Ports between Dublin and Edinburgh

Looking for some advise...

We are on the Windsurf itinerary that goes from Dublin to Edinburgh and we are wondering which ports are walkable so not requiring a shore excursion. Also, what are some of the must do sights to see that we want to make sure not to miss.

Thanks for the help!

Have you done any type of research yet yourself? You don't list your ports.

Suggest you look at Windstar excursions for each port and that will give you an idea of things to see there. You don't need to book through them. Look online on tripadvisor.com for each port and the appropriate forum will have a list of things to do there. Or, go to the Ports of Call section of this webpage and look for your ports and start reading.

Have you done any type of research yet yourself? You don't list your ports.

Suggest you look at Windstar excursions for each port and that will give you an idea of things to see there. You don't need to book through them. Look online on tripadvisor.com for each port and the appropriate forum will have a list of things to do there. Or, go to the Ports of Call section of this webpage and look for your ports and start reading.

Of Course I have researched on my own but there is no better experience than people that have been there before me! The ports are Douglas, Isle of Man;Portrush, Stornoway, Tobermory, Kirkwall and Invergordan. I do a great deal of research before I travel hence my questions here. I love TripAdvisor but that doesn't really tell me if a port is walkable.

Snowesha,

I am on the same itinerary as you and have booked private tours at all ports of call except one. This itinerary is difficult to find a lot of information I think given the nature of such small ports of call. Great resources were the roll call for this itinerary on I believe last years sail, ports of call threads here on cruise critic and tripadvisor. I believe all ports are easy to do something on foot but it seems that most sights are accessible via transportation.

6rugrats suggestion of utilizing Windstars excursion list is excellent in order to determine points of interest. You may have difficulty receiving answers to your question here because this itinerary is not sailed as often as others.

Snowesha,

 

I am on the same itinerary as you and have booked private tours at all ports of call except one. This itinerary is difficult to find a lot of information I think given the nature of such small ports of call. Great resources were the roll call for this itinerary on I believe last years sail, ports of call threads here on cruise critic and tripadvisor. I believe all ports are easy to do something on foot but it seems that most sights are accessible via transportation.

 

6rugrats suggestion of utilizing Windstars excursion list is excellent in order to determine points of interest. You may have difficulty receiving answers to your question here because this itinerary is not sailed as often as others.

Can you give an update on your tours? We are doing same itinerary in June and have booked a couple of private tours but would love your input.

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Can you give an update on your tours? We are doing same itinerary in June and have booked a couple of private tours but would love your input.

 

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Sure, give me a couple days and I'll list who we used. I was very happy with ALL our tour guides and tours. We split the cost with another couple we were traveling with which made the costs equal to or often less than ship excursions. And being private we often times combined two or more ship excursion itineraries into one.

In retrospect there is so many wonderful places to see at these ports, just touched on many rather than lingering as I wish could. This seems to happen every trip I do and I almost look at our Cruises as previews of places Id go back to and spend time.

This trip was spectacular and I'd do it again in a minute.

Thanks so much. We are doing a European Waterways barge on Shannon River for a week, the have 7 days before Surf leaves so we will arrange some tours around and from Dublin. We have now done the Surf from Oslo to Venice over 2 years and feel same way you do about wanting to go back but it's hard to do when there is so much to see and we started later than most people. We have managed to go back to Lisbon and Barcelona but after doing Croatia and Montenegro this year, want to go back there. I'd love Windstar to spend more time in each major port, especially overnights. Would have loved more time in Dubrovnik. Anyhow, looking forward to your tour info. We generally book Tours by Locals . Have had great guides and experiences with them.

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sb44, hope this helps:

Here's what we did on shore, we were travelling with another couple so we were able to split our guides for cost efficiency.

Invergorden- Windstar offers the Culloden complimentary excursion in the afternoon. When we docked my husband met up with a fishing guide I prearranged and fly fished for Atlantic Salmon. He had a great day, missed Culloden but caught a fish and enjoyed his time with his guide. He did this by himself. I decided to walk the town which really doesn't have much to see or do. This was ok for me after three days of busy in Edinburgh.

Kirkwell- we had a private excursion with Orkney Uncovered, Kindley. We were able to do the church in town, highly recommend, saw the WWII sights on Scapa Flow, Skara Brae and the Ring of Brodgar. This was our most expensive tour (don't remember how much though) but well worth the price. Kindley scheduled our sights to alleviate bus tours so we were virtually the only people at the sights. Great day, all day.

