3-4 day in a European city- WWYD?

[amberlyrose]

We are going to London to see the Harry Potter play in February, but we have 3-4 days (depending on travel) to go to another city or area. The original plan was to go watch our soccer team, but we can't get tickets since the team they are away at has a tiny stadium. We fly out of Dublin back home. We don't mind having to hang out in airports. 

Current options:
1- Go to Manchester to the "away" bar for the team, then head to Belfast or go up to Scotland (probably Inverness)
2- Go straight up to Scotland Highlands (but, brrrr for 4 days)
3- Check out the rest of Ireland (been to Dublin, no where else)
4- Somewhere warmer like Portugal or Spain

We've been to:
Paris, Rome, Florence, Munich, Berlin, Oslo, Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Edinburgh, Dublin, and London. We're open to go basically anywhere in western Europe, though we're going back in July and planning to do a train through Germany, Austria, and maybe northern Italy. 

[knx9211]

3. I loved driving around Ireland.

[AutumnRose25]

Portugal!

It's supposed to be the It travel destination this year.

[jigsy]

I loved the Highlands and it felt like a perfect pre-harry potter play destination to get in the magical mood.

But, it was also September, so the cold-factor might make it less pleasant.

[mich1]

I'd drive around Ireland, since you are going to fly out of there. While going to Portugal sounds better, you are going to have to backtrack, and that takes time.

[sparkythelawyer]

Bruges is great if you have only like 3 days.

[brooke77]

Visit more of Ireland. Dublin is fine, but you really will want to explore other places in Ireland.

[mcsangel2]

I can't wait to see more of Scotland, specifically Inverness, but I think it'd be terrible at this time of year.

[pantsparty]

BELFAST! We love, love, LOVED Belfast! Stay in the downtown area (we stayed at Ten Square - very nice), take a Black Cab tour, and drive the Antrim Coastway (go to Giant's Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede, and the Dark Hedges).

[clseale]

With 3-4 days it seems to make more sense to stay in the general area, especially if you haven't seen the rest of Ireland. With that said, we were just in Portugal in October and loved it, so if you're hopping on a plane, that gets my vote. But really, I'd explore the area you are in.

[lolo]

3.

If you do end up in Manchester, you could tie in the peak district. We especially enjoyed Lyme Hall (the setting for Pemberly in the A&E pride and prejudice).

[Captain Serious]

Prague. That's the perfect amount of time to explore.

[amberlyrose]

Jan 26, 2017 14:06:33 GMT -5 pantsparty said:

BELFAST! We love, love, LOVED Belfast! Stay in the downtown area (we stayed at Ten Square - very nice), take a Black Cab tour, and drive the Antrim Coastway (go to Giant's Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede, and the Dark Hedges).

How long did this take you?

[amberlyrose]

Jan 26, 2017 13:53:31 GMT -5 AutumnRose25 said:

Portugal!

It's supposed to be the It travel destination this year.

I keep hearing this and want to go, but I'd hate to only go for a handful of days  

[amberlyrose]

Jan 26, 2017 13:57:23 GMT -5 jigsy said:

I loved the Highlands and it felt like a perfect pre-harry potter play destination to get in the magical mood.

But, it was also September, so the cold-factor might make it less pleasant.

What did you do? How long did you stay in the Highlands?

[Deleted]

If you drive through Ireland, here's a pro tip: on some of the stick shifts, you have to lift up slightly on the gear shift before you move it into reverse. Really wish I'd found that out before my last day.

Also, the Cliffs of Moher are amazing, but I recommend finding a bus company or hiring a driver or something. I was able to cope with the driving on the left side of the road thing, but HOLY FUCK was that a stressful drive. So narrow. So curvy. Speed limits way above my comfort.

[pantsparty]

Jan 26, 2017 15:35:21 GMT -5 amberlyrose said:

Jan 26, 2017 14:06:33 GMT -5 pantsparty said:

BELFAST! We love, love, LOVED Belfast! Stay in the downtown area (we stayed at Ten Square - very nice), take a Black Cab tour, and drive the Antrim Coastway (go to Giant's Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede, and the Dark Hedges).

How long did this take you?

If you want to do the Antrim Coast, leave early. Giant's Causeway in particular is amazing and you can, and should, spend hours there. Carrick-a-Rede is just crossing a rope bridge and the Dark Hedges are just a road with trees. They're all right along the coast and pretty close to one another. It would be awesome if you could time it so you do Giant's Causeway in the morning and the Dark Hedges around dusk. Giant's Causeway is a little more than an hour from Belfast.

[jigsy]

Jan 26, 2017 15:37:44 GMT -5 amberlyrose said:

Jan 26, 2017 13:57:23 GMT -5 jigsy said:

I loved the Highlands and it felt like a perfect pre-harry potter play destination to get in the magical mood.

But, it was also September, so the cold-factor might make it less pleasant.

What did you do? How long did you stay in the Highlands?

I was up there for 4 days. We stayed in Inverness for 2 days and went to Loch Ness, Culloden, and the Inverness Adventure Park. Then we moved up to Tain, from there we took a day tour on Orkney and general just wandering around. On our way back to Edinburgh, we went the long route and went to the Fairy Pools on Skye and Eilean Donan castle. 

One of the things I wished I could have done would have been to take the Caledonian Sleeper (https://www.sleeper.scot/) to London...but between having a rental car and the cost, I couldn't swing it.  I also wanted to take the Jacobite Train, which is basically the Hogwarts Express, lol. 

I loved the time spent in Scotland and I cannot wait to go back because I still feel like I could spend more time there, even though we traveled over 800 miles in the time we were there.

