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Amateur Golf Tours

Amateur Golf Tours and Series

Find further information about some of the amateur golf tours and series of golf events that are available to play in the UK.

These competitions provide something slightly different to a normal open event whereby you visit different venues throughout the year. Many of the tours also have season-long order of merits culminating in a grand final.

The beauty of amateur golf tours is that whilst there may be benefits for joining a tour you can normally play as a non-member and enter as few or as many events as you wish.

PREMIUM MEMBERS FEATURE View all Amateur Tour Events using our Advanced Search.

2025 World Golf Competition

Welcome to the World Golf Competition, where we believe that golf has the power to transcend borders and unite the vibrant communities of passionate golfers from across the world. We were motivated by our desire to connect amateur golfers by giving them an exceptional tournament competitive experience.

Find out more about the World Golf Competition .

2024 Global Amateur Golf Tour

If you enjoy playing competitive golf at top class championship courses we're confident you'll enjoy playing on the Global Amateur Golf Tour.

Find out more about the Global Amateur Golf Tour .

2024 NCG Top 100s Tour

The NCG Top 100s Tour is the UK’s leading series of competitive events for club golfers. All events are played on courses that feature in their definitive NCG Top 100s rankings lists.

Find out more about the NCG Top 100s Tour .

2024 Golfbreaks Pairs Events

Play in one of our incredible Golfbreaks Pairs events and take on some of our favourite venues in a fun, yet competitive format!

Find out more about the Golfbreaks Pairs Events .

2024 Mizuno Golf Pairs Tour

Mizuno Golf Pairs Tour is currently the biggest amateur tour in the United Kingdom with over 100 professionally hosted events on their calendar.

Find out more about the Mizuno Golf Pairs Tour .

2024 Hole-in-One Club Pairs Series

The Hole in One Club are hosting a number of individual and multi day pairs events with the winners of each qualifier competing in a National Pairs Playoff Final for a place at TPC Sawgrass for you and your golfing buddy.

Find out more about the Hole-in-One Club Pairs Series .

2024 Golf in Scotland Champions Tour

The Golf in Scotland Champions Tour returns for it's 7th season in 2024. If you are a Silver Swinger, aged 50 years and over, and want to play competitive golf with other like minded Seniors, then this is the tour for you.

Find out more about the Golf in Scotland Champions Tour .

2024 Mizuno Golf Singles Tour

The Mizuno Golf Singles Tour consists of over 10 Individual Stableford competitions. There are incredible prizes are on offer at each event with up to 4 handicap brackets.

Find out more about the Mizuno Golf Singles Tour .

2024 Green Golf Events

Green Golf Events is mainly based in North West, their competitions boast a minimum prize fund of £500! With an Order of Merit Sponsored by TaylorMade, the winner receives a set of TaylorMade Irons and runner up a Driver.

Find out more about the Green Golf Events .

2024 North West Strokeplay Series

The intention of the North West Strokeplay Series is to provide professionally organised events which qualify for the WHS, on fantastic courses, and make it as fair as possible for all players to win fantastic prizes, and have a great day.

Find out more about the North West Strokeplay Series .

2024 The MASHIE Pairs

The MASHIE Pairs Events are a great addition to your golfing calendar. These professionally hosted tournaments, open to any golfer, will be run in the traditional pairs format at superb top UK venues.

Find out more about the MASHIE Pairs .

2024 MASHIE x GolfBreaks Pairs Scramble Events

New for 2024 and following the success of the MASHIE Pairs Series, we are delighted to announce our inaugural MASHIE x GolfBreaks Pairs Scramble Events. All events are 2-Player Texas Scramble format played in Fourballs.

Find out more about the MASHIE x GolfBreaks Pairs Scramble Events .

2024 Golf in Scotland Challenger Tour

All golfers on this tour will play their choice of 3 regional events from the 9 event schedule, followed by finals days at Trump Turnberry.

Find out more about the Golf in Scotland Challenger Tour .

2024 Mizuno Golf Scrambles Series

The Mizuno Golf Scrambles Series consists of over 20 Texas Scramble competitions where you can come along for a great value fun day out with prizes to win for top teams and various on course achievements.

Find out more about the Mizuno Golf Scrambles Series .

2024 Fairways Mixed Golf

For over 28 years Fairways Mixed Golf have been offering the finest collection of mixed golfing holidays and events in the U.K and Worldwide.

Find out more about the Fairways Mixed Golf .

2024 DEBRA Golf Society

The DEBRA Golf Society is free to join and we have a fantastic schedule of charity golf days at a range of prestigious venues around the country.

Find out more about the DEBRA Golf Society .

2024 US Masters Texas Scramble Series

2024 will be our 10th season of running the biggest amateur team event in the UK and giving average Joe golfers the opportunity to win the best prize in amateur golf - a trip for 4 to the US Masters.

Find out more about the US Masters Texas Scramble Series .

2024 Senior 50s Tour

Welcome to Re-Vamped Senior 50's Tour for 2024, still the only Amateur Senior Tour that follows the Legend Tour in starting events at 50 years old instead of 55.

Find out more about the Senior 50s Tour .

2024 North West Amateur Seniors Tour

The North West Amateur Seniors Tour consists of a series of Men's Seniors Open Events around the North West, all on a Monday, which tends not to clash with your regular Seniors roll up at your respective clubs.

Find out more about the North West Amateur Seniors Tour .

2024 Golf Guide Tour

The Golf Guide Tour consists of over 20 events across the UK & Europe with 14 Pairs winning a place in the European Finals - Hosted early 2025 playing at the Solheim Cup Venue Finca Cortesin & Flamingos Golf.

Find out more about the Golf Guide Tour .

2024 North West Ladies Tour

There are lots of Amateur Tours going on all around the country, but there doesn't seem to be a dedicated Ladies Tour anywhere, until now with the North West Ladies Tour!

Find out more about the North West Ladies Tour .

2024 Springfield Golf - The Road to The Belfry

Springfield Golf return with their flagship series The ‘Road To The Belfry’ running from March-September. 6 regional qualifiers, 1 huge finale & 250 players hoping to follow in the footsteps of last year’s champion Joonas Jokinen.

Find out more about the Springfield Golf - The Road to The Belfry .

2024 Teetours Golf Society

The Teetours Golf Society started in 2015 and now has over 1,400 registered members. The objective is to play good courses at good value prices.

Find out more about the Teetours Golf Society .

2024 Clutch Amateur Tour

The Clutch Amateur Tour is an enriched amateur experience, offering professional standard events to amateur golfers.

Find out more about the Clutch Amateur Tour .

2024 Proper Golf Series

The Proper Golf Series will be hosting a variety of events at some of the country’s most popular venues including both one and two day competitions.

Find out more about the Proper Golf Series .

2024 Golf-4U Amateur Golf Tour

The Golf-4U Amateur Golf Tour is the ultimate tour experience giving you the opportunity to meet golfers from across the Southeast of England in a friendly competitive atmosphere.

Find out more about the Golf-4U Amateur Golf Tour .

2024 Holben Golf

Holben Golf is here to give access to high quality golf courses at great value. We welcome any golfer with a WHS handicap to come along and help to create a fun, friendly atmosphere with a dose of healthy competition thrown in as well.

Find out more about the Holben Golf .

2024 Over 35s Tour

The o35tour is a well-organised golf tour, with Nett and Gross prizes and Order Of Merit (OOM) for Mid-Amateur and Senior golfers.

Find out more about the Over 35s Tour .

2024 Golfing Days Events

Golfing Days are golf travel and event specialists. Over the years they’ve built their reputation on delivering exceptional, tailor-made Golf events, here in the UK and Overseas.

Find out more about the Golfing Days Events .

2024 Junior European Open

The Junior European Open, first staged in 1993 and now in its 32nd year, is widely considered as the toughest test in junior golf across Europe. The Champions Week Finals in Spain is played over five rounds.

Find out more about the Junior European Open .

2024 Fairway Golf Group Events

On all of the Fairway Group Holidays your host, Sean Coyle, is with you every step of the way from initial booking through to being with you on the group so you can relax, enjoy your golf and more importantly your holiday.

Find out more about the Fairway Golf Group Events .

2024 David Edwards (DE) Events

David Edwards (DE) Events will run a series of qualifying rounds at top golf courses across the North of England. Golfers will compete for a place in the Grand Final at Thonock Park Karsten Lakes and a trip to Le Golf National.

Find out more about DE Events .

2024 Cumbria Master Golfer

The Cumbria Master Golfer is a series of 36 hole scratch 'Green Jacket' open golf competitions held at courses throughout Cumbria.

Find out more about the Cumbria Master Golfer .

2024 Midland Order of Merit

The Midland Order of Merit is a series of 36 hole scratch open golf competitions held at courses throughout the Midlands.

Find out more about the Midland Order of Merit .

2024 Northern Order of Merit

The Northern Order of Merit is a series of prestigious 36 hole scratch open golf competitions held at courses across the North of England.

Find out more about the Northern Order of Merit .

2024 Surrey Order of Merit

The Surrey Order of Merit is a series of scratch open golf competitions held at courses throughout Surrey.

Find out more about the Surrey Order of Merit .

2024 Yorkshire Order of Merit

The Yorkshire Order of Merit is a series of 36 hole scratch open golf competitions held at courses throughout Yorkshire.

Find out more about the Yorkshire Order of Merit .

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2024 National Championships

2024 Major Championships

Local Tours

Player of the Year

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Major championships, recent winners.

Recent News

Testimonials

The US Am Tour is an extremely well-run tour that provides quality tournaments at outstanding venues. I enjoy the opportunity to compete for trophies and prizes and have met many competitors who have become great friends. If you love golf and like to compete, you have to join!

The US Am Tour is run in a very professional manner by local & regional tournament directors at top-notch venues. The multiple flights are suited for all levels of players. The camaraderie with players you meet at each event is great & the level of competitiveness is high, so bring your A-game. The tournaments will make you play within your own abilities & tests all aspects of your game. Try and minimize the bad holes and go have fun doing it!

The US Am tour is special to me because of the friendships and camaraderie you build with people who love the game as much as you do. With their flight system it opens up competitive golf to all ages and skill levels and drives you to work harder to get to the next level in your own game. We play amazing courses, with great competition and the chance to feel like a pro is what keeps me coming back for more. Thank you US Am Tour!

As a Senior still working full time, playing golf is enjoyable. And playing competitive golf is great fun. But playing golf on the US Am Tour is the ultimate competition for those of us “committed” amateur golfers. Competitive golf helps me to improve and test my golf game against other players of the same age and skill set. That is the unique quality of the USAT. The tournament venues, while varied with both private and public courses, always present challenges. As the USAT is a true Amateur tour, you can set your schedule to include course venues, cities, and regions that you live in or would like to travel to. Qualifying events are never a prerequisite for entry. Friendships are made with your fellow competitors, with genuine respect for each other. The end result is quality competitive golf, with a professional tour staff that makes for the ultimate amateur golf experience.

After picking up golf as an adult, The US Am Tour has been an amazing way to learn the game and meet good friends through friendly competition. My first year on Tour, I placed 2nd in the 20+ flight at Nationals the year my husband took 1st place in the 12.0-15.9 flight. Now, after playing many Am Tour events together, I have improved my game and won my first US Am Tour tournament in Hogan (8.0-11.9)! Nationals is an awesome week and brings together all of the amazing friends we have made over the years. US Am Tour has become our little golf family, and I am so thankful to be a part of this amazing group!

I really like the camaraderie, the courses, and definitely the competition. These parts of the US Am Tour combined with top notch run tournaments has definitely helped me step up my game!

What I enjoy about playing on the US Am Tour is I get to play competitive golf and meet great people that become lifelong friends. Playing competitive golf has truly made me a better tournament player. 10 years ago when I started playing competitively more often I was a 15 handicap and have worked my way into a mid-single digit now and am having a lot of fun!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Below you will find answers to our most frequently asked questions. For any additional questions please contact [email protected].

What is the US Am Tour?

US Am Tour is the best amateur golf tour in North America. US Am Tour provides an authentic TOUR-style tournament golf experience to players of all ages and abilities, allowing golfers to compete with others at their skill level, gain access to top courses in their area and across the country.

Who can join?

Membership is open to everyone who loves to play competitive golf. US Am Tour offers 12 flights. Whether you’re an accomplished scratch player or a higher handicap, there’s a place for you on the US Am Tour. Players can join at www.usamtour.com.

Am I good enough to play on the US Am Tour?

Absolutely. There’s a spot for you. US Am Tour offers different flights based on skill level and, when prudent, by age. You’ll only be competing against players of the similiar skill level.

Which flight would I be placed in?

We offer 6 Open flights for under the age of 50 and 6 Senior flights for those over 50.

What does membership include and how much does it cost?

Memberships are valid for 365 days from the date of registration for $139. Memberships include the ability to compete in TOUR-style quality, professionally-run golf tournaments in more than 50 cities across the U.S., and Puerto Rico. There will be approximately 700 local tournaments and more than 20 Major Championships each season. Membership does not include entry fees to individual tournaments which vary based on tournament location, time of year, number of rounds and venue.

Memberships will renew annually after expiration at a reduced rate of $99

How can I sign up for a membership?

Once I register, how long does it take to receive my Member Pack item?

[email protected]
+44 28 7032 6707

England Amateur Tournaments

Amateur english golf tournaments in 2023/2024:.

You’ve always loved a good challenge, and the chance to show off your skills on the golf course. That’s why we have developed England’s best Amateur Tournament Packages for you!

Whether or not one of these events will be enough? Well that depends; but either way all trips from registration through prize-giving ceremony are included in our package deals so it’ll feel like an entire vacation with friends while playing competitively.

Discover below which event interests you most:

East Yorkshire Mixed Golf Week: 22nd – 26th May 2023

Lincolnshire Swing: 12th – 14th June 2023

Jurassic Coast Golf Tournament: 24th – 26th June 2023

Mixed Pairs Cup – Southport: 19th – 21st June 2023

Links Golf Salver – Lancashire Links: 3rd – 4th July 2023

Lancashire Golf Classic: 3rd – 6th July 2023

County Durham Golf Trail: 10th – 13th July 2023

Midland Golf Challenge: 11th – 13th July 2023

Links Golf Salver – Goswick: 16th – 17th July 2023

Eden Valley Mixed Golf Tournament: 16th – 18th August 2023

Mixed Lincolnshire Swing: 4th – 6th September 2023

Southport Coast Links Championship: 7th – 11th August 2023

Wirral Golf Classic: 17th – 19th September 2023

Senior Coast Links Championship: 18th – 20th October 2023

Included is your Tournament Entry and Registration along with an Accommodation for you. Transport requirements can be arranged also upon request!

There’s no need to worry about the little details when they’re taken care of, just contact us today by clicking on one our events above.

We offer dining options that make everything simple so don’t hesitate – register now before it gets too late!!

Check out other available destinations:

Czech republic, dominican republic, contact us and book your golf trip.

Tel: 0345 466 2222
[email protected]

THE BIGGEST & LONGEST ESTABLISHED AMATEUR GOLF TOUR

“ the opportunity to have the golfing experience of a lifetime, every month!”

Since its launch in 1997 the Tour has visited 5 different continents and 26 different countries from the West Coast of the USA to Japan in the East and from Sweden to Australia.

If you enjoy playing competitive golf and top class championship courses we are confident you will enjoy playing on the GAGT. All amateur golfers, regardless of handicap, are welcome to play, all we insist is that you have an active WHS handicap “The Tour is by far the most enjoyable, competitive and rewarding golf I have played. The courses are first class and the events are always faultlessly organised.” Click here to view the full 2023 / 2024 schedule

“It’s so simple. I choose my events, enter online and then just turn up”

The GAGT is well established having been launched in 1997 and is still growing
The Tour is a series of individual stableford competitions played at top class courses worldwide
All golfers with an active WHS handicap are welcome
Non Tour members can enter events. Annual membership is only £40 from the day you join.
The Tour has five Orders of Merit, Ladies, Senior, UK, International and Worldwide
Enter as many or few events as you wish. Only your best 7* rounds count for Tour Final qualification
Approx 40 competitors qualify for the Tour Final.

"I play cricket - but I cannot play at Lords, I play tennis but I cannot play at Wimbledon, I play golf and on the Tour I can play the best courses"

Be the first to know about news and events Subscribe

© Copyright GMM Ltd 2024
Tel: : +44 (0)345 466 2222

Buy tickets now for Tom Walker's 'I Am' UK tour

His 'I Am' tour starts in April 2024

In the last six months, Tom Walker has announced a new album called 'I Am' , along with this tour, with extra dates in Glasgow and Manchester. He's also released several songs from his upcoming album, including ' Freaking Out ' and his latest song 'Head Underwater' .

Buy tickets now to see Tom Walker from Ticketmaster or TicketWeb

Tom's tour, which is his biggest yet, will see him performing at venues across the UK throughout April and May 2024, with extra dates in Manchester and Glasgow. Several dates have already sold out, so this is your chance to buy tickets before his remaining dates sell out.

Listen to Tom's single 'Head Underwater' here

When is tom walker on tour.

Fans have been calling out for a new album and tour since Tom started to tease 'exciting news' would be coming.

You can see the full list of Tom Walker tour dates below.

Cardiff, The Great Hall - Thu 18th

Bristol, O2 Academy Bristol - Fri 19th

Sheffield, Octagon Centre - Sat 20th

Dublin, Olympia - Mon 22nd

Belfast, Ulster Hall - Tue 23rd

Birmingham, O2 Academy Birmingham - Thu 25th

Manchester, Manchester Academy - Fri 26th

Manchester, Manchester Academy - Sat 27th - NEW DATE

Leeds, O2 Academy Leeds - Mon 29th

Glasgow, O2 Academy Glasgow - Tue 30th

Glasgow, O2 Academy Glasgow - Wed 1st - NEW DATE

Newcastle, O2 City Hall - Fri 3rd

Norwich, UEA - Sun 5th

Nottingham, Rock City - Mon 6th

London, Eventim Apollo - Tue 7th

How to buy tickets to see Tom Walker

Tickets are now available to buy from Ticketmaster or TicketWeb

Take a look through tours coming up in 2024 and beyond:

Diversity - 'supernova'.

Britain's most-successful dance group, Diversity will be taking their all-new 'Supernova' tour on a 64-date run around the UK in 2023 and 2024.

Tom Walker has announced several dates for his 2024 tour, in support of his second album 'I Am'. The album features his songs 'Burn' and 'Freaking Out.

Daniel Bedingfield

Daniel Bedingfield has announced three April dates in the UK to celebrate 20 years of his classic album 'Gotta Get Thru This'.

Paloma Faith

Paloma Faith has announced a huge 26-date tour for Spring 2024. The 'Can't Rely On You' singer will head out in April 2024 in Reading and finish up in June 2024 in Lincoln.

Tate McRae has announced her 'Think Later' tour, in support of her second album which was released in December 2023. The singer will perform at several dates across the UK in April.

Blue have announced dates across the UK, performing their greatest hits from the last 20 years. The band start their tour in April.

Girls Aloud

Girls Aloud have announced they will be reuniting for a tour in 2024. The tour is called 'The Girls Aloud Show' and will see the group performing many of their fantastic hits in celebration of their late bandmate Sarah Harding.

Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj will be going on her 'Pink Friday 2 World Tour' in May 2024, including UK dates, in Manchester, Birmingham and London.

Jonas Brothers 2024

Nick, Kevin and Joe Jonas, otherwise known as the Jonas Brothers, will play four UK dates in June 2024, in Manchester, London, Birmingham and Glasgow.

P!nk is bringing her 'Summer Carnival Tour' back to the UK for 2024. The singer will be supported by The Script, Gayle and DJ and producer KidCutUp. Her tour takes place throughout June 2024.

Anne-Marie has announced a continuation of her 'Unhealthy Club' tour. This new summer tour will see the singer performing at festivals and other outdoor locations. Her summer tour will take place in June and July 2024.

Taylor Swift - 'The Eras Tour' 2024

Taylor Swift has now announced several UK dates for her 'Eras' tour. The singer will be coming to Liverpool, Edinburgh, Cardiff and London in June and August 2024.

Tom Grennan - Gunnersbury Park

Tom Grennan has announced his biggest headline gig ever at Gunnersbury Park, London on Saturday 10th August 2024.

Busted will be going on tour in the summer of 2024, starting on 17th May in Marlow and continuing throughout the summer until 31st August in Scarborough.

Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake has announced several dates in the UK as part of 'The Forget Tomorrow' world tour. He will be playing Birmingham, Manchester and London in August 2024.

Jess Glynne - 'Summer 2024'

Jess Glynne has announced outdoor dates for summer 2024. The singer will start in June 2024 in Scarborough and perform across England and Wales, finishing in London in August.

Becky Hill - Arena tour 2024

Becky Hill has announced nine UK dates for her first arena tour in 2024. They take place in October 2024.

Dua Lipa has announced a one-off gig at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 17th October, where fans can expect her to perform many of the new songs from her album 'Radical Optimism'.

'Jumping All Over The World' legends Scooter are heading around the UK and Ireland on their 30th anniversary tour - titled 'Thirty, Rough and Dirty'. Dates take place in October and November.

Charli XCX has announced four extra dates for her 'BRAT' UK tour, with special guest Shygirl. The singer, known for hits such as 'Boom Clap', and 'Speed Drive' from the Barbie movie, will be performing in Manchester, London, Birmingham and Glasgow.

Usher has announced several dates in the UK in March, April and May 2025. Tickets are now on sale for all dates.

Tom Walker releases a relatable song 'Freaking Out'

Tom Walker surprises fans with impromptu gig outside Spudman's trailer

Tom Walker: Get to know the 'Better Half Of Me' singer 🎶

How to listen to Hits Radio:

For the biggest hits, the biggest throwbacks and incredible competitions tune into Hits Radio on our Hits Radio app, your DAB radio, Smart Speakers or online.

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England Tours & Trips

England means London, one of the world's largest capitals, but also the fascinating Oxford University, the Georgian architecture of Bath and the seaside in Cornwall . Don't miss the chance of touring the United Kingdom, mixing the marvellous attractions of England, Wales and Scotland. Read here about ideas for one week in England and Scotland (for seniors) .

242 England tour packages with 1,758 reviews

In-depth Cultural
Christmas & New Year

5-Day Devon & Cornwall Small Group from London

Only the weather could have been better.

Coach / Bus

Best of Devon and Cornwall (6 Days)

It was a great adventure and experience, especially due to our excellent director Helen, an extremely cultured and warmhearted woman with a lot of historical and literary knowledge, not to forget her humour. Very intense six days with a full but balanced programme, including nature, culture and good food and fellowship. Thank you!

€100 deposit on some dates Some departure dates offer you the chance to book this tour with a lower deposit.

2-Day Windsor, Stonehenge, Bath & Oxford Small-Group Tour from London

Thank you Rabbie's Tour and to our wonderful Scottish guide, who made my journey so lovely!

