Hello!
First of all, this is my first post, so apologies if this topic already exists (used search, couldn't find anything).
2 friends (maybe 3) and I are planning to visit England or Ireland in summer (end of June/ early July). We would like to stay for about 2 weeks. I know, I will have to book flights, etc. soon but we are still unsure whether to go to Ireland or England. Do you guys have any recommendations for us please? Maybe someone who knows both countries fairly well?
Here's some information about us and our preferences:
We are 17, 18 and 19 years old and except for one we will just have finished school this year. Therefore it is quite important for us not to spend too much money. Of course, low-standard hostels or camp grounds (thinking about camping in a tent) will do.
As we have just obtained our driver's licences we are not planning to travel by car (difficult because driving on the other side). We thought about going hiking or traveling by train/ bus/ etc. Could you maybe give us some advise about that too?
Our personal pros for Ireland:
I have already been there 3 times, once for 9 months due to an exchange 2 years ago, so I know some nice places and stuff.
I would like to visit my old Taekwon'do school and say hello to my friends there (I really loved the classes).
We like hiking and, it goes without saying, nature in Ireland is beautiful.
One of us doesn't like big crowded cities, so I think Ireland would be nice as there are loads of lovely little towns.
Personal cons:
I'm not sure if it's difficult or quite expensive to get around by train/ bus? Obviously we don't want to spend both weeks in Dublin or in the proximity. If possible I would actually like to visit Dingle or Lahinch as well. Do you think that's a bad idea as we don't have that much time and money?
Secondly, I have already seen quite a lot of Ireland and I want to move there in the near future. Therefore my friends could just visit me then, which would be a lot easier.
Pros of England:
Two of us have visited London before but on the other hand none of us have seen that much of England, so it would be a fairly new experience for all of us.
My friend's school class is visiting London this year but he's not allowed to go with them, which is why I thought it would be nice if he could go anyway.
London and it's proximity are very interesting and there's lots to do without having to travel too much.
Me and my friend are much into BBC's Sherlock right now. So it would be great if we could see something regarding that show.
I'm not sure about England but I know that there are nice places to go hiking in Scotland as well. Thus we could go there when having enough of London, etc. :P Or would you say it's too stressful to as well go to Scotland inthose two weeks?
Cons:
As I said my friend doesn't like big cities. So we shouldn't spend too much time in London.
We will have to exchange currency.
Is it more expensive than Ireland? (accomodations, transport, ...)
That is what I can think of right now. If I remember something else, I will let you know. Please ask if you need to know something else.
Thank you in advance!
Melissa
