30th anniversary coming up , the wife and I have never been out of the country.
She would like to see Ireland, and I wouldn’t mind a few days in Scotland.

Has anyone used a tour agency or service they could recommend? Or advice if you had a good experience self guided?

I’d guess 12-14 days to do it right ?

We use Gate 1 for all our tours.

Ireland is relatively easy, interesting, fun & appreciative of tourists, in my experience.

You could just rent a vehicle & drive around yourself, if that works.

Much depends on your interests. Up Scotland way, Islay Island gets good reviews. Our brewery tour in Ireland was Smithwicks in Kilkenny. If there, gotta stop at Kytelers Inn. Kinsale was nice, down south.

My son was just over in Scotland recently. He was commenting that I could get ‘punched in the face’ with my limited understanding of the relationship with England.

In Ireland we did most of the tourist stuff.

I know you didn't actually ask for destination ideas, but I would strongly suggest seeing the Giant's Causeway in Ireland if you get a chance. Most amazing natural wonder I've ever seen.

We went to Edinburgh last year, and I bumped into a former coworker there. She goes every year for 2 weeks and just rents a car and picks an area to explore. Utilizing Airbnb for lodging or getting a hotel. She’s been doing this for several years.
This is how I would do it, it that’s me.

Mrs. Mike had a “tours by locals” set up for us the second day we were there. And we wound up hiring him for another full day for a tour of the countryside, to falkirk, the kelpies, the falkirk wheel, we ate in Dollar, visited where Robert the Bruce is buried in Dunferline and eventually wound up at the coast where we all put our toes in the North Sea.

Haggis is an “acquired taste”, but scotch whisky is good.

If you were/are into the “Outlander” TV series, I believe there are tours around those locations.

We’ve been to both. In Ireland we had a driver and took a train tour that went to the west coast of Ireland. We had a rental car in Scotland and did a clockwise loop from Edinburgh. I love the sights and the people in both countries. You can probably do justice to both if you have the better part of a week in each.

Ireland.
After a couple days in Dublin. Kilkenny, the Rock of Cashel, Cobh (port where many, many Irish emigrants sailed from) and Midleton (Jameson distillery). Cliffs of Moher in Clare, Galway. My brother and SIL returned to Ireland and saw Belfast and other places in Northern Ireland and enjoyed it.

Scotland.
Edinburgh is a beautiful city and certainly deserves at least two days. We didn’t spend any time in Glasgow itself but stayed outside of it in a beautiful estate, The Isle of Skye and the town of Portree—absolutely! Inverness is cool, and there are historic sites near there worth your time. I could give a much more detailed account of our drive around Scotland if you so desire.

I thought St. Andrews was really a cool place, even though my brother and I are not golfers.

Can you do a distillery and a golf course in the same day?

quote:

Originally posted by ElKabong:
Has anyone used a tour agency or service they could recommend? Or advice if you had a good experience self guided?

I’d guess 12-14 days to do it right ?

I'm still at the point in my life where I enjoy doing the trip-planning, research and exploring on my own. It takes a bit of time but it can save you money, you're traveling at the pace you set and I think you get more out of the trip...I"m a big fan of using Rick Steves books as they're pretty complete when it comes to sights, transportation and putting the sights into perspective. At the very least pick up one for the countries you're going to visit to get some background and understanding of the area.

If having somebody else do the tour guiding and driving, consider one of the Rick Steves Tours I've heard nothing buy good things- never felt herded, you're not tied tightly to the schedule, meals aren't always together, plenty of free time and never over-crowded. Public transportation is very easy around both countries, big thing with either hiring a driver or, connecting with a tour group is you don't have to worry about parking, this is big when visiting cities. While Ireland and Scotland I found to be easy driving wise, it took a slight bit of getting used to right-hand driving should you rent a car on your own...the other possible pain-point is sometimes having to find the car rental office which in Europe is usually far away from tourism centers.

Steves has a library of free videos on specific countries along with the TV programing, might help you and your wife figure out how you want to visit

This message has been edited. Last edited by: corsair,

Scotland is pretty small if you are staying on the mainland. It's only a couple hours drive East to West. We stayed a few days in Edinburgh and enjoyed it immensely, visited the Royal yacht Britannia there too. Also a side trip to Pitlochry which coincided with a massed band event. This is a very nice town which has a Castle hotel, and a distillery so lots to do.
Also stops in Inverness and Loch Ness along the way.

