Planning first visit Ireland & Scotland: 14 days or so and prefer ~70% city/culture/history and ~30% nature/scenic. First thought was no-fuss guided tour - but we are not liking the very early starts and regimentation. Also would not like to spend much of day on bus traveling to short stop over then back on bus. Or is there a more relaxed type of guided tour (not $$ private)? Is travel by rail then find local tours a good idea? Do rail lines go to some scenic areas such as coast ?

Welcome to Fodors. Visiting two wonderful/amazing/beutiful countries in two weeks means you'll be very rushed, no matter whether you choose a tour or independent travel. I would bite the bullet and stick to one - either one but just one country. Do remember that 14 days home-to-home really only nets you about 11.5 days free on the ground, some of which may be jet lagged, and then you'd lose another half day traveling from one to the other. You say '14 days or so' -- TBH I wouldn't even consider trying to bite off both countries in less than three full weeks -- and even then -- especially for Scotland, with 3 weeks I'd still only do one country. The driving in the rural areas (in both countries) is slow to very slow - like 30-35 mph slow.

Touring by rail isn't all that efficient in either place since many of the most scenic bits are very rural and have little or no rail service.

I personally lean to Scotland but Ireland has a lot of fans too.

you do not need/want a car in cities like Edinburgh or Dublin but for touring the countryside a car makes thing MUCH easier. If you don't want to drive -- there is a terrific Edinburgh-based company that does small group (16 or fewer passengers) tours in both countries. https://www.rabbies.com/en-us

But again fudging the numbers a bit and planning say 11 to 15-ish days on the ground -- pick one.

With two weeks you might just scratch the surface of either Scotland or Ireland - not both - janis is right.

To provide context, Scotland is one of my favourite destinations and most trips (you can click my profile for some recent trip reports) have been ~3 weeks long, focusing on a sub-region within Scotland at best. Both Scotland and Ireland are best explored with your own set of wheels, public transport wears thin as you get remote.

2 countries, both famous for countryside, unknown time of year, 70% culture/city

???


I'd do Scotland or the Island of Ireland in that time
In December I'd plan differently than August
You don't want a car in a city
There are great tours of varying complexity (mentioned by janisj or by bike, by canal boat...)

Really need a lot more information

Dery/LondonDerry, Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow are great