I am traveling to Dublin and Edinburgh this July and was wondering if anyone has any advice on things we 'MUST do' while there.

Already got a tee time at St. Andrews (not the old course, but still should be good), but that is about it for now. Our budgets will be a little tight, but I thought I'd ask to see the opinions of people who have been to either city.

let me know. thanks!

Gig Em and Go Stars!

I can speak to Scotland to a degree.

Take some extra time to see St. Andrews town. There are ruins of a very old cathedral there that are interesting as well.

While in Edinburgh, walk the Royal mile from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace. There are several things to see along the way. Tour the castle for sure, mainly to see the Stone of Destiny which was only recently returned from England after over 600 years since being captured. The sovereign of the UK is still crowned while sitting on the specially made throne with the Stone underneath. Spend some time walking around other parts of the town to the north of the Royal Mile.

Don't miss Stirling, Stirling Castle and the William Wallace monument nearby. It's not too far from Edinburgh.

I drove from Stirling to Lock Lomond and on to Oban on the west coast, seeing several natural sights along the way. From there you can drive pretty easily to see the highest point in Britain, Ben Nevis, and most importantly Glen Coe (which out of all this I would rank as can't miss, though it's pretty far from Edinburgh just to go for the day). The drive to and through Glen Coe was easily one of the most beautiful drives I've ever taken and the area has great historical significance for Scottish clan history (massacre of Glen Coe).

I've heard there are great places to see in the Highlands area, but I didn't get past Glen Coe. Inverness and Loch Ness are supposed to be good places to visit.

One of my favorite days in Scotland was in Callander. Just rented bikes and rode around a beautiful lake

It was ten years ago or I would give you more details, but I don't think it is too far from Edinburgh

Kind of need to know how long you are going to be there, whether or not you are willing to rent a car (and drive on the left), where you will be staying (if you've decided), and that kind of stuff.

Try the lottery to get a tee time on the “Old Course”. My F-I-L and I got a time the second day we tried. They paired us with two singles. From the St. Andrews Links Trust website:

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To enter, phone 01334 466666 or hand in a ballot card by 2pm on the day before you want to play

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Then, you call back after 4pm or look online to see if you were selected. It’s well worth the effort, unless you plan to go back some other time.

Agree on the lottery for the Old Course, I actually got to play twice, one time in the group after Coach Fran oddly enough.

If you've read the Da Vinci Code, Rosslyn Chapel is about 30 minutes from Edinburgh center.

I'll warn you about driving times should you decide to drive further west and north. The roads pretty much all become 2 lane highways. If there is any kind of significant accident on one of these roads, you can expect to get stuck for a while. This happened to me and I wound up sitting on the hood of my rental car, stuck in a dead stop traffic jam for around 90 minutes.

Get a BritRail pass. You can hop on and hop off in whatever towns you want to.

wait - does the BritRail work in Ireland?

Just spent a week in Dublin on business but also got in rounds of golf at Druids Glen, K Club and Portmarnock (so yeah didn't work a whole lot). Other than the Guiness tour, not much else that you really "need" to see in Dublin. I spent time walking the city center and hitting as many pubs as possible in the evening. Fun town and people are incredibly friendly. Met and bought a drink for Jon Lithgow who was staying in my hotel - really nice guy. Have fun

Thanks for the advice from all of you guys. This gives me some good starting points, for sure. I wish we had more than 3-ish days in each city, but such is the life of a low-paid, young professional!

Anyone who thinks of anything else in Dublin or within reasonable distance of edinburgh, let me know!

also is it pronounced Ed-in-burg, or Ed-in-burrow? Ive heard both and dont want to sound like an idiot.

Gig Em and Go Stars!

It's pronounced Edinburuh. Great town...

Good, that means i won the bet with my brother!

Bump

Going to Scotland next summer for golf and we are going to be in Turnberry, Inverness and several towns on the east coast.

Any suggestions on places to eat or pubs?

Best thing about Ireland is there are no pretensions about not going to museums. Again people are smart, interesting and somewhat curious about things. Try to write ahead and get a private tour of the Guiness plant also go to the Jameson tour. We did the one in Middleton.

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The drive to and through Glen Coe was easily one of the most beautiful drives I've ever taken

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Agreed, Glen Coe has few rivals in Scotland. The west coast drive is great as well and affords a lot of fantastic views.

If you do Loch Ness, take the B862 road on the east side of the loch. You get up in the hills, then can drop down at Foyers and the B852 and follow the water's edge for a good spell. It is a lot less trouble than the A82. Spend some time in Inverness as well if you can.

In addition to the other Scotland highlights, get up to Castle Campbell about 10 miles or so east of Stirling, as it is a sight to see the terrain on which it is positioned. You might can also get down to Jedburgh/Melrose, a beautiful part of the borders.

I could go on for hours....

If you're going for golf you have to do The Old Course. And get a caddy. You'll never know where the heck to hit the ball it you don't. I went several years ago and walked on late in the evening. If I remember correctly, we played Carnoustie in the a.m. and got on the old course that evening. Finished right at dark but we made it.

There is a little pub up the hill from St. Andrews on the corner called the Dunvegan that used to be owned by an Aggie. It may still be. Great place for a post round brew!