I think plan now to come in the middle of June to Dublin. Spend 2 weeks between Ireland and Scotland. Spend the first weekend with older DD and see Ireland, then fly to Edinburgh with the younger one. We first will do some day trips from Edinburgh or go somewhere using bus/trains. Then older DD will fly to spend 3 day weekend with us in Edinburgh; we will get back to Ireland and fly back home leaving older one to study for another half of the semester 
Do we need to buy Ryanair tickets in advance or not necessarily? Is anybody familiar with buying tickets for low-coasters for short distances?
We did a Rabbie’s tour in Scotland. Did a three-day out to Isle of Skye and the Highlands, Eileen Donan, Loch Ness, a whisky distillery, the Faerie Garden, etc. We wound up in Edinburgh, which I don’t see as an option on their website now. It’s a 16-person minibus with driver/guide. Stayed at a B&B in Portree. Our driver/guide was a history major and was fabulous. They also do Ireland and several other countries. Guided Group Tours of UK & Europe - Rabbie's Tours
We took a local train from Glasgow to Sterling Castle, and it was a nice afternoon trip. Easily can make a day of it, and it’s a nice walk from the train to the castle.
As with most airlines, low-cost carriers like Ryanair USUALLY raise prices as the seats fill up for a particular flight. I would book as soon as you know your itinerary and dates.
- Dublin → Edinburgh.
You could fly…or you could:
*take a day trip to Northern Ireland (Giants Causeway, Belfast, etc,) with somebody like Paddywagon, but not go back to Dublin, or just take the train from Dublin to Belfast;
*either way, you could then either spend the night in Belfast OR go straight on to take the ferry from Larne to Stranrear, Scotland, then
*take the train from Stranrear, and see Burns country from the comfort of a train window (https://www.scotrail.co.uk/scotland-by-rail/great-scenic-rail-journeys/glasgow-ayr-stranraer). You can either
*get to Glasgow (2 hours) and stop for a day/night- it is a seriously underrated city! (One Day in Glasgow: Things to Do, Map & Itinerary) OR go straight on to Edinburgh (4 hours).
- Denmark v Scotland- not a meaningful difference in terms of safety, and less of one in terms of cost than there used to be.
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Having been to both Scotland and Denmark, I’d go to Scotland again over Denmark. Although I like both places.
Book RyanAir as soon as you know your dates and you think it is a good price. D20 has been a huge RyanAir user during her year abroad, her lowest RT flight has been $28 and her highest ~$100. Those were with only taking a personal item that could fit in the underseat space.
If you are planning on taking real luggage with you - definitely pre-purchase luggage room or check to see which type of ticket is best for you. If you do have a lot of luggage - RyanAir may not be all that economical to fly and you may want to look at other carriers.
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Right now, flights between Dublin and Edinburgh start at 17 euros one way leaving June 13, 14, 21, and are between 20 to 25 euros for the return trip a week from those dates.
That’s the cost without taking any luggage besides your personal item as defined by Ryanair and not choosing your seats. The final cost will be more depending on the options you choose.
You can also spend a bit of time on Skyscanner to see if you can find a decent price on full service flights that include seating/luggage in the price. Really depends on how you travel if Ryanair is best carrier.
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We have loved Barcelona in May and in late Sept, but it would likely be too hot in July. Would definitely say No to Venice. Son went with a youth music trip and found it dreadfully hot (90s… hmmm, maybe unusual summer?)/humid… he and pals mostly sought out places to chill in AC. We returned as a family in May and all really loved that experience.
Per weather research, I highly recommend WEATHERSPARK. Posted link is example, using Venice. Venice Climate, Weather By Month, Average Temperature (Italy) - Weather Spark
If you scroll through you’ll see many different helpful graphs. My favorite annual composite (still using Venice example)
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OP seems to be planning on going to Ireland and Scotland in mid June, unless of course those plans change .
Weather Spark looks like a good resource. Thanks!
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Thanks… missed the destination in my post-vacation skim.
We visited Ireland in late June / early July. The weather that year was lovely, just short light rain showers now and then. Plenty of sunshine too, plus lots of light too (long days). I bet Scotland would be nice then too.
FYI - screenshot like above, but for Dublin. I like the average highs/lows (and ranges) to help pick my layers/clothing for a trip.
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And the under the seat dimensions on RyanAir are much smaller than you would expect. We got a tiny nylon bag that fits into a pocket that met their specifications specifically for this. He had to check it when packed per the gate agent.
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We bought a specific bag as well! 
RyanAir isn’t fooling around with those personal item dimensions, I believe they are 15 x 10 x 8 (inches). RyanAir has a bag slot at each gate D20’s flown out of to measure bags if the gate agent has even the slightest doubt about sizing. And massive penalties to pay if your bag doesn’t fit.
Edited to Add: Here is a bag similar to the one we found for D20 (but we got it on super clearance as a discontinued item). Just to give a frame of reference as to the size we’re talking about.
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Wow that is small. Do you also get a personal item?
That is all you are entitled to carry on a RyanAir flight unless you pay more for the privilege. It is small.
Edited to Add: D20 has been packing for 2-3 day trips in a bag that small all year, but she is a 21 year old college student doing weekend trips. She’s able to fit all she needs in that size bag, including at times, her laptop.
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Yes, I have noticed that RyanAir has absolutely tiny personal items. 40x20X25cm. (15.7x7.8x9.84inches). It is significantly smaller than the ones for Spirit or PLAY(our new transatlantic favorite low coster.) I am thinking about buying one for older DD who probably will use it during her 2 months of study in Ireland to travel. I am not sure it makes sense to invest in that tiny bag for me and my younger daughter for one trip, since we do not live in Europe and usually only fly in and out from the US (I would rather use trains and busses.) There are very few available in the US for that size and I am not going to order one from Europe… So it looks like we should either pay for carry-on or check a bag (I know it is dangerous). There is no way we can pack necessities in those 2 tiny bags for a 2-week trip without any extra luggage even for summer weather. I am going to buy insurance anyway for this trip (since we will use PLAY for the transatlantic trip and I do not like surprises), so if luggage will be delayed or lost, we will get money for clothes.
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Yes! And you can have stopovers on icelandair (or used to be able to anyway) so could fly from the US to European destinations and spend up to a week in Iceland as well.
We already got tickets yesterday with PLAY. No stopover, no multicity. But dirty cheap. Icelandair was significantly more expensive, and my younger daughter said that she would prefer real Europe :). I guess we will go to Iceland at some other time.
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If you go to Iceland you should get a vehicle and drive out or you will miss most of what is impressive there. It’s like visiting one of the great national parks in the US; absolutely stunning natural scenery, but you have to get out into it and that requires a vehicle. Reykjavik is a small nice city for a couple of days but it does not offer what other European cities do. Go for the craggy and sublime landscape, not culture/food/museums (unless you are interested in sagas and Old Norse).
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