Another American heading to London and looking for help!

[goofy4tink]

Here's our situation. Our dd will be studying abroad in London next fall....Sept-Dec. she will be staying in the Bloomsbury area. Dh and I are planning to go over in mid-Oct....for 7-10 days. I've been before, with dd, back when she was 14....7 hrs ago. So, I know about getting an Oyster Card, and I know pretty much what to take my dh to in London proper. It's more about getting outside of London where I've got no knowledge.
So, dd gets some long weekends to travel as she wants. The kids tend to head to Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands and France. Dh and I would like to check out both Ireland and Scotland. We will take dd with is when we head to Ireland.
My question? How difficult is it to get to these two countries? I believe you can take trains to both? We would plan on spending one night in Edinburgh...staying pretty much in the immediate area. And one, possibly two, nights in Ireland...may e a night in Dublin and a night close to the Blarney Castle area. Is this going to be doable? Any recommendations as to how best to travel or where to stay? We're on a budget, so can't spend a ton of money.
I'm pretty sure we will be staying at the Premier Inn County Hall when in London, or possible the Bedford in Bloomsbury.

Any suggestions? Thanks for any help at all!!

 

[Dimplenose]

I would look at flying to get to both Scotland and Ireland from London. Ireland will definitely need a flight or a ferry as it is separate from the mainland UK.

 

[goofy4tink]

We kind of thought that using the train (which evidently takes under 5 hrs, at 125 mph!) would give us a nice view of the countryside...going to both countries. But, I'm considering making Scotland my last stop and flying home to Boston from there.

 

[Chilly]

Scotland via train is an option but check the price as trains in the UK can be very expensive.

Ireland you are probably best flying to. If you went via public transport you would need to get a train about 3 trains a ferry and a bus taking over 7 hours probably.

I would stay at least 2 nights in both.

 

[kamik86]

I'm not sure about Ireland and how quickly you can get there, but there is a high speed rail line that goes up from London to Scotland which seems like it would be a good choice.

 

[sky13]

There are budget airlines (Easyjet/Ryanair) that fly from London to Dublin and London to Edinburgh. Flight prices can be incredibly cheap if you book in advance (<£20 one way), though you'd need to take into account the cost of getting to/from the airports. Especially as the budget airlines tend to fly from London Stansted/Luton which are a little harder to get to (need to take a train or bus from central London to get to these airports).

There's also the West/East Coast mainline trains that run between London and Glasgow/Edinburgh. I think it's supposed to take about 5 hours. But as others have said the cost of trains can be quite high! The advantage over flying though is no need to travel from London to the airport (they leave from Euston/King's Cross which are both in Zone 1 and near Bloomsbury) or to check in early at the airport. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ lets you look at train times/prices.

 

[gemmybear83]

The train route up to Scotland is the east coast one, tickets will be available 3 months before and as long as you book around the you will be able to get cheap singles. The journey will take 5 hours but is quite attractive, especially between newcastle (northern England) and Scotland where you travel across really attractive coastline and countryside.

If you fly both airports are outside the city and once you factor in travel times to the airport, checkin, costs for hold luggage, transfers etc it is usually cheaper to get the train!

Hotels in edinburgh are just as expensive as london, there is a german hotel chain called motel one really nice and great locations.

Hope you have a fantastic trip!

 

[goofy4tink]

Thanks guys!!! Great info.

 

[KayleighAndJim]

I went to Dublin from Heathrow by plane a couple of weeks ago. I used aer lingus and it was £100 for two people, including one bag. Definitely take a plane because it's your quickest way to go. It's only an hour's flight, whereas the ferry takes 2 hours for the fast ferry and 4 hours for the normal one, plus on/off time.

You can get a bus to take you between the city and the airport, which is 10 euros each. I'm not sure about getting to Blarney castle, but it you want to check out the sights in Dublin city, i highly recommend the hop on/hop off bus, which is 19 euros each for 48 hours from first use.

Unfortunately i can't help you with Scotland, but it's on my to do list, so let us know if there are any must do's you come across x

 

[jonoble]

The journey will take 5 hours but is quite attractive, especially between newcastle (northern England) and Scotland where you travel across really attractive coastline and countryside.

Just wanted to agree with this ^^ it's a really beautiful stretch of railway.

If it's an option, you might want to consider making your return flight to the States from Dublin. Then you could take advantage of the US Preclearance facility, which means you'll land in the US at a domestic terminal and not have to go through customs, etc, when all you want to do is get home. http://www.dublinairport.com/gns/at-the-airport/US-Preclearance.aspx

 

[BadPinkTink]

Hi lots going on in this thread

Right I am Irish from Dublin and I have lived in London and Edinburgh.

London to Dublin
Flying is the best option.
Airlines are http://www.aerlingus.com/ and http://www.ryanair.com/
Flights prices are basic flight, add on such as checked bags, admin costs ect are extra
Book in advance at least 3 months to get the best prices, prices rocket the closer you book to your fly date. You can get flights for as little as £20 but thats before checked bags, taxes , admin charges etc Prices can go up to over £200 if you book the day before you fly!!

Aerlingus fly from Heathrow and Gatwick
Best way to get to Heathrow - Picidilly tube line, takes about 1 hour from central london, costs about £6 will bring you direct to your departure terminal
Best way to Gatwick - Gatwick Express train from Victoria Station, takes about 30 minutes, costs about £18 one way, will bring you direct to the airport http://www.gatwickexpress.com/

Ryanair fly from Stansted
Best way to get to Stansted - Stansted Express train from Liverpool Street Station, takes about 50 minutes, costs about £ 19 one way, will bring you direct to the airport https://www.stanstedexpress.com/

I usually allow for 6 to 8 hours door to door to travel from London to Dublin. Flying time around 1 hour but there si alot more time needed.

This time includes
Travel from where I am staying to the airport
Time to check in and go through security
Time to relax at the airport, have something to eat
Time to get to the departure gate
Boarding and flight time
Landing, taxing to the arrivals gate
Disembarking and going through border control
Waiting and collecting bags
Walking to transportation area
Transportation to where I live in Dublin

Transport from Dublin airport to Dublin city centre is not as good as in the UK. There are 2 options, double decker bus route 747 which costs €6 one way €10 return. This will bring you to the city centre, main street and you will then have to make your own way to where you are staying. The journey is approx 40 minutes depending on traffic

The other option is a taxi and I would recommend this. There is an official taxi rank at both terminals in Dublin airport. Depending on where you are staying and the traffic, journey to the city centre will take about 30 minutes and will cost about €25 approx.

What to do, where to stay in Dublin / Ireland etc is a whole other thread

But just for information purposes at this stage. The Blarney Castle is in Co Cork, in the south of Ireland. Cork City is about 4 hours by train from Dublin. Blarney is 8km from Cork city and you get a bus from from the city to it. Its really only a day trip which most people do when they are visiting Cork city and the surrounding area.

London To Scotland
You have 2 options to get to Scotland, train or fly, I have done both
Get the train to Edinburgh from Kingscross Station, or Euston Station can cost as little as £20 one way or as much as £200 one way depending on how far in advance you book and day and time of travel. The best way to book tickets in advance is http://www.thetrainline.com/ Journey time is approx 4 and a half hours

Fly London to Scotland
Easyjet fly from Stansted and Gatwick to Edinburgh http://www.easyjet.com/
Ryanair fly from Stansted

Again the earlier you book, the lower the prices.

Sorry this has turned a bit epic, hope I haven't lost everyone