MarylandNed

LOL! Not quite. It was absolutely pissing down as we drove through Belfast. It was actually warm and sunny when we got to Carrick-a-rede.

ireland2canada

I was back in July and I was able to walk around, some of the time, without a jacket on! Shocking

DandNHill

Based on all the suggestions you have had, you might want your OH to book extra time off

But seriously, you have to go to the South Downs, that's where I'm from and they're luurvvly!!

Violets are blue

Hi, I would say do everything el_richo said but include in my opinion (while your are down Bristol way) Glastonbury (unusual little town but cute), Cornwall way and Bournmouth area. When you are in Ireland if you land in Dublin, lots of people drive around the country - into Wicklow, head down around the ring of Kerry, Killarney, Cork and up into the west, Galway, Clare, Mayo Sligo and up into North west - Donegal, into Northern Ireland counties, across to Belfast and don't leave out the Giants Causeway and Newry, Warrenpoint, Mountains of Mourn and back down through counties towards Dublin. There are loads of other towns in the middle up and down Ireland. Both Countries are easily done in three weeks however if you are going to travel around places like Connemara in the West of Ireland (loads of mountains, beaches and lakes, really lovely) you will need to know that the roads there are lets say - an adventure ! Areas like this take a much longer time (than anticipated) to drive around and the road signs are in Irish once deep into the countryside (so sat nav). Scotland also in my opinion takes a while to get around as does Wales (mountain parts). In Ireland take clotthes for every season regardless of the month you go. I had gale force winds, hailstones, sunshine and normal rain all in one day . Also be prepared to talk a lot and BARTER at bed and breakfast houses and hotels (it does work, same when you hire a car there if you have not pre booked online), I have never tried it in England so someone else will have to advise on that. Hope this helps a bit.

marietuluse

This really sums you up totally, 'do england quickly just to say you've been'. Get back to Canada love as quickly as possible and give us all a break.[/QUOTE]

marietuluse

I LOVE this itinery, especially the York and Whitby stop off

comet555

Thanks for the great advice everyone. I've taken lots of notes to help with the planning.

It certainly seems like we could cover a decent amount of Ireland, England and perhaps Scotland in 2 weeks if we drive a couple hours a day. Which suits us just fine as we probably wouldn't plan on staying two nights in one place unless there was lots to do in the morning. I should note that we don't really feel the need to see too much in the big cities. Would probably only spend a day in London and see a few big touristy sights. I like the suggestion of Oxford and that's probably more us than the big city. What we're really after is the pretty scenic drives and castles, old houses, historic stuff really! As you know there is a shortage of really old stuff in Canada!

A couple questions:

1. Would a ferry make the most sense to get between Ireland and England? The ferry into Dublin looks to be about 2 hours which isn't bad. Going on foot seems to cost about 130 pounds all together for both of us (can't do the symbol sorry!). Flying seemed to be about 150 pounds. It doesn't make much sense to bring a rental car on the ferry either I suppose, unless it would cost more to drop off a rental in England and pick one up in Ireland.

2. B&B's or hotels, etc? I'm assuming there are lots of B&B's around, how does the cost compare to hotels? What would be easier to just show up without booking? Should we worry about places having vacancies if we travelled in September? I do hope to have a rough itinerary but if we didn't need to book ahead then that would be fine too. Also, neither of us has ever stayed in a B&B so is it easy to find ones where you have your own bathroom? I wouldn't be too fussed to share one, although my husband probably feels otherwise!

MarylandNed

Two weeks for Ireland, Scotland and England is probably tight unless you're just picking a couple of places in each or you don't mind being in a car a lot. Factor in that you'll lose a day flying over there and another flying back.

Personally, I would rather fly between Ireland and Britain than be messing about with ferries. Then again, I've travelled on every possible ferry between the island of Ireland and mainland Britain over the years. You might actually enjoy the ferry ride if you've never been on one before.

Unless you're getting a great deal on a rental car that you want to take with you, I wouldn't be taking a rental car on the ferry. If you do, make sure the rental car company is fully aware of your plans. You don't want to be in a situation you're not insured for.

Also, much depends on your itinerary. Where you fly into and out of and where you hope to pick up and drop off rental cars needs to be coordinated.

Much simpler IMO to use a local rental car and fly over the Irish Sea. That's what I did on my last extended trip to visit Ireland and England.

Cost depends on the location and standard of B&B's and hotels. Some B&B's are more expensive than some hotels and vice versa. September is not high season so you'll definately have more freedom in terms of just playing it by ear. However, I would book something in advance in the cities (e.g. Dublin, London, etc.) for the dates that you know you'll be there.

Stormer999

A sensible option for the mainland tour would be to think seriously about a rail travel anywhere type ticket. Fuel,car parking and rental will cost, you say you want to see old places then I would pick out some of the old walled towns but have the route planned out carefully and accomodation pre booked for September still a busy holiday time in the UK. Driving times on UK roads to some of the places suggested to you are a no go at a rate of 2-3 hours per day.
At least by train you can be on holiday....

comet555

Excellent advice. Hadn't thought about the insurance on the ferry. I think the rough plan was that if we took a ferry we would drop it off in England and pick up another on in Ireland. Cheaper than taking it on the ferry anyway I would imagine. We did take a couple ferries in Australia and once you're on them they kind of all look the same I suppose!

Will definitely be booking the major cities as we'll probably be there on arrival and again prior to flying back to Canada. If I can get a pretty good itinerary then I probably will book a bunch of nights, although I like to leave open a bit of room to change plans if needed.

comet555

Will investigate a rail ticket, hadn't thought of it, although it might be difficult to convince to do it. He would have a hard time giving up a vehicle as you have far more freedom that way. We'd have no problem doing longer drives if needed to get to certain spots, although wouldn't want to drive 5 hours every day.

When we toured new Zealand we travelled on average about 3-4 hours each day for the 8 days we were there. That wasn't a problem for us and we actually enjoyed the drives. We even had our two little kids (under 6) at the time. This trip we'll be without the kids which will help a lot!

Souvy

Oh, come off it!

I'm also from that neck of the woods. The South Downs are nice, mainly on the scarp slopes, but they are hardly one of England's gems.

dbd33

I wouldn't try to use the train. Castles are usually at remote windswept spots without rail access. I'd join the National Trust in advance, that's like signing up for the annual National Parks pass in the US.

dbd33

We were at Beachy Head last year. I think that's gemic.

MarylandNed

+1