English tea, Scottish lochs, and kissing the Blarney stone. Dramatic coastal drives, evocative medieval castles, and endless green hills. London, Edinburgh, Dublin. Welcome to three of the world’s most distinctive countries. Welcome to a tour of their quirks and idiosyncrasies. Featuring city sights and rural landscapes, this two-week odyssey is all about the contrasts, stretching from regal London to the Cliffs of Moher.
Customizable Itinerary
Day 1
London – The Heart of London
Black Hackney cabs grumble past red telephone boxes. Double-decker buses splutter through the streets. Central London unfolds in all its iconicity and chaos. Everywhere you look there is something from the postcards. From porcelain mugs emblazoned with the Union Jack to Big Ben chiming; a crowded statue on Trafalgar Square to the beautiful serenity of the National Portrait Gallery; taking a walk along the Thames to turning around the capital city on the London Eye. Welcome to the heart of London, a place of quintessence unlike anywhere else in the world. Today you’re greeted at the airport and transferred to a boutique hotel within Zone 1, a location that minimizes travel time when exploring the city. This first day is free. So take a stroll and enjoy it.
What's Included:
Day 2
London – Regal Highlights of a Bustling City
Day 3
London – Exploring the Off-beat Neighborhoods
Day 4
Edinburgh – Through the English Countryside to the Lochs and Hills
Day 5
Edinburgh – Discovering the Capital and Beyond
Day 6
Loch Lomond – Quintessential Scottish Experiences
Day 7
Loch Lomond – Whisky Tasting and a Boat Cruise
Day 8
Lake District – Green Hills of Northern England
Day 9
Liverpool – The Beatles and So Much More
Day 10
Dublin – Immersed in the Irish Atmosphere
Day 11
County Kerry – Exploring the Emerald Isle
Day 12
County Kerry – Europe’s Great Drive: The Ring of Kerry
Day 13
Limerick – More Mesmerizing Coastlines
Day 14
Shannon – Departure
Trip Highlights
- Gaze across the Scottish Highlands and embrace the beauty of the country’s lochs (lakes)
- Surround yourself with London’s world-famous icons before spending a day discovering the city’s quirky neighborhoods
- Take a drive around the Ring of Kerry, perhaps the finest scenic drive anywhere in Europe
- Spend two days in regal Edinburgh, including the Scottish crown jewels and all the enchantment of Royal Mile
- Find the green landscapes of the Lake District and the patchwork greens of County Clare
- Discover that there is more to World Heritage Liverpool than the Beatles
- Kiss the Blarney Stone, taste at the Guinness Storehouse, and enjoy many more quintessential Irish experiences
- Go whiskey tasting, explore Stirling Castle and soak up the inimitability of Scotland
- Enjoy an afternoon of English tea, check out royal tastes, and discover a lesser-celebrated side to the country
Detailed Description
England can be a peculiar place. What with their afternoon tea ceremonies, regal obsessions, and London’s throbbing streets. Scotland is also a place of inimitability, from lochs to whisky to castles. Then how about Ireland, that country of idiosyncrasies, where you kiss the Blarney Stone to receive the gift of the gab. This luxury tour explores all three countries in just two weeks, immersing you in the famous and the strange, the unusual and the beautiful. You’ll spend time in the capital cities, where there’s almost too much to take in. You’ll explore breathtaking rural landscapes, the colors of the three countries very distinct from one another. With two weeks, you hop from highlight to highlight and you come to understand what these countries are all about.
Start in London, the enigmatic English capital. With one day, it’s hard to escape the world-famous icons, so many of them clustered around the city’s heart. From Buckingham Palace to Big Ben, and statues from history, day two is all about unmissable London. Next, you head into the neighborhoods for a dose of local London, accompanied by the quintessential English tea experience. Traveling to Edinburgh takes just over four hours on a high-speed train, a journey to showcase the changing nature of the English and Scottish countryside. Then you have two nights in the Scottish capital, discovering everything from the Royal Mile to Melrose Abbey and the crown jewels.
Travel further north through Scotland, stopping at Stirling Castle on route to the Highlands. Loch Lomond is your base, a place to inhale countryside air, go whisky tasting with the distillers, and cruise across the water. Then it’s back to England, this time the West Coast train line, stopping for a night in the Lake District before a night in Liverpool. You’ll experience dazzling green hills and quiet stone villages, before following the Beatles Story through England’s most underrated city. Liverpool is packed with heritage as well as having some of the country’s finest museums, plus all the grand architecture from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Four nights in Ireland complete this luxury tour. With a full day in Dublin, you can see the sights – St Patrick’s Cathedral, Trinity College, Grafton Street – as well as experiencing storytelling culture and a pint of the black stuff (Guinness). The journey to County Kerry passes by Blarney Stone and the journey around the Ring of Kerry is one of Europe’s great travel highlights. More sublime coastlines feature in County Clare, the Cliffs of Moher a place to gaze out over the Atlantic and appreciate rural Ireland. You’ll depart from Shannon Airport, flying back over the Emerald Isle before recollecting three countries on the journey home.
Starting Price
$8,000 per person (excluding international flights)
Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.
What's Included
- Accommodations
- In-country transportation
- Some or all activities and tours
- Expert trip planning
- 24x7 support during your trip
Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.
Reviews of Zicasso's Referral Service
4.86 stars based on 560 reviews.
Zicasso's trip coordinator had every detail covered for a smooth vacation. The driver was incredibly pleasant and fun to spend time with. We highly recommend Zicasso for anyone considering a trip to Scotland!
Reviewed By Suzanne T.
We absolutely loved our England adventure and already wish we could go back. It was a perfect balance of English countryside, history, and culture.
All our hotels were wonderful. The lodge in Broadway was such an extraordinary place to stay—the property was so historic, but the rooms and amenities were modern. We loved the pool and gym, and delicious food/drink they offered. We also took advantage of the playground down the street every evening after dinner—it had a zipline and a beautiful vista. The lodge at Warwick was also amazing, such a fun place to stay for families with young kids. We also really enjoyed our hotel in London. The location was ideal as we could walk to restaurants and we had a tube station right there.
Our drivers were also very professional and friendly, and made the transfers between locations so simple and stress-free for us. Honestly we have nothing but good things to say about every moment of this vacation, from the afternoon tea to the "Harry Potter" studio tour.
Reviewed By Darren L.
This was my first time planning an overseas trip for myself, plus a friend, and integrating a third person into the trip halfway! There were lots of moving parts. Thanks to Zicasso's tour company, I started out not knowing what I wanted to see, to having a perfect trip, with fantastic accommodations, wonderful drivers, and amazing adventures!
Reviewed By Laura T.
We had a wonderful trip. Everything was executed flawlessly, which made it so easy and relaxing for us. The hotels that were chosen were great. Our driver/guide was amazing and the perfect companion.
The only advice I would give is to include driving times on the itinerary so we would know how far things were from each other. But I would 100% recommend Zicasso's travel company to anyone traveling to Ireland. I can’t wait to go again!
Reviewed By Katie M.
We had an awesome experience! There was impeccable attention to detail! The driver/guides were terrific to work with. I will definitely recommend Zicasso’s tour company to my friends.
Reviewed By Krishna S.
This was our first time booking a trip through Zicasso and we were very happy with the experience. We were connected with an exceptional agent in Ireland who knew all the great, off-the-beaten-path sites. Our accommodations were beyond our expectations. Each driver we had was friendly and knowledgeable.
Reviewed By Holly F.