Portree- we utilised Skye Day Tours and our guide was Doug. This tour was in a minivan and we shared it with two other couples from our ship. Skye Tours put us together. One of the other couples cancelled last minute but our price remained the same, £35pp. Our guide was sweet and took us all over the island. There are such beautiful spots there. Some people rented cars and hiked, that would have been nice as the landscape out of Portree is spectacular.

Tobermory- my husband and I enjoyed a non-excursion day here. The weather was beautiful and the town was sleepy but picturesque. We had a wonderful sunny day. Walked to end of town and had fish and chips, along with free wifi, on the pier. Then we hiked to the lighthouse, a muddy hike but were rewarded with spectacular views of the sound, our ship and the lighthouse. All to ourselves. It would be cool to have the ship pack a picnic lunch and enjoy that spot. A favourite memory.

Portrush- a great excursion with Alister from City & Causeway Tours out of Belfast. Unfortunately can't squeeze in Belfast and the Northern Coast. Alister took us to Devils Causeway (gave us a hint how to see without "paying), a viewpoint of Carrick-a-Rede Bridge (wait time too long to go over), Bushmills and a drive on the Antrim Coast no tour bus can ride on. Alister was professional and his minivan was immaculate. Highly recommend. Cost was £300 (total) for the full day, and I mean a full day. We were there during a bank holiday and traffic in town was a bit of a mess. Alister had a handle on it all.

Isle of Mann- we used Steve from wildlife@manx.net. Steve was a very nice guide, obviously loves his island and was able to take us all over the place via a circular route of the southern part of the island. While we didn't tour any castle, we were able to go see some ruins not visited by the tour buses, saw places from one of our favourite movies filmed there, Waking Ned Devine. Steves car was a bit tight but the places we saw and the stories we heard gave us such an appreciation for the Isle of Mann. Full day tour was £45pp. Steves specialty is wildlife so if that interests you I'm sure he'd be happy to help with that also.

Couple of helpful hints

Edinburgh dock was really Dundee, at least for our cruise. I was surprised at the number of unhappy people that thought they were meeting the ship IN Edinburgh. I'm an excessive planner so I was prepared. We booked a car to take us from our hotel to the ship, Airport-Transfers-Direct.com. Cost was £120 which is probably a bit expensive but it was immaculate, on time, great driver and made a couple of sightseeing stops along the way. He had returned from taking someone from the Surf to Edinburgh before us so he was well aware how to get to the dock, which seemed to confuse some cabs.

Do the Royal Tattoo if you are able. What a great experience. Purchase tix online from their website as soon as you are able because they do sell out. Tickets came to my home a couple months ahead of time, I tucked them in my passport for safekeeping.

We stayed at the Apex Grassmarket hotel. I highly recommend. Not fancy but very, very nice. The location couldn't be better, at the foot of the Castle. We were there during The Fringe Festival and it was so much fun.

I'd be glad to answer any questions you may have. What a fantastic cruise!

Jean

Thank you SO much for taking the time to give me all of these wonderful details. I shall study them all carefully. I too am am excessive planner! We are doing the reverse of your sailing and leaving from Dublin. We are doing European Waterways barge for 6 nights on the River Shannon, then Dublin for a week and then the Surf so we wind up in Edinburgh and fly home from there. We'll be there in June so no Tattoo this year but maybe next. Again, many thanks for taking all of your time to do this for us.

Susan

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Hi Jean,

Still working on my tours and waiting to hear back from a few of the people/tours you suggested. May I ask where you stayed in Ireland or did you not spend time there? We will be there a week between the hotel barge trip and the Surf. Of course the time of year is pretty pricey and I'd be grateful for a recommendation if you have one.

Thanks so much.

Hi Jean,

Still working on my tours and waiting to hear back from a few of the people/tours you suggested. May I ask where you stayed in Ireland or did you not spend time there? We will be there a week between the hotel barge trip and the Surf. Of course the time of year is pretty pricey and I'd be grateful for a recommendation if you have one.

Thanks so much.

Hi sb44,

We rented a car and drove over to the Ring of Kerry. Stayed at Parknasilla Hotel, spectacular hotel right on the ocean. When we were in Dublin, one night only, we stayed at the Westin and I would highly recommend it. Right in the heart of it and an eas walk to everything. We had a room with a small balcony, it was lovely. If you have points it might be a good way to spend some. It was an easy taxi ride to the airport when we left. Hope this helps. Wish we were going back. Jean

Thanks so much. Will check both out. I have no Westin points but lots of Chase so we'll see what they can do for us. Susan

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May I suggest the Irish Landmark Trust for possible accommodations? They renovate old, historic properties. We stayed at No 25 Eustace St, Temple Bar in Dublin a few years back on our trip to Ireland. They have all sorts of fascinating options all over the country. Ours even had a resident spirit! I highly recommend checking them out!

http://www.irishlandmark.com/

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Wow. Will do. I could get to love a nice ghostie. Thanks for the suggestion.

