2018 - Starting Over

[artnbarb]

As you' may know, you're only allowed to stay in Schengen countries for 90 out of 180 days. For this reason we were planning to take a transatlantic cruise to England, spend 3 months, then fly to Italy for the next 3 months, allowing us to cruise TO and FROM Europe. Unfortunately our worst fears have been confirmed: our transatlantic cruise has been cancelled. Every other cruise leaves the US much earlier, which would force us to stay in England even longer. To be honest, I'm not sure we could realistically afford the 3 months in England, and I'm not even going to try to extend our time beyond that.

So, now I'm back to square one. Cruising TO Europe is no longer an option, so I need to figure out a new plan. My first thought is to fly to Ireland, spend 2-3 weeks there, then fly to Bristol and spend a few weeks there, but at this point it's all up in the air. Based on the Nov 5 departure date of the return transatlantic cruise, we can't arrive in Italy before August 7 - maybe a few days later if we need to include the days we're in European ports.

I'm so disappointed that our summer in England didn't work out, but we'll figure out a new plan, and once those wheels start turning I'll be back with more questions.

 

[Eleanor]

That is a shame, especially after all the work you have put in planning and thinking about the holiday.

 

[Pauline]

Is it that much cheaper to take the cruise to England? Can't you just fly here arriving at the same time the cruise would have arrived and do the same trip?

If expenses are a worry, go back to plan A and look for a long term rental on sabbatical homes.

 

[Ian Sutton]

If you can squeeze arrival in Italy back a few days, then that would help - avoiding Ferragosto holiday avoids some of the heaviest (Italian) tourist traffic. If possible look to go North to South in Italy, to start in the cooler north and then chase the warmth as you go down south.

One option is to look at the Eurostar from London - Paris (change stations) - Torino, Milano or Venezia. A bit different to flying everywhere.

 

[Rome Addict]

Time spent in Ireland counts as time in a Schengen country. Take a look at www.trustedhousesitters.com. Tons of UK listings of people looking for pet sitters. We just got two weeks in Nottingham. We in past years got 3 weeks in Cambridge, and on the other side of he world a week in Singapore and have a fall week lined up in Hong Kong all free places to stay for doggy sitting. Free lodging is the big ticket item in the UK. Get that and the rest becomes possible financially.

 

[Andrew]

Time spent in Ireland counts as time in a Schengen country.

What's the basis for that? Ireland is not a Schengen country.

 

[artnbarb]

@Andrew , you are correct. Altho Ireland is a part of the EU it is NOT a Schengen country, so that will not impact our plans.

As I mentioned initially, I was really starting to have doubts about the financial feasibility of our 3 months stay, so this may be a blessing in disguise. Art is completely spoiled by cruising to Europe; it's not just about the money, but about arriving without jetlag. I'm thinking we might find a good deal flying to Ireland, and if I can't find a good deal maybe we could use our FF miles before the airlines make it even more difficult. We could spend 2-3 weeks in Ireland, then fly to England for a few weeks, maybe just concentrating on Cornwall, Sussex and Devon.

Anyway, thanks for your thoughts - we'll see how this develops.

 

[Pauline]

We could spend 2-3 weeks in Ireland, then fly to England for a few weeks, maybe just concentrating on Cornwall, Sussex and Devon.

I think you mean "and Dorset"!!!

 

[Pauline]

We hated jetlag so much that we moved to England! But, when we did fly from the US (from Mountain Time which is 2 more hours of change from the East Coast), we made sure to stay 3 nights in the place where we landed, and not get a rental car until we were leaving. That gave us a few days to gently get used to the new time zone.

 

[artnbarb]

I think you mean "and Dorset"!!!

Yes I did!!!

 

[Rome Addict]

You are right Ireland time doesn't count in Schengen days.

If $$$ is a concern then as I mentioned www.trustedhousesitters.com is a great resource. While many listings have pet requirements some are just the house. Or a cat. Hubby is allergic to cats so we have to have a dog only sit.

 

[artnbarb]

My revised plan:

• Fly from Tampa to Dublin. 14-18 days in Ireland (longer if we include Norther Ireland, shorter if not)
• Fly from Dublin or Shannon to Bristol (We're going to try to use out AA FF points, so we'll need to fly BA)
• 1 week Cornwall
• 3 weeks Dorset
• 1-2 weeks Sussex
• Fly from Bristol or LGW/LHR to Rome

Regarding Ireland: I'm planning to follow Rick Steves' itinerary, which covers Ireland and N Ireland in 3 weeks. I don't have any interest in Belfast, and am only considering N Ireland to see Giant's Causeway. Neither of us have any interest in touring the Bushmill factory, so is it worth the extra time just for Giant's Causeway?

I haven't called AA or BA to find out about the various flights to Ireland, flights from Ireland to England, and flights from England to Rome. If anyone has any reason we should fly in/out of specific airports I'm happy for the info! I think I'd prefer to fly into and out of Bristol because it's smaller than either London airport, but is still served by BA.

Regarding England: Because our time is shortened we've decided to concentrate on southern England, as noted above. What do you think about the division of time? Our original plan had us staying 11 nights in Sussex because of mid-week arrival on the ship. Now we'll just do a standard Sat-Sat rental, but one week doesn't feel long enough.

Anyway, this is a start. I hope to talk to AA/BA soon to get an idea of what's possible for the flights, which will help. Thanks for any comments!

