We are planning a trip for late June/early July and trying to figure out if it's better to buy flights now or to wait.
We are planning a trip for late June/early July and trying to figure out if it's better to buy flights now or to wait.
I flew to UK this month. In August the flights cost $1200, in late November about $6-700.
A lot depends on how flexible you are regarding dates
What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof ~ Christopher Hitchens
We have some wiggle room but not much. We are traveling with my parents, and they are going to a wedding in Scotland on July 8, so they have to be there on that day.Originally Posted by MidnightVoice
We can make that the start, end or middle of the trip, but most likely it will be the end because the London Olympics start the following week, and I don't want to be anywhere near that cluster****.
Also, if anyone has any suggestions on things to see/things to avoid in Scotland and Ireland, that would be appreciated. We've never been in the UK before.
Stay away from the Pubs, nothin but a bunch of drunks in there.
Don't Mistake Lack Of Talent For Genius
Ireland - starting from the good bit and ending in Cork:
1. Bushmills Distillery
2. Giant's Causeway
3. Glenarm Forest Park
4. Derry
5. Belfast
6. Lough Neagh (largest inland lake in Northern Europe)
7. The Crown, Robinson's, Lavery's, The Errigle, The Pavilion, The Garrick (all in Belfast)
8. Grace Neill's (Donaghadee) The Oldest Pub in Ireland (that's still in it's original building)
9. Forgot about the pub on the Glenshane Pass that's the highest pub in Ireland.
10. Mourne Mountains
11. Strangford Lough/Scrabo Tower
12. Downpatrick, Down Cathedral and St. Patrick's Grave (possibly)
13. Armagh, Armagh Cathedral and St. Patrick's Grave (possibly)
14. Cliffs of Moher (otherwise know as the Cliffs of Insanity in The Princess Bride)
15. Galway
16. Dublin. St. James' Gate, the old Jameson distillery, Trinity College including the book of Kells.
17. Temple Bar. All the pubs ever.
18. Waterford. **** all there, but the scenery is nice.
19. Cork/Blarney. Blarney Castle, Cork City, Cobh.
20. An Bodhran (tell Ciara I sent you), The Bodega, The Cornstore (bar/restaurant) (tell May I sent you).
That should put in a week or two, given three days set aside for being hungover to ****. I'll sort Scotland out for you later.
Thanks Dujek.
Think we can get by with public transit, or do we need to rent a car? I've been to several places where they drive on the opposite side of the road as us, but didn't actually drive while I was there, so I'm a little leery about doing it.
I would buy the tix now.
I would also avoid London. The taxes there are outrageous on airline flights.
My wife an I are going to Germany on vacation in March, and usually I go standby, since I don't have to pay.
But the tickets were so inexpensive that I couldn't resist.
When planning the return trip from Munich back to the US, if I went through London, the tickets were $300 a piece, and the total tax bill was $600.
Insanity.
Damn.
On our preliminary searches, the best deal we were able to get was $1133 round trip, and average was a little more, $12-1300.
Make sure you make it to St. Andrews in Scotland for a round of golf on the Old Course. I have been meaning to get over there since I've been in Europe but haven't found the time. But I have 3 more summers here. That's right, got my extension until 2015.
I'm not sure if my golf game is ready for Scotland, especially since I only got out once last year, on account of tearing my biceps tendon and spending most of the summer recovering from having it surgically repaired.
Pay extra and see if there is a no kid flight!!!! Seriously, I am not sure they have them, but for a flight that long it sucks horribly to have kids near you. I had a flight one time and there was a kid that just ran up and down the aisle yelling to I tripped him (on accident) and he banged his head, cried or a little bit, and then was out for the next several hours.
Go Bills! Go Sabres! Go Lottery! Go no traffic!
In Northern Ireland you can survive on public transport. I did it for 7 months there after I lost my company car when the company I was working for went into liquidation. A couple of places, like Glenarm Forest, could be awkward to get to, but Paddy Wagon or one of the other tour/backpacker bus companies would probably see you right.
