As 2008 is winding down, it's time to get serious about 2009 travel plans.

Who will be traveling to the UK or Ireland in 2009? Post here and tell us about your trip! (And don't forget to post on the trip calendar too!)

Kathy

Going to the British Isles...England, Ireland & Scotland in August 2009.
First 2 nights in London.
Transfer to Southampton for a 12 night cruise around the British Isles. Ports include St. Peter's Port, Cork, Liverpool, Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Invergordon & then over to Le Havre, France before returning to Southampton.
Then post cruise maybe a couple of nights in Bath and rest of the week somewhere in the Cotswolds.
Still planning, as I haven't arranged this post cruise week yet.

I can't believe there aren't others planning a trip to the UK in 2009. Here's a chance to share your plans with the rest of us!

Judy (still trying to figure out a way to get to England as all the spring bulbs start to flower).

I have nothing *planned* for sure, but did run a FF ticket search for SFO -> London -> Dublin for August 2009! Twice now I've cancelled Ireland trips to go to France instead, and thought 2009 would finally be the year, but ...

I'm leery enough about the economic situation to not pursue planning any further, but it's in the back of my mind to re-visit it in the spring.

I'd probably spend 8-10 days in Dublin, staying in an apartment and taking day trips by public transportation.

We'll see... This could be one of my many interesting-sounding trips that gets investigated - but never taken! (Maine tour book, anyone?)

me! just bought my tickets..

I'm planning 2 weeks in Scotland at the end of June.

Surely with the exchange rate the way it is, the UK must look more attractive than ever. Or are people waiting for the pound to fall even further before they commit themselves?

We're planning to get over for a couple of weeks in October, possibly into early November. We'll spend a week or 10 days in London and then a few days in yet-to-be-determined location.

wedding in wafrd in April!

Should be entering the UK from Norway with Papillon the motorhome in late July for a couple of months or more.

We'll be in London June 7-11. My first visit so I'll be doing a lot of research.

Carole

I am taking 16 theatre students from my university to London for a theatre trip from December 29, 2008 to January 10, 2009. We are very excited to see 8 plays/musicals and do all the tourist sites.

Ireland and Scotland are on Dan's very short list. We are still negotiating. If he wins, we will be there for a month between mid June and mid July. I'm determined to have the decision made before we get to Paso at the end of this month.

we're planning a trip to Ireland in October. it'll be our first europe trip since 2005 - woo hoo!, and our first trip to Ireland. it is also our son's first trip outside the US - he'll be 17mo old.

i welcome any tips/advice from other parents who travel with their small kids, as well as any tips on a first trip to Ireland!

Alyssa - bravo on starting your young one's travel adventures early.

Our main Slow Travel pages might be a good starting point for you; this page includes a section on traveling with children. And if you sort the trip reports you can find reports from those who have travelled with children.

You might want to start a new thread, too, asking for input from fellow STers who travel with their children who might not see your post on this thread.

Happy travels! I know you will enjoy Ireland.

Judy

I just booked (fairly decently priced) tickets for my husband and me for a quick visit to London in mid-February. I'm lucky because we have a free place to stay.

I always try to go at this time of the year because airfares are lower, crowds are smaller and there's nothing like a glass of port and some stilton by the fire after a long walk!

Joan

Decision is made! Our four weekly locations are identified. Two of our four rentals are chosen. Car hire company has been identified.

Arriving in Dublin on June 18th. Spending a couple of nights to decompress. Train to Belfast. Week in Belfast. Ferry to Scotland. One week near the town of Oban across the Firth of Lorne from the Argyle coast. One week in a very rural stay near Iverness. Four nights in Edinburgh. Fly home on July 16th.

Yeah!!

Deborah, this sounds like a great trip. We stayed on Loch Ness, about half an hour from Inverness, on our long trip and loved it. I especially liked our day trip to the Isle of Skye.

Looks like we have quite a few travelers to the UK and Ireland this year, and we hope you'll all be here on this forum to talk about your trips. Our family is "discussing" our summer travel plans too, and the possibility of another long walk in England is on our short list. We'd love to get back to England.

Kathy

We have not decided exactly when and for how long but we want to go to Edinburgh and surroundings before July.