[pantsparty]

Jan 26, 2017 15:53:32 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

If you drive through Ireland, here's a pro tip: on some of the stick shifts, you have to lift up slightly on the gear shift before you move it into reverse. Really wish I'd found that out before my last day.

Also, the Cliffs of Moher are amazing, but I recommend finding a bus company or hiring a driver or something. I was able to cope with the driving on the left side of the road thing, but HOLY FUCK was that a stressful drive. So narrow. So curvy. Speed limits way above my comfort.

I can't recommend Doolin enough if you want to go to west Ireland. Charming town. We took a ferry there to Innis Oirr. We wanted to do the Cliff Walk, but it was pouring in the morning we wanted to go. We did see the Cliffs via a ferry that went past them and they were breathtaking. The food we ate at Gus O'Conner's was some of the best we had in Ireland.

[mrsukyankee]

I would explore more of England. Seriously - it's amazing. Go to the Lake District, York, etc. The country if fabulous and so different for being super small.  You could even do a bit of a tour finishing with a ride over to Ireland on the ferry.

[knx9211]

Jan 26, 2017 15:53:32 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

If you drive through Ireland, here's a pro tip: on some of the stick shifts, you have to lift up slightly on the gear shift before you move it into reverse. Really wish I'd found that out before my last day.

Also, the Cliffs of Moher are amazing, but I recommend finding a bus company or hiring a driver or something. I was able to cope with the driving on the left side of the road thing, but HOLY FUCK was that a stressful drive. So narrow. So curvy. Speed limits way above my comfort.

That's why I was so glad we got a stick - I can't drive it. DH did an amazing job not only staying on the left, but with the scary roads and sheep everywhere. I got to silently freak out but mostly just enjoy the view.

[amberlyrose]

Jan 26, 2017 16:04:21 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

I would explore more of England. Seriously - it's amazing. Go to the Lake District, York, etc. The country if fabulous and so different for being super small.  You could even do a bit of a tour finishing with a ride over to Ireland on the ferry.

This was the original plan but then Manchester City had to go have an away game in the south. lol! 

[amberlyrose]

Jan 26, 2017 15:53:32 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

If you drive through Ireland, here's a pro tip: on some of the stick shifts, you have to lift up slightly on the gear shift before you move it into reverse. Really wish I'd found that out before my last day.

Also, the Cliffs of Moher are amazing, but I recommend finding a bus company or hiring a driver or something. I was able to cope with the driving on the left side of the road thing, but HOLY FUCK was that a stressful drive. So narrow. So curvy. Speed limits way above my comfort.

DH is a pro with the left side stick shift driving. He got a rude awakening in Scotland but does a good job now. 

[amberlyrose]

Damn.. I'm so torn between Scotland (because it's legit my favorite country for as little as I've seen), seeing more of Ireland, and seeing the Lake District/York.

[gardengal]

Jan 26, 2017 16:04:21 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

I would explore more of England. Seriously - it's amazing. Go to the Lake District, York, etc. The country if fabulous and so different for being super small.  You could even do a bit of a tour finishing with a ride over to Ireland on the ferry.

I ditto this. You could explore York or go further north & check out Alnwick Castle which was the filming location for Hogwarts in a few of the films: www.alnwickcastle.com/default.aspx

I'd stay in England. But I have kind of a thing for the English countryside, fwiw. I've been to the Cotswolds, Somerset (bath & Exmoor), Devon (Dartmoor & coast), Cornwall, and I've got an upcoming trip to Dorset. After that trip, I think I'll be ready to branch further north!

[Deleted]

Jan 26, 2017 16:15:15 GMT -5 knx9211 said:

Jan 26, 2017 15:53:32 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

If you drive through Ireland, here's a pro tip: on some of the stick shifts, you have to lift up slightly on the gear shift before you move it into reverse. Really wish I'd found that out before my last day.

Also, the Cliffs of Moher are amazing, but I recommend finding a bus company or hiring a driver or something. I was able to cope with the driving on the left side of the road thing, but HOLY FUCK was that a stressful drive. So narrow. So curvy. Speed limits way above my comfort.

That's why I was so glad we got a stick - I can't drive it. DH did an amazing job not only staying on the left, but with the scary roads and sheep everywhere. I got to silently freak out but mostly just enjoy the view.

We can both drive stick, but I am more experienced and better at it. H is also better at navigating. Driving really wasn't bad until we got way out in the county on our way to the Cliffs. The roads are just SO narrow.

[amberlyrose]

Jan 26, 2017 16:23:19 GMT -5 gardengal said:

Jan 26, 2017 16:04:21 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

I would explore more of England. Seriously - it's amazing. Go to the Lake District, York, etc. The country if fabulous and so different for being super small.  You could even do a bit of a tour finishing with a ride over to Ireland on the ferry.

I ditto this. You could explore York or go further north & check out Alnwick Castle which was the filming location for Hogwarts in a few of the films: www.alnwickcastle.com/default.aspx

I'd stay in England. But I have kind of a thing for the English countryside, fwiw. I've been to the Cotswolds, Somerset (bath & Exmoor), Devon (Dartmoor & coast), Cornwall, and I've got an upcoming trip to Dorset. After that trip, I think I'll be ready to branch further north!

I've been to Alnwick, which was absolutely beautiful. 

[tacokick]

Portugal. It is like an 1 1/2 flight.

[redblue]

Don't go to Manchester, there are so many better places to see.

[redblue]

Jan 26, 2017 16:22:55 GMT -5 amberlyrose said:

Damn.. I'm so torn between Scotland (because it's legit my favorite country for as little as I've seen), seeing more of Ireland, and seeing the Lake District/York.

Go to the Lake District/York, great places to visit and less time travelling as you are already in England.

The weather could be unpredictable in Feb but it is more likely to be colder/dreary in Scotland than in England.