I’m traveling from Montreal to the UK with my wife from February 7 to 17, 2025. We plan to visit London, Belfast, and Edinburgh. I’m looking for advice on:
The best geographical route to visit these cities to minimize backtracking.
Nonstop flight options with at least one checked bag included.
Suggestions for affordable flights between these cities and back to Montreal.
Currently, I’m thinking of starting in London, then visiting Belfast and Edinburgh, but I’m open to suggestions based on airfare prices and convenience.
Any tips on airlines, routes, or tools to find great deals would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
If you depart for home from Dublin instead of London, you’ll save hundreds in UK departure taxes.
Fly into London from Montreal on Aer Lingus for cheap, doing a brief transfer in Dublin. (You can opt to do the second, short leg into London City Airport / LCY instead of Heathrow, which is a smaller, uncrowded airport closer to the city and much preferable.) See London, then take a LNER express train (4h 20m) from Kings Cross to Edinburgh.
See Edinburgh, then take a cheap 45-minute flight across the Irish Sea to Belfast. When done there, you can get a fast train to Dublin, which is well worth a day or two, or an Aercoach bus direct to Dublin Airport and fly Aer Lingus home.
If you have ten days you might allocate them as follows:
Arrive London Day 1 — three nights
Afternoon of Day 4 — train to Edinburgh — two nights
Afternoon of Day 6 — short flight to Belfast — two nights
Midday on Day 8 — train to Dublin — two nights
Morning of Day 10 — fly home from DUB
If you do fly into Belfast make sure you book into the close-in BHD (George Best) airport, five minutes from town, and not the international airport in the middle of nowhere.