into one airport then back home from another. If you do find that returning to London is the best option then give yourself plenty of time to get back to London - preferably overnight as there's nowt as silly (or expensive) as being several hundred miles from your flight home with no way of reaching it.