$Walk Hadrian\'s Wall Highlights Tour$

Hiking & Trekking

Walk Hadrian's Wall Highlights

Highlights of South-West England

Walking Adventure

London & Iconic England Tour - 6 days

10% deposit on some dates Some departure dates offer you the chance to book this tour with a lower deposit.

London & Country

Overall, the tour met our expectations as there was a good mix of tours through Globus with plenty of time for us to explore on our own.

Looking for tours beyond just England?

Explore tours with itineraries going through multiple countries, including England.

Cornwall tour starting in London

A fantastic small tour of Cornwall with a really fun and informative guide. The Cornwall coast is superb.

Walk the Lake District

The itinerary was very good, and I appreciated the slightly easier walk on the day after climbing Scafell Pike. We were split into two groups of five due to Covid restrictions. Both groups had a mix of abilities and we preferred it from Day 3 onwards when the faster walkers were grouped together and able to go at a faster pace. Please consider offering a “Lake District part 2” holiday with the same hotel and guides but a different set of walks (still at the Moderate level). It was a perfect set up and I would love to return for more guided walks in the area.

London and Bath Explorer - 6 Days

Stonehenge, Devon & Cornwall - 5 days

Contrasts of Norfolk Cycling

Stonehenge, Devon & Cornwall (Hotel) - 5 days

Self Guided Walking Holidays

Best of the Cotswolds Self-Guided Walk

Cotswolds Walking Tour

What a wonderful experience we have had on our “Cotswolds, Castles & Cottages” Tour. Our visit to Sudeley Castle was delightful, Hailes Abbey and it’s historical story was made most interesting by having the portable audio commentary provided by English Heritage, and Chedworth Roman Villa is fascinating to visit. To be in the English Cotswolds countryside is an opportunity which we have been so lucky to have had. It was a delight to walk amongst all these ancient thatched cottages. As our Tour Leader had already told us, the Cotswold Cottages are beautifully preserved and it has been awesome to be able to enjoy being amongst them with their magnificent English gardens full of the perfume of their beautiful Roses and their unbelievable colours, and together with all the awesome varieties of English flowers in these gardens, was admired by us all our cameras have recorded amazing memories.

What people love about England Tours

We thoroughly enjoyed our Devon and Cornwall tour with Jack. Jack is extremely knowledgeable about the area, so engaging with a lot of humour and an excellent driver! We would love to join another tour on our next visit to the UK.

Was a fantastic trip. Our guide was the best. Our trip was Sept 10/11 with an overnight stay in Bath.

England Destinations

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UK Lake District (11)

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England Travel Guide | All You Need to Know

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United kingdom.

Regal. Charming. Scenic.

Comprised of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the United Kingdom definitely has dozens of reasons worth leaving home for. Mountains, valleys, hills and dales, forests and gardens, oh and no less than 25 UNESCO World Heritage sites scattered throughout, are but a few. You will find a slew of cathedrals, castles, palaces and country houses spanning history. Centuries of inspiring the world, influencing the arts, and forming natural beauty have developed this land into one great nation.

Destination Must-See's

A world in a city is a common way to describe the metropolis of London, the capital of England. A cultural melting pot of over 230 nationalities, London is the financial, political and cultural capital of the UK. It is booming with activity and bursting with sightseeing treasures. You’ll find historic highlights from the haunting Tower of London to the ornate Buckingham Palace and more modern attractions such as the world-famous Harrods department store and the towering London Eye.

The capital city and second most populous in Scotland, Edinburgh has been recognized for its historic and cultural attractions. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the UK after London. Great shopping, historic architecture and great Scottish whisky are just part of its allure. Its greatest draw is Edinburgh Castle. This sprawling medieval castle and fortress sits atop Castle Rock in the city center, dominating Edinburgh’s skyline.

Giant’s Causeway:

At the foot of the basalt cliffs on the coast of Northern Ireland’s County of Antrim lies the stunning Giant’s Causeway. Travelers flock to this UNESCO World Heritage site to experience the 40,000 massive dark columns rising from the sea. The natural phenomena has sparked legends of giants and magic, but its unique geology points to volcanic activity from over 50 million years ago. The Giant’s Causeway is a beautiful sight and the experience of a lifetime.

Cornwall, a region located on a peninsula in southwest England, is comprised of many different towns and villages that feature beautiful beaches and picturesque coastlines. Bordered by the Celtic Sea and the English Channel, one of its most popular towns is St. Ives. This seaside port town just north of Penzance on the coast of the Celtic Sea is known as the art center of West Cornwall and has a sub-tropical feel and beautiful beaches.

Destination Must-Do's

England’s Lake District:

Lose yourself in the natural beauty of this mountainous region in northwest England dotted with tranquil lakes. One of the picturesque villages in the region is Grasmere, once home of and inspiration to the romantic poet William Wordsworth. Perhaps you will take a sail on one of the lakes and take in the peaceful backdrop of lush green mountains, serene shorelines and pristine calm waters dotted with tiny islands.

Stonehenge:

Walk in the footsteps of so many before you when visiting prehistoric Stonehenge. This mysterious rock formation dates back to the Stone Age and remains one of the world’s most famous sites. Standing in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, Stonehenge is perhaps the most important prehistoric monument in England. The experience of seeing this timeless monument is not to be missed – it will surely be a highlight of your visit.

This large, deep freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extends approximately 23 miles southwest of the city of Inverness. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the Loch Ness monster. While Loch Ness is not the largest Scottish loch by surface area, it is the largest by volume, with its deepest point at 755 feet. Along the shore, you will find the ruins of Urquhart Castle. This once mighty site rests on the headwaters of Loch Ness and dates back as far as the 13th century.

Prepare to step back in time in the English countryside. The Cotswolds are roughly 25 miles across and 90 miles long, stretching from Stratford-upon-Avon to Bath. The region is known for its small towns and villages with homes made from golden colored Cotswold stone and grass roofs that sit among lush greenery and rolling hills. Stratford-upon-Avon is perhaps its most famous town. Lying along the River Avon, it’s famed for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare, one of the world’s great playwrights. Be sure to make a trip to see the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Expert Advice

Think “go to the right.” It is their natural flow of traffic even when it comes to walking. It is important to not only look both ways when crossing the street, but also when on an escalator, stand to the right. When walking down the street, stay alert and follow the flow – to the right.

Expect to be offered tea, a lot. The British love their tea and not only during afternoon tea, any time for any reason. But you should know there is a “proper” way to drink it. The rules are – sit up straight, do not blow on it, take small sips with your pinky down, and put the cup on the saucer between sips. Now you are prepared to sip away.

Bring a raincoat and umbrella, as it rains one out of three days in the UK. It does vary from region to region, but generally speaking, they are important items to have on hand at all times.

Featured Tours to United Kingdom

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"What is there to not love about England. Real life castles, Princes and Princesses, stunning scenery, and historic streets lined with lively pubs everywhere you go!”

Aryan, Travel Director

Admire the British capital from the London Eye

Watch London unfurl from the iconic 135-metre height of the London Eye. The unmatched views extend in every direction, reaching Buckingham Palace, the river Thames and the famed clock tower of the Palace of Westminster. All London’s highlights in one peaceful, 30-minute rotation.

Take in the views of Britain's Lake District

Delve into Britain’s natural wonders and take in the panorama of rolling hills, rocky mountains and glittering waters of the Lake District. Abounding in outdoor opportunities from cruises to hilltop walks, you'll find serenity in this national park resting between Leeds and Glasgow.

Visit the Roman baths in Bath

Turn back the clock 2,000 years at the remarkably preserved remains of the Roman Baths. Still flowing with steaming, geothermally heated water, the ancient stone pavements reveal the culture behind the simple daily task of washing. Let time stand still staring at a spring filled with 12,000 Roman coins.

Enjoy the guided tour of Liverpool

Sink into the nostalgia of the Beatles, cruise along the Mersey River and sample real ale at the Albert Docks. A visit to Liverpool is an invitation to uncover the many layers of British culture; the UK's fifth largest city means more than the passion of its football club.

See the Stonehenge's stone monoliths

Southwest England’s soil is rich with mystery. Stand in the shadows of Stonehenge’s stone monoliths and let your imagination be sparked by the secrets of this 5,000-year history. Weighing up to 30 tonnes each, the weight of history will leave its mark on you.

Our top 5 things to do in England

Mysterious stone monoliths and preserved ancient baths prove there is so much more to see beyond the limits of London city. Let Trafalgar turn the pages of the history book that is England.

The British Museum

The British Museum is a ticket to relics that reveal some two million years of human history. Feel small standing beneath the colossal presence of Rameses II and contrast the myth and reality of Troy with the graphic world of Manga. This London highlight will take you on a journey of time travel.

Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum takes you on an unfathomable discovery of the formation of the solar system and its path to the present. Trace the origin of our species under the shade of a T. rex and glimpse rare meteorites straight from the surface of Mars. If this doesn’t shake you, the earthquake simulator most certainly will.

Victoria and Albert

The Victoria and Albert Museum is an encounter with the very best of human creativity in almost every medium. Here you will design your own bioplastic bag, step behind the creative lens of Christian Dior and take a literal walk in history’s shoes admiring a 2,000 strong collection spanning 3,000 years.

Best museums in England

A cultural epicentre of the planet steeped in royal heritage, the museums of England sparkle like the Crown Jewels. Let Trafalgar guide you through the very best the region has to offer.

Fish & Chips

It’s hard to separate the partnership of fish 'n' chips. Try this traditional meal both from a gourmet restaurant and a local 'chippie' wrapped in newspaper. Always with lashings of salt and vinegar on top.

Sunday Roast

Embrace the traditional English Sunday lunch with roast meats, a side of vegetables and an indulgent topping of gravy. The joy of this simple culinary experience is best served in a traditional English pub complete with football on the screen and a few stouts.

Full English breakfast

The full English breakfast is a requisite of a trip to England. A hearty plate piled with fried bacon, grilled tomatoes, buttered toast, mushrooms, eggs, beans, and black puddingis hard to resist.

Best food in England

Food is at the heart of every journey when you travel to England. This is a country of warm and hearty meals, our trips will show you the very best of it.

What to pack for England

With a high chance of experiencing four seasons in one day, an umbrella is a must when visiting England, both for rainy days and occasions when the sun beams down.

Digital maps

It's always good to have a backup of digital maps on standby when you're out exploring in your own time. Download them prior to your trip so you can reach them even when your phone is offline.

Travel adaptor

Though many hotels will have adaptors available for use, being prepared with your own will ensure you're always charged and ready to go.

A good book

With a seemingly infinite list of parks found in England, don't forget to pack a novel and immerse yourself in a good book should the occasion arise.

With days full of adventure and numerous souvenirs tempting your strolls, a day pack will ensure your hands always remain free. Split the weight across your back with a double strap bag for extra comfort.

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All About The Rock

PAIN – announce ‘I Am’ UK and Europe tour

After a six-year absence, PAIN are thrilled to announce their highly anticipated ‘I AM’ European/UK Tour. With 17 countries and 33 cities on the itinerary, this tour promises an unforgettable experience for fans throughout Europe and the UK. Prepare to be captivated by the raw energy and intensity of PAIN ‘s performances as they take the stage. Don’t miss out on this epic metal adventure!

“We start the new long journey with ‘I AM’ Tour right here. Couldn’t be more excited!” says Peter Tägtgren . “I will finally drop some new songs before the tour starts and can’t wait to get out in every corner of the world with PAIN. So I AM on Tour! Are you with me?”

Alongside Peter Tägtgren , PAIN features a powerhouse of musicians, including Sebastian Tägtgren on drums, Jonathan Olsson on bass, and Sebastian Svalland on guitar.

Fans can expect an energetic show filled with signature PAIN hits, including favorites like ‘ Shut Your Mouth ‘, ‘ Same Old Song ‘, ‘ Call Me ‘, and their recent hit ‘ Party in My Head ‘. And, as Peter has already promised, something fresh will be added to the setlist!

PAIN will be joined by special guests ENSIFERUM , who will add their own brand of epic metal to the tour.

05.10. DE Köln – Essigfabrik 06.10. NL Drachten – Iduna 07.10. NL Hengelo – Metropool 08.10. BE Antwerp – Kavka Zappa 10.10. UK Glasgow – Ivory Blacks 11.10. UK Manchester – Rebellion 12.10. UK Brimingham – The Asylum 13.10. UK London – O2 Academy Islington 14.10. NL Amstelveen – P60 15.10. FR Paris – La Machine du Moulin Rouge 16.10. FR Nantes – Le Ferraileur 18.10. PT Porto – Hard Club 19.10. PT Lisbon – RCA Lisbon 20.10. ES Madrid – Chango Club 21.10. ES Pamplona – Sala Totem Aretoa 22.10. FR Lyon – La Rayonne 24.10. SI Ljbljana – Cvetlicarna 25.10. IT Trezzo sull’Adda – Live Music Club 26.10. HR Zagreb – Klub Mocvara 27.10. RO Bucharest – Quantic Club 28.10. RO Cluj-Napoca – Form Space 31.10. BG Sofia – Club Mixtape 5 01.11. HU Budapest – Dürer Kert 02.11. PL Krakow – Kamienna12 03.11. AT Vienna – Szene 04.11. DE Munich – Backstage 05.11. CZ Zlin – Masters of Rock Cafe 07.11. DE Nuremberg – Hirsch 08.11. DE Frankfurt – Batschkapp 09.11. DE Leipzig – Hellraiser 10.11. DE Hamburg – Gruenspan 11.11. DE Berlin – Columbia Theater 12.11. DE Stuttgart – Im Wizemann

Get your tickets here: https://www.painworldwide.com/live

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Finding the Universe

Travel tales, photography and a dash of humor

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2 Weeks in the UK – My Perfect UK Trip Itinerary

Last updated: March 10, 2024 . Written by Laurence Norah - 219 Comments

If you are looking for a two week UK itinerary which includes Ireland, you have come to the right place. This UK road trip itinerary has you starting in London, and using a rental car as the transportation method. It covers some of our highlights in the UK, including cities, castles, and stunning natural scenery.

I have spent a great deal of time living in and exploring the UK. I’ve drawn on my experiences travelling here to put together my perfect two week UK trip to help you plan your own trip.

This UK itinerary (which also includes Ireland) covers England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. It’s a self-drive road-trip, although could also be modified to support travel by public transport if you prefer.

If you haven’t driven in the UK before, do check out my guide to driving in the UK for helpful tips. We also have a guide to how much it costs to travel in the UK if you need budget planning help.

UK Two Week Itinerary - Alnwick Castle UK

Without further ado, allow me to present my two-week UK itinerary.

A 2 week UK Trip itinerary

This itinerary is very busy and fits a lot in, including time in Ireland. It is doable, but just be aware that it will be fast paced with quite a lot of driving. Naturally, you are welcome to take the itinerary and adjust it to meet your own interests and pace.

For example, many folks prefer to focus on the UK with their two weeks, and skip the island of Ireland, returning instead via the Lake District and Wales. However, if you want to see as much as possible, this itinerary is how to do it.

Days 1 & 2: London

The UK’s capital is one of my favourite cities in the world. It’s been hanging around for over 2000 years on the banks of the Thames, and there is just an incredible wealth of things to see, from historical sights, to amazing museums, to crazy street markets.

It’s a wonderfully walk-able capital, and you can easily take in the major central sights in a day or so, leaving you the second day to explore museums, art galleries, or go a little further afield and take in some of the other sights, from crumbling cemeteries to massive parks. And if all else fails, you will never be short on an incredible pub to while away some time before heading on.

For inspiration for your visit, take a look at our 2 day London itinerary , which covers the major highlights of the city, and also links to lots of other information about visiting, including tips on finding Harry Potter locations in London through to Winston Churchill locations in London – something for everyone!

My advice for London is to invest in an Oyster card to save money on your transport (don’t hire a car until you leave the capital – and check here for great rates on car hire ), and if you think you’re going to use it, look into buying a London Pass to save money on London’s top attractions.

Available in 1, 3 and 6 day versions, as well as a version with an included Oyster card, the savings can really be quite impressive if you plan on visiting a few locations. You can read a full break down on when the London Pass is worth buying here , and buy one yourself here .

Finally, London is probably going to be the most expensive city in the UK for your accommodation. We recommend booking well in advance to get a good deal.

Some of our recommended accommodation options in London are:

The Walrus Bar and Hostel , The Z hotel in Shoreditch , Point A Hotel , Lime Tree Hotel and the Resident Victoria Hotel . You can see more London hotel listings here on booking.com . We also love the curated apartments available on Plum Guide .

Days 3 & 4: Oxford & the Cotswolds

One of the stipulations of the original question was the wish to avoid feeling too much like a tourist. Unfortunately, this is nearly impossible in Oxford , as nearly everyone there is either a tourist or a student. I lived in and around Oxford for a number of years, and generally felt like a tourist most of that time too.

Part of the reason for that is that this tiny city is absolutely jam packed with incredible buildings, largely in the form of the Oxford Colleges. These are seriously wealthy establishments, who clearly had no problem flaunting that wealth in an architectural fashion back in the day.

This means that yes, it is full of people wandering around, mouths agape, at quite how pretty the whole thing is. Yes, it’s jam packed with tourists. But for good reason!

So strap that camera on and snap away. Then go for a punt on the river, and enjoy some Pimms or a cream tea. Seek out the Harry Potter filming locations . Take a walking tour of the Universities . There’s no shortage of way to fill your time!

Read more tips for spending a day in Oxford, here .

From Oxford you are also well located to take in the incredibly picturesque Cotswolds area – all quaint villages and rolling countryside. The England that everyone imagines England to be like, with country pubs, village greens and cricket ovals. Lovely stuff. Check out hotel prices for Oxford here .

Days 5 & 6: Peak District and Manchester

From Oxford I’m going to suggest heading “up north”, towards the Peak District national park. Think rolling hills, quaint villages, and beautiful walks.

There are also some fabulous stately homes to visit , not to mention that on the way from Oxford you can stop off at Warwick Castle – one of the UK’s best-preserved castles.

If you’re interested in the industrial revolution in the UK I can highly recommend a visit to the city of Manchester.

Of course, if the industrial revolution isn’t your thing there are plenty of other reasons to visit Manchester, including excellent retail therapy, an awesome food scene, and a variety of architectural highlights. Not to mention the music scene!

You can see my guide to things to do in Manchester for lots more ideas, and you can see hotel prices for Manchester here .

One other thing you might consider as you pass through the Peak District and Manchester is a visit to Alton Towers . This is arguably the UK’s best known theme park, and would make for a great thrilling day out for those of you who like that sort of thing.

Day 7: York

Not that far from Manchester (England is so quaintly explorable!), the city of York is another of my favourite UK cities.

From the incredible Gothic York Minster (a climb to the top is highly recommended) to the winding, tumbled down alleyways of the shambles, to the Viking history – this is a city that just cries out for exploration.

York St Marys Abbey ruin church monastery

It’s also an awesome place if you’re into ghost stories. There are a whole number of ghost walks that take in the spooky past of York, so if you want an evening of entertainment and intrigue, likely accompanied with a number of fine drinking establishments, an evening ghost walk is a great bit of fun.

I’m not a great believer in this sort of thing usually, but I took a tour and thoroughly enjoyed it!

If you do plan on seeing a few things in York, you might save money with a York City Pass , which includes most of the attractions in the city as well as access to the York Sightseeing bus or York City Cruises. You can buy that in advance here .

For more York ideas, see our guide to spending two days in York , which has a comprehensive itinerary as well as tips on where to stay and how to get around.

For accommodation, you can check out and book the best York hotels here .

Days 8 & 9: Edinburgh via Northumberland

From York we’re going to wave farewell to England, and head up to Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh. On the way though, you’ll be passing through some of England’s least travelled, yet stunningly beautiful, landscapes.

I am of course talking about Northumbria. From miles of deserted beach, to crumbling castles, to the Roman equivalent of the great wall of China, Northumbria really has a lot to offer someone looking for a slightly off the beaten track England experience. The rolling landscapes are breath-taking and you’ll find yourself alone much of the time. Worth taking a bit of time to explore, in my opinion.

Then of course, it’s up to Edinburgh , where you’ll not be short of amazing things to look at. From Edinburgh castle, to Arthurs Seat, from fine whiskys, to Princes Street, there really is enough here for a number of days of entertainment. And if you visit during the Fringe festival… well… plan on being entertained for a good many weeks!

See more ideas on spending some time in Edinburgh in this detailed two day Edinburgh itinerary that I put together, as well as our guide to things to do in Edinburgh , our tips on visiting Edinburgh in winter , and our guide to finding Harry Potter in Edinburgh .

Then check and book your Edinburgh hotels here.

Days 10 – 12: Ireland

Because the UK is an easily explorable place with decent roads and relatively short distances to drive, it is totally possible to include another country – Ireland! – in a trip like this if you’re up for it.

Do be aware that if you are renting a car, some car rental companies have restrictions on taking cars on ferries, or into other countries – so make sure you check before you go as there may be an additional fee to pay.

Of course, you could also fly to Ireland (Edinburgh to Belfast or Dublin for example), and use different rentals for different parts of your adventure!

If all that sounds like too much hard work, you could extend your time in Scotland, or alternatively, you could take in the west coast of the UK, including Glasgow , the Lake District, and Liverpool, as well as popping into Wales for the stunning Snowdonia national park, and rejoin this itinerary in South Wales or Bristol . The choice is yours!

If it is Ireland you want though, it’s a short ferry ride from Scotland (Cairnryan to be precise, which is 2-3 hour drive from Edinburgh) across to Belfast in Northern Ireland, from where you can spend a few days exploring the Emerald Isle.

We have travelled from Cairnryan with both Stena Line and P&O Ferries, both of which have been a fast, comfortable and efficient service. We normally use Direct Ferries for ferry booking as they compare prices across all the providers and support payment in multple currencies. You can book your ferry tickets here .

This part of the world has a lot to offer, and three days is quite a short amount of time. We can recommend spending some time in Belfast and driving north along the causeway coastal route to see such highlights as the Giant’s Causeway, ruined castles and spectacular coastline. Then, head south into Ireland, and see fabulous Dublin.

I’ve explored Dublin and her surroundings, taken a trip down to the Dingle Peninsula , kissed the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle, gazed at the Cliffs of Moher , and visited the Dark Hedges of Game of Thrones fame – to name but a few of our wonderful experience on the Irish Isle.

In Dublin there’s the Guinness Factory, of course, as a popular highlight, but also oodles of Gaelic history and culture to get excited about.

There are also of course the Irish people, well known for their love of a good time! Personally, I’d head on down the coast from Belfast, through Dublin and down to the port of Rosslare, where after three exciting days in Ireland another ferry service will whisk you across to the last of the four countries to make up the UK: Wales!

Day 13: South Wales and Cardiff

In Wales you will arrive either at Fishguard or Pembroke – both excellent places to explore the Pembrokeshire Coast national park . Here you will find beautiful beaches, rugged cliffs, and fabulous opportunities for walking.