Gloria, maybe we will be in the same area at the same time.
We will be in Edinburgh from July 11th to the 18th.

Hello, I am new to posting today and so glad to meet you all.

I will travel to Salisbury (5 days) in April before heading to London (4 days)for a few days. This is my first trip, which is exciting. I look forward to hearing ideas on good things to do and mostly places to stay.

What are your trip plans?

Kathy

Alyssa if do go to Ireland in October try to get to see north Connemara especially to see the most beautiful Kylemore Abbey it was my school but now will be closing in a year or
two forever and ever as a school so sad it is.
Also Clifden is a nice little town near there but will be very quiet in October, not the best time to visit Ireland because of the weather but you might be lucky.
For all of this you would need to hire a car or take a tour bus from Galway maybe.
Connemara is all very beautiful look it up online and see the scenery it is outstanding.
Irish people are very friendly too and will help you with anything you need.
Galway is a nice city too.
Puddy

{edited to correct URL in signature}

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

England, Scotland, Ireland..... Doesn't anybody go to Wales?!

Margaret, Wales was part of the equation for us until we realized that each country deserves a full month to itself.
So Wales (and Ireland) will wait for another time.
England, like France, is still pretty far down the list for us. We don't have a logical reason why. The thought of either of them just don't seem to make our "feet itch".

Our family has spent a good amount of time in the UK-- including 11 weeks in England and Scotland in 2004-- but we haven't been back to England since then.

But we're going back this summer! We will have a few days in London and then two weeks in the Cotswolds. We've rented a cottage in Chipping Campden.

Kathy

I wanted to add that a vacation in England is potentially much more economical now, given the exchange rate. I hadn't really kept up with this until we started talking about spending some time back in England. Today it is 1.409 (was lower over the weekend) When we arrived for our 11 week stay in mid June 2004, it was 1.828. And a year ago it was around 2.0.

There has been so much volatility in many things economic in the last several months. Hopefully the exchange rate will stay in our favor for the time we are there.

Kathy

Hi Margaret, I've been to Wales a couple of times. The first time we had a week in Scotland, a week in Wales and a week in London. That was a busy trip! The next time we went we spent two weeks in Wales and 10 days in England.

We had a wonderful time. There is so much to see. Wales is a beautiful country. I hope to return again someday.

Tracey

quote:

Originally posted by kaydee:
There has been so much volatility in many things economic in the last several months. Hopefully the exchange rate will stay in our favor for the time we are there. Kathy

Hi Kathy, I obviously don't know what the exchange rate will do, but my instinct tells me that the pound will tend to get a bit stronger in the next 6 months. The dollar might also strengthen, though so I predict things will work out well for you. That said, I'd start watching like a hawk from now and if you are able to buy your pounds early I'd recommend it.

Good to hear you're coming back BTW

quote:

my instinct tells me that the pound will tend to get a bit stronger in the next 6 months

If only the BBC would report comments like this!

I based my optimism solely on the slight movement upwards in the last day or so, so I may be being over optimistic

Hi. DH, myself and our two teenagers will be going to County Mayo in April 2009 for two weeks. Anyone else around there during the Easter holiday?

Maureen - you might want to list your trip dates on our Trip Calendar, with a note that you are interested i a GTG.

Judy

Thanks Judy, I put it on the calendar.

I just decided on a last-minute 5-day museum-theatre trip to London for Presidents Day. I've put off the UK for so many years because it always seemed too expensive. But this month the planets seem properly aligned for me: the pound at less than $1.50, easy availablity of FF seats of USAir for only 35,000 points, reasonable hotel rates.

Keeping fingers crossed that the snow disruption is all over by the time I get there a week from now.

quote:

easy availablity of FF seats of USAir for only 35,000 points

Only 35K round-trip US to Europe? Wow. How did you do that--the lowest-level awards for that are usually 50K. Is there a special on? Was it through USAir's Dividend Miles or a Star Alliance partner?

We'll be in the UK for March, April, May and then Ireland in June!

Just around the corner.

