Travel

[dancerjodi]

I'm getting really frustrated trying to research/plan this supposed UK vacation we're taking in the spring. We haven't picked a date. We have a source for airfare (though, the price I saw didn't include fees, which costs as much as the tickets) which is good. We have a source for a place to stay in London which is good.

But, how long would we be there (and how long Scotland)? How the hell would we get to Scotland (more flying I'm assuming, to make best use of the time while we're there). Where would we go? What would we do? I'm trying really hard not to give in and do a tour where I just have to smile and give them lots of money. I know we can do this a lot cheaper on our own (and really, its hard to get myself to spend the cash on a weekend trip to NYC - you have no idea what its doing to me watch the numbers for international travel)!

This may come as second nature to a lot of you, but to this gal who has never even been to Disney World or driven over to Canada, its a bit of a task!

Comments

Scotland

[righinnbear.livejournal.com]

(Friend of Dawntreader90) My husband and I honeymooned in Scotland in May, 2003. All of our B&B reservations were made online and via email. Driving really isn't that bad and you find interesting places to just stop and tour if in a car (Just watch out for the sheep and sharp turns). We stopped at Urquart Castle and Braemar Castle as spur of the moment stops and were quite happy with both. Neither was on our basic itinerary. There is a program in Scotland for many of their major tourist castles where you pay a set fee and can tour a set amount of the places from their list in a 5 (I think) day period. They may have a shorter plan, too. The man at Urquhart was very nice and marked our first tour date a day later to allow for the extra day that we needed to make Stirling Castle.

If you get into Edinburgh, the bus tour of the city is quite worth it, and allows you to get on and off of the tour buses with your ticket all day to stop at other points of interest. We took the full tour once, then hopped the next bus and got off at the castle. Some of the castles have i-pod like headphone tours so that you can take your time and see the areas that you want to at your pace. The city buses are easy to use, too. Turret House is a beautiful B&B recommended by Rick Steve's Scotland book. Cozy, with a good breakfast variety.

B&B's in Scotland out of the cities ranged from 15 to 20 pounds per person per night and are easily researched online. The TI's in each town can also find ones with vacancies when you get into town.

I can't help much with England as the last time that I was there was 9 years ago. But just driving through the countryside is beautiful in both countries.

Be aware, though, that many tourist places in Scotland close to tourists over the winter and do not open until April. If they are open, they may be closed on week-ends until later in the season. Check their websites and the books. You will need cold weather clothing. We wore turtlenecks and sweaters for most of the trip and we were there in mid May.

Enjoy your planning and your trip.