Olson Family · Ireland + Scotland 2027

Two new countries, one flight pair, no jet-lag wall, and both of them peak in July. This is the highest value-per-dollar option on the whole shortlist — and it gives Evelyn the Irish National Stud and puts the family at a Highland Games.

2New Countries

1Flight Pair

~$17kTarget

🧭 Why this works better than either alone

Open-jaw makes it free. Fly into Dublin, out of Edinburgh. You never backtrack, and the transatlantic fare is usually the same as a round trip
The crossing is short. Belfast→Cairnryan by Stena Line is about 2h15; Larne→Cairnryan with P&O is about 2h. Dublin→Belfast is a 2-hour drive, and Cairnryan→Edinburgh is about 3.5 hours. Or simply fly Dublin→Edinburgh in about 45 minutes
Neither country needs 13 days. Six or seven each is exactly right — you get the highlights of both without the padding either one develops when stretched
Same language, same driving side, same plug. Switching countries costs you nothing operationally

🚢 Ferry vs fly: the ferry lets you keep a rental car and takes the whole day as scenery. Flying is faster on paper but adds two airport cycles and a second car rental. With six people and luggage, the ferry is usually the better call — but price a one-way rental drop first, because cross-border drops between Ireland and the UK can be expensive.

🏆 The pitch in one line: Ireland gives you the horses and the coast, Scotland gives you the castles and the Games, and the seam between them costs you a single afternoon. If the goal is "most new country per dollar with the fewest compromises," this is it.

Seven nights Ireland, six nights Scotland, one ferry in the middle. Dublin in, Edinburgh out.

DAYS 1–4Jul 12–15Dublin & Kildare

Overnight flight Jul 12, land Dublin Jul 13
Irish National Stud, Kildare — tours at 10:30/12:00/14:00/16:00 including the foaling unit. Evelyn's day, 45 minutes from the city
Trinity College and the Book of Kells; Dublin Castle
Newgrange — older than Stonehenge and the pyramids ~1h

DAYS 5–7Jul 16–18The West — Galway & Clare

Drive west ~2h30
Cliffs of Moher early, then the Burren and the Caherconnell sheepdog demonstration
Aran Islands — ferry to Inis Mór, bikes out to Dún Aonghasa on its cliff edge
Galway's Latin Quarter in the evening

DAY 8Mon Jul 19🚢 Cross to Scotland

Drive Galway→Belfast ~4h, or Dublin→Belfast ~2h if you loop back
Stena Line, Belfast → Cairnryan, about 2h15 (or P&O from Larne, about 2h)
Cairnryan→Glasgow is under 2 hours; Edinburgh about 3.5. Overnight in Glasgow or push to the Trossachs

💡 Alternative: fly Dublin→Edinburgh in ~45 minutes and pick up a fresh rental. Faster in theory, but two airport cycles with six people usually eats the saving.

DAYS 9–11Jul 20–22The Highlands

Glencoe — the most dramatic drive in Britain
Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle; Culloden battlefield
Highland pony trekking in the Cairngorms
Jacobite steam train over the Glenfinnan Viaduct if you can get tickets — book the day they release

DAYS 12–13Jul 23–24Edinburgh

South to the city ~3h, drop the van
Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, Camera Obscura, and Arthur's Seat at golden hour
If a Highland Games falls on Saturday Jul 24 within reach, go — it beats any museum

DAY 14Sun Jul 25Fly home

Edinburgh out. Home Jul 25, four clear days before All City

🚗 The one real complication

This trip crosses from the Republic of Ireland into the UK. That's an easy border, but it's a hard question for a rental contract.

Option A — one car, on the ferry. Simplest travel day, and you keep your luggage in the boot. But confirm the rental company permits taking the vehicle to Great Britain, and check the fee. Some Irish rentals allow Northern Ireland but not the ferry to Scotland
Option B — two rentals. Drop in Belfast, walk on the ferry as foot passengers, pick up a fresh car at Cairnryan or Glasgow. Usually cheaper than a cross-border fee, but a fiddly transfer at the port end
Option C — fly the seam. Drop in Dublin, fly to Edinburgh, rent again. Cleanest paperwork, most airport time

📋 Price all three before booking anything. This single decision moves the budget by several hundred dollars and shapes the middle day of the trip.

🏠 Sleeping six

Dublin (3) apartment · Galway/Clare (3) cottage · Glasgow or Trossachs (1) transit night
Highlands (3) lodge near Aviemore or Fort William · Edinburgh (2) apartment
Both countries treat 3-bedroom self-catering as a normal product, so six people in one unit is the default rather than a hunt

Line	Low	High
Flights — open-jaw MSN→DUB, EDI→MSN, 6 people	$5,600	$8,200
Rentals + fuel (one car with ferry fee, or two rentals)	$1,700	$2,700
Ferry Belfast→Cairnryan, 6 passengers + vehicle	$250	$450
Lodging — 13 nights, cottages and apartments	$2,800	$4,300
Food	$1,900	$2,700
Stud, Newgrange, Aran ferry, castles, Jacobite train	$900	$1,500
Pony trekking, Games, incidentals	$400	$800
Total	$13,550	$20,650

Realistic target: ~$17,000.

✈️ The open-jaw is what makes this efficient — Dublin in, Edinburgh out, no backtracking, and typically no fare premium over a round trip.

🔴 Now

Price the seam three ways — one car on the ferry, two rentals, or fly Dublin→Edinburgh
Hold a Galway/Clare cottage and Highland lodging
Check six passport expiry dates

🟠 8–10 months out

Open-jaw flights: MSN→DUB out, EDI→MSN back
Rentals — automatic, explicitly, and confirm cross-border permission if using one car
Stena Line Belfast→Cairnryan for six plus vehicle
Irish National Stud tour slot

🟡 3–4 months out

Jacobite steam train the day tickets release
Newgrange shuttle, Cliffs of Moher timed entry, Aran ferry
Watch the 2027 Highland Games calendar for a Jul 24 option
Edinburgh Castle timed entry

🟢 Final month

Midge repellent and head nets for the Highland leg
Rain jackets ×6 for both countries
Offline maps; both countries have patchy rural signal