Katy

KT -- my 35k tickets were what USAir calls "offpeak saver", reduced from "mileage saver" which are more restricted than "standard" awards. If you enter some Feb. dates for dividend miles travel btw US and Eurpoean cities, you can see calendars with dates marked with availability of the various tickets. The great bargain tickets seem to end at Feb. 27. I had to pay a $50 "late ticketing" fee to book within 14 days of departure.

Ken and I are playing with idea of a week in Ireland this summer. It'll be an excursion from Italy while we are there.

It's a new thought and so at this point we are totally in the dark as where to spend a week. First thought was Dublin but I'm afraid that it might be just a big city.

I think we would like a base that would allow us to explore a limited area of the country. Drives, exploration, discoveries. I know this is quite general and may be too loose to give ideas. But if you have ideas, let me know. We will flying in from Pisa which takes us to Dublin.

Deborah, I couldn't believe it when I saw you are going this year. It's like last year--same neck of the woods just the timing will be off--again.

Thanks for thoughts that can point me in a direction.

Jane - if you look down the forum a few posts, you will see that BGE has asked just about the same question here. I would suggest you add a post with your specifics on that thread, where the subject line is more related to what you are looking for.

Judy

Going to London, the Cotswolds and Oxford this Spring!!! This is going to be a big trip!

Jane, why not Scotland instead? Which summer week are you thinking of? We'll be in Edinburgh from July 11-18.

Hi Deborah, we have been to Scotland---not that there is not a lot more to see and do there than we were able to when we did go and so want to go back again. But, we also want to have some small taste of Ireland. It's a hard decision, isn't it.

We're going to Ireland in May. It will be our second trip there -- we especially loved the west the first time back in '99, so we're starting in County Cork and working our way north. We'll spend our first week on the Mizen Peninsula in west Cork in Fortview Cottage, also here. After three nights in Dingle (our most favorite town during our last trip), we're spending a week in Connemara in County Galway, in the town of Clifden. We'll spend three nights in Ardara in County Donegal, and then three nights in Northern Ireland at Faughan Cottage, near Derry, before heading back to Dublin and home. I've found the rentals in Ireland to be extremely reasonable, except for Dingle, but the restaurant prices I've checked seem pretty high. I wonder if the current economic situation in Ireland has changed this??? Jane, if I were you, I'd definitely head west and spend the week near Kenmare or Killorgin so you'd have easy access both to County Cork and County Kerry. Wherever you end up, you'll love it! BTW, Margaret, we spent a week self-catering in Wales, near Caernarfon, and had a great time, including spectacular castles and delicious seafood.

We would like to go to Edinburgh before July, but we don't know when yet.

We're going to Bath next week. A research trip to find JUST the right lodging for a Music and Markets tour, and great restaurants in the area too - any suggestions?
Anne

Ann: your trip sounds wonderful!

Jane: I remember reading your blog and looking at your photos before we traveled to Italy last year, they were a great help. I would also suggest heading West in Ireland. We always stay in a very remote area where my husband is from Belmullet which is on a peninsula in the northwest corner of County Mayo which is beautiful but not easily accessible. My favorite travels from that area include Galway which is my favorite "city", Westport is a lovely quaint town nearby, and the Connemara region, the Burren and/or Aran Islands can be explored as well from that area if you don't mind driving a bit.

This year we'll be revisiting the Ailwee Caves in the Burren area and doing the falconry school which the kids enjoyed the last time we did it at Ashford Castle in Cong. If you head North, be sure to go see the Giant's Causeway, the kids loved that as well. Let us know where you decide to go.

Also on the west coast, Achill Island (can be reached by bridge) is very beautiful and has lovely beaches...here are a couple of sites you might not have seen that could help with your trip.

http://www.burrenbeo.com/

http://www.walkireland.ie/homepage.aspx

Wow, it's hard to believe but after crazily trip planning for a month and packing up our house to move, we leave Canada for England a week today!

I'm very excited.

Katy

I will be doing a home exchange outside of Derby, England. I am lucky that we will also be exchanging our cars so the trip will be the cost of the airfare, gas and food. I have been to England several times but have never been to this area of England.

We have our airfare to and from London, Sept. 15-30, but don't know what we'll do yet. We want a walking tour but who knows? We have almost 7 months to decide!