You’re also not too far a drive from Cardiff, the Welsh capital. Four capitals in a fortnight – not bad going! Here you’ll find castles, sporting venues and more Welsh based culture than you can shake a stick at. Plus, arrive at the right time of year and you’ll find the Great British Cheese festival in full swing. What’s not to be excited about? For more about travelling in Wales and highlights along this route, see our detailed Wales road trip itinerary .

Find and book your Cardiff hotels here .

Day 14: Bristol & Bath

From Cardiff you’ll cross the enormous Severn estuary over the impress Severn road bridge and be back in the UK, or Bristol to be precise. Here you’ll find all sorts of interesting items of historical interest, largely running on a nautical theme, as well as some of the best street art in Britain .

For over a thousand years Bristol has been an important English port. From early explorers and traders, to the dark years of the African slave vessels, to filling Australia with immigrants, it is hard to understate the role that Bristol has played in Britain’s sea faring history. There is, after all, a reason for the expression “ship-shape and Bristol fashion” having a place in the English language.

I can highly recommend taking a trip round the SS Great Britain when you’re in Bristol. Built in 1843, and designed by the engineering genius who was Isambard Kingdom Brunel – the man who almost single-handedly revolutionised both engineering and public transport in the UK.

The SS Great Britain is notable as being the first steamer to cross the Atlantic – setting a record pace for the time of 14 days. An amazing bit of history. Note that tickets are slightly cheaper if you book them online, which you can do online here .

For more ideas in Bristol, check out our guide to things to do in Bristol , which should give you plenty of ideas to fill your time. Find the best prices on Bristol hotels and book here .

From Bristol it’s on to the Roman spa city of Bath, a world heritage site. Like Oxford , this is a difficult place to be anything other than a tourist, but it is so worth it all the same!

Day 15: Back to London, via Stonehenge!

Our last day of our just over two week UK itinerary takes us back to London. No trip to the UK though would really be complete without taking in perhaps our most famous monument – the circle of rocks known as Stonehenge.

There is just something about the place that makes you wonder. A circle of rocks, built by a people who had nothing but their hands and some bits of wood to help them out, in the middle of the Wiltshire countryside, hundreds of miles from an actual quarry, is just mind blowing.

Add in the pagan ritualism, the relationship between the rocks and the sun, and the sheer mystery of the place, and you have somewhere that is capable of really capturing the imagination. Worth your time to visit (see more thoughts from a trip to Stonehenge here ).

Plus, while you’re there you can pop into Salisbury and enjoy the cathedral, which boasts the highest cathedral spire of any church in the UK.

And then… back to London, where this tour finishes!

2 Weeks in the UK: Road Trip Map

Here’s a map of the route , for your reference.

2 Week UK Itinerary Summary

Days 1 & 2 : London
Days 3 & 4 : Oxford & the Cotswolds
Days 5 & 6 : Peak District and Manchester
Day 7 : York
Days 8 & 9 : Edinburgh via Northumberland
Days 10 – 12 : Ireland
Day 13 : South Wales and Cardiff
Day 14 : Bristol & Bath
Day 15 : Back to London, via Stonehenge!

Can you do this 2 Week UK itinerary by public transport?

A popular question from readers is whether or not this itinerary can be done by public transport. I appreciate that of course not everyone wants to drive in the UK, and the answer, for the most part, is yes.

Certainly, between the major cities on the itinerary there are good rail and/or bus links, with the train usually being a little faster. The main challenge is the rural sections of the route – for example, exploring the Cotswolds, Northumbria or the Peak District. This is possible using local buses of course, but it can definitely slow you down a fair bit, and so you would need to adjust the itinerary a little to fit the schedule.

Another option is to add in some days in London or Edinburgh, and doing some specific day trips from these cities to take in the out of town attractions.

For example, there is this day trip from London that takes in highlights such as Bath and Stonehenge. Then, for Northumbria and the Scottish Borders, including beautiful Alnwick Castle, consider this tour from Edinburgh .

If you are interested in doing this itinerary by public transport, check out my guide to taking a 10 day UK trip by public transport, which as well as a route, has lots of ideas for how to book different forms of transport in the most effective and cost-efficient way.

What About Touring the UK With A Tour Company?

Another popular question is whether or not this sort of trip can be done with a tour company, and if we have any companies we would recommend for this.

So you have a few options for doing this which I have outlined below.

The first option is to take a group tour of the UK. There are a number of companies offering small group tours – we’d recommend finding a service which operates tours of 15 people or less. We usually use and recommend Rabbie’s Trail Burners , who operate trips around the UK and Ireland, and have a number of tour options to choose from.

We haven’t found a tour that exactly matches our UK wide itinerary, but we still have a solution for those of you wanting the do a similar trip as part of a guided tour.

First, we recommend you spend two or three days in London, following our suggested London itinerary .

Next, we recommend you take something similar to this small group tour , which takes eight days to take you from London to Edinburgh.

In Edinburgh, you can spend a couple of days following our Edinburgh itinerary , after which you can easily fly to either Belfast or Dublin direct from Edinburgh.

Here you can either explore these lovely cities, or take a tour to explore more of the country, we’d recommend either this three day tour of Northern Ireland or this three day tour of the southern and western coast .

Alternatively, if you’d prefer to skip Ireland, you could take something like this five day tour of the Scottish Highlands and Skye .

Finally, you can either return to London, or have your flights home depart from Dublin or Edinburgh, depending on your tour choice.

The other option is a bespoke tour company and/or a private tour guide, who will be able to put a tour together for you, including guiding, transport and accommodation.

Of all the options, this will generally be the most expensive way to travel, but it will also give you total flexibility in terms of your trip and schedule, plus you’ll have a guide with you every step of the way, taking all the hassle out of your trip.

For this sort of tour, we recommend the services of Robina Brown, who is a blue-badge guide offering tours across the UK. See her website here .

When to Visit the UK

You can visit the UK at any time of year, although for the best weather and longer daylight hours, we’d definitely suggest visiting in the warmer months – from May to September. May is probably our favourite time of year, the weather is usually quite reasonable but the tourist crowds are not too intense.

Christmas, and the period leading up to Christmas, can also be a wonderful time to visit, when the streets and shops are all brightly lit and decorated for the festive season. For a good example of this, check out our guide to visiting Edinburgh at Christmas .

Where to Stay in the UK:

For accommodation , there are a great many options to choose from, ranging from cosy B&B’s through to upmarket hotels, and everything in between. Finding the best deal on your accommodation is an important part of trip planning – helping you to get the most from your budget, as well as find the property that is right for you.

We’ve tried a lot of booking sites, and nearly always find ourselves using Booking.com. They have an extensive selection of properties, many with no-fee cancellation policies, and often run discounts and special offers. Click on each city title to see their listings: London , Oxford , Manchester , York , Edinburgh , Dublin , Cardiff and Bristol .
If you prefer an apartment or more of a hosted stay, then we recommend Plum Guide . We’ve tried all the others, and in our experience Plum Guide consistently has the highest quality options for the locations they are available.
If you can’t find what you want on Plum Guide, or you want some new options to try out, we wrote a whole post on the best alternatives to AirBnB , as well as a guide to our favourite holiday cottage accommodation in the UK , which you should check out!

Between these options, you should find the best prices and places to stay for your trip, as well as a good selection of reviews and feedback to help you make an informed decision.

How to Get Around the UK

For this kind of trip I also obviously recommend that you look into renting a car. We have used and can recommend Enterprise Car Rental , they usually have great rates, especially for one way rentals. We also recommend comparing car prices using a service like Discover Cars , which compares prices across a range of providers to help you find the best deal.

A hire car will give you a lot more flexibility than public transport, and prices are generally fairly reasonable. However, if you would prefer to do a trip like this by public transport instead of driving yourself, check out our UK itinerary by public transport for ideas.

Another option for travelling in the UK is to hire a motorhome. Whilst this might not be practical for a city focused trip, you might prefer it if you are planning on visiting more rural locations.

For campervan rental we suggest checking out Motorhome Republic . They offer a campervans from a range of companies at different price points, so you can find the right one for you. You can see their UK listings here .

There are 219 comments on this post

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25th February 2024 at 6:30 pm

Hello, we are planning a trip this summer. On my list is scotch tasting in Islay. How many days should we add? Do you have any recommendations?

Laurence Norah says

25th February 2024 at 9:28 pm

Sure thing. Islay is beautiful and very much worth a visit. I’d suggest spending a couple of day at least if you can spare it as it takes a bit of time to get to and from the island and there is plenty to see and do there. I have a guide to things to do on Islay which might help. In terms of whisky distilleries, if you have a favourite whisky that I’d obviously recommend going to that distillery. My favourite whisky is Laphroaig, so I enjoyed visiting that distillery particularly. However my guide to Islay lists all the currently active ones so you can make a choice as to which one you prefer.

Have a great trip!

Marcelo Gurgel says

18th January 2024 at 11:52 pm

Hello ! Your post is very good ! I would like to do a similar tour, but on a motorcycle. Including Isle of Man where the TT Isle of Man race will take place. Please for I leave the bike on the London side and take the Ferry by foot and the best option? Cheaper in this case? How much do ferries generally cost? Where do I search for tickets and itineraries? Thanks a lot for the help !

19th January 2024 at 12:02 am

Hi Marcelo,

Thank you! So the only company which operates ferries to the Isle of Man is the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, and the best way to book a ferry is directly on their website here . They operate services from Heysham, Liverpool, Belfast and Dublin.

If you plan on visiting during the TT race then you should book as soon as you can as this is a very popular event.

The price will vary depennding on when you go but it is definitely less expensive to go as a foot passenger. Looking at a route, it’s around £40 – £50 one way for a foot passenger, and £120 – £140 for a passenger with a bike. However, remember that you will need to pay to park your bike somewhere secure, and you will also need to have transport on the Isle of Man. Also, at more popular times, such as during the TT races, prices can be higher.

I hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions! Safe travels!

PAUL BASILE says

10th December 2023 at 10:20 pm

stumbled across your blog and was pleasantly surprised! my wife and I will arrive in London on 6/19/24 in advance of Wimbledon where we’ll be staying from 7/5 though 7/10. we want to sorta do your route in reverse, heading out of London straight away renting a car, and heading out. we have around 2 weeks and want to start heading to Ireleand, then Scotland, then visiting cousins in Durham in northern GB, returning car in London before wimbeldon.

would love to get some advice on that reverse route, forgoing the London stuff until later, but wanting your insights on anything else! thanks in advance!

13th December 2023 at 12:19 am

It’s great to hear from you. So you can do the route either way without any issue. The main thing if you do decide to include Ireland is to be sure to check if the car rental company you choose allows you to take the car on a ferry to Ireland. Some will and some won’t, you’ll just want to confirm before booking. Otherwise I think you have the structure of a good itinerary. You can follow my route and just adjust it to suit your interests and available time. I’d definitely recommend booking in advance for places to stay and the ferries as you are coming at a popular time for travel so things will start to book up. Otherwise, just have a great time and let me know if you have any questions!

13th December 2023 at 2:38 am

Lawrence….thanks so much…great info on the ferry and booking places….do you have a fav booking site for places to stay?

13th December 2023 at 3:37 am

It’s my pleasure! We primarily use Booking.com when we travel because we like the filters. We usually filter by rating (8+) and then depending on the trip things like having free parking (handy for a road trip). Then things like WiFi, laundry, free breakfast, free cancellation, depending on what we are doing. Also like that you can apply the filters to the map view (again, handy for road trips). You can also book apartments. We also use various other sites depending on where we are going, some places have more AirBnB options. In the UK we also book holiday cottages but for a trip like yours which will likely have more shorter stops I’d say hotels or B&Bs are likely to be an easier option as apartments often have the extra overhead of needing to arrange check in and check out times.

Let me know if I can help any further 🙂

Linda Haddock says

2nd December 2023 at 7:38 am

Hello, thank you for this helpful blog! Do you have any recommendations on when, where and what to include for sites for a JRR Tolkien fan?

2nd December 2023 at 8:46 pm

It’s my pleasure. So Oxford would be my main recommendation as it was here that Tolkien studied and worked. Fun side story, a dear friend of mine was Tolkien’s Doctor and knew him well, although he has now passed. Anyway, Tolkien studied at Exeter Collge in Oxford and was also a fellow at Pembroke College and Merton College, so many of the sights in Oxford like the Radcliffe Camera and Ashmolean museum would be of interest. The Bodeleian Library in Oxford (the Radcliffe Camera is part of this) does have the originals of many of his works but these are not usually on display unfortunately.

I hope this helps a bit! Have a lovely time in the UK and do let me know if you need any more input 🙂

Ingrid Ermanovics says

24th May 2022 at 3:45 pm

Hi, Love your blog. I hear that the traffic in July can be daunting and cause very long delays. As such, would you still recommend a private car hire (car rental)? Or have other suggestions to avoid the issue? Thanks!!

24th May 2022 at 4:33 pm

Thanks very much! So in my experience, the main factors that contribute to traffic in the UK are road works, which can happen at any time, and travelling at specific times. For example, when there is a public holiday on a Monday or Friday, this tends to lead to a lot of holiday traffic. So avoiding those dates makes a lot of sense. July is not particularly worse in my experience, it can be a bit heavier, but it’s not normally awful unless you are unlucky and encounter an accident, or there are road works. I would advise against trips on Friday or Sunday afternoons, as this is when the traffic can be quite bad at any time of year as people go away for or come back from the weekends.

I’d also advise using an app like Google maps with real time traffic, and trying to plan your travel times so they don’t align with the busier times of day. In general though, i would still recommend using a car rental even in July 🙂

I hope this helps!

Debbie Hebert says

16th May 2022 at 12:16 am

Hi Laurence and Jessica, this trip looks super fun and we are looking to visit July-Aug of this year starting in Dublin (as the airfare is best to there from our home in New Orleans). Just a few questions. Would you suggest going North or South from Dublin? How many miles is the entire itinerary? Is there is a stretch where we could ditch the rental car and take the train and then pick up another car? And/or if we drop off the car before and after London and train in which cities would be best to do that? Thank you so much!

16th May 2022 at 3:11 pm

Thanks Debbie!

So I’d probably recommend dropping the rental car in Belfast or Dublin and then flying across to Cardiff or Edinburgh, depending which way you go. Many car rental firms don’t allow for rentals to be taken on the ferry, plus you have to pay more to transport a car, so this would likely save you money.

Direction wise in Ireland, it really depends what you want to see. In the Republic of Ireland you have lovely landscapes and places like the Dingle peninsula and Ring of Kerry. If you head north to Belfast (also a lovely city), then you can visit places like the Giant’s Causeway and the Coastal Causeway route.

Putting a mileage total on the entire itinerary is tricky as there are likely to be many detours but I’d say a ballpark of 1500 – 2000 miles seems about right. In terms of areas where you can drop the car and take public transport, a lot of this will depend on what you want to see. If you are happy with primarily cities, then you can easily get around between cities with a train instead of a car. So for example, Edinburgh to York, York to Manchester, Manchester to Bath and Bath to Oxford would all work. Then if there were specific day trips you wanted to do there’s the option to either rent a car for that day, or take a day tour. But if you are thinking of spending more time in the countryside and smaller towns, then a car would be a lot less useful. I’d definitely recommend against taking a car into London, and dropping it off somewhere like Oxford or Reading before taking the train into London.

Farooq Ghouri says

6th May 2022 at 2:56 am

Hi Laurence and Jessica We are visiting UK this summer for two weeks. Your two weeks itinerary is great resource for us. I wonder how we can squeeze Wales in it . Any suggestions will be much appreciated We will be using rental car Sincerely Farooq Ghouri from Chicago USA

6th May 2022 at 9:44 am

Thanks very much! So the southern part of Wales is included in this trip on the return from Ireland. However, if you wanted to add Wales your main option would be to do it as you drive north, or to consider skipping Ireland and to drive back down through Wales to Bath. The second option might be easier as it cuts down having to think about a ferry / flight across to Ireland, but it’s up to you. This itinerary is already very busy, so adding more to it as it exists would be a bit of a challenge in my opinion.

Let me know if I can offer any further advice, and have a great time in the UK!

6th May 2022 at 5:06 pm

Thank you much Laurence I will keep your suggestion in mind when finalizing the itinerary

Heather says

28th April 2022 at 2:35 am

I noticed your recommended the The Resident Victoria and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions. I will be travelling with 3 people, one of which is a full time wheelchair user. Do you think the room size is adequate for a 5 day visit? Did you happen to notice if the showers were roll in or a wet room with chair? I realize most hotels only have accessible showers and whatnot in certain rooms so will understand if you don’t know. I found your travel blog a month ago and love it. Thanks from Canada

28th April 2022 at 12:01 pm

Hi Heather,

Sure thing. So, the first thing to be aware of is that rooms in central London tend to be quite small, especially if you are used to the size of hotel rooms in North America. Another thing to be aware of is that baths are quite common, and having a shower over the bath rather than a separate stall is also fairly common. So if looking for an accessible room it’s really important to specify that, and it’s always worth checking with the hotel what that actually means.

I would say that none of the rooms in the Resident Victoria would really be suitable for three adults to share for a longer stay, if that was what you were thinking. The superior rooms do have the option for three single beds, but these are not accessible rooms. In general, the rooms are fairly compact and I think a wheelchair user in particular would struggle in their standard rooms.

If you were thinking of separate rooms, some of their King Rooms are accessible so that would be an option. I called the hotel this morning and they confirmed that it is their King rooms which are accessible and the showers in these rooms are fully roll in. The toilets and sinks are also accessible. They can also provide a chair in the shower if you want. However these are definitely rooms for two people.

I hope this answers your question! The property is very well located for sure. Let me know if I can offer any further advice. I also have a full guide to where to stay in London which has a lot more options 🙂

13th April 2022 at 11:47 pm

Hi Laurence,

Was very interesting to read this trip. But it’s more suitable for adults without kids to travell to Ireland within two weeks. Can you please look for following trip plan: We are 2 adults + 2 kids (12 and 10) for 14 days. My daughter likes Harry Potter, so preference on these kind of attractions. So i wanted to divided for following parts: 1. London 5 days –>>> museums, parks and so on. 2. Warner Bros. Studio Tour London 1 day 3. Oxford or Cambridge .. yet not decided… for one day + Windsor Castle 4. Rent a car(or by train) and drive to the north >> York 1 day Manchester + Alton Towers – 1 day 5. Drive to south Birmingham (Cadbury world + other attractions) – 1 day Costwolds area – 1 day Bath + Stonehenge – 1 day Total 12 + 2 days (driving + bufffer for other changes during the trip)

Do you think is it good? What to add or remove? Or continue to Edinburgh and cancel some places in current trip? Thanks in advance Sam

14th April 2022 at 11:23 am

Great to hear from you. I agree, trying to include Ireland on the trip would be challenging with family. I think your itinerary sounds good, spending more time focusing on a smaller number of areas is a good choice. For your options, I think I might suggest Oxford over Cambridge if your daughter likes Harry Potter as there are quite a few filming locations in Oxford (see the Oxford section of our Harry Potter guide here ). I would also probably allocate a whole day to Oxford and maybe do Windsor Castle on one of your days in London. Oxford is very easy to reach by train from London so makes an easy day trip, but the day might feel rushed if you include Windsor as well.

I think otherwise your itinerary sounds good. A car will make things easier for sure, especially for things like exploring the Cotswolds and getting to Alton Towers. These are doable by public transport but it will take up valuable time. I also think focusing on England is a good idea. Depending on how much of a Harry Potter fan your daughter is you might consider stopping at Gloucester as well to see Gloucester Cathedral, which was used for various Hogwarts scenes .It’s a spectacular cathedral and lovely city in its own right as well, easy to see in 2-3 hours between Birmingham and Bath before dipping into the Cotswolds.

Have a great trip – let me know if you have any questions!

Vincent Choo says

12th April 2022 at 11:04 am

Laurence, My family and I ( 4 of us intend to tour Great Britain for 2 weeks before joining our friends in Belfast to continue another 10 days covering the island of Ireland. We intend to travel with a combination of car, train , ferry and air and hope to have your recommendation on which sectors should I use the above modes of transport. The intineary is roughly the same as your 2 weeks ( loop from London and ends there ) Thank You

12th April 2022 at 2:43 pm

Hi Vincent!

This is a great question, and the answer will come down to both budget and your interests.

If you are primarily interested in cities and larger towns, then travelling by rail might be easier for the majority of your trip. You can get between most cities and towns quite easily by train, and if you book well in advance you can also get cheap fares. You can also use a Friends & Family railcard to save even more. Travelling by train has the advantage that you don’t have to worry about car rental costs, fuel costs and finding car parking, the latter of which can be a challenge in many cities. I’d definitely advise against a car in London at the very least.

If you prefer a mix of city sightseeing and countryside, then a car is going to be more useful as most countryside sights and places like the Lake District are going to be a lot easier to get to and around with your own vehicle. I’d just suggest leaving the car out of the London part of the trip, and remembering to think about parking and fuel prices as part of your budget. I think a car might end up being slightly more expensive than public transport, but honestly the car rental market is so turbulent these days it’s hard to know without doing the math.

My recommendation would be to fly to Ireland – low cost flights with budget airlines will likely be the best option, and most car rental companies actually don’t allow for their vehicles to go on a ferry. Then you could pick up a hire car in Ireland on arrival.

It sounds like you have a great trip planned – let me know if I can offer any more input!

Sanchay says

7th April 2022 at 8:05 pm

Hello, Im planning a 2 week trip which shall include England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland during the month of October 2022. Is it feasible to cover all the places in 2 weeks considering that we are a group of 6 adults and 2 children ( 11 and 12 yrs) or shall we skip any of the destinations. We shall use Public transport in London and prefer Self drive cars / Trains / Ferries elsewhere. I also want to know if you could share some ranch stays where in we can stay and enjoy the country side instead of hotels. Awaiting your kind suggestion

Thanks and Regards 🙂

8th April 2022 at 11:04 am

Hi Sanchay,

Thanks for your comment. So I would probably recommend that you focus on maybe a couple of countries so you can enjoy yourself a bit more. I would probably recommend perhaps the mainland UK, as the extra effort required to get across to Ireland will eat into your time with two weeks. So perhaps a trip which includes London and Edinburgh, and then areas like the Lake District and / or Wales. One thing to be aware of is that the weather in October can be a bit variable, so spending more time in the cities might be more appealing rather than the country side where the weather might not be suitable for a lot of outdoor activities. Of course, you might be lucky and get good weather, but this is not guaranteed.

For ranch stays, probably the closest in the UK would be countryside B&Bs. Some farms do have accommodation option, and there are some lovely self catering options in the country as well.

Have a great trip and let me know if you have any further questions!

Derek Bowen says

2nd June 2021 at 5:16 pm

A really good trip, but I would skip Manchester and head right up through Rawtenstall, up through Burnley and Nelson. This would be a really good look at the cotton industry as well a real feel of northern England, as well as the best fish and chips. Then carry on up through Skipton, trying to time market day, and over to York, which is a must.

3rd June 2021 at 12:53 pm

Thank you Derek! For sure, there are so many ways to change this route depending on interests, and your suggestion is a good one 😀

Patrick Russell says

22nd March 2021 at 5:18 pm

This is absolutely amazing itinerary. What would a rough cost be for a trip like this? Minus airfare, and passports.