100% on the Rick Steves book recommendations. We use them for all of our European travel.

A Rick Steves tour would probably work well if you want a guided tour. You have to book well in advance. They are often sold out a year or more out. Check out the Rick Steves website and you can check tours there.

We rented a car in both Ireland and Scotland. It is drivable as long as you are not in the big cities. In the cities it gets much more complicated.

We spent 7 nights in each country.

Ireland:
We did not go to Northern Ireland. Dublin to Kinsale to Dingle to Galway to Dublin. East coast is more populated. West coast is much less populated and a lot more scenic.

Scotland:
Edinburgh is incredibly crowded but so worth it if you have never been before. Glasgow was neat but 2 days was enough. If you go to Scotland, you have to visit the Highlands. Some of the most spectacular scenery I have ever seen. Glencoe is worth the price of admission. We really liked Inverness as a base to explore the higlands and a day bus trip to the Isle of Skye.

I have Irish roots, it was a cool place to visit. If we were to return to the area and had to pick one it would be Scotland hands down. Both places are worth your time. Enjoy.

This is just tiny summary. I can get much more in depth if you need.

My wife and I have owned a home in County Mayo for the past two years. We visit Ireland 4- 6 weeks a year. I’ve been golfing all over Scotland for many years. What follows is just my own advice colored by what I have found to be interesting.

Scotland has a mystical quality once you get out of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Driving from town to town is easy and the scenery is rugged and beautiful. My buddies and I focused on golf, of course, but we made time to visit historic plsces and distillery towns. I’d recommend driving ANYWHERE in Scotland on your own and getting a great experience no matter which direction you choose. Be forewarned, north of Loch Ness gets pretty sparse.

Edinburgh is worth 2-3 days alone. The Royal Mile, the University and Castle are all great locations. Lot of young people and nightlife. Glasgow is more of a business center type of town. St. Andrew’s is good for walking, even if you don’t golf.

Ireland- I’d spend just two days in Dublin. Easy to get around the city on foot. Trinity College, the museums and the Guinness Storehouse are worth visiting. County Kerry has great scenery and towns like Killarney, Waterville and Kenmare are great places to base your trip on. Dingle peninsula and its little towns are fantastic.

Galway is great for music. The village of Cong is a must-see if you like John Wayne films. Ashford Castle has falconry if you want a real outdoor experience with wildlife. Cliffs of Moher are memorable. Go to Liscannor nearby and have the fish and chips at The Anchor. Best you’ll ever have in your life.

Westport in County Mayo is another lively town with good hotels. Pubs with music. Northern Mayo (where our house is located) is also sparse. You’d be doing a lot of driving through fields, farms and sheep up there. The town of Sligo is fun and Ben Bulben is a sight.

Not sure this helped.

Ireland is easy to get around, we walked all through Dublin, rented a couple of flats right downtown at Shaw Courts Apartments, better than a hotel.

Guinness is a must see, Trinity College, pubs are great and most have excellent hot lunches. Not much better than a plate of hot food and a Guinness or two.

Temple Bar Est 1840, Link

The Bleeding Horse dates back to the 17th Century Link

Grafton Street - no cars, just a couple of blocks of shops to wander through, Right by a nice park at St Stephens Green and at the end of Grafton is Trinty College.

Jameson Distillery on Bow St Link


Waterford is a nice day visit, and you can pickup crystal there and have it shipped home, the wife ordered several more settings for her pattern.

County Cork - Cobh - That's where the Titanic last made port before the fateful trip and RMS Lusitania's last port.. Cool seaport city, beautiful Church St Colmans Cathedral built 1868 - 1919 on of Irelands Tallest buildings, we took a service in one evening,

We stayed at the Bella Vista Hotel in Cobh, a great old building, overlooks the water, next to the Cathedral, in walking distance of the waterfront. Link

Plenty of places to see, drive yourself and you can go to Kiss the Blarney Stone, see the Cliffs, Waterford, and many other places and take your time there.

Have fun!

After having to have a double bypass in Ireland last thanksgiving, I spent 2 months there recovering. As others have mentioned, you'll need a couple of days in Dublin if you really want to experience it.

Guinness was very cool - the food at the restaurants there was awesome. If you do go to the distillery, plan on and make dinner reservations. You will get to skip admissions, and the line for the tour. You can still do a tour, but for free with the reservation. went there 3 times for dinner and a pint. The flat I rented was only about 1/3mi from the brewery, so it was great exercise to walk there, and my heart surgeon said "Guinness is like medecine to us". Who am I to question that...