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If you have a week to stay in Ireland before the Surf you might consider renting a car and seeing a few sights besides Dublin. We spent about 10 days driving from Shannon to Dublin for my husbands 60th a few years ago. I did all the driving (I couldn't handle thinking my husband was going to hit those stone walls when I was in the passenger seat! Decided it was better to drive! We stayed in some fabulous places along the way and saw most of the southern part of Ireland. There's so much to see besides Dublin if you haven't had the opportunity. :)

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We're doing European Waterways hotel barge on River Shannon for a week. We drove all over NZ for 3 weeks years ago but left side driving is not something I want to do and my husband is not my favorite driver on the planet. Probably will take train to coast and get guides. Cheaper than a divorce and much more informative.

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SB44, Be sure and report on your European Waterways barge trip. We did a barge trip in the Alsace area of France in 2001 and loved it. We are considering the Shannon river trip for 2018 so would love to hear your report.

Looking for some advise...

 

We are on the Windsurf itinerary that goes from Dublin to Edinburgh and we are wondering which ports are walkable so not requiring a shore excursion. Also, what are some of the must do sights to see that we want to make sure not to miss.

 

Thanks for the help!

I live in Portrush and the must see sites locally are Dunluce Castle ,the Giants Causeway , The BushmillsDistillery and then some beautiful but not so well known hidden treasures ,You can see these all in a day easily and there are a number of options personally I recommend Dalriada Kingdom Tours a local family ran company with exceptional guides and top quality transport options

I live in Portrush and the must see sites locally are Dunluce Castle ,the Giants Causeway , The BushmillsDistillery and then some beautiful but not so well known hidden treasures ,You can see these all in a day easily and there are a number of options personally I recommend Dalriada Kingdom Tours a local family ran company with exceptional guides and top quality transport options

Thanks so much. We were referred to City and Causeway tours by another Windstar passenger and are confirmed for our tour in June. We are so looking forward to our visit.

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SB44, Be sure and report on your European Waterways barge trip. We did a barge trip in the Alsace area of France in 2001 and loved it. We are considering the Shannon river trip for 2018 so would love to hear your report.

Thought I'd give you an update that we had to cancel the EW portion of our trip this summer. Some medical issues required that we cut from a month to two weeks and Windstar was the winner. They offered to move the deposit to later in the summer but 2 flights from Florida to Dublin was just 1 too many! We hope to do it another time.

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Thanks so much. We were referred to City and Causeway tours by another Windstar passenger and are confirmed for our tour in June. We are so looking forward to our visit.

 

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I'm so glad you were able to connect with City & Causeway! It was a great tour, so much to see and so little time! :)

I'm so glad you were able to connect with City & Causeway! It was a great tour, so much to see and so little time! :)

Thanks so much for all of your help. I've passed it on to another traveller. We're also using Orkney tours. Then some TBL guides. Shortened the trip by several weeks but it's all good! Will go back next year for the rest of Ireland.

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Hello Jean. We have returned from the Dublin-Edinburgh sailing on the Surf and can't thank you enough for your guide recommendations. I have regards to you from Kinlay. What a sweet guy. You should have told me to look for a 6'7" guy with a red beard! He was a joy. And also regards from Alister. You were correct; it was a long day but so well worth it. Personal thanks from my DH as well. You helped make our voyage extraordinary which is what this forum should be all about!

Hello Jean. We have returned from the Dublin-Edinburgh sailing on the Surf and can't thank you enough for your guide recommendations. I have regards to you from Kinlay. What a sweet guy. You should have told me to look for a 6'7" guy with a red beard! He was a joy. And also regards from Alister. You were correct; it was a long day but so well worth it. Personal thanks from my DH as well. You helped make our voyage extraordinary which is what this forum should be all about!

Im sooooooo glad you had success with Kinlay and Alister. We still talk about this cruise and the wonderful guides, ports and of course Windstar staff. Kinlay is quite tall, I'm sorry I failed to mention, no way to miss him. You can follow Orkney Uncovered on Instagram, fun to revisit via Instagram.

Thanks for forwarding on their regards. Made my day! Jean