Ireland or Scotland?

[Rake 08]

Trying to decide between the two for summer 18. Thoughts? Thanks.

 

[Woodview]

I live in Ireland ( Cork ) But have travelled to Scotland


My advice ..... do both.

How.... Fly to Dublin ........ Or Edinburgh

Hire a car And Drive to your picked Hotel ( Easy to find good Hotels )

Tour from Town to Town & return after 5 days to Dublin or Edinburgh

Fly to either Dublin or Edinburgh ( 1.1/2 hr flight ) & again hire a car and book your own Hotels Or Bed & Breakfast places

Do this for next 5 days & then Fly back to Departure airport.


Have a look at Aer Lingus for flights


For Hotels Go to Google Earth ..... when world globe comes up

select Town / City then put in Hotels ( Top left search bar ) & Select

..............

P.S. You could hire a car in say Dublin then drive to

Larne in N.I. & cross over to Stranraer in Scotland by car ferry ,( cheapest option )


Hope this helps.

 

[sayhello]

I haven't done the Ireland trip, so I can only speak to the Scotland trip. It's fabulous!! Scotland is so beautiful, and you see a lot of it, and do some really cool things, like canoeing on Loch Lommond, and baking scones, and hiking on the amazing Quirang on the Isle of Skye. It's very high up on my list of favorite ABD's!

Do you have any specific questions?

Sayhello

 

[Cousin Orville]

I've done the Ireland ABD and have done Scotland on my own. They're both wonderful places to visit. The Scotland ABD is on my short list for 18 as well. If I had never visited either, I'd probably choose Scotland.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

We've done both ABD Ireland and ABD Scotland. Of our 5 total ABDs (Ireland, Scotland, Backstage Magic, Baltics Add-on, and Greece--#6 China is this summer), ABD Scotland is by far my favorite. But--and it's a big but---we did Scotland the first year it was offered and the itinerary has changed quite a bit (and not for the better, in my opinion). We also had an amazing group for that trip, which I think played a big part of it. We were on the same trip with Calypso (who posted an amazing trip report about it here: http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3150065 ) and Calfan, who also posts here frequently. We did Ireland in 2007, which I believe was the second year it was offered. It ranks 3 or 4th of the ABDs we've done, but part of that is probably memory loss That itinerary has changed since we did it as well. We didn't go to Blarney Castle, which is probably a good change if you haven't been to Ireland before. I love both countries and travel to the UK frequently--the Republic a little less frequently. You can't go wrong with either, but I love the suggestions of doing both

 

[Rapunzellover]

I just did Scotland, and it's still a great itinerary, despite the changes. I would choose it over Ireland. Having done both ABDs, I think that Scotland is a better value for your money.

That being said, it's probably a good idea to consider a few other things.

1. The Ireland trip is slower paced.
2. The Scotland trip has some early mornings.
3. Kids will love both, but probably Ireland more, as it's less stuffy Castles.
4. Castles abound in Scotland. Be sure you like them as adults too.
5. Ireland definitely seems to have more on your own time.
6. Scotland has better shopping.
7. The Castle hotel in Ireland is amazing.
8. Edinburgh is a better city than Dublin.

 

[Rake 08]

I've done the Ireland ABD and have done Scotland on my own. They're both wonderful places to visit. The Scotland ABD is on my short list for 18 as well. If I had never visited either, I'd probably choose Scotland.

Thanks Kevin.

 

[calypso726]

We did the Scotland ABD with CaliforniaGirl and Calfan's families. It is still my favorite ABD of the 8 we have done. While there have been changes I'd still say do that one over Ireland. We did not do the Ireland ABD but we did copy ABD's itinerary and modified with must do's for us that weren't on there. Both countries are beautiful. We do plan to go back to Ireland to stay at Ashford Castle and then visit Northern Ireland at some point in the future. In the meantime this year will make the 4th time we've gone back to visit Scotland. Keep in mind that the ABD Scotland trip was our first visit to Scotland. I know Californiagirl posted a link to our Scotland ABD. Here is a link to my Ireland trip that I did prior to the Danube river cruise last summer. http://www.disboards.com/threads/danube-river-cruise-with-a-pre-trip-to-ireland.3522400/page-3 Hope it helps.

 

[Rake 08]

Thanks so much for the great input, Scotland it is! Kevin if you pick Scotland hope we get to travel with you again.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Thanks so much for the great input, Scotland it is! Kevin if you pick Scotland hope we get to travel with you again.

That would be fun! We'll miss you on the Italy cruise.

 

[tink1970]

Enjoy Scotland I've been there 4 years in a row and I always see something new and leave wanting to return. This year I'm hopping over to Dublin for a couple of days (essentially to avoid customs at JFK). It is an easy city to explore on your own if you have time before or after your ABD.