 

[Andrew]

For Dublin-Bristol, for random September 2017 dates (just as an example of decent advance booking time), I see fares of $19 U.S. on Ryanair and $28 or $33 on Aer Lingus, so I'd question whether that's a good use of frequent flyer miles. As you may know, it's a terrible deal to use AA miles to fly BA transatlantic flights: they still charge a big amount in "carrier surcharges," so it's not worth considering them for "free," non-miles-earning trips.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Belfast? For me I found the Belfast city centre a little too modern for my tastes - much preferring Dublin. Some good food, though the highlight was the Boathouse at Bangor. Michelin star quality food with relaxed and jokey Dutch ambiance. Ox in Belfast was fancier in presentation, but the tastier food was found at the Boathouse. The Beacon of Hope (aka Lula with the Hula) Statue is one of those somewhat rare occasions where I'm impressed with modern sculpture.

Overall if making the trip to Giant's causeway, I'd factor in a visit to Belfast ... or another location in the North. I didn't explore Bangor, but maybe that's an option.

Flight out of England - For convenience Sussex to Gatwick makes huge sense. It might mean a one way car hire charge, but even with that, in the cold light of day the ease of a short drive to the airport should win. Gatwick was ok last time we went through, showing its age a bit, but also seeming like it was a little under capacity, which was good.

The overall flow feels nice, and if you can arrange accomodation/locations that give subtle but noticeable differences between them, it should help the holiday feel longer / fuller. In simplistic terms I'd say it's quite heavily weighted to Dorset, but I understand the reasoning, so I wouldn't want to talk you out of it.

For the drive down to Cornwall from Bristol, try to avoid weekends in summer - the roads do get busy with tourist traffic.

 

[artnbarb]

@Andrew , I understand your point, and it may well be a waste of FF miles for the shorter flight. OTOH, I try to avoid Ryan Air if at all possible, but would consider other carriers. My biggest concern would be for the greater-than-normal amount of luggage we'll have - we'll be packing for 3 months in Italy as well as our time in Ireland/England.

@Ian Sutton , I'm now questioning myself, and have pretty much convinced myself to discard the idea of Giant's Causeway - we just can't see and do everything, and it seems silly to drive to/from Northern Ireland just for that, or even with an additional stop.

Sussex to Gatwick may be the right answer, and a one-way drop fee would be worth the convenience.

Due to Sat-Sat rentals, the chances of us arriving in England on a Saturday (then driving to Cornwall) are almost 100%. At least we won't be jet-lagged, and will have been driving on the 'other' side of the road for the 2 weeks before.

As for the longer stay in Dorset, I'm putting pressure on @Pauline to keep us busy with lots of walking! And perhaps a quick trip to the Isle of Wight? Or should we save that for our Sussex base?

 

[Ian Sutton]

The guys in the office I worked in Dublin with, had endless suggestions of place to go in Ireland (Eire) so no reason to push too hard to get to the North... unless you go somewhere in the south that is within a day trip distance of the Giants causeway

I want to hear of worn out shoes from that walking

I presume Hampshire is the easiest route to Isle of Wight. Thus might be worth taking the car on the ferry & doing it between Dorset and Sussex?

 

[Felicity]

Doing the Giant's Causeway (and the rope bridge) is easy to do on a day trip from Dublin. We got a car MOT tested (UK car needing yearly check) in Newry, 'did' the Giant's Causeway, and wandered through a pretty, wooded part of Antrim (time for a walk?), all in one day from Dublin. You could do it with a car or on an organised tour from central Dublin.

Definitely, as Ian says flying out of Gatwick from Sussex is the best option.

 

[Eleanor]

Giant's Causeway is spectacular BUT does need to be seen at low tide when the rocks are uncovered. At high tide it just isn't the same. It also gets very busy...

If that is the only reason to go to Northern Ireland then I don't think it is worth it. However there is always Carrick a Rede rope bridge as Felicity mentions as well as the ruined Dunluce Castle. The drive back down the east coast to Belfast is also good with the glens. Glenariff is particularly good and the short waterfalls walk is one of the best short walks in Ireland.

I don't know what Rick Steves itinerary covers so it is difficult to know whether it is worth allowing a couple of days for Northern Ireland. There are several National Trust Places which might be worth considering if you do decided to include Northern Ireland

 

[Andrew]

From what I can tell, BA doesn't have its own Dublin-Bristol flights, only a codeshare with Aer Lingus. You may need to pay a slightly higher fare to have a 20-kilo checked bag included. If you want to use your AA miles transatlantic to Dublin, try to get on AA's own flights.

 

[artnbarb]

Here's the RS itineray, which I'm just using as starting point. I'm more than willing to add or subtract sites, and if there's any way to base for longer in one spot I'm definitely interested.

Day 1 Arrive Dublin
Sleep in Dublin
Day 2 Dublin
Sleep in Dublin
Day 3 Dublin
Sleep in Dublin

Day 4 Pick up car at Dublin airport. Drive to Glendalough
Sleep in Kilkenny

Day 5 Cashel.
Sleep in Waterford
Day 6 Waterford
Sleep in Waterford

Day 7 Explore County Wexford
Sleep in Kinsale
Day 8 Charles Fort and Cobh
Sleep in Kinsale

Day 9 Muckross House and Farms
Sleep in Kenmare

Day 10 Ring of Kerry
Sleep in Dingle
Day 11 Dingle Peninsula Loop
Sleep in Dingle
Day 12 Blasket Island, Dingle town (rest day, laundry)
Sleep in Dingle

Day 13 Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, Dunguaire Castle Banquet
Sleep in Galway
Day 14 Aran Islands
Sleep in Galway

Day 15 Explore Connemara
Sleep in Westport

Day 16 Drive to Dublin or Shannon for mid-day flight to England