We just decided to plan our dream trip for Sept 2012 for 14 days. We plan on flighing into London. We will use it as our hub and want to visit Ireland, Paris, maybe Italy and Scotland. We are not really interested in museums, but love old castles and homes. We are thinking of using the train and tube as our main mode of transpartation. What is the weather like in Sept.? Is this a bit much in too little time?
Great suggestions people! LOL I love the idea of the sleeper train. Wonderful!! I also think we are going to have to rethink using London as a hub. I think if we flew from the states to London then went to Ireland then to scotland then to Paris and then back to London to fly back home to the states, makes more sense. Anyone agree?
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89 helpful votes That's a bit better, but still involves a lot of time at airports: London to Dublin by air, Dublin (or Belfast) by air to Glasgow or Edinburgh, Edinburgh to Paris (Air France have three nonstop flights a day, go figure) then Eurostar back to London.
But if you're game then it's worth doing a bit more research to see if the schlepping is worthwhile or makes you want to go lie down for a bit.
http://www.seat61.com is the superb website with more info on rail travel than you can imagine in one place. Just reading about some of the journeys will make you want to start booking trips by rail.
And to second what PedroPerth said: never say never. Good things do happen to good people, so why not those at the 4664 household?
How about:
Fly US to Dublin (believe you can clear customs in the US when flying into Ireland (or at least colleagues who fly Chicago to Dublin on AerLingus do) which will save you a little bit of precious time on your vacation)
Fly Dublin to Edinburgh
Sleeper train Edinburgh to London
Fly/train London to Paris
Fly Paris to US
Hello pinkrose4664 :)
At first, your itinerary sure seems crammed. If that's your kind of travelling (it's mine too), that's okay but make sure you allow enough time in each place for the type of traveller you are. You will travel again one day if you want to so don't think this is your one and only chance to visit everything.
If you want people around here to help you create a perfect itinerary for your trip, please provide more details as to what your plans are and what's more important to you.
Also, don't stick to cities only - countryside is an important aspect of travelling, especially in areas like Scotland and Ireland.
Finally, nothing is more silly to me than the popular belief that transportation is a waste of time. On the tube, yes. On the train, absolutely not! Gorgeous contryside, hello!
Here's my two cents:
-Consider flying into Dublin if possible. What parts of Ireland do you want to visit, are you planning on sticking to Dublin only ? I suggest 4 days of countryside and 1 day in Dublin.
-Then you have two choices when getting to Scotland: ferry + train or plane. See if there's any way you can stop at Highlands on your way to Edinburgh - give Glasgow a miss. Also see if you can or want to visit Isle of Man. Plan 3 days for Scotland.
-Consider sleeper train to London from Edinburgh.
-Plan 2 days in London and stick to the essentials.
-Same goes for Paris.
-Bit of a crazy idea of mine but there is a direct train serving Paris-Rome in 15 hours. That seems an awful lot of time but it's an overnight train and I think it would allow you to see some wonderful sights during the journey. FYI, schedule usually is 7PM to 10AM.
-2 days in Rome is enough. Definitely consider flying out of Rome.
-Total: 14 days! Yay!
Again, this is a pretty un itinerary as I don't know much about your interests. Let me know more about what you're thinking in specifics and I'll try to come up with something. :)
-Marie
Thanks Linda, that sounds like a great plan.
I agree that Linda's plan sounds great. It gives you 4 cities to base yourself in and in a logical order. You can then plan side trips outside of the cities if you want to see some countryside or smaller towns.
I took my "one and only" trip overseas back in 1998. I have been back every year since then. Once you 've done it, you'll realize how much there is to see outside the US and that it doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive. You'll be back. : )
PedroPerth says...
"I will always choose trains over planes as they are so much easier...."
As long as you don't have to cross an ocean!
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