Thank you, Patrick

22nd March 2021 at 5:23 pm

Thanks Patrick! So it will vary quite a bit depending on your travel style. The main costs on a trip like this are transport, accommodation, food and attraction entry. Accommodation will obviously depend on how comfortable you like to travel, and food will also vary a lot depending on if you prefer fine dining or simpler fare.

To help cost a trip like this I put a guide to the costs of travelling in the UK in a post, which should give you some guidance 🙂

https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/cost-travel-uk/

Hope this helps!

Matthew says

8th December 2020 at 2:51 pm

Interesting itinerary. As a British person, rather than a traveller, my comment would be it doesn’t have much of the coast in, though I understand the time constraints. But a trip to the UK with no seaside towns! At least add Brighton, easy to reach from London. Dorset isn’t too far either, and has a fantastic coast. Also, Chester is beautiful and well worth inclusion.

8th December 2020 at 2:52 pm

Hey Matthew,

Great feedback. When I wrote this guide initially it was in response to a specific request, but of course there is so much of the UK that it doesn’t cover for various reasons (including time restraints!). I always encourage folks to use it as a rough guide, but to modify it for their own interests 🙂

Thanks for stopping by!

Tammy Howard says

25th February 2020 at 11:07 pm

Dear Laurence,

Thank you so much for this itinerary. It is fabulous!! We would like to sleep in a castle while on our trip. Are there any that you know of that allow this along this route?

26th February 2020 at 11:20 am

Dear Tammy,

My pleasure! So yes, there are quite a few options along the route, depending on your budget. Some options to consider:

Thornbury Castle – just north of Bristol

Glenapp Castle – just south of the Scotland – Ireland ferry crossing. We’ve stayed here and it’s wonderful

Kilkea Castle Hotel – south of Dublin. We’ve also stayed here.

Cringletie Castle Hotel – about a 40 minute drive south of Edinburgh. Another of our favourites.

Of course, this is just a small selection – there are many more across the UK to choose from, at a range of budgets. One tip when staying in a castle hotel – some of them have built more rooms outside the castle itself. So make sure when booking that you get a room that inside the castle (I think otherwise it sort of defeats the point!).

Have a great trip, let me know if you have any more questions!

Abdiaziz says

29th February 2020 at 8:27 am

How much will I pay if I want to travel next month

29th February 2020 at 10:14 am

Hi Abdiaziz,

March is not too busy a month for travel in the UK, so prices should be reasonable. To figure out your costs for this trip, see our guide to how much it costs to travel in the UK 🙂

Dhaval says

3rd February 2020 at 9:17 am

Hi Laurence, Thanks a lot for this amazing itinerary. We are a group of 4 adults + 4 kids (1Y,3Y,5Y,7Y) and are planning a 15 days trip to the UK. This will be our first time. Can you please assist us with the below queries:-

1. Considering we have small kids, what is the best mode of transport to travel from London to Edinburgh to Dublin? Should we keep one separate day for travelling in our itinerary? We will also have Kids Strollers everywhere we travel. 2. We want to do Day tours from London to Oxford, Cotswold, Stonehenge, Bath etc keeping our base in London. But few of my friends suggested that the Local operators don’t include kids below 5Years and we will be forced to take a rent a car. Any suggestions? 3. Also if we follow your above itinerary, can you guide us the exact cities in which we need to book our apartments/hotels to avoid hassle-free travelling.

Thanks a lot in Advance. Cheers 🙂

3rd February 2020 at 2:45 pm

My pleasure 🙂 I will do my best to help of course. To answer your questions:

1 – From London to Edinburgh I would recommend the train. This takes around 4.5 hours and will be a lot quicker than driving / taking a bus, plus you will have more space for your stroller / bags etc. You could fly too, but as it will take time to check everything in, go through security etc, I think the train will be easier. Just be sure to book your train well in advance to get a good price, and be aware that if you book a ticket in advance, you must take the booked train, the ticket will not work on a different train, even on the same day.

For Edinburgh to Dublin, your only option is realistically to fly.

2 – This is correct, for safety reasons most group tours do not accept children under a certain age, which is often 5. However, you can instead book a private tour. For a group of eight of you this should not work out much more expensive than a normal tour, plus you will be able to customise the itinerary. So I would advise reaching out to private tour operators who should be able to assist.

3 – All the cities are in the itinerary, you would need to stay in whichever ones you want to visit that don’t fall within the day tours you wish to take from London.

I hope this helps – have a great trip and let me know if I can help any further,

Serafina Macdonald says

11th January 2020 at 9:09 pm

Hi there, we are planning a trip to England, Scotland, and Ireland at the beginning of July. We are thinking about 16-18 days. I looked at your itinerary and love your suggestions! My husband does want to spend a half-day in Liverpool and I think we can tweak your itinerary to fit it in and try to do Isle of Skye as well. Since we do have the few extra days at the end of the trip, do you think it would be worthwhile to travel over to the other coast of Ireland to explore that side? (Galway, Aran Islands). Would love some suggestions.

11th January 2020 at 9:18 pm

Hi Serafina!

So Liverpool would definitely be an easy addition to the itinerary. The Isle of Skye is a bit more of a trek, as it’s a five hour drive each way from Edinburgh, so I’d suggest allocating at least 3 days for that, one day each for the drive and one day to actually explore. So do keep that in mind.

For Ireland, absolutely. The west coast is stunning, and if you can find time to head over there I would definitely suggest doing so. There’s a lot to see over there, so the hardest part will be choosing, but certainly the Cliffs of Moher, Dingle Peninsula and Ring of Kerry are some good candidates for your shortlist 🙂

Have a great time, and let me know if you have any more questions!

12th January 2020 at 2:15 pm

Thanks so much! Looking forward to this trip!

3rd December 2019 at 9:40 am

Dear Laurence, This is the first time I visit UK so could you help give a good advice to have plan visit UK during time 24th Dec- 08th Jan

Thanks Duong

3rd December 2019 at 6:11 pm

Thanks for your message. The majority of the information you need should be available on the site, both in this post and in the posts I link to. I am happy to try and help answer any specific questions you might have – is there anything in particular you are worried about?

The main things I would suggest, depending on where you are travelling from, are to plan what you want to see, to plan your accommodation and transport, and to pack properly for winter. Obviously you are visiting over Christmas and New Year, which is a busy time of year, so if you have not booked your accommodation yet you will definitely want to look into that, especially over New Year as that can be a busy time for both travel and accommodation.

Let me know if I can offer any more specific help for your trip,

Hang Tran says

26th November 2019 at 3:59 pm

Hi Laurence, Thank you for your advice and emails. I was able to put together our 2-week itinerary in England. I changed our lodging to London instead of Heathrow and booked different places when we travel around with our Britrail passes. I can’t say thank you enough. It’s very helpful for us. We will stay in London (3 days), Edinburgh (3 days:Edinburgh and York), Bristol for 5 days, Bath for 2 days and travel to other nearby cities (Stonehenge, Oxford, Cardiff) by train to make one-day trip. Is it right time to visit Cardiff in winter? If not, do you have any other places to spend a day? We’re thinking about Liverpool but it takes about 3-hours ride. If so, what should we can see in such a short time in Liverpool? We never ride a train before so we don’t mind riding the train everyday and enjoy the view together.

26th November 2019 at 5:20 pm

I am so pleased to have been able to help you and to hopefully make your trip a memorable one. It sounds like you have a wonderful itinerary planned now.

I would say that Cardiff is fine to visit in winter. Like many cities in the UK, lots of the attractions are indoors, so you can visit at any time of year and have a good time. Obviously you’ll want to dress warmly, but this will be the same all around the UK. Cardiff will definitely be one of the easier places to visit given its proximity. Another option would be Birmingham. I think I would probably not do Liverpool from Bristol – the 3 hour trip each way would be 6 hours on a train, so I don’t think you’d really have enough time to enjoy the city.

Let me know if I can be of any further help! We actually live in Bath too, so maybe we’ll see you 😉

28th November 2019 at 5:30 am

Hi Laurence, Thank you for the suggestion. We will look into Birmingham instead of Liverpool. We might be able to meet you for breakfast or lunch in Bath on Dec 22 or 23. I was able to find a place to stay that we can walk up or down the street to get to Bath Spa. Everything is in walking distance. Thanks to you again.

Sincerely, Hang

28th November 2019 at 7:22 pm

My pleasure – have a lovely trip. Do pop a comment here or send me an e-mail if you have some free time!

Laurel says

9th October 2019 at 7:23 am

Hi, love your itinerary of the UK. It includes much of what we want to see. Howev r, we are a senior couple of nomads from Australia and we are trying to organise a four week trip of the UK and Ireland including the islands off Scotland but we are steam train buffs and have the 10 best day trips on steam trains to try to include. Do you help with itinerary planning to include as many of these as we can but in some sort of order? If not can you head us in the right direction? We don’t need London as we have a couple of days there prior to a cruise of Norway. Is it feasible to do this trip in September and will he days still be long and fairly warm? Thanks in anticipation for your advice.

9th October 2019 at 6:16 pm

Thanks very much! So we don’t offer custom itinerary planning as it’s quite a time intensive process. We’re happy to answer specific questions and help where we can of course. Steam trains aren’t really an area of expertise though!

I can definitely answer your questions about September – I’d say September is a great month to travel. If you are lucky it might still be reasonably warm (recent years have been lovely in September), but you skip the crowds of the summer months and the schools will have gone back as well. September and May are our favourite months to travel. Of course, this is the UK, so rain and cooler weather is certainly possible (although you can get this in July and August as well!), so it’s always best to be prepared with layers of clothing, but you should be fine generally. The days will still be long, light until around 8pm depending on which part of the month you visit 🙂

Have a great trip, and let me know if I can answer any more specifics!

Kevin Ortyl says

19th September 2019 at 6:51 pm

Love the website and your two-week itinerary. Very easy to follow.. So glad we found your site. Need advice please… (Coming from Boston, USA) Thinking of a two-week vacation late August 2020 (family of 4… 2 college age kids) flying into London and out of Dublin. So similar trip you outlined but not returning to Heathrow once in Ireland. Planning on rental car and driving everywhere. Can the one way car rental work in this scenario (London, Scotland, ferry to the Emerald Isle, drop rental at Dublin)? Second Q… if we were to eliminate the Wales back to London segment how would you fill in that itinerary staying in Ireland?

19th September 2019 at 7:20 pm

Thanks very much. So dropping off the car in a different country might be a challenge. Most car rental companies will let you drop the car off in a different part of the same country, but as the Republic of Ireland is separate from the UK, that would likely be a challenge. So your best option is probably to rent the car in the UK, then drop it off at Edinburgh airport and fly to Dublin, then pick up a new rental there.

For your time in Ireland, you have a lot of options! If you are looking for a road trip the Causeway Coastal Route in northern Ireland is a favourite of ours, and the Wild Atlantic Way is also a great drive. Of course there is so much to see in Ireland and Northern Ireland depending on what you are interested in, with both Dublin and Belfast being worth a visit. It would just depend if you wanted to do more city or more country 🙂

Let me know if I can be of any more help – we have quite a few posts on Ireland as well on the site with some ideas!

19th September 2019 at 9:58 pm

Thank you for the reply, and the good information regarding rental cars.

To follow up, once in Ireland probably interested in seeing some of the quaint cities/towns, visit the pubs, little urban culture, castles, etc and those types of places in lieu of say hiking and biking. Hoping of course between destinations to see beautiful countryside and such!

20th September 2019 at 9:02 am

My pleasure 🙂 So I would suggest that driving the Causeway Coastal Route ( https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/causeway-coastal-route-northern-ireland/ ) Might be a good option 🙂

4th September 2019 at 2:13 am

Hi Laurence, I really like the two week trip itenerary. We’ll will be driving and are experienced with that. We’d like to see some worthy gardens along the suggested route. Any ideas?

4th September 2019 at 7:02 pm

Certainly. The gardens at Alnwick Castle are wonderful, as are the gardens at many of the stately homes in the UK (you can see our list of good stately homes in England here ). Not all of them have gardens of course, but that’s a good starting point. Many cities also have botanic gardens, including Edinburgh and Kew Gardens in London, which are well worth the visit.

I hope this helps a little 🙂

Rachel Sales says

16th August 2019 at 5:15 am

Hi! This post gave me lots of ideas. However, can you help me out in modifying this itinerary which will make Edinburgh as the last stop? My flight booking is DXB-LHR, EDI-DXB. I thought it will be nice it it’s an onward journey and not have to go back to my starting point. Thank you in advance!

16th August 2019 at 12:12 pm

Glad to be able to help! So as this itinerary is a loop, it’s a bit challenging to modify it that easily. My suggestion would perhaps be to drop Ireland from your trip, and instead to spend more time in Scotland. So you could follow the itinerary up to Edinburgh, and then add in time exploring more of Scotland before returning to Edinburgh. Let me know your thoughts,

Robin Major says

13th August 2019 at 12:53 am

Hello Lawrence,

I just found and love this site!! I’m trying to plan a 25th wedding anniversary trip for next September (2020) to surprise my hubby.

He’s never been to Europe. I was fortunate enough to get two and half lovely days in London a couple years back courtesy of my employer.

I’m not sure if what I want to do is totally doable though… No driving.. we would do transit and rail… I’m thinking a week in Britian and a week in Scotland. Maybe fly into London, spend two full days exploring the sites.. then I’m sort of lost. We are interested in Castles, love the supernatural aspect of York so that will be a must, definitely want to see Stonehenge.. and as odd as it sounds, my parents did Sherwood Forest and Nottingham on their 25th Wedding Anniversary many years ago so wondering if that would be a recommendation? Just not sure of the logistics for a week in Britian.. where to stay etc.

For Scotland, again, Castles and we are both big Outlander fans so we’ve have to see Loch Ness, Inverness and any and all sites made famous by Outlander. I am thinking a week up there and we fly home from either Glasgow or Edinburgh.

Do you have any suggestions/recommendations on an itinerary for us? I would greatly appreciate any knowledge you wish to share with me.

Thank you so much! Robin

13th August 2019 at 10:19 am

Thanks very much! It certainly would be possible 🙂 I’ve actually written a 10 day UK itinerary by public transport. Whilst the route isn’t exactly what you want, the post does have some useful information to help you plan your trip, especially around booking the trains etc. If you’ve not seen that post yet, it’s here:

https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/10-day-uk-itinerary-public-transport-train-bus/

Regarding your specific itinerary, I would suggest you start in London as you suggest. You could then take a day tour from London out to Stonehenge. This is doable by public transport, but is way easier as a day tour, plus they usually have some extra stops like Bath. You can read our guide to doing that here:

https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/Stonehenge-bath-cotswolds-day-trip-from-london/

So Nottingham is nice (I went to university there), but with limited time I wouldn’t say it was a must do. My suggestion would be to take the train from London to Oxford, and then up to York. A day in each location would work. You are now up to five days in England. Castles are a bit tricky by public transport as many of them are out of cities. I would perhaps suggest extending your time in London and taking the extra day to visit either Windsor Castle or Hampton Court Palace. From York you could head up to Durham which is a beautiful cathedral city.

From Durham the train to Edinburgh is not too far. I’d suggest basing yourself in Edinburgh for at least three days. Two days to explore the city, and then one day to take an Outlander tour. We have specifically done 1 day tour with Rabbies , and thought it was great. We have more suggested day tours from Edinburgh here:

https://independenttravelcats.com/day-trips-from-edinburgh-scotland/

From Edinburgh our recommendation would then be to take the train up to Inverness, from where you can explore more castles, Loch Ness and the Highlands. Again, plenty to do in this area, and there are lots of great day trips to plan. You can see our guide to some of the best here:

https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/day-trips-from-inverness-scotland/

I think that should give you plenty to work with – let me know if you have any more questions!

8th August 2019 at 9:35 pm

I just found this page and so glad I did especially your “Best Stately Homes in England” We will be visiting England and Scotland for 2weeks October 16-29, 2019 and I am excited about your itinerary. We have been to Northern Ireland (once)and Republic of Ireland (4 times) so we can leave those out, so are there any other places you might suggest? My husband has driven every time we have visited Ireland so he can handle a manual transmission. We land at Gatwick Airport and I thought we could head to Edinburgh via a easterly route and return to London via a westerly route. We do not have to travel only motorways but don’t wait too many small country lanes (did plenty of those in Ireland). Any suggestions you could make would be greatly appreciated. Love Manor Houses, Castles, rolling landscape, waterfalls, quaint English market towns or villages, etc. THANKS

9th August 2019 at 8:54 am

Sounds like you have a great trip planned, and I will certainly do my best to help. It sounds like your route is pretty good already, coming down the west side of the UK gives you the chance to pop into the Lake District, explore towns like Chester, and even larger cities like Birmingham. In terms of stately homes, well, I would obviously recommend the majority of those in my post on stately homes. I’d also add Edinburgh Castle of course if you like castles, as well as the more ruined Craigmillar Castle on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Alnwick Castle on the way up through Northumberland is stunning, as are many of the other castles in Northumberland, like Bamburgh and dunstanburgh. For rolling hills and greenery, the Lake District is lovely, but I can also recommend the Hadrian’s Wall area of Northumberland, particularly the area near Housesteads.

For quaint English towns, of course the Cotswolds would be by number one pick. The counties of Kent and Dorset are also good options.

I think that should get you started, let me know if you need some more ideas!

Christine Greentaner says

5th August 2019 at 12:26 pm

Hello!! I stumbled on your site asking google if I could do the this kind of trip and wow, here you are! Unsure of the driving though since we zero experience. However, this two week itinerary gives us something to start thinking about. Thank you so much!! Christine

7th August 2019 at 2:52 pm

Hi Christine!

Driving in the UK is definitely a bit different, especially if you are coming from a country where they drive on the right hand side. Also, if you’re coming from the USA, be aware that most cars in the UK have manual transmissions, so when you rent a car if you are not used to driving a manual you should specify an auto. I have a guide to driving in the Uk which you might also find useful 🙂

https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/tips-for-driving-in-the-uk/

Let me know if you have any questions, and have a great trip!

Danie marais says

11th July 2019 at 8:54 pm

What will it cost for 2 adults

12th July 2019 at 4:17 am

Hi Danie – this really depends on your travel style – you can see a guide to how much travel in the UK costs here for some estimates: https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/cost-travel-uk/

Margaret says

9th July 2019 at 6:29 am

HI , Just wanted to ask. I am getting a little a little worried,as our trip is getting closer and closer. Your site has helped so much. Does this sound ok to do. Day 1 arrive late afternoon explore Paddinton. Day 2 & 3 follow your 2 day guide of london sites. Day 4 train to oxford, free 2 hour tour. free time to explore oxford Day 5 train back to oxford ,pick up car. Drive to Cotswold explore.. Drive on up to peak district stay over night . 1 night Day 6 explore peak district , drive to Manchester and york .explore. Now I am unsure to travel to the Lake district Or follow onto Alnwick. as some people say not to miss out on the lake district. We dont have enought time to cut back over to Alnwick unsure . We arrive in paddington on the 20th want to leave Edinburgh 31st. So take into account at least 2 night in Edinburgh and head onto Belfast. We will then explore Belfast and Dublin for 2 weeks as we have friends there. follow onto wales Bath but we do want to stay in Southampton for two days once again friends. Can you get to Heathrow airport from Southampton We have 5.5 weeks for this trip but I do want to spend time with friends in Belfast and Dublin. I am so over whelmed .

10th July 2019 at 5:43 am

Hi Margaret!

First, I’m delighted we’ve been able to help 🙂

Your comment covers a few points so I will try to help where I can. For your itinerary, the first six days look good, the only feedback I would offer is that trying to do the Peak District, Manchester and York in one day is likely going to be too much. Even Manchester and York in one day is quite a bit. York would need at least four hours to fully enjoy it, so I might suggest skipping Manchester unless you are particularly invested in it.

For your Lake District dilemma, I can’t really answer this for you. Everyone has a different idea as to what is “unmissable”, so it really depends on your priorities and interests. The Lake District is certainly very pretty, but so is much of the UK 😉

From Southampton you can definitely get to Heathrow airport. It takes around 2 hours by train. It’s not a direct train though, so you do have to change, but it shouldn’t be too difficult. If you would prefer a direct route, I believe National Express operates a coach service between the two locations.

I think for the rest of your trip you might want to reach out to your friends and ask for their advice in terms of what to see and do. I would try to relax and enjoy yourself instead of trying to see everything and becoming overwhelmed if you can. Travel is definitely a bit of work, but ultimately it is supposed to be fun. I always find that the less planned adventures are the more fun ones. So certainly come up with a framework, but don’t spend too much time worrying about it to the tiniest detail, as it will likely detract from the enjoyment.

22nd July 2019 at 4:35 am

Thank you Laurence, Your advice is so helpful. I have added days, so we can get the most out of our trip 2 days in the Peak District, Manchester and 1 day for York. Now I am on the end part of our trip and once again would like some advice. : After spending 18 days exploring Ireland. We will be catching the ferry to Wales. 20th Fishguard pick up car, early afternoon explore the country driving towards Cardiff, Bristol Question : Unsure as to time length of time needed

I was thinking, see Cardiff, then drive towards Bristol arrive around tea time. sleep overnight and have full day to explore Bristol. 21st after exploring Bristol drive towards Bath. arrive around tea time, find somewhere to sleep for 2 nights (21st and 22nd) 22nd full day to explore Bath. 23 th drive toward Stonehenge, Amesbury, drive onto southamption return Car

24th southamption .explore Southamption see family member. we need to be at Hearthrow airport on the 26th at 9:20 flight take off , My next question is , Should I return to paddington for the 25th so I can get the express train to airport , Is my flight to early to return from southamption. Once again . please guide me. Margaret

22nd July 2019 at 6:03 pm

Hi Margaret,

My pleasure! I will try to help again. Your timings for Bristol / Bath etc seem reasonable. They are very close together, my only advice is to avoid travelling at rush hour (4pm – 6pm), as it will make your journey much longer due to the traffic.

For your second question, in theory you could get from Southampton to Heathrow in time, but it’s around a 2 – 2.5 hour journey. You’d want to check train times for the day you are going, but the earliest trains are around 5am based on my research, so you would get to Heathrow around 7.30am. So yes, it’s possible, but it depends how happy you are with an early start and also the risk of any train delays. Up to you, but personally I avoid early mornings at all costs, so would personally probably just find a hotel near Heathrow 😉

Diana Cottrell says

1st July 2019 at 1:57 am

Loved seeing your site. Very helpful since I’m trying to plan a driving vacation for my husband and myself and really didn’t know were to start. I have some questions but will start with only one. We were in London last year but I could go again. Loved it. Hubby sick and had a different feeling. Would it be hard for someone from the US to land at Heathrow and rent a car…then drive to Windsor right after landing? Is it far enough out of London to get comfortable with driving on a different side of the road?

