"Marta" wrote in message
...

snip
We need not be limited to Suffolk, we want to rent a car. We have a
driver for the trip to Cardiff and Manchester in one day is not a
problem, he knows the British roads very well. However, I would not
like that it was more than just a 150 - 200 miles.
snip

Marta,

Ipswich to Cardiff is about 240 miles and will take at least four hours (5
hours if there are any traffic problems).
Respect if you go there and back in a day and visit some gardens :-)
However journeys of this duration may be normal in Poland.
For me, one way is quite enough!

Manchester is a similar distance and also a similar time - but you are going
through even more areas which are likely to have traffic problems.

I assume you are going to Ipswich because you have friends there - there is
a lively Polish community in the Felixstowe and Ipswich area - because it is
not the place to go to if you want to explore the rest of England easily.
Somewhere more central such as Oxford would be a more logical base for
exploration.

If I really wanted to scare you I would suggest listening to the regular
traffic news on Radio 2 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/ - which might give
you an idea of the likely delays on our overcrowded roads.

For accomodation, you might try http://www.travelodge.co.uk/ because they
sometimes do really good deals (e.g. rooms for £19) especially if you book a
long time ahead.

Ipswich now has a new University so again if you are coming in the summer
there may be accomodation available there (although they are still building
the Halls of Residence).

Alternatively you might consider a holiday cottage (this term covers all
types of property, not just what we would usually call a cottage). This is
usually cheaper than B&B or an hotel. In this case Google is your friend, as
there are so many different properties available. I am, however, having
trouble locating anywhere in Ipswich. The holiday lets in this area tend to
be outside Ipswich in the countryside or in coastal towns. If you are coming
in summer then I would expect you to have to pay £500-£700 per week for a
property sleeping four. However this is still less than £200 each per week.

Again, you might consider a holiday caravan such as
http://www.ukcaravans4hire.com/to-let-userid187.html. You are more likely to
find a static caravan in Felixstowe than Ipswich. Again, Google is your
friend :-) This is likely to be much cheaper than a holiday cottage. Static
caravans are normally very good holiday accomodation. We have used them many
times in various parts of the country for holidays.

Hope this helps

David