8 Days in Scotland & Ireland

I had a hell of a time researching spending such a short amount of time in the two countries, so I’m going to do everyone a favor and re-tell my itinerary in Scotland & Ireland, and what I wish I would have done/known. About choosing Scotland and Ireland to travel to in just 8 days: first, it’s worth it. Even though you’re exhausted and it takes a day on each end to travel, any amount of time spent traveling is worth it. Second: I’m less of a planner and more of a spontaneous traveler—I like to tour like a local, pretending I live somewhere, as opposed to hitting all the major tourist spots, so take that into consideration.

Day 1

Leave LAX at 3pm Sunday, arrive EDI at 2pm Monday

Day 2

Walk from bus station to airbnb spot (The Coach House, highly recommend) before meeting up with my cousin and wandering around Edinburgh; visit Edinburgh Castle, poke through the Cathedral, and have a pint at a few pubs. These photos are all “just” iphone pics.

Day 3

Find Scotch eggs at The Mitre on The Royal Mile. Apparently Scotch Eggs are hard to find, but these were worth the search.

Take a train (45 minutes, $15) to St. Andrew’s. Hustle to the Himalayas, a little-known but absolutely awesome 18-hole putt-putt course next to the world’s most famous golf course. A round is 2 pounds. Easily the top recommendation I have and best steal of a deal in Scotland.

Day 4

Free! Hike Arthur’s Seat. Great views. Worth it even in the rain.

Eat at my fave restaurant in Edinburgh: The Devil’s Advocate.

Do the very touristy Scotch Whiskey Experience. While seeing the collection of scotches is cool, it’s not really worth the money.

Day 5

Get up way too early, fly to Belfast, Northern Ireland. Check in to a hostel (it was a good one, but I’m too old for this) and hop on a city sightseeing bus. Pose at the shipyard where the Titanic was built, in front of the Titanic museum. Do not pay money to see the museum (no need). Hop back on bus to marvel at the Peace Wall, a wall that still divides Protestants and Catholics with a gate that locks at night. Visit my fave bar, The Crown Liquor Saloon, twice.

Day 6

Take an early bus to Dublin, check into a hotel from Hotel Tonight. Rent a dublinbike (awesome!) to bike to the Guinness storehouse (way too commercial, do NOT recommend—except the Gravity bar at the top has stunning 360-degree views of Dublin. So kinda recommend. If you want to pay $14 (buy tickets online if you do go, save tons of time) for a Guinness and a view. Marvel at the Dublin mountains, wish I had time to visit them.

Day 7

Visit the Book of Kells at Trinity College. Prefer the library with its winding staircases to that old book, wish I could curl up in the window seat and read. Wander around Dublin. This is why I love to leave time to wander:

Day 8

Shop Primark, a fast-fashion retailer with so many onesies and American flag backpack (irony); fly back home with Seal & his kiddos.

What I wish I had done differently: you can’t do it all, and I get that. In Scotland, I would have liked to hit the Highlands or Isles, but those require a 2-day commitment from Edinburgh and with my cousin there, I didn’t want to take that much time. In Ireland, aside from the bus tour, there wasn’t much to see in Belfast—I would have rather rented a car or booked a bus tour to Giant’s Causeway and the rest of the northern Ireland coast. In Dublin, I would have liked to pack everything into one day, then head west. I think it must be a best-kept secret, because I didn’t find any recs to go there but locals all suggested we visit the west coast (3 hours drive from Dublin). But all in all I got to see a lot of Scotland & Ireland in a short time, and I am so incredibly grateful I got to spend time with my cousin and just get out of the American frame of mind for a few days. Any trip to Europe is an excellent reminder to move slower, walk more, and savor every experience.