1st July 2019 at 10:18 pm

So, funny story, after passing my UK driving test the first thing I did was rent a car and drive out of Heathrow! I’m not sure I’d exactly recommend it, you’d be driving onto one of the busiest motorways in the UK (our equivalent of a freeway) which might be quite stressful. It’s possible of course, and I’m sure many people do it, but I would advise caution. Also, make sure you specify you want an automatic as most cars in the UK are manual 🙂

3rd July 2019 at 12:01 am

Thanks for the information. Think we’ll skip Heathrow. How would landing in Edinburgh, then heading up through Scotland and back down England (maybe to Bath). Then going up through York and returning back to Edinburgh to return car.

3rd July 2019 at 2:57 pm

That would likely work quite well. My only advice, if you plan on spending time in Edinburgh, is not to pick up the hire car until you leave, as you won’t need it in the city and you’ll just be paying for car rental and parking for no good reason – the city is very walkable.

6th July 2019 at 11:11 pm

Thanks so much. Will start planning.

Amanda says

23rd June 2019 at 5:59 pm

This is such a great detailed itinerary! We are planning to get a rental car in Cambridge and then driving to Scotland from there, so some of these places we will definitely have to visit! I do have one question, about renting a car. Is there a boarder crossing fee or any other type of fee the rental company could charge to go from England to Scotland? We are planning to do a one-way trip so I know there is a fee for that, but in terms of crossing between the two countries is there a fee? When I read about the boarding crossing fee it was unclear to me if that is only if we leave the UK?

Thank so much!

23rd June 2019 at 6:02 pm

Thanks very much! There’s no fee or anything like that for crossing into Scotland, it’s not really a border like that. It’s all part of the UK, so it’s one country.

Opal joiner says

18th June 2019 at 1:37 pm

Hi Do I need to purchase a London pass and a heritage pass? Or just one pass?

18th June 2019 at 7:05 pm

It depends what you want to see and where you are travelling, but for London the London Pass will cover the majority of the attractions 🙂 I definitely recommend checking what they cover before purchasing though 🙂

Chris Ryan says

17th June 2019 at 8:44 am

From an English persons point of view this is an excellent itinerary. It would be good to include the Lake District and Snowdonia but to cover all this in two weeks would be a nightmare and far too much time on the road. The average Brit would allow at least a month for the whole trip. If only two weeks available I would suggest you save Ireland for another time, it’s sacrilage not to explore more of that country, and maybe see more of the west of Scotland instead.

17th June 2019 at 11:06 am

Thanks very much 🙂 I agree, I was actually born in Snowdonia and that part of the world is wonderful. Have spent many happy weekends camping in the Lakes as well. The itinerary was in response to a specific request – we normally encourage folks to slow down where possible and spend more time seeing and less time travelling, but unfortunately many people don’t have much leave to play with and want to try and see as much as possible 🙂

Lillie says

15th June 2019 at 2:56 pm

Hi! So glad to have stumbled upon your site, as I am planning this trip to the UK in October, and I didn’t even know where to begin. I like the idea of doing all the traveling by road ourselves since we’ll be traveling with our baby who will be 9 month old at the time. I was thinking 10 days, including Ireland, but would you consider that possible? We are really interested in doing the whiskey distillery tours in Scotland and anything and everything related to Harry Potter. We’re also interested in visiting landmarks like the cliffs and stonehenge. We’re usually good at squeezing in a lot in our vacations, but this will be the first time we travel with our son, so I don’t want to set ourselves up for failure either. Any advice on what to cut out or if we need to lengthen the trip?

15th June 2019 at 8:38 pm

So, first off, I have to say that we’re not really experts on travelling with children as we don’t have any of our own. So any advice I offer you is based on what friends and other readers have shared with us about the logistics of travelling with a young person. Of course, everyone’s experience will also be different.

Generally, most folks say that you definitely need to slow down when travelling with young children, as you have to factor in things like feeding, changes and so on. This will definitely vary though depending on age and individual personalities 😉

That said, you are trying to do a great deal in 10 days. Scotland and England are around a 6 – 7 hour drive apart, and if you want to get up into the Highlands you’re looking at another few hours. To then add Ireland would make it more of a challenge for sure. It’s not impossible of course, but it would definitely be rushed. It might be that you would be best off focusing on Ireland and Scotland on this trip, perhaps five days in each, rather than trying to see everything and just having a stressful time. Alternatively, add 3 or 4 days and include some time in England 🙂

I hope this helps a bit!

Ashok Agarwal says

15th June 2019 at 6:01 am

Wow. I looked up the WWW for a 2 week itinerary for the UK and am glad I clicked on your site, from the numerous options that sprang up. The information contained here is so so exhaustive. Not only did I get a fantastic plan but ab amazing read, too. We are planning our first visit to the UK in October and are going to follow your tips to the T. You guys are fantastic. Thanks.

15th June 2019 at 11:04 am

Thanks very much Ashok! Much appreciated 🙂

9th June 2019 at 9:56 am

Dear Laurence!

Thank you SOOOOO much for your inspirational itinerary and all other articles you provide here. They’re great help!

We are going to spend 15 days in UK in August and this is cause we’ve planned to take our son to Warner Bros HP Studio as we are all massive HP fans :). We’ll start and finish in London, though initially we want to hire a car at the airport and start a trip and spend couple of days in London in the end.

Could you kindly give us some advice / decide whether it is possible, to plan a trip considering these simple priorities: 1) we’d love to see Scotland with its green hills, waterfalls etc. 2) we would really like to visit Snowdonia 3) I guess Stonehenge is sth 8-year-old traveler to England must see 4) I personally have dreamt all my life too see PUFFINS (I mean – free puffins) 5) we can skip Irelnad, no problem 😉

I must admit – reading about UK – I am getting a bit lost in huge amount if options and sites one must visit, so I’d be grateful for some advice.

10th June 2019 at 10:57 am

My pleasure 🙂

So my first tip, if you haven’t already booked the Harry Potter Studio Tour is to do it as soon as possible as it books out well in advance 🙂 I also have a guide to visiting which you might have already seen, but just in case you haven’t, it’s here:

https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/taking-a-harry-potter-studio-tour-everything-you-need-to-know/

Then, on to the question of your itinerary. Assuming two days in London, that gives you around 12 – 13 days to play with. I would suggest you spend them as follows. Given that you are Harry Potter fans I’m also including some HP filming locations you might enjoy 😉

Day 1 – head to Oxford, overnight here. Lots of awesome history, plus lots of Harry Potter filming locations to explore. Day 2 – head to Bath via Stonehenge Day 3 – head up to Snowdonia. Will be a bit of a drive, but worth it. I’d advise a couple of days in Snowdonia to do some hiking and exploring the towns, castles etc. The roads are slower here so it will take longer go get around

Day 5 – Head across to York Day 6 – Drive up to Alnwick Castle, another HP filming location. Then continue on to Edinburgh. Day 7 & 8, Edinburgh. Lots to see, lovely castle. Where Rowling wrote many of the HP books. Note the Edinburgh festival will be on so the city will be very busy. If you decide to stay in Edinburgh, you need to book now. Also, if you want to see puffins, the Isle of May just near Edinburgh is one of the best places to get up close to them. You need to book a trip, which you can do here: https://seabird-centre.seafari-edinburgh.co.uk/forth-ferry-and-isle-of-may

Day 9 – head across to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs. Overnight here or in Oban Day 10 – head up to Fort William / Glencoe. You can ride the HP train from here, or go see the viaduct at least Day 11 – head down to Glasgow, overnight Day 12 – drive down to Liverpool, overnight Day 13 – return to London.

I would say that would be a good way to do it! We have lots more info on Harry Potter sites if you are interested: https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/london-harry-potter-locations/ https://independenttravelcats.com/guide-top-harry-potter-sites-in-edinburgh-scotland-jk-rowling/ https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/harry-potter-filming-locations-uk/ https://independenttravelcats.com/harry-potter-filming-locations-in-scotland/

10th June 2019 at 8:52 pm

Thank you a lot for your advice! The plan sounds great and we are definitely going to follow it step by step :)))

with best regards!

7th June 2019 at 9:00 am

Hi, what a great article! However, do you have any tips for hire car? Are there any fees/ extra charge or need to notice the supplier that the road trip route is involve Wales, Ireland and Scotland?

7th June 2019 at 8:37 pm

Thanks very much!

For driving in Wales and Scotland it won’t matter because they are part of the united Kingdom, so it’s still the same country.

The republic of Ireland however is a separate country, plus you have to take a ferry to get there. So that would be something you would need to check with the rental agency.

S. Steinback says

26th May 2019 at 9:16 am

Hi, my daughter and I are leaving mid August to the UK for 2 weeks. We are planning to start our trip in London. Then wanted to see Brighton, Cornwall, Wales and Scotland. We also want to see Bath and Oxford too. Is this doable using the train? We are unsure of how we should book our traveling using train, car or bus. Can you provide and manageable itinerary and recommendations on how we should travel from each place on a 2 week trip?

26th May 2019 at 11:04 am

Hi Sabrina,

So you should be able to see most of what you want to see by train. As an example, I’d suggest:

2 days in London 1 day in Brighton (train to Brighton takes about an hour, so can be done as a day trip from London or overnight) 1 day in Oxford (1 hour train from London to Oxford, overnight in Oxford) 1 day in Bath (1 hr 40 minute train from Oxford to Bath, overnight in Bath) 2 days in Cornwall (around 3 hours by train from Bath to Cornwall. You might want to take a tour in Cornwall as there is less public transport to get around) 3 days in Wales (train from Cornwall to Cardiff is around 3 – 4hours, but then you will have to plan how to get around Wales. Again a tour might be easiest) 3 days in Scotland (you can either fly from Cardiff to Glasgow / Edinburgh, or take the train, but the train will take around 8 hours)

I’d also suggest looking into Rabbie’s Trail Burners . They do a number of tours from London which might suit what you want to do and save you the hassle of planning. These cover the majority of the destinations you want to visit.

I hope this helps a bit with your planning!

Ed Hyland says

17th April 2019 at 12:01 am

Thankyou for your guide it was really helpful I am living in Argentina and j am planning on bringing Argentinian tourists to Wales and central England on a tour of castles and important historical sites .I plan on bringing groups of around 10 people and using a rented mini bus to move around. Do you have any helpful tips as this will be our first tour ,we are planning on visiting early September All the best .Ed,x

17th April 2019 at 10:56 am

My pleasure. So I don’t have any experience of running this kind of trip, so it’s tricky to give very specific advice. I am sure you have considered things like insurance and liability and so on, as well as any other legal requirements involved with running a tour.

THe only tips I have would be around admission to sights – there are usually group discounts available for attractions that you might be able to take advantage of, although you might need to call in advance to arrange these. I’d also advise to definitely book your accommodation in advance as you have a larger group.

Otherwise, I hope you have a great trip!

12th April 2019 at 12:04 am

I was planning this itinerary since I saw and had 15 days in the region. After more research I am now wondering what it takes to get a rental car from London to Ireland and back? Do you use the same car the entire trip, or would you switch cars at the water crossings in order to not have to pay to ferry the car across? Also I’ve heard rental agencies in England don’t really allow their rentals (or at least coverage) in Ireland? And yet another concern is time, I keep hearing that driving over there is quite a bit slower going than say the US, or by train, would this itinerary still give enough time to enjoy the locations or would it be quick stops and rushed in order to get to the next place? Sorry a lot of questions, just trying to decide if I need to break the trip up to just one or two countries. Thanks. And love you blogs and all the information and amazing photography.

12th April 2019 at 11:46 am

So it is certainly possible to take a hire car on the ferry, it just depends on the hire car company, and some of them charge a fee for doing so. Here’s an example of the Enterprise UK policy: https://www.enterprise.co.uk/en/help/faqs/driving-across-borders.html

Obviously you also then have to pay the ferry fee for the hire car as well. So an easier option to be honest is just to fly, for example to take a flight from Edinburgh to Belfast or Dublin. You would drop off the hire car in Edinburgh and pick up a new one in Belfast.

I appreciate this might be a bit of hassle, so certainly adjusting the itinerary so you skip Ireland is another option. In this case, I’d suggest either spending more time in Scotland, or coming down the west coast of the UK, visiting the Lakes and Wales.

The roads in the UK are definitely a bit busier and can also be slower than roads in the USA. This itinerary is definitely doable, but I’m always a fan of slowing down and seeing more, so that is a good option too 🙂

Let me know if you have any more questions!

David Cameron says

11th April 2019 at 1:56 pm

“You’ve packed up every possible solution in this one blog. I’m over the moon! I really am! How much would this trip cost, approximately? And if I’m going on this trip, Ireland will definitely be included coz from the moment I saw P.S I love you and Leap Year movie, I’ve been dreaming of visiting those places. Thank you. Thank you so much, Laurence !”

11th April 2019 at 2:04 pm

Thanks very much! So it’s hard to give an exact price as it will depend on your travel style. The best option is to cross reference this post with our guide to how much it costs to travel in the UK, which will let you come up with a budget based on your travel style 🙂

Have a great trip, and let me know if you have any more questions!

Usha Gupta says

10th April 2019 at 6:02 pm

Hi, we are travelling to London for a holiday from India. My 2 sons (29 & 27) and I are planning on spending 2 weeks in London and Wales. 13th-18th in London 19th-21st in Wales 22nd-26th in London Please advice how best to spend our holidays? We do not want to visit any of the normal places as we have seen n visited them all. What are the best places in wales to see and visit? We have not been to wales. Is it safe to take a road rrip from London to wales? Are 3 days in wales enough to get around? Pl advice

10th April 2019 at 6:52 pm

Well, there’s a huge amount to do and see in London beyond all the normal tourist things that you have likely already done. I can advise visiting Greenwich for example if you have not been out there already, and perhaps some of the palaces out of the city, like Kensington or Hampton Course. Sometimes we like to pick up the London Pass and visit some of the many attractions we’ve not been to before!

Wales is lovely but it is quite big so you will want to consider visiting a region. My favourite part of Wales is the northern part, including the Snowdonia national park and towns like Caernarfon, but there are many nice regions and places to visit. If you want to see more you will likely want a few more days in Wales.

It is certainly safe to take a road trip from London to Wales, of course, I can’t guarantee your safety, but it is no less safe than travel anywhere else in the UK 🙂

I hope this helps – have a great trip!

Usha gupta says

14th April 2019 at 3:24 am

Ty for you advise. We decided to spend all our time in London and do day trips, theatre etc.

14th April 2019 at 11:46 am

My pleasure. Enjoy!

Darlene Williams says

24th March 2019 at 6:10 pm

Lovely ideas here! My Granddaughter and I did a trip last summer to the Cotswolds, London and Paris. I’m thinking of a trip with my Granddaughter (18) in 2020 and would like to base myself in the Lakes District or Wales and take in Ireland and Scotland in a 2 week trip. Since I’ve been there I’ve decided I could probably drive it myself or possibly rent cars when needed and travel via train/bus/tours between Ireland & Scotland. I’m guessing the Highlands is probably out of reach for a 2 week trip? I would welcome your knowledge and suggestions. Thank you, Darlene

25th March 2019 at 3:44 pm

Thanks very much Darlene!

I would definitely recommend hiring a car for the Lakes – it’s a more remote part of the UK, and there are fewer public transport options, both for getting there, and for getting around. I would say that it would make for a good base, but just to be aware that the roads are not very fast in either the Lake District or Wales, so it can take a bit of time to get from place to place.

The Highlands would be achievable, but it would involve a great deal of driving, and if you wanted to head up there i would suggest that as a standalone trip, perhaps flying to Inverness (or overnight train from London), and then renting a car from there 🙂

Do let me know if I can provide any more specific information to help you plan!

Deep Shah says

22nd March 2019 at 5:43 am

Hello Laurence and Jessica,

It has been a pleasure reading about all your experiences in and around UK. I am planning to visit UK between April 22 and May 1. I am planning to start my trip from Edinburg cover a bit of scotland and than move on and end my trip in London.

Here is my itinerary Inverness (23 April) –> Isle of Skye (24 April) –> Fort William (25 April) –> Edinburgh (26 April) –> Jedburgh (27 April) –> York (28 April) –> Cambridge (29 April) –> Cotsworld (30 April) –> London (1 May)

Do you think this is doable? Or any particular section is too aggressive? Your help will really help me plan this better.

22nd March 2019 at 10:00 am

This is in theory do-able, but you will be spending a lot of time driving. From Inverness to the Isle of Skye is a 2.5 hour drive for example, and then there’s a lot to see and do on the island which will also require driving. If you are ok with lots of time driving then yes, this is doable, I just wanted to be sure you knew 🙂

24th March 2019 at 12:35 pm

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I am aware that we will have a lot of driving. But thats ok with me. Thanks again for your time. I have made the reservations to follow this itinerary. Will let you know how it goes.

Thanks for sharing all the information on your website.

24th March 2019 at 12:38 pm

My pleasure – have a great time and do let us know how it goes! You can drop in here or in our facebook group 🙂 https://www.facebook.com/groups/travelloversandphotography/

Omker Mahalanobish says

21st March 2019 at 5:22 pm

Thanks for your detailed itinerary. Looks exciting. By the way, could you please let me know, what should be the expected cost for the said trip? Further : I dont want to drive. Me and my wife would be travelling, and we would rather prefer a chauffer driven cab.

Thanks, Omker

21st March 2019 at 5:27 pm

I have a guide to how much it costs to travel in the UK here: https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/cost-travel-uk/

However, if you want to travel with a private guide, this will generally cost in the region of £500 – £800 per day for the car / driver guide, and then you would need to add accommodation expenses and so on on top of that. We recommend Robina Brown for this sort of trip: http://driverguidetours.com/

Heather Reid says

20th March 2019 at 5:20 am

This site is the most perfect one for my needs. I am a solo traveler female aged 74 and I wish my 75th Birthday be spent on the next trip. If there be another solo person I would be happy to meet up before departure….male or female.

20th March 2019 at 12:49 pm

Thanks Heather – have a great trip, and we hope you find someone to travel with!

Phillip Armanas says

5th March 2019 at 12:20 am

Stumbled over your website while looking for ideas for a two week trip to the UK, glad I did. You’ve got a fantastic itinerary which includes a number of destinations my wife and I had in mind already. We are a retired couple, living in Australia six months of the year, and Atlanta, Georgia the other six months. This gives us great flexibility in travel terms, both in SE Asia and from the USA to many places including UK/Europe. A question I have is whether you have done any family history work on any of your travels? My ancestry is Scottish in the mid-1800s when my great-great-grandfather arrived into Port Adelaide, Australia. As yet we have been unable to track him accurately back into Scotland, but his surname is from a very ancient clan that can be traced back to the 13th century in Fife county. Have you any tips on places I might visit to pursue my elusive ghosts? Phill & Patti

5th March 2019 at 1:35 pm

Hi Phill & Patti!

We’re delighted you have found our content useful : ) So this isn’t something we have personally done, however I have some resources that might be helpful:

http://www.scottishgenealogyresearch.com/ https://www.visitscotland.com/see-do/research-your-ancestry/steps/ https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/family-history https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/local-family-history-centres

It helps if you know the person’s name you are researching and where they lived before leaving Scotland. If you know this, you can look for a local research center or records office or clan center. The Visit Scotland link above is a good place to start. The Scottish Genealogy Research is a professional service that will do research for you for a fee.

Good luck, and have a great trip!

Ronald Rieder says

15th February 2019 at 1:22 am

My wife and I would like to take your “ideal itinerary” beginning Sept. 30, 2019. Is there anyone or any group that we could join?

17th February 2019 at 3:56 pm

So this itinerary is a self guided tour for those wanting to drive themselves. However, we appreciate not everyone wants to do that, and we’ve put some suggested tours that will allow you to do a similar trip but in a group tour format. My suggestion for that would be to focus on England and Scotland, and to take this small group tour followed by this five day tour of the Scottish Highlands and Skye .

I hope this helps – let me know if I can offer any more advice!

Cass Baron says

11th February 2019 at 2:19 am

Laurence and Jessica, We are from Utah, United States and have never traveled abroad (except a short trip to Canada and a Western Caribbean cruise). It has been our dream to come to England and retrace our family history roots. We were looking for trip ideas that covered the areas for both a historical trip as well as a family roots trip. We found your site and loved everything that you have written about. We like the 2 week itinerary but don’t want to do the Ireland and Wales portion. We would like to include Nottingham and Hastings areas, do you have any suggestions to add these in for the same amount of time. We are planning on this May. Thanks!

11th February 2019 at 7:40 am

Certainly. I’d recommend Hastings first, then heading from there along to Stonehenge and Bath, then the Cotswolds and Oxford. From there, start heading north, with Nottingham your next stop, before continuing with the itinerary. You could even drop the car off in Edinburgh and fly out from there if you didn’t want to drive back down to London 🙂

I hope this helps – let me know if you have any more questions!

Lashaun says

5th February 2019 at 11:42 pm

Hello. If we skip the Ireland portion where should we extend our time or add another destination for the 2 week adventure? Also we’d like to see a football game, suggestions for city (Manchester, Liverpool?), tickets etc? thank you!

6th February 2019 at 10:36 am

I’d say you could extend by visiting the Lake District and northern Wales, or by heading further north into Scotland, where there’s lots to see. You definitely won’t have trouble finding places to see!

For football, if you don’t have a particular affiliate with a team, then Manchester will likely be a good option as they have the largest stadium. Tickets can be bought online in advance for any of the teams from their official websites, just be aware that they can sell out so you’ll want to book well in advance to be sure of getting a spot.

I hope this helps! have a great trip 🙂

Steve Geller says

2nd February 2019 at 3:10 am

Hi there, Curious if this itinerary, or part of it, could be done in a motorhome (midsize RV) for a family of 2 adults and 2 kids. I’ve never been to most of these places, outside of some brief time in London and Dublin. For itineraries like these where there is a lot of moving around, I like the idea of a motorhome vs going from hotel to hotel (or apt to apt). Thanks!

3rd February 2019 at 11:45 am

So yes, it would be possible to do this is a motorhome. However, I’d probably advise modifying the itinerary fairly substantially, especially the city parts. Most UK cities don’t have centrally located motorhome camping locations, and the streets tend to be fairly narrow, which can make driving and parking a motorhome very challenging. I would instead suggest, if you wanted to do a motorhome holiday in the UK, to look at a driving route like the NC500 (see our camping itinerary for the NC500 here ), or adjusting this route so it visits more of the countryside parts, like the Cotswolds, Peak District, Lake District and Northumberland.

Let me know if we can answer any more questions!

Iskandar Zulkifly Bin Ali says

29th January 2019 at 10:05 pm

Hello there ! finding this website was such a blessing for me! i am a student who wishes to travel around UK for 2 weeks before i go outside UK ( around Europe for a month ). my only problem is, i am studying in london therefore i’m gonna skip london from this amazing itinerary, and am also skipping Scotland cuz i went there last Dec already. which will give me extra days to fill in to make it 2 weeks. would you please help me to suggest places to fill in between the itinerary ? ps; i really really want to see Jurassic coast and cambridge and watergate bay. where should i put these places in terms of best route wise?

thank you in advance for your time !! you got a follower on your ig !

