Travel around Ireland and UK

Ireland: If you can afford it, get a car. Public transport ain't great. Ditto Scotland outside the central belt (most places within 40 miles or so of Edinburgh and Glasgow). Assuming you're a yank (pot luck, you never know), fuel prices are roughly double what they are in the States, so get yourself a diesel. If you drive automatic only, specify this to the hire car company well in advance as most people in Europe drive stick. Hiring in Ireland and Dehiring in the UK will carry a hefty penalty, so avoid at all costs.

To jump from Ireland to Scotland consider flying or the ferry. From Scotland to England simply take the bus or train. How long are you coming over for then and when?

I can drive a stick, so that's an option. I thought maybe buses would be possible, but the travel times seem lengthy.

My initial thoughts are Ireland for 4 days, Scotland for 2-3 days, and England for 4 days. We're not really sure when we'll be traveling. Probably either this coming fall or next spring.

In principle, Fwoggie is right that a hired car is the way to go in Ireland, but it does also depend where exactly you want to go. If you're sticking to the main cities, then Belfast, Cork, Limerick, and Galway are all well connected to Dublin by train. There are good inter-city bus services for many other destinations. You might only need to hire a car for part of your trip, if at all (however, train fares in Ireland are expensive, so any savings might be slim). But many of the most interesting and scenic places in Ireland, naturally enough, are a bit out of the way and easier reached by car.

Hmm. This isn't a long trip :/

OK, you could maybe fly from Ireland up to Inverness and work your way down to Glasgow, stopping off for a look see at Skye and Glencoe on the way. From there you could take the train down to Stratford Upon Avon (change at Birmingham) for Shakespere, then over to Oxford (pretty, old Uni) before hitting the big smoke (London) and flying out from there. Would be a punishing itinerary though.

I would say instead of seeing such a small bit of each country spend the week in just one! London its self has so much to offer. It would be such a waste to go all the way and to only visit a couple of the highlights and race off again.

I've never been to Europe before, and if i do go back, it probably won't be for several years. I'm just trying to see everything i want to see while i'm there. My wife has been to England and Ireland before, so she's letting me choose my sites.

Aer Lingus fly from Cork to Glasgow apparently - might be an option.

I would suggest that if you are only going to have 4 days in Ireland, you confine yourself to at most two regions (one might be even better, but you sound like you would like to see a good bit) - choosing two of the south (Cork and maybe Kerry), the West (Galway/Clare/Mayo), and Dublin and the east coast. My personal view is that the west is the most attractive and distinctive destination, but unfortunately I don't think you can get any flights direct from there to Scotland, so maybe either Dublin and Galway or Cork and Galway, depending on whether you want to see Dublin or not.

The places i'm most interested in visiting are Dublin and the Burren (Cork and Limerick, if possible). I keep hearing how this will be a rushed trip, but according to Google, it's just over a 2 hour drive from Dublin to Galway.

In Scotland, i'd like to see Edinburgh and Glasgow (possibly St. Andrews). I'd like to visit the highlands, but that may not be feasible.

In England, i'd like to visit Liverpool and London...other than that, anything else is a bonus.