Definitely Grafton St for shopping, Trinity college and Dublin castle were nice, Temple Bar was crowded as hell wherever we went. THE Temple Bar (linked by HRK) was interesting other than being asshole to elbow, and the live music not being particularly great the night we went, was a checklist item. BTDT now.

Jameson was great!! They offer several special tours - I did the Jameson experience with tasting and cask draw the first day I was there, and the black barrel blending class just before I came back home. Just an FYI - they will only let you do 1 drinking tour per day, but you can pre / post tour drink at the massive bar in the lobby...

Another good restaurant / bar was The Church Cafe Bar. It is an old converted church from 1701 (St. Mary's). Restaurant seating is limited, you will definitely need a reservation - and it is worth it!!

The Brazen Head is the oldest pub in Ireland, and is well worth the stop for a pint!

These are just a few places in Dublin I went, honestly, there isn't many places in Dublin 7, 8, 2, 3, 4, or 5 that I dont know my way around and what is good to eat there. Even though I spent 2 months there, I wasn't able to see as much of Ireland outside of Dublin as I wanted to while recovering, doctors wanted me to stay close. I did, though, make a few lifetime friends while there, and will be returning between Thanksgiving and Christmas, hopefully this time, no heart attack, and more of exploring outside of Dublin!

Oh, and word to the wise.... Watch where you step. No one cleans up after their pets. There are land mines everywhere unless it is after a good rain!

quote:

Originally posted by BigCity:
We use Gate 1 for all our tours.

This.

We did Scotland on our own without any problems but if you want a guided tour Gate 1 is solid.


Example

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
Ireland is relatively easy, interesting, fun & appreciative of tourists, in my experience.

You could just rent a vehicle & drive around yourself, if that works.

Much depends on your interests. Up Scotland way, Islay Island gets good reviews. Our brewery tour in Ireland was Smithwicks in Kilkenny. If there, gotta stop at Kytelers Inn. Kinsale was nice, down south.

My son was just over in Scotland recently. He was commenting that I could get ‘punched in the face’ with my limited understanding of the relationship with England.

In Ireland we did most of the tourist stuff.

I can’t understand the “ punched in the face” part. I know generations ago scots fought the Brit’s- and lost- then were given the opportunity not too long ago to vote for independence- and didn’t- so screw your attitude Scotland you are part of the UK Or British by default and decree. This fierce stance they have about not being British is complete BS

Do you want to be in a group, or do you want to strike out on your own? We've been to Ireland twice in the past few years, and used the services of LITTLE ROADS EUROPE for both. We talked and emailed with Matt about what we wanted to see and do, and he made suggestions on sites and activities. He and his wife have stayed everywhere he recommends, as well as the activities. And he knows how to beat the crowds at busier locations (ie Cliffs of Moher). He doesn't prefer the big cities, hence the name Little Roads. Our first trip took us around the central/west shore (and inland) of the Republic of Ireland, and down south. Or 2nd trip took us around Northern Ireland and to Down Cathedral on St. Patrick's Day. On both trips, we stayed in B&B's, small hotels, and Lighthouses! He had great suggestions on small gastro pubs and out-of-the-way small restaurants with great food. And pubs with great traditional music. Of course, we rented cars both times. And if you rent a car, get a small car if you're going on backroads and get the full insurance. We scratched the paint on both sides of our car on our first trip.

quote:

Originally posted by captain127:

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
Ireland is relatively easy, interesting, fun & appreciative of tourists, in my experience.

You could just rent a vehicle & drive around yourself, if that works.

Much depends on your interests. Up Scotland way, Islay Island gets good reviews. Our brewery tour in Ireland was Smithwicks in Kilkenny. If there, gotta stop at Kytelers Inn. Kinsale was nice, down south.

My son was just over in Scotland recently. He was commenting that I could get ‘punched in the face’ with my limited understanding of the relationship with England.

In Ireland we did most of the tourist stuff.

I can’t understand the “ punched in the face” part. I know generations ago scots fought the Brit’s- and lost- then were given the opportunity not too long ago to vote for independence- and didn’t- so screw your attitude Scotland you are part of the UK Or British by default and decree. This fierce stance they have about not being British is complete BS

I have heard the same, but it was explained to that we should equate it with North Vs South here,

we are a United States, but some Southerners still hold a grudge,