30th January 2019 at 7:33 pm

Hi Iskandar!

Thanks for your lovely comment and following on IG! We’ve actually just recently visited Cambridge and written a detailed guide to the city, which will be live on the blog in the next few weeks 🙂

To answer your question, first I have to assume you are driving. If not, this might have to change a bit to accommodate public transport. But I would say I would go from London to Cambridge, then up to the Peak District, Manchester and York. You could then go across to the Lake District if you wanted, then across to Holyhead and to Ireland (if you wanted to visit Ireland). Then south wales, Oxford and the Jurassic coast.

I hope that works for you 🙂 Have a great trip!

HANNAH JOHNSON says

29th January 2019 at 3:07 pm

This has been an amazing help! If possible, I did want to ask about more recommendations as far as castles/history goes. This is a very close itinerary for what I think we want to do, but I was wondering if you had any more info on what I could add/take away from this list in order to do more of that. Also, we will be departing from the atlanta, GA airport, and returning back to (or starting from) england isnt entirely necessarily. I definitely agree and would take your advice of ending in dublin and returning from there or wales, but im basically trying to avoid flying/ferrying more than need be. What would be your recommendation for doing everything in the UK in one vehicle and then only crossing into ireland once? if that makes sense

30th January 2019 at 7:38 pm

So there are a lot of great castles in the UK, and it’s hard to travel anywhere without finding history! Some of my favourite castles are in Scotland and the Northumberland area, and you’ve also got Hadrian’s wall up there. But York has all the Viking history too, and then cities like Oxford or Cambridge have more from the middles ages, Bath has the Roman empire.. So there’s really no shortage of history to find.

If it was me though, I’d spend a bit more time exploring some of the castles in Northumberland like Alnwick, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh, as well as some in Scotland.

If you want to do everything in the UK that would be possible, just continue from Oxford to Bath and Cardiff, and then head north from there to York. You might want to bypass Manchester in order to get more of the history you are interested in as it’s more of a town that had it’s heyday with the industrial revolution, which might be a bit too recent history for your interests. You could instead add Warwick, which has a popular castle and a lovely town centre.

Have a great trip and let me know if I can be of any more help!

Hannah says

30th January 2019 at 8:25 pm

For sure! Thank you so much.

Maribel says

17th January 2019 at 4:13 am

Hi, I am planning a 2-week trip to Great Britain flying from Mexico City to London. Your post is very helpful. My trip HAS to include the Isle of Man but I do want to go to Edinburgh and Ireland. What do you think would be the best route? Thanks for your amazing post!

17th January 2019 at 6:37 pm

Hi Maribel!

Great question, and the first time anyone has asked me about the Isle of Man, which I have to admit, I haven’t been to!

There are direct ferry connections to the Isle of Man from Belfast, Dublin, Lancaster and Liverpool.

So assuming you want to do a fairly similar route, mug suggestion would be to follow the general outline of this trip, but take the ferry from Dublin to the Isle of Man, and then on to Liverpool, instead of from the southern end of Ireland to Fishguard. I think that’s the most logical option.

There are other option too – you could go London -> Oxford -> Liverpool -> Isle of Man -> Dublin -> Belfast -> Cairyan -> Edinburgh -> London.

So up to you really! Have a great trip, and let us know if you have any more questions!

Maribel Felix says

17th January 2019 at 6:40 pm

Muchas Gracias! I appreciate you advice very much. I will send you an update of my trip on my way back to Mexico.

17th January 2019 at 9:50 pm

Please do Maribel – we love to hear back from people on how their trips go, and incorporate feedback into our content to help everyone!

16th December 2018 at 12:15 am

Hello! I am planning a 28 day trip in in May 2019. What would you recommend to fill in the extra days? Thank you so much! And thank you for sharing such a lovely itinerary!

16th December 2018 at 11:49 am

Hi Sara! It’s hard to give a precise answer without knowing your interests, but if it was me I would extend my trip up into the northern half of Scotland, perhaps spending 7-10 days driving the North Coast 500, visiting the Isle of Skye and seeing the highlands. You could also head out to the some of the other islands, like Lewis. May is a great time to head up into that part of Scotland.

Other options include Wales or Cornwall, or extending your time in Ireland. There’s so much to see and do, even 28 days will be filled easily!

Nathaniel says

14th December 2018 at 7:57 pm

Could I use this itinerary for a school project. You will be credited and cited, obviously. Thank you if yes and thanks anyway if no. This was fun to read, regardless of your reply Thank you again, Nathaniel

14th December 2018 at 11:43 pm

Hi Nathaniel,

Thanks for asking! Could you e-mail me about this so I get more of an idea of the use? It’s [email protected] 🙂

9th December 2018 at 8:26 am

We are planning a 3 week trip to UK (2 weeks) and Amsterdam (1 week).. We will fly to Amsterdam from London. We were looking at your 2 week itinerary and wanted to ask what would you suggest instead of Ireland, We only want to visit London, Wales and Scotland start at London and return to London. Family with kids who like a bit of adventure, culture so interested in castles, nature etc. Also would like to visit Whisky distilleries preferably Glenfiddich and Aberlour. Also we will be hiring a car in London and return there. Would really appreciate your suggestions.

9th December 2018 at 10:37 am

So my suggestion would be to do a loop from London, similar to that I’ve described here, but instead of going across to Ireland, to head down the west coast of the UK, and then visit the Lake District and Wales on your way down.

In terms of distilleries, certainly, Aberlour and Glenfiddich are achievable from Edinburgh, but you are looking at a three hour drive each way. So you might prefer to visit a closer distillery like Deanston, which is also right next to Doune Castle, which I’m sure your kids will also enjoy 🙂

Hope this helps a bit!

Navtej says

22nd October 2018 at 11:18 am

Hi, a very helpful article. As I plan my next year travel to Europe after a gap of 15 years…it’s a god send. I propose to spend a few days in Amsterdam-Bruges and then fly to London. Here I catch up with another couple and there 12 year old daughter and plan to drive to Scotland and Ireland. We have a total of 10 / 11 days for this.

Am thinking will cut Wales from my itinerary and which other place would u recommend I skip ?

Many thanks

Navtej from New Delhi, India

PS another slighlty unrelates question : If I fly into London should I take a flight into Amsterdam and the train back from Bruges or is this complicated and expensive?

22nd October 2018 at 8:22 pm

It’s hard to give specific recommendations as to what to skip as I’m not sure as to your personal interests. If you are more interested in culture / museums etc, then you will want to include more of the cities, and less of the countryside. Conversely, if you are less interested in the outdoors, perhaps leaving out some of the countryside attractions would be a good idea 🙂

Generally my advice would be just to stick to flights as it’s likely going to be easier and probably less expensive. The train though can be a good option if you book far enough in advance, it will just take a little bit longer.

Hope this helps – have a great trip!

Leslie says

21st July 2018 at 11:12 pm

Four women from Texas will be traveling to the UK in September and wanted to drive (one of us is brave enough to drive on the wrong side of the road). We spend 8 days in London last September with side trips to Bath and a tour to Oxford and Cotswolds and Warwick Castle. We have relatives in Glasgow, so plan to see that area of Scotland. Your information is a Godsend and thank you so much for all your planning. We will let you know how it goes!

22nd July 2018 at 9:36 pm

Thanks Leslie – please do! We always love to hear feedback as to how our posts help people (or if they need changing, we love to hear about that too!)

Have an awesome trip!

Ruth Deane says

11th July 2018 at 6:24 am

A good travel guide to the UK. I know it is difficult to provided a balanced approach due to limited wordage but the emphasis should be on the UK. N. Ireland and its capital Belfast have been sadly neglected in this article and the focus was Dublin which is not part of the UK. Surely something coulf have been added about Belfast and N. Ireland in general. It is a beautiful place. The author did make a reference to the Dark Hedges but associates them with Dublin. Last time I checked they are quite definitely in N. IRELAND. Hope this criticism is constructive. N. Ireland continues to get a bad press but it is a beautiful place and the majority of the people are that bad either.

11th July 2018 at 9:44 am

Constructive feedback is always welcome! We’re actually visiting Northern Ireland next week for a week to fully explore Belfast and the Coastal Causeway, and will be updating our content (and creating new content!) to have more information on this part of the UK 🙂 Stay tuned!

Craig Grimston says

26th June 2018 at 2:47 am

Thank you!!

September is a perfect month to come to Texas – the weather is perfect then! I’d be happy to answer any questions you have to the best of my ability (I’m not a native Texan – originally from Australia), but there is a lot of great things to do here. Austin and San Antonio are great too.

Thank you for offering to answer any questions! We are going in a group, so I’m sure a lot of questions will come up! I’ll try not to bombard you with them, but I may just hit you with a few! We are planning for somewhere in June to August next year (I plan ahead big time!) and couldn’t be more excited to see your beautiful country!

But please, definitely hit me up with any questions you have about Dallas or Texas. If I can’t answer them, I can track someone down who can!

Thanks!! Craig

22nd June 2018 at 8:02 pm

Hi Laurence and Jessica,

I just wanted to say thank you for posting this itinerary. I really wanted to plan a road trip in the UK and after googling about it all I got was a bunch of blogs pointing out all of the negative things and basically saying “don’t bother”!

As I was about to give up and go the typical tourist route, I came across your website. It was exactly what I was looking for! It is inspirational, and put the joy and adventure back into my travel plans.

I’m pretty much going to stick to your itinerary with the exception of Ireland (I wanted to check out the Lake District and Liverpool), so Ireland may have to be a separate road trip!

I have a million questions, but I’m going to spare you of that! LOL. I really just wanted to say a big thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge!

Kindest Regards, Craig – Dallas Texas

25th June 2018 at 9:28 pm

Thank you so much, it always means a lot to hear that people are finding our content useful. I think you are making a sensible choice – there is a lot to see on the mainland of the UK, and it’s also less hassle to worry about rental cars and ferries if you leave Ireland for another trip 🙂

We’re happy to answer any questions you have. We’re actually planning a trip to Texas for late September, and will be swinging by Dallas, so may have some questions for you in return!

Vanessa says

14th May 2018 at 9:38 pm

I’ve googled “hire car” and it says “rental car.” But on your site here it seems that a rental care and a hire car are different things. What exactly is the difference? Thank you! And also thank you for this post – it’s amazing and I think I will definitely base my trip -whenever that may be… – around it. Bookmarking this page!!

15th May 2018 at 5:57 pm

Thanks Vanessa! I think in the UK we use the term hire car, wheras in the USA it’s more likely to be called a rental car. But yes, they are the same thing in my mind, you can use the terms interchangeably as far as I know 🙂 Have a great trip, and don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any questions at all 😀

Saurabh says

7th May 2018 at 7:55 am

Hi Lawrence, This is a great post! I think I can use some help. We are planning a 2 week trip to UK in August with a 1 year old toddler. What from above or otherwise will be a good itinerary for us. How realistic is it for me to cover what you have listed here? Appreciate any help. Thanks!

7th May 2018 at 10:03 pm

Thanks Saurabh! First, I should say that not having kids ourselves this isn’t an area of expertise for us 🙂 However, based on experiences of friends who travel with family, my suggestion would be to probably cut the itinerary in half, and focus on some of the major cities. As it is, it’s quite a busy itinerary, and I think you will have a better time doing a bit less and having the time to really explore some of the cities on the itinerary. So for example, maybe just do England and Scotland, and skip Ireland and Wales. This will reduce your travel, and let you spend a bit longer in each city. I’d also advise finding accommodation close to the city centres and attractions, so at least one of you can go out sight-seeing if one of you needs to stay behind for naps etc. I hope this helps – have a wonderful trip!

3rd May 2018 at 12:38 am

My husband and I are following this itinerary this summer, flying round trip into Gatwick from Canada. I was looking at the cost of the ferry from Scotland to Ireland and than Ireland to Wales and was shocked at the cost. Do you know of any Ferry discounts?

3rd May 2018 at 7:12 pm

Hi Sarah – you can try the various ferry search companies like directferries or a1ferries I think they are called. Unfortunately that time of year is school holidays, and there aren’t many companies operating the routes, so the prices go up. You might consider instead flying from Edinburgh to Belfast or Dublin instead, and hiring a car in Ireland rather than taking the ferry, if that is a cheaper option!

Badariah says

21st March 2018 at 8:24 am

Awesome I am planning for a 2 week get away to UK. Your article helpsss a lot. Planning to go in mid sept till end of sept

21st March 2018 at 11:25 am

Thanks very much – have a wonderful trip!

11th March 2018 at 9:06 am

hi lawrence me n my wife middle aged planning to do england and scotland in 15 days in july which would be ideal places to cover by public transport. i am open to hire a car for 2 to 3 days if required. please suggest us best possible train route for this trip we are flying in n out of london thanks waiting for ur reply

11th March 2018 at 10:02 am

My advice would be to follow my 10 day UK itinerary, which is designed for public transport: https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/10-day-uk-itinerary-public-transport-train-bus/

You could spend a little extra time in each location, or you could add a couple of stops. My advice would be to add 1 day in Bath near Bristol, stop in Manchester between Liverpool and York, and think about stopping in Newcastle on the way to Edinburgh. If you wanted to see the Cotswolds, you could do that with a hire car from Bath, or on a tour from London.

I hope this helps! That post also has lots of information on using public transport in the UK. Have a great trip!

Christine says

19th February 2018 at 4:57 am

Hello and Thank You!! I was just wondering, I’m not the best with timelines haha, but exactly how many hotel stays are there in total in each location? I’m just trying to determine if you actually spent the night in each location for both nights or if you spent the day touring then drove to the next location and got a room, especially for the 1 day places… if that makes sense? My husband and are are arriving March 10th and fly back out the 24th so just trying to sort out the timelines… Also it was suggested to me to go to Cornwall or Leeds, what are your thoughts? Thanks!

19th February 2018 at 6:11 pm

Hi! And my pleasure 😀

So you’d be looking at:

2 nights in London 1 night in Oxford 1 night in the Cotswolds 1 night in the Peak District 1 night in Manchester (could do Leeds here instead) 1 night in York 2 nights in Edinburgh (could do one night in Northumberland on the way up) 3 nights in Ireland / Northern Ireland 1 night in Cardiff 1 night in Bristol or Bath

You could of course spend more or less time in each destination, and leave say London after two full days but only one night, and overnight in Oxford. So really it’s up to you 🙂

Leeds you could easily fit into this itinerary. Cornwall would be a bit harder as it’s a bit further away. If you wanted to do Cornwall, you might need to leave Ireland out for example to give yourself enough time. Hope this helps!

15th February 2018 at 10:57 pm

Awesome Itinerary, I would add Canterbury to this list 🙂

17th February 2018 at 8:35 pm

I’ve only briefly visited Canterbury, must return!

22nd January 2018 at 4:52 pm

This came a blessing in disguise after searching for a week almost and making all shit loads of itineraries. I am thinking of blindly following this as it looks great to me. Need your help on a few points here if it doe snot bother you much, it would serve a great deal of planning for me in addition to what it already has, 1. Was this too hectic considering the number of places you covered? 2. Was driving time included in the time spent at each place you mentioned? 3. Is driving safe in and around England? 4. Is driving a cheaper option than using rail/bus transport? 5. How much did this two week trip cost you? 6. How much does the drive part of the trip cost?

22nd January 2018 at 5:44 pm

HI Saurabh!

Pleased to hear you found the itinerary 🙂 I’m happy to answer your questions of course.

1. This is definitely a busy itinerary, although as you can see from the other comments, many people have enjoyed it. So it really depends on your own personal style of travel and your preferences, as well as who you are travelling with. If you want a less hectic schedule, I’d suggest perhaps leaving the Irish part of the trip out, and maybe focusing on England and Scotland, and perhaps extending your time in cities like London and Edinburgh.

2. Yes, driving time is included. Driving time is not too great in the UK as distances are not large and the motorways are good, however, be aware that traffic can be bad around rush hour in the morning and evenings.

3. Yes, driving is very safe. Of course, accidents happen like anywhere in the world, but for the most part you shouldn’t have any trouble.

4. It depends on a few factors – mostly how many of you there are. For one person, it might be more cost-effective to take public transport. Also, if you book public transport well in advance, especially trains, this can be much cheaper than buying tickets on the day. Car hire also depends on the size of the car, but you can get pretty good value car hire. Fuel is quite expensive, but most modern hire cars are very fuel efficient. I am shortly going to publish a post with a similar itinerary that focuses on travelling in the UK by public transport, so stay tuned for that 🙂

5. Cost is really up to you, as it depends so much on what you want to see! I’d say you can hire a car for around £180 – £250 a week, fuel costs will be in the region of £50-£70 a week, and accommodation is likely to be in the range of £80 – £150 a night for two people sharing. You can of course get cheaper and more expensive accommodation options, it really depends on your style of travel.

6. The main costs for the car are the car hire, fuel, and any insurance you buy. I’d say between £200 and £300 a week, plus any parking fees. I’d definitely advise always booking a hotel that includes free parking.

I hope this helps with your planning – have a wonderful trip, and don’t miss my one week itinerary post for more ideas 🙂

https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/UK-Itinerary-One-Week-Road-Trip/

Steve and Cheryl Bales says

26th February 2018 at 9:09 pm

Thank you for the wealth of information! We are planning to take a trip to visit our daughter who is in the Air Force in the UK this May. I’ve read your itinerary and the questions and answers that followed. There were a couple of questions that popped up for me and I was hoping you could answer them. You mentioned taking a car over on the ferry to Ireland. We will be driving our daughter’s car, but I was wondering if we needed special insurance on the car to have it ferried. My husband are both disabled to a degree; neither of us are capable of walking long distances or sitting for any duration. Is there a need for concern over these issues? And, what is the cost of a London Pass and how many people does it cover, there will be four in our group? Any information would be much appreciated, thank you in advance. Steve and Cheryl

26th February 2018 at 9:19 pm

Hi Steve and Cheryl,

Thanks for reaching out, and I’m happy to hear you have found the content useful. You don’t normally need special insurance on a car to have it ferried, but you will likely need to check with your daughter’s insurer to make sure it is covered in Ireland. As far as I am aware it should be covered in Northern Ireland with the full coverage, and most UK insurers do provide at least some level cover for the EU, which Ireland is a part of, but worth checking.

For the itinerary I’ve put together, it’s really up to you how much you do. All the major cities have good public transport if you choose not to drive, as well as sight-seeing buses and things like that.

The London Pass prices vary – you have to buy one price per person, so that would be four passes total. Again, the value is up to you and how much you can get out of them. My only concern would be to get real value out of them you do need to try and pack quite a lot in – if you aren’t sure if that’s going to be possible you might end up being better off not getting them and just paying the ticket prices. Also, I’m not sure of your ages, but many attractions have senior concessions, which might also save you money rather than getting a pass. Worth checking the individual websites for the different attractions you want to visit to see what those might be.

You can see the London Pass prices here; https://prf.hn/click/camref:1011lbTW/pubref:FTU2WeekQuestion/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.londonpass.com%2Flondon-pass-prices.php

Derian Quek says

4th September 2017 at 1:10 pm

This trip seems a bit rushed when driving over to Ireland..I am also planning a 2 weeks this December to January. Any tips on this? Am planning London/Manchester/Lake district/Edinburgh/Cotswolds/bath/Stonehenge/Paris

Laurence says

4th September 2017 at 4:05 pm

Hey Darian,

This trip is definitely quite fast – unfortunately folks don’t have too much time sometimes, and are keen to see as much as possible, which is what I try to achieve on this itinerary.

Regarding your itinerary – at that time of year do be aware that the weather obviously won’t be great and it will be getting dark around 4pm – just something to bear in mind. Certainly your plan is possible but will also be quite packed. Perhaps focusing on a few less locations and seeing more. From your list I’d suggest London, with a day trip to bath, the Cotswolds and Stonehenge, then Edinburgh and Paris. You could add in Manchester as well of course. It would also depend on if you have visited any of the locations before and how you plan to travel. I’d suggest train from London to Edinburgh, and a cheap flight from Edinburgh to Paris.

4th September 2017 at 4:15 pm

Hi Laurence. It would actually be my first time to the UK. I’m visiting Manchester because I would wanna catch a game at old Trafford and that’s probably the only reason why. Flight from Edinburgh to Paris sounds like a good option though I would most likely be self driving from London up north. I’m thinking 3 days in London, 1 day in manchester, 2 days in lake district, 3 days in Edinburgh, 1 day to cotswolds and then 3 days in Paris via eurostar before heading back to London for my return flight

Mital Khona says

9th August 2017 at 2:43 pm

Hi Lawrence, Thanks a bunch for this wonderful itinerary… 1. We are travelling this September with 2 Kids ( 2 years old and 8 years old) and2 parents ( senior citizens).. Is this still doable.. I was thinking of picking up train for journey from London to Edinburgh 2. We would like to spend 3 days on the alternative route to Ireland suggested by you above. Can you help on the route/ time we should allot to Snowdonia, etc(west coast of the UK, including Glasgow, the Lake District, and Liverpool, as well as popping into Wales for the stunning Snowdonia national park)

7th January 2018 at 1:26 pm

Hi Mital! It really depends on your kids and grandparents and their stamina. I think this trip might be a bit much for some, and you might find it easier to go a bit slower and take things in a bit more. So perhaps a trip focusing on Edinburgh / London, with a hire car for the return journey down the west coast of the UK. I’d say three – four days in London, two to three days in Edinburgh, and then the rest of the time on the drive down the west coast would work!

Sussex Bloggers says

30th May 2017 at 12:56 pm

Can’t believe you’ve completely skipped Cornwall and the rest of the south coast. Such beautiful scenery all along the southern coastline and some wonderful towns and villages. Here’s a little teaser!

ipsita bhattacharya says

3rd May 2017 at 12:19 am

Hi guys, We are planning a trip to the UK in August/September 2017 and this 2-week itinerary is proving to be of great help! But if we plan to take public transport instead of driving, how much of this is doable? We are also looking at two weeks and while I understand taking trains/buses will eat into our travelling time, we are not sure we want to drive. Please advise. And thanks for this wonderful travel plan!

8th August 2017 at 8:56 am

Our pleasure. Much of this is doable, certainly between the major cities by train at least. We’d advice flying from the UK, likely Edinburgh to Dublin, and then back from Dublin to Cardiff or London. It’s definitely achievable in part though 🙂

Jessica says

2nd April 2017 at 1:15 am

I am so glad that I found your itinerary as we will be visiting the UK for a little over two weeks this coming summer. I do have question for a part of the trip when you have to ferry from Scotland to Ireland, is it easy to find ferries that will take your car across? Also do you recommend a car for the entire trip or to break it up with trains? Such as from London to Edinburgh? Thank you and I hope to hear back from you soon.

7th January 2018 at 1:24 pm

Hi Jessica! Sorry for the slow response. Most of the ferries take cars, but the question is as to whether or not your rental car company will let you take the car on the ferry. So you would need to check with them. If not, you might find it easier to say fly from Edinburgh to Belfast or Dublin to continue to journey, and perhaps pick up a hire car in Ireland instead.