In the south it all depends, train links are good between Dublin and Cork, and the bus services around the cities are good, however getting to places like Waterford and Galway can be a pain in the hole. I had to get from Gorey in Wexford to Dublin last summer and it was the slowest train ride I've ever been on.
Belfast and County Down I'll sort you out if you want, that'll cover the cathedrals, the pubs, the Mourne Mountains and Scrabo/Strangford.
One thing I forgot to mention was that a black taxi tour of the murals in Belfast is good craic.
Right. Scotland.
It's too cold and wet any further north than Inverness, even in summer, so **** that ****.
1. Inverness - Loch Ness try and find Nessie.
2. Culloden Moor - Jacobites, Royalists, bloodshed and Redcoats.
3. St Andrews. Even if you don't play golf it's a great town, and there are usually lots of hot students about.
4. Highlands, general. Lots of heather, thistles and men in skirts. If that's your thing then knock yourself out.
5. Edinburgh - now we're talking. Big castle, lots of pubs, ice hockey team (though the season will be over then), the Royal Yach Britannia out at Ocean Terminal in Leith. Rebus tours if you like Ian Rankin books. Chance to punch J K Rowling in the face.
6. Stirling - Statue of William Wallace that looks like Mel Gibson, big castle, bridge that they had a bit of a scrap over, nice university, excellent golf course at the university.
7. Loch Lomond - Nice big loch between Stirling and Glasgow. Really nice golf course on the west side of the loch, where they play the Scottish Open every year.
8. Glasgow - both the best and worst thing about Scotland. 3 fantastic sports stadiums, Kelvin Hall Museum, Sauchiehall Street, Braehead Centre, where you can look across the Clyde at the Naval shipyard and see the boats being built.
9. Ayr/Girvan/Stranraer/Cairnryan - Basically the way down to the boat to Belfast, and nobody goes there unless they're going from Glasgow to Belfast, or the other direction.
Well, my parents are going to a wedding at Turnberry Resort in Ayrshire, so that is where the Scottish portion of the trip will end. They want us to play golf there- my dad can't wait but like I said, I'm not sure if my golf game is ready for public consumption.
We will have a few days before that to see the other parts of the country.
I mean usually that area just gets lashed past at 70mph as I head for Glasgow, but Turnberry and Royal Troon are both well worth a visit.
Oh, and there's a smashing Chinese restaurant in Troon, but I can't remember what it's called. It's on the main street just as you get into the town, coming down the road past the golf course, and it's on the left hand side. They do a great chicken curry.
Actually, scratch that, it's actually in Prestwick, but you go past both Royal Troon and Prestwick Golf courses on the road in to the town.
It's called the Orchid Oriental Restaurant.
i flew over to London in 2001, living in buffalo we flew out of toronto because it was a ton cheaper than us direct flights... from my experience though pay more attention to the type of plane the airline uses vs the flight, we didnt fly in a 747 and it was brutal, the seats were incredibly uncomfortable, and there wasnt even enough leg room for me to sit completely upright without jabbing my knees into the seat infront of me... my fault for not requesting an exit row i suppose.
try to get on the biggest plane possible, even if it means spending a few more bucks
RIP Tommy D!
12/25/1978-9/9/2008
If you make something "Idiot-proof", they'll only make better idiots!
well, we've flown to both South Africa and Australia, both of which involved 14 plus hour direct flights, so anything less than 10 is child's play for us at this point. The cost is the biggest factor at this point.
We also found out that flying out of Dublin is a lot cheaper than flying into it because of taxes, and the Olympics are a few weeks later than our trip, so we may be going to Scotland first, then Ireland.
Please tell me again what you do for a living so I can make some serious $, stay at home and work and travel the world on occasion. You have it figured out.
"There ought to be a room in every house to swear in. It's dangerous to have to repress an emotion like that." - Mark Twain
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