The best way to travel over England and Ireland

[IOP]

We will get off at Heathrow Airport and want to see the best places in England and Ireland. What is the best way to travel around: buses, trains, ferries (between islands)? What is the best cities/places to visit?
After the trip we will need to return back to Heathrow to fly away.
Thanks for your advices.

[JR8]

If I were you I'd buy a Lonely Planet guide. In the front section they have suggestions for itineraries depending on whether you have a weekend, 5 days, 1, 2, 4 etc weeks.

[nutnut]

+1!

[IOP]

Okay, do you think it will be safe?
I heard that England has lots of crime.

[bluenose]

If you want help....I am willing to give you a rough guide...
I am from UK and have travelled extensively in the UK and will do so again in November/December 2012

I am living in Singapore...
I will offer any help by email with no charges etc....as I know how much of a pain it is to organise having done it three times over the last 3 years to the UK....!

[email protected]

[BillyB]

The best way to travel and see the UK is from a plane window as you are leaving!

[JR8]

IOP,

I'm also happy to help suggest an itinerary for your trip. Just PM me if you want my contact e-mail, then maybe Bluenose + me + 'NE1else' could round-robin and fine-tune something together with you?

[AjitS]

If you are a confident driver may be worth considering hireing a car and driving, this way you can see as many places as you want without being at the mercy of public transport, you can request for a car with satnav and hire cars are relatively cheap in the uk.

There are 2 large hire company's and you can get cars as cheap as 15GBP a day.

I would recommend you spend a few days in london as lots of places to see.

Otherwise you need to decide on what sort of sites you want to see (i.e. are you the type to want to go old Trafford or walking in the peak district)

Happy to help if needed just PM me.

No doubt you will love it.

[AjitS]

Oww and It's not as safe as Singapore but I wouldn't worry to much about the crime .. As long as you use common sense and don't go roaming around in the rough estates (which as a tourist you should have no reason to go to) you should be fine.

[bluenose]

England is safe, but as with anywhere else including here there is crime if you want it!
I being an expat go back to the UK and have used several hire companies for cars, but now have been given another one and it is much cheaper than the one I always used.....

The UK has so much to offer and the positives far outweigh the negatives....one thing is the sheer joy of driving....compared to here

[IOP]

Guys, thanks. Let's discuss it here.
I want to visit the best historical/natural places in UK, Scotland, Northern Ireland and, probably, Ireland.

What cities/places would you recommend?
I don't have driving licence, should I consider to move by train and ferry for Ireland?


My budget is 7-10 days.

[AjitS]

In my opinion it's a lot of area to cover in such a relatively short space of time, it may be worth considering cutting down and maybe do just England and scotland, you will get to visit less places but might enjoy it more.

The reason I say this is I would want to spend minimum of 3 full days in London to get to see historical sites and national history museum etc ( a lot to do in London).

Time seems to be against you and if you really want to go Ireland then you could do a train from London and make your way north stopping at towns/ cities that interest you until you get Scotland, then ferry over to Ireland and once completed fly back to London.

This way you are effectively using your time, but take note that trains are not that cheap, although you can get bargains if you travel off peak and get advance tickets.

Have you sort listed any places you really want to see ?