Nishant says

19th March 2017 at 10:59 am

My family of 4 is planning in Aug’17 for 2 week and i like your write up here. we would be staying with our friend’s family (4 member) in LONDON and then accompany them to this tour plan. we wish to know approx budget in INR apart from AIR Ticket required for this kind of tour. Consider AIR BnB stay, Home cooking where ever possible, car drive and budgeted expense suitable for family.

แอโรคอม บริษัทจำกัด says

13th March 2017 at 8:24 am

Your 2 weeks itinerary seems very good. I am concerned with parking space in tourist attractions especially in big cities. Is it not so difficult to find parking area in all these recommended places (except London)? How much is a typical parking fee?

Thanks in advance! Pairoj S.

13th March 2017 at 2:24 pm

Thanks very much! Parking fees really vary depending on where you want to park. On road meter parking is usually the most expensive, around £3 an hour. I’d suggest finding a larger car park, like a multistorey operated by a company like NCP. These are more reasonable, and you would pay on a sliding scale where it is better value for staying for longer. I wouldn’t worry though, there is usually plenty of parking available, and sometimes if you don’t mind walking a little bit, if you don’t park centrally you can park for free. Have a great trip!

Mittal Shah says

10th March 2017 at 11:44 am

Hi Lawrence and Norah. I have been trying to plan a road trip in UK around July end for approximately 12days and have found a lot of helpful information.There are certain things i would like to know from you: For road trip should i consider hiring a caravan or a car( 4 of us travelling)? Is it better to book a hotel or bnb? Please help. Awaiting your reply

12th March 2017 at 9:47 pm

Thanks for your comment. A car would definitely be the best option, for four of you it would likely be the most cost effective option. I’d also suggest bed and breakfasts are a nice option, although there are lots of great hotels as well, it really depends on your budget,

Enjoy your trip!

rajul parikh says

19th February 2017 at 11:46 am

Hi Lawrence and Norah just been browsing through your site and taking in the information about the 2 week holiday in the UK. We find your information relevant and useful. We live in India and are considering a trip sometime mid June 2017. This would be our first trip to the UK. Lots of questions: would the weather be ok around that time? To cover your suggested itinerary (including ireland) how much driving would one end up doing everyday? Would your stops which are marked alphabetically on the map suggest overnight stay? Since we would like to spend at least 5 days in London we would need to extend our trip to about 21 days. Look forward to hearing from you.

19th February 2017 at 11:49 am

Happy that you found it useful! Yes, the main stopping points suggest an overnight stay. The weather is likely to be good in June, however, the weather in the UK can be very unpredictable. Coming from India, you’ll probably find it fairly cool 😉 I’d say between 15 and 25C would be the norm, and you should plan for rain whenever you visit the UK.

In terms of driving, the UK is quite small so not too much, probably not more than 2 – 3 hours a day.

Myn Wong says

14th February 2017 at 1:18 am

Hi. May I know the estimated cost of this trip?

George Monaghan says

30th January 2017 at 8:51 pm

Finding this site most interesting !

30th January 2017 at 8:52 pm

Thanks George, appreciated!

Dave_Toni says

18th January 2017 at 2:17 am

Hi guys, I’m staying in London for a short time (4 days) and I’m now thinking I should have booked a longer stay, but I’m on route to another destination. What would you recommend for a four day tour to get the best out of “must see” locations in in short amount of time? Really enjoying the site, keep up the great information. Thanks Dave.

18th January 2017 at 6:52 pm

Four days is a good time to see lots of London 🙂 My advice, if you’ve not been before, would be to focus on the highlights, plus allocate some time just to wander a bit. I have a two day Itinerary here: https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/2016/06/two-day-london-itinerary-essential-sight-seeing.html That should help a bit, and then an itinerary that focuses on the region of Kensington: https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/2015/07/top-8-things-to-do-in-kensington.html I also have a guide for getting around London: https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/2016/08/guide-public-transport-london.html Some tips for the best photo spots in London: https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/2015/12/best-photography-locations-london.html And finally, we always recommend the London Pass to save money if you’re planning on visiting a lot of attractions. Here’s a great breakdown to find out if that’s worth it for you or not: independenttravelcats.com/2016/05/21/tips-using-buying-london-pass-worth/ Enjoy!

13th January 2017 at 10:19 am

So so perfect! Planning a 2 week UK holiday in June. This was God-sent!

13th January 2017 at 10:21 am

Wonderful, pleased you found it useful

Ashton says

5th November 2016 at 5:24 am

This is perfect! Exactly what I was looking for to start planning my honeymoon!! Thank you for taking the time to put this together

13th November 2016 at 7:58 pm

My pleasure – let us know how it goes and if there’s anything missing we can add to the post!

shiva bhavini says

16th July 2016 at 2:34 pm

Hi Laurence & Jessica, My husband and I are planning to have a 10 days UK trip , reaching London on September 16 and have return flight from london on september 26 , can you please suggest should we take some travel agent to take us around in UK ? Thanks much in advance

Ellana McNulty says

3rd July 2016 at 1:39 am

Hi Laurence & Jessica, My husband and I are planning on following your itinerary when we go over in August. When we first looked at your blog, there was a map at the end that you could zoom in on, but cannot find it now? Is the link still available.

3rd July 2016 at 11:24 am

Hi Ellana! Sorry about that, the map was causing issues for mobile users so I removed it. See comment below with a better answer!

Paul McNulty says

7th July 2016 at 12:09 am

Thanks for this Laurence!

Is it possible to have the whole route on the map like you had it before?

4th November 2016 at 11:13 pm

Hi Paul, I’ve been battling with google maps over this and gave up as it wouldn’t let me have enough waypoints. So I’ve switched to Bing Maps with the embedded image, and there’s a link to the route here: https://binged.it/2fDQGD2

Sorry for the delay!

5th November 2016 at 12:02 am

Thanks Laurence… we toured the UK in the last half of August using your itinerary. We modified it a bit to suit our personal tastes, but the basis of our trip was thanks to you. And it was even better than we expected!! Cheers.

5th November 2016 at 9:49 am

Brilliant! Delighted you had a good trip 😀

Alicia says

7th June 2017 at 3:22 am

The above link does not have a driving route in it. Is it no longer working (or I am doing it wrong)?

Unfortunately Google wouldn’t let me put together a driving route with this many stops, so this was the best I could do!

Seyne Tee says

27th June 2016 at 4:03 am

Hi Laurence & Jessica, I plan to visit UK for 2 weeks and rent a car to travel around places outside UK. Your perfect itinerary is exactly what I’m looking for, thanks! I have a problem here, I can only travel with my husband and son in the middle of November, will the weather be friendly enough to carry out activities as per your recommendation?

27th June 2016 at 9:23 am

Well, the weather in the UK can be quite varied, with sun even in November! However it will more likely be cold and grey, temperatures in the range of 3 – 10 degrees C. It will also be dark fairly early. However, that shouldn’t put you off, a lot of this itinerary is focused on the cities, and indoors activities, so you should be fine, although you might want to edit the itinerary a bit to focus more on indoor activities than outdoor ones 🙂

Stephen Mason says

9th May 2016 at 3:58 am

This trip is incredible! Can you give a price of what the final trip costed?

28th June 2016 at 11:55 am

Hi Stephen – it really depends on many factors, including your budget for accommodation / food. You can find places for £50 / night in most of the locations I’ve mentioned, food per person you could get away with £15 a day, then there’s fuel and car hire, not to mention attraction entry. I’d probably look to budgeting around £700 – £1500 per person, as a guideline, but a lot of variables to take into account 🙂

SharronJ says

8th March 2016 at 6:33 pm

This is just what I was looking for. I am planning on visiting your wonderful country for a month next year and just started doing research. Your article is just what I was looking for Thanks so much!

8th March 2016 at 6:35 pm

My pleasure! Have a wonderful trip 🙂

Edward says

17th January 2016 at 11:32 pm

Thank you for this. I will be going in UK late Spetember to October (one month) and this is a nice itnerary and I can do it in a slower pace. Would you say September and October is a good time to do this? How is the weather usually in those months?

2nd February 2016 at 2:47 am

It’s the Autum time so you might fair pretty well, considering. It starts to cool down in September and the trees start changing. There will be rain, especially in the West of England and Wales but there always is.

The best time to visit England is May – August, but if you don’t mind getting caught in the rain now and then, you shouldn’t have a problem

Joanne says

12th October 2015 at 2:18 pm

Is it possible to do this itinerary relying only on public transportation since I don’t drive? Thank you in advance.

12th October 2015 at 2:21 pm

Good parts of it are certainly possible, as the major cities are linked by public transport, and the trains in particular are an excellent and fast way to get around. One tip – book well in advance on specific trains to get the best prices in the UK, the fares you pay on the day are much higher. I’d also suggest flying from Edinburgh to Dublin if you wanted to include the Irish part of the trip.

You might have a bit more difficulty visiting places like the Cotswolds or other “country” parts on your own, however there are plenty of tour operators who can give you a day trip out from London to say the Cotswolds and Stonehenge.

On the whole though, yes, the majority of this itinerary would be more than do-able by public transport!

Nina Tchernova says

7th October 2015 at 2:43 pm

Hi Laurence, thank you so much for sharing this! We are planning to go in April, and this is exactly what we were hoping to do. And here it all is, so wonderfully explored and illustrated! One question though – what would you recommend about car rentals -one, or three? when we cross on a ferry to Ireland, do we bring the car, or is it better to rent another one there, and then another when we get back?

10th October 2015 at 1:14 pm

My pleasure 🙂 The answer to your question isn’t as simple as it sounds. One way rentals, as you’d need if you were to change cars, are generally more expensive than returning the car to the same place. On the other hand, a ferry ticket without a car is cheaper! So you might want to just check the math and see, depending on your budget. Personally, I’d not bother with the hassle of changing cars and just stick with the same one, you just need to check that it’s ok to drive the car in Ireland as well 🙂

10th October 2015 at 1:28 pm

Thank you very much, we will have to make a few enquiries.

Darryl Chan says

24th August 2015 at 6:03 pm

Hey! Love your itinerary! Is there anyway I can contact you to get more personalised advices from you? Looking forward to your reply!

27th August 2015 at 5:28 pm

Sure, you can just drop me an e-mail via the contact page on the site, or just fire away in the comments and I’ll see what I can do,

17th August 2015 at 4:58 am

Where’s the castle in your first picture?

25th September 2015 at 8:51 pm

The castle in the first picture (with the daffodils) is Alnwick castle in Northumberland. Home to Harry Potter or at least the was some filming taken place there and also some of Downtown Abbey. Alnwick is also home to Barter Books where the original ‘keep calm and carry on’ poster was discovered. Northumberland has one of the largest number of castles in the uk. Some of the most impressive I think are Bamburgh Castle, Lindisfarne Castle (on holy island – which needs a visit itself) and Chillingham Castle (known for being pretty spooky). Contact Wooler Tourist Infomation Office on +44 1668 282123 to learn about accommodation as Wooler is a fantastic base for the best of Northumberland.

25th September 2015 at 9:02 pm

Can I also say there is an awesome place for Brits and tourists alike; Beamish, the living museum. It is an outdoor village fashioned perfectly on olden days northern England complete with coal mine, dentis, working sweet shop and more

Monica says

11th August 2015 at 8:16 pm

I loved you itinerary and pictures. I’m definitely using your steps to trace some of my own. Thanks for sharing. I’m excited to read through more of your posts.

15th August 2015 at 8:32 pm

Thanks Monica, have a great trip!

3rd August 2015 at 9:50 pm

Great review of a nice trip through GB. My wife and I are trying to plan one for May, and we were thinking of spending more time in Scottland. Do you have any suggestions for moving from Endinburgh and into the northern part of Scotland and skipping Ireland. I thinking about Aberdeen and stopping by Ben Nevis, but it’s our first time traveling abroad and I’d love more information. Thanks!

3rd August 2015 at 11:49 pm

Hi Andy! To be honest I’ve not spent a lot of time in Scotland recently, but I can very much recommend taking the time to visit Glencoe. It’s a couple of hours from Edinburgh, and is an absolutely stunning valley in the highlands. I’ve also heard nothing but good things about the isle of Skye! Sorry I can’t be of much more help right now 🙁

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Learn more about these alternative experiences

Best UK Tours 2023/4 – Reviews & Itinerary Guide

By: Author Tracy Collins

Posted on Last updated: June 13, 2023

Taking one of the many UK tours on offer can be a great way to explore the United Kingdom if this is one of your first trips in the UK. There are several advantages to taking a guided or self-guided tour for part (or all) of your time visiting the UK.

Guided tours of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland allow you to minimise the travel hassle as you’ll have a company to do most of the planning for you, and many of the United Kingdom tour package options we’ve included here allow you to see far more of the UK in a shorter period of time than it would be possible to do on your own.

Guided tours of UK can also offer good value for money, and there are some great UK trip packages on offer. Unfortunately, choosing which UK tour to take is not so easy – as the choice of tours in UK can be really overwhelming. There are just so many, so where to start looking?

In this guide I’ll walk you through some of my favourite UK tour itineraries and how to choose the best UK tour that’s right for you. Whether you’re looking for England tours, cheap UK tours, all-inclusive England vacation packages, or the best coach holidays UK has, you’ll find plenty of options in this blog. I’ve also included some of my recommended cycling and walking holidays UK has for those looking for an active break.

Let’s get started with the best Great Britain tours 2023/4 options on offer!

Best Tours of Great Britain – Comparison Chart

When is the best time to go on your uk trip , mode of transport, pace of travel, elegance of great britain – insight vacations – 11 days, castles & kilts – trafalgar tours – 10 days, great britain 7 days, uk by train – great rail journeys uk – 12 days.

The Lake District & Scotland – Rabbie's – 9 Days

Highlights of Scotland – G Adventures – 7 Days

Country roads of scotland – insight vacations – 9 days.

Best of Scotland

8 Day Isle of Skye, Orkney & North Coast

Britain and ireland, essential britain & ireland – globus – 10 days, britain & ireland explorer – insight vacations – 13 days, walk hadrian’s wall, g adventures, globus journeys , great rail journeys, insight vacations, intrepid travel, indus travels , trafalgar travel, rabbie’s tours, extending your british tour with extra days in london.

If you want to compare even more of the best coach trips the UK has or other styles of tour, I recommend TourRadar as a great place to compare tours and read more UK tour reviews.

When planning for your trip to England or the rest of the UK, it’s important to take seasonality into consideration. I go over all the details of the weather and the seasons in the UK here in this article .

When comparing tour operator UK options and which trip to take, be aware that UK tours tend to run with reduced frequency during the winter months, with many of the best UK tour packages running more frequently in spring and summer (April – August).

While some British coach holidays run year-round, speciality outdoor trips such as cycling holidays UK options may only run during summer months.

Suitcases with signposts to various UK destinations.

Best United Kingdom Tours – Choosing the Best Tour for you

When searching for the best UK travel packages and tours, there are many factors to consider. Here are some of the top things I recommend taking a few minutes to think about before deciding on the best tour of Britain for you:

Many of the most popular UK guided tour options are small group tours. UK small group tours vary widely in size with what is deemed to be a ‘small’ group – with some having up to 50 in a group while others keep it to 12 or under.

Coach tours UK options are a convenient way to travel around with the rest of your group and often allow more to be fitted into an itinerary than independently travelling by train.

These range in style and you can find plenty of luxury coach holidays UK options as well as budget bus tours UK.

If you want to take the train but also like the idea of a guided tour, you could consider one of the train holidays UK options listed below.

This is the one most of us forget to consider! In order to fit as much in as possible, some of the popular coach holidays in England and the rest of the UK move very fast, taking in multiple cities and sights in a day and usually spending only 1 night in a place.

This can get tiring, so if you prefer to spend at least a couple of nights in each place, check for itineraries that allow you more time or you could consider choosing one of the self-drive holidays UK options available.

Also, see our tips at the end of this article for extending your stay in the UK by spending extra days in London, Edinburgh, or any of the other common UK tour starting and endpoints.

England vacation packages and tours have different inclusions depending on the style of trip and company.

Most include transport, guide, accommodation and some meals, but check the small print so you know what you are and aren’t getting included on tours to England.

The entrance fees to many sights are often not included in tour pricing.

Best Great Britain Tours (England, Scotland, Wales)

Below you’ll find our favourite United Kingdom trip tour packages that take in England, Scotland and in some cases Wales, too. For tours that also include Ireland, see the next section.

Best for seeing England & Scotland at a more leisurely pace

Starting in Edinburgh and finishing in London, this 11-day journey through some of England and Scotland’s finest sights is a great option for those wanting to travel in comfort or who are looking for the best UK tours for seniors.

This is one of our favourite England and Scotland tour packages if you prefer a tour that spends 1-2 nights in each place and allows you to relax more in the places that you visit.

Staying at 4* accommodations throughout the trip, this itinerary starts in Edinburgh and takes in Gretna Green, the stunning Lake District , historic York, Stratford-upon-Avon, the Cotswolds and Bath before finishing up in London.

Travel is by private coach.

As trips to England and Scotland go, this Insight Vacations UK trip is one for those who want to see the best of the UK’s history, natural beauty and culture in comfort and style. If you have additional time, we highly recommend adding on extra days in London or Edinburgh (or both!).

Click here for more info and pricing

Chester is included in some of the best UK tours.

Best for fitting lots of England in at a great price

Starting in London and finishing in Edinburgh, this 10 day London – Scotland tour by Trafalgar Tours England is a great option for those who want to see as much as possible during their trip and don’t mind travelling at a faster pace.

One of the popular tours of England and Scotland, this itinerary spends 3 days taking in the sights of London at the start of the tour, so you don’t need to worry about booking additional time at the start of the tour (unless you want to).

From London, head north to Oxford and Bath before crossing the Welsh borders and exploring some fine Welsh castles . You’ll also visit Chester, Lancaster and Hadrian’s wall before finishing in Edinburgh.

If you want to include a trip to Wales in your UK tour itinerary then this is a great tour to go for, and history lovers will enjoy every stop of this trip that showcases the UK’s history from the Wars of the Roses to Roman Bath – you even get to stay at Ruthin Castle in Wales – a 13th century castle with its original moat!

Best for seeing it all in seven days

If you only have seven days to spend in the UK, this whistle-stop tour will whisk you up and down the length and breadth of Britain to introduce you to the highlights. Included on the itinerary are a list of destinations for day trips outside London – and beyond.

The cities of Bath, Cambridge and York in England, plus the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, are included. Stratford-upon-Avon is also visited as the home of the UK’s most revered playwright. Experiences to savour include seeing Britain’s highest peak, Ben Nevis in Scotland, and enjoying a traditional roast dinner in historic, compact York.

In addition to Georgian Bath and the capital London, this seven day tour takes you to some other fascinating UK locations too. There’s sculptor Antony Gormley’s famous Angel of the North artwork, a Scottish border town, Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile, and the Scottish Highlands and Loch Ness.

Once you head down the west coast, the musical and sporting city of Liverpool awaits. You’ll also venture into Wales to see the city of Cardiff and a mediaeval Welsh castle. After touring Bath, the last stop en route back to London is Stonehenge. This ancient site is shrouded in mystery – and a must on the itinerary of every visitor to the UK.

Steam train crossing the Glenfinnan viaduct.

Best for train travel and rail holidays UK

There’s arguably nothing more quintessentially British than train travel – and if life on the rails in Britain is what you’ve been romanticising about, then this is one of the train tours UK for you.

This UK rail itinerary takes in the best of Scotland and England, with the chance to ride on one of the best-known steam train trips UK has to offer on the Jacobite steam train from Fort William to Mallaig.

You’ll travel on the West Highland Line, North East Main Line that links Edinburgh and York, and the West Coast Mainline south from Glasgow.

Travel is at a more leisurely pace with 2 nights spent in most cities, staying in mostly 4* hotels. You’ll also get to see Bath and Stonehenge before finishing in London.

If you’re looking for guided tours of England and Scotland by train, this is a great itinerary to go for. You’ll get to experience many of the UK’s best-known railways and take in the country’s top historic and cultural sights along the way. Travel is by train and private coach.

The Lake District & Scotland – Rabbie’s – 9 Days

Best for taking in the beautiful scenery of the Lake District & Scottish Highlands

Rabbie’s tours of the UK offer great value for money, and if you want to be immersed in some of the UK’s finest landscapes and are interested in guided walking holidays UK options, this is a great way to dip your toes in.

Starting in Manchester, this itinerary is a ‘rail and trail’ combination of 2 Rabbie’s trips , meaning you’ll change minibus and guide half way through.

First you’ll explore the stunning Lake District in the beautiful north west of England, enjoying Windermere and Ullswater before taking the train up to Edinburgh for your Highlands adventure that visits some of the most scenic spots on Scotland’s west coast: Uban, Mull and Skye before heading back to the mainland to visit the iconic Eilean Donan castle.

If you’re looking for the best adventure tours UK has, then we recommend Rabbie’s who deliver great tours at a budget-friendly price point for those who love the outdoors.

View over Loch Ness can be seen on some of the best UK tours.

Best for Scottish Highlands exploring and Solo Trips UK.

If you’re looking to focus your UK trip on Scotland , then this 7 day Scotland tour from Edinburgh by G Adventures is well worth a look.

G Adventures also offer very reasonable single supplements if you’re looking for the best solo holidays uk options – or you can choose to share a room with another traveller of the same sex. Either way, G Adventures UK is popular with solo travellers.

Starting in Edinburgh and finishing in Glasgow, this Scotland tour takes in Inverness and the famous Loch Ness, Culloden Moor (famous for the Jacobite rising of 1745), the beautiful Isle of Skye and Fort William, with a chance to snap the famous Jacobite Steam Train crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct (a must for Harry Potter fans) en route.

Accommodation is on a twin-share basis in 3* hotels and travel is by private minibus.

If you want the highlights of the highlands of Scotland, this is a good tour to go for, with the option to add on extra days at the start or end of your tour – you could easily spend more time in Edinburgh, or head down to London.

Off the beaten-path Highlands of Scotland

One of our favourite Great Britain vacation packages for getting a little off the beaten path is this wonderful northern Scotland adventure by Insight Vacations. Perfect for those wanting to see more of the Scottish Highlands or try something different when it comes to the many UK holiday packages.

Starting in Edinburgh, on this upscale tour you’ll take in Inverness and Loch Ness, the beautiful and remote Orkney Islands at the northern tip of Scotland – a part that few visitors see – before heading south down the west coast of Scotland to take in the Isle of Skye, the stunning Glencoe pass and Loch Lomond before finishing up in Glasgow.

Accommodation is in 4* hotels and travel is by private coach.

This is certainly one of the best UK coach holidays 2021 has to offer if the Scottish Highlands have been calling to you. You’ll love this one if you want to see the full diversity of landscapes and richness of community and culture that Scotland has.

Best of Scotland

Best for uncovering all four corners of Scotland

If you want to find the best luxury coach tours in the UK that cover much of what lies north of the border, then the Best of Scotland tour from Trafalgar is a popular option for summer. The adventure begins in the capital of Edinburgh on day one. You’ll then be transported around Bonnie Scotland for seven days before ending up in Glasgow.

This vibrant city lies to the west of Edinburgh. It’s the biggest in Scotland in terms of both population and square mileage. The metropolis is renowned for its magnificent architecture and as a cultural hub for fans of music, museums and more.

After arrival and on the second day of the tour, you’ll delve deeper under the surface of the historic and breathtakingly beautiful Scottish capital. Key sights including Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile and Palace of Holyroodhouse are visited during your guided tour, and you’ll also enjoy free time to spend as you wish.

Between leaving Edinburgh and arriving in Glasgow – both of which are in southern Scotland – you’ll head north. The first stop is St. Andrews, where Prince William met Kate Middleton, before overnighting at a hotel in the Cairngorms National Park. During day four, you’ll visit the site of the famous Jacobite uprising, see Eilean Donan Castle, look out for the Loch Ness Monster and head over to the Isle of Skye.

The fifth day of the tour includes Ben Nevis and Glencoe en route to Glasgow. After staying overnight there, you’ll take a city tour before calling at Clydeside whisky distillery and Stirling Castle on day six. Day seven is departure day, unless you decide to stay on in Glasgow for longer.

Best for touring unspoiled Scotland

If what appeals to you most about the British Isles is the chance to spend time in Bonnie Scotland, this tour to far northern Scotland might be the one for you. It’s what Great Britain vacations are made of for many – beguiling cities, beautiful coastline and of course a dazzlingly rich and varied history.

Day one transports you from Edinburgh to Inverness, via the famous Forth Bridge, picture-perfect Perthshire, the peaceful village of Dunkeld, the fascinating Highland Folk Museum, the Cairngorms National Park, bloody Culloden Battlefield and the standing stones at Clava Cairns.

Next up on the second day is the spectacular North Coast 500 trail, via French-style Dunrobin Castle, en route to the island of Orkney. Puffin territory and an astonishingly well-preserved Neolithic settlement await after overnighting on Orkney.

Both the better-known and lesser seen sights of Scotland make up much of the tour’s second half. These include Smoo Cave in Sutherland, the harbour village of Ullapool, Eilean Donan Castle, the Isle of Skye, the Jacobite Steam Train from Mallaig to Fort William and Glencoe.

During the last day, you can also choose to take an optional side trip to one of the Western Isles – namely Iona, Kerrera, Mull or Staffa. Alternatively, climb up Battery Hill in Oban or call into the

local Whisky Distillery. Finally, before heading back to Edinburgh, visit the Kelpies and Stirling Castle.

Aerial view of Keswick in the Lake District

Best England, Ireland, Scotland Tour packages

Some of these itinerary options include the best England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales tours for a comprehensive circuit of the British Isles, while others combine Ireland and Scotland to get a fuller taste of the Celtic lands.

View of evening in Dublin can be appreciated on some of the best UK tours.

Best for a whistle-stop tour of the UK and Ireland

If seeing England and Scotland isn’t enough for you, then you might like to add on Ireland. This ten day trip is arguably the best way to see England, Scotland and Ireland in one hit. It lasts for ten days, and packs far more into that time than you could feasibly manage on a self-guided basis.

First up after departing London is Shakespeare country and Stratford-upon-Avon, then it’s the Yorkshire cities of York and Bradford. The Yorkshire Dales, Lake Windermere, Gretna Green and Glasgow are then on the agenda for day three.

There’s a day in Edinburgh for the fourth day, before heading to Ayrshire, Belfast, Dublin, Kilkenny and Waterford on day five and six. Cardiff, Bath and Windsor are the final stops before the tour winds up back in London.

This tour offers incredible value for money, and really maximises each and every day when time in the UK is tight.

Best for trips to England and Ireland that include the main highlights

If you’re looking at tours of England, Scotland and Ireland, then this 10 day trip by Globus may tick all the right boxes.

Start and end in London on this tour that takes in the English highlights of Stonehenge and Bath before exploring Newport and Cardiff in Wales en route by ferry to Waterford and Dublin in Ireland.

Head north through Ireland towards the up-and-coming city of Belfast and crossing back into Scotland to take in the sights of the Scottish capital, Edinburgh.

On the final leg you’ll head south through York and Stratford upon Avon to London to soak up the best of English history. Travel is by coach.

This is one of the best tours of England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland if you’re tight on time and don’t want to forgo any of the countries of the British Isles. The travel is at a fairly fast pace though – so you may wish to add on a few days to relax at the end of your trip.

Best for combining Scottish Highlands & Ireland

One of the comprehensive UK tours from London options in this list, this itinerary works well if you want to start in London and have a few days before your trip starts to explore the UK’s capital – either through an extension booked through Insight or under your own steam.

Leaving London, this ultimate UK tour takes in the historic English highlights of Stratford and York before heading past Hadrian’s Wall to Edinburgh and circling the Scottish Highlands.

Take in the legendary sights of Loch Ness, Glencoe and a boat trip on Loch Lomond before heading back south into England and Wales, and crossing over into Ireland.

Travel is by private coach and accommodation is at 4* hotels.

On this grand UK tour, you’ll spend a total of 5 nights in Ireland and 7 in England & Scotland, making this the perfect UK tour packages from London when you just want to see it all!

Best for English countryside and Roman history

Following the route of Hadrian’s Wall makes for one of the best road trips in the UK. Though the wall is quite justifiably famous, the route along it is far less touristy than other parts of the British Isles. The wall stretches from near Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the east to the compact city of Carlisle in the west.

Hadrian’s Wall can be found within the more peaceful parts of England’s two most northerly counties. As this is a walking tour you’ll need a reasonable level of fitness, but this also means you’ll get up really close to the sights of Cumbria and Northumberland. And of course the unspoiled English countryside, with its dry stone walls and sheep-dotted emerald fields.

To give you some idea of the distances, the first day’s walk is around eight miles, between Carlisle and Irthington. Other walks include the six mile trek between Lanercost Priory and Gilsland, the three-and-a-half Walltown Crags to Haltwhistle route and seven miles from Once Brewed to Brocolitia Fort. It’s also nine miles from Chollerford to East Wallhouses, and about five from East Wallhouses to Wylam.

Highlights of this tour include the pretty Cumbrian village Crosby-on-Eden; Birdoswald, Housesteads, Brocolitia and Vindolanda Roman Forts, Walltown quarry, Sycamore Gap, the site of the victory of Oswald and the historic old Military Road.

Best Tour Companies UK Reviews

Not sure which of the best travel agency UK options you should pick? Below you can find a short review of what to expect when travelling with any of the UK tour companies mentioned above.

G Adventures tours are known for their good value and experience-rich approach. They attract travellers of all ages, both couples and solo travellers, thanks to their twin-share policy where single travellers can travel at no extra cost if they share with another traveller of the same sex.

Travel is in small groups (max 12) and includes a local tour guide “CEO”. Accommodation is in mid-range hotels and guest houses, and typically breakfasts and entry to some sights are included.

Travel in the UK is mostly by private mini-bus unless otherwise stated.

Popular for coach tours in the UK and around the world, Globus Journeys offer guided coach tours in the UK and Ireland, either with smaller groups (max 24) or larger groups (up to 50) depending on the style of the trip.

Accommodation is typically in tourist class hotels (3* and 4*) with well known brands. Globus is popular among travellers aged in their 50’s, 60’s and up for the convenience of travel by coach and their tours have more meals and excursions included than some.

Expect itineraries that pack places in, so you’ll see a lot, and stays are typically 1 night.

GRJ are the go-to for UK steam tours and railway journeys around the UK and beyond, so if travelling the UK by train is what you’re hoping to do, look no further.

Itineraries are designed to take in iconic lines and to provide the best steam train holidays UK has (or ‘regular’ trains). Journeys are escorted by a Tour Manager, and the majority of travellers are either solo travellers or couples aged between 45 – 80.

Accommodation is in 3* hotels or higher. The maximum group size on any trip is 50, or you can opt for a tailor made travel experience.

Insight Vacations are an upscale tour company offering luxury UK coach tours with up to 40 people per group.

Travellers are typically 45 and up, and itineraries are a little more relaxed than many other tour companies, including 2 night stays at many destinations and “relaxed starts” in the morning spread out through the trip allowing time to catch up on rest if you need it.

Accommodation is in 4* hotels and trips are accompanied by a tour manager.

Famous for great value adventures around the world, in the UK Intrepid offer a range of shorter ‘retreat’ style trips – so if you’re after hiking trips UK or a guided walking and cycling holiday, look no further.

Accommodation is in local guest houses and you’ll be accompanied by your own Intrepid Travel guide for the duration of the trip.

Maximum group size is 12, and rooms are on a twin share basis with the same sex if you’re a solo traveller, or you can pay a supplement to have your own room.

Offering a mix of small group tours, independent adventures, cruises and self-drive vacations, Indus Travels allows you to set your own pace of travel with flexible itineraries when you choose one of their ‘unbundled tours’ or self-drive trips.

Self-drive trips are just you, your car rental, itinerary and accommodation, whereas group tours have up to 22 travellers, English-speaking local guides, deluxe accommodation and air conditioned coaches included.

Indus is popular with younger and older travellers alike, with many travellers in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s.

Well known and popular Trafalgar Tours England have been offering coach travel around the UK for many years and have many happy customers behind them.

Group tours have a maximum of 50 people, travelling by coach to the most popular destinations. They are popular for England tours for seniors (and younger people), and on any of their England tour packages you’re guaranteed to have a lot packed into your itinerary. That’s one thing to bear in mind – this is definitely not slow travel – but it’s a good way to get an overview of the British Isles.

All tours are accompanied by a guide and accommodation is tourist class 3* or 4* international standard hotels.

Rabbie’s tours have some great England travel deals (and beyond). They’re a small group tours company providing great value breaks that help you get off the beaten track in the UK and Europe.

Rabbie’s aim to support local communities and promote responsible travel, by keeping tour groups small (10 people). They also work differently to other tour companies in that accommodation is not included in the tour price – once you book your tour you can choose your accommodation from a selection offered by Rabbie’s to suit your budget and preferences.

The name Rabbie’s comes from the nickname for famous Scot, Robert Burns!

Image of the river Thames and the London Eye in London sights included in a few of the best UK tours.

If you have a day, two, or more aside from your tour, we highly recommend taking advantage of those to explore London, or another city if your tour is starting from elsewhere – Edinburgh is another popular starting point for the UK tours mentioned in this guide.

While some tours include sightseeing in London (or another departure city), not all do – or they include a very shortened version – and trust us that 1 day is definitely not enough to see London in, especially if you’re jetlagged.

If you can, arrive a few days before your tour begins to enjoy the top London sights and get onto UK time if you’re flying in from far away. You can find our complete London travel guide here to get you started.

If you have specific questions about a destination in the UK why not join my UK and London Travel Planning Group on Facebook where you can chat with others planning their trip.

Join us for the 2024 season and become a member of the Oldest and Largest Amateur Tour in the Country! Membership for the 2024 Season will open on Black Friday, Nov. 24, 2023

2024 regionals.

JAN 6-7, 2024

Southern icebreaker.

Robert Trent Jones, Palmetto Dunes Harbour Town Links, Sea Pines Hilton Head, SC

JAN 13-14, 2024

Western states icebreaker.

Paiute Resort Golf Resort Sun Mountain and Wolf Mountain Las Vegas, NV

FEB 24-25, 2024

Four ball championship.

Barefoot Resort and Golf Love Course and Dye Course Myrtle Beach, SC

MAR 16-17, 2024

St. patrick's day regional.

True Blue Golf Club Pawleys Island, SC

MAGNOLIA CLASSIC

Old Waverly Golf Club Mossy Oak Golf Club West Point, MS

APR 13-14, 2024

Florida regional.

Innisbrook Resort Island and Copperhead Course Palm Harbor, FL

APR 20-21, 2024

Smoky mountain regional.

Sequoyah National Golf Club Cherokee, NC

MAY 25-26, 2024

Memorial day championship at pga west.

Pete Dye Mountain Course Nicklaus Tournament Course La Quinta, CA

JUN 1-2, 2024

Great lakes regional.

American Dunes Golf Club Grand Haven, MI

JUNE 8-9, 2024

Cajun classic.

Tamahka Trails Golf Club Marksville, LA

JUN 22-23, 2024

Low country regional.

Ocean Creek Course Ocean Point Course Fripp Island, SC

JUL 1-2, 2024

Midwest regional.

Big Cedar Lodge Buffalo Ridge and Ozarks National Hollister, MO

JUL 6-7, 2024

Independence day regional.

Grande Dunes Resort Club Myrtle Beach, SC

JULY 27-28, 2024

Georgia regional at sea island.

Seaside Course Plantation Course St. Simons Island, GA

AUG 3-4, 2024

The virginia regional.

Golden Horseshoe Golf Club The Gold Course Williamsburg, VA

AUG 24-25, 2024

Southern regional at kiawah island.

Turtle Point and Cougar Point Kiawah Island, SC

AUG 31- SEPT 1, 2024

Western players championship.

TPC Scottsdale Stadium and Champions Courses Scottsdale, AZ

SEPT 1-2, 2024

French lick labor day regional.

French Lick Springs Resort Donald Ross and Pete Dye Courses French Lick, IN

Congratulations to the 2023 Golfweek Amateur Tour National Champions!

Left to Right: Joe Jaspers, Charlotte, NC - Champ Flight Eric Whitworth, Charlotte, NC - A Flight Kevin Ingram, Nashville, TN - B Flight Ryan Samples, Indiana-Western KY - C Flight Michael Ray, North Central Florida - D Flight

View pictures of the 2023 national tour championship here..

Over 790 players from 47 Local Tours competed in the 2023 Golfweek National Championship!

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. âThis year’s tournament marked the 29th anniversary of the Golfweek Amateur Tour. In all, nearly 800 players competed in the three-day event with members from each one of our 47 Local Tours represented.

In the Championship Flight, Joe Jaspers won an unprecedented seventh National Championship in a sudden-death playoff over Lance Lacombe . Jaspers opened the tournament on Friday at Robert Trent Jones with a three-under-par round of 69 and a two-shot lead over Chad Frank. The Robert Trent Jones course belonged to Elliott Johnson on Saturday when he fired a four-under-par round of 68 and took a one-shot lead over Jaspers heading into the final round. The stage was set for a shoot-out on Sunday and the flight leaders did not disappoint! Lance Lacombe started the day four shots back but made-up ground on the back nine with an eagle on 15 and birdie on 16 resulting in the low round of the weekend (a five-under-par score of 67). Jaspers hung tight and birdied the fifteenth to tie Lacombe at three-under-par. On seventeen (par 3), Jaspers hit the ball to ten feet and power-lipped it out for the lead. At the end of the day, Jaspers and Lacombe both finished the 54-hole tournament at three-under-par and landed in a sudden death playoff on hole 18. Jaspers hit a perfect shot to about 6 feet and then followed it by sinking the birdie putt to become the 2023 National Champion. It was the second year in a row that Lance Lacombe finished solo second.

Joe Jaspers , Charlotte, NC (69-74-70—213) Lance Lacombe , Jacksonville, FL (75-71-67—213) Corbin Holt , Alabama (73-72-70—215) Elliott Johnson , Hilton Head/Savannah (74-68-74—216) Chad Frank , Orlando (71-76-71—218)

In the A Flight, we had a back nine battle all day between Eric Whitworth and Wayne Fisher at Golden Bear GC in Indigo Run . The two dueled it out until Whitworth finally won by only one shot on the final hole. Whitworth fired a 75 while Fisher posted an even par (72) and lost by just one stroke. Whitworth now has the pleasure of being the 2023 A Flight National Champion..

Eric Whitworth , Charlotte, NC (71-75-75—221) Wayne Fisher , Philadelphia Metro (71-79-72—222) David Dodgen , Columbia, SC (77-79-76—232) Dana Shoulders , Columbus, OH (81-81-71—233) Eric Maland , Charleston, SC (81-78-74—233)

In the B Flight, Kevin Ingram did not let his second-day score of 90 stop him from coming on strong in Sunday’s final round! Ingram shot the low round at Hampton Hall (four-over-par round of 76) and finished two-strokes ahead of the field with a three-day total of 244. Ken Sloan finished second at 246 and Jason Vesser placed third with a 247. Once again, congratulations to Kevin Ingram for posting one of the biggest come-from-behind wins in Tour history to become our 2023 B Flight National Champion.

Kevin Ingram , Nashville, TN (78-90-76—244) Ken Sloan , Cincinnati/Dayton, OH (85-80-81—246) Jason Vesser, Mississippi (78-84-85—247) Bob Santee , Upstate, SC (80-85-83—248) Rich McClendon , Arkansas (86-77-85—248) Justin Carroll , South, FL (81-82-85—248) Tony Chon , Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (78-83-87—248) Brian Harden , Tidewater, VA (77-84-87—248)

The C Flight saw Ryan Samples take home his first-ever National Championship with a three-day score of 260. Going into the final day, Samples was four shots behind the two-day leader, Thomas Purvis . Samples managed to pull away on the Atlantic Dunes course and secured the victory and the 2023 C Flight National Champion trophy.

Ryan Samples , Indiana-Western, KY (91-82-87—260) Thomas Purvis , Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (86-83-93—262) Colton Vaughn , Alabama (97-79-87—263) Gary Parnell , Columbia, SC (92-89-83-264) Kevin Briggs , Orlando, FL (86-84-94—264)

In D Flight, Michael Ray beat both Justin Cook and Robert Benavides by four shots to become the National Champion with a three-day score of 268. Sunday was just a three-horse race as both pushed hard to make up a few shots and close the gap. Ultimately, Cook and Benavides came up short and Ray took home the hardware and the title of 2023 D Flight National Champion.

Michael Ray , North Central, FL (88-90-90—268) Justin Cook , Central North Carolina (98-87-87—272) Robert Benavides , Cincinnati/Dayton, OH (90-91-91—272) Marcus Knight , Indiana-Western, KY (98-88-89—275) Gary Hedges , Cincinnati/Dayton, OH (91-93-91—275)

Cincinnati/Dayton defended their Team Cup status from 2022 with a three-day total of 2495 stokes. Charlotte, NC took second place with 2523 shots followed by the 2021 winner Hilton Head/Savannah at 2528. Columbus, OH finished fourth at 2545 followed by Orlando, FL with a three-day total of 2547.

Turning to the Edwin Watts 2 Man Team Challenge, be sure to congratulate the following teams for winning their flight with the three-day totals listed below:

Champ Flight: Corbin Holt (Alabama) and Lance Lacombe (Jacksonville, FL) 428 A Flight: Travis Wireman (Charlotte, NC) and Eric Whitworth (Charlotte, NC) 468 B Flight: Justin Carroll (South Florida) and Adam Rosenberger (South Florida) 502 C Flight: Colton Vaughn (Alabama) and Bubba Thrash (Alabama) 536 D Flight: David Schmidt (Augusta, GA) and Chris Oliver (Augusta, GA) 558

This season marked the eighteenth year Hilton Head Island hosted our National Championships. Our 1245 competitors (791 Golfweek Amateur Tour/434 Senior Amateur Tour) collectively played on nine courses: Country Club of Hilton Head, Oyster Reef GC, Bear Creek, Golden Bear, Robert Cupp at Palmetto Hall, Hampton Hall, Atlantic Dunes at Sea Pines and Robert Trent Jones and Arthur Hills at Palmetto Dunes.

IMAGES

2021 Queen City AM Tour Registration Event :: Queen City Am Tour Schedule
Best UK Tours 2023/4
The Ultimate UK Road Trip Itinerary
AM TOURS & TRAVELS
Golf Channel Am Tour shuts down permanently
United Kingdom Guided Tours & Escorted Vacations

VIDEO

2023 Estate Group Test
Welcome To The UK's ABSURD Fast Ford Scene!
MANCHESTER CITY UK NIGHTLIFE WALK TOUR
Average Britain Tour
UK tour
University of Birmingham live Campus Tour

COMMENTS

Clutch Amateur Tour
Clutch Amateur Tour is an enriched and dynamic platform for amateur golf development. Clutch Amateur Tour is the biggest gender equal amateur tour in the UK, with over 20 events scheduled in 2021 at some of England's finest courses. Huge incentives await the amateur golfers including holidays, indus
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The NCG Top 100s Tour is the UK's leading series of competitive events for club golfers. All events are played on courses that feature in their definitive NCG Top 100s rankings lists. ... The Clutch Amateur Tour is an enriched amateur experience, offering professional standard events to amateur golfers. Find out more about the Clutch Amateur ...
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What is the US Am Tour? US Am Tour is the best amateur golf tour in North America. US Am Tour provides an authentic TOUR-style tournament golf experience to players of all ages and abilities, allowing golfers to compete with others at their skill level, gain access to top courses in their area and across the country.
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The Tour is a series of individual stableford competitions played at top class courses worldwide. All golfers with an active WHS handicap are welcome. Non Tour members can enter events. Annual membership is only £40 from the day you join. The Tour has five Orders of Merit, Ladies, Senior, UK, International and Worldwide.
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10 Best England Tours & Trips 2024/2025
3-Day Stonehenge, Glastonbury, Bath & the South West Coast Small-Group Tour from London. 4.7 (21 reviews) award winner. The itinerary was excellent, and the new bus and accommodations were very comfortable.
Tournaments
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Step 1 - Decide when to visit the UK. Spring in England, Summer in St Ives Cornwall, Autumn in the Lake District and Winter in Scotland. Visiting the UK is wonderful at any time of year but it is important to be aware of the possible impact of the seasons on your travel plans. If you have set dates when you have to take your vacation it is ...
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The first option is to take a group tour of the UK. There are a number of companies offering small group tours - we'd recommend finding a service which operates tours of 15 people or less. ... Wow. I looked up the WWW for a 2 week itinerary for the UK and am glad I clicked on your site, from the numerous options that sprang up. The ...
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Best UK Tours 2023/4 - Reviews & Itinerary Guide. Taking one of the many UK tours on offer can be a great way to explore the United Kingdom if this is one of your first trips in the UK. There are several advantages to taking a guided or self-guided tour for part (or all) of your time visiting the UK. Guided tours of England, Wales, Scotland ...
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Golfweek Amateur Tour
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -This year's tournament marked the 29th anniversary of the Golfweek Amateur Tour. In all, nearly 800 players competed in the three-day event with members from each one of our 47 Local Tours represented. In the Championship Flight, Joe Jaspers won an unprecedented seventh National Championship in a sudden-death ...
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UK AND IRELAND TOUR 2023. Special guests The Hives and The Mysterines. Tickets on sale now. Get Tickets Here. 29 May '23. Ashton Gate Stadium. Bristol, United Kingdom. Tickets. 31 May '23. Building Society Arena. Coventry, United Kingdom. Tickets. 02 Jun '23. Emirates Old Trafford. Manchester, United Kingdom.