okeurotripper

Hello! My parents and I (ages 30 and mid-50s) are traveling to the UK for 23 days in April-May. It's our first time in Scotland so I have some questions. We are renting a car to see the Cotswolds region of England for 5 days. Then, we're planning to return the car, and taking the train to Edinburgh. We'll be in Scotland for 5 full days (traveling from London the day before, and flying to Ireland the next day). We'll be staying in Edinburgh, and doing day-trips from there to see more highlights. I love Harry Potter, so I'm debating the Jacobite train and seeing Fort William and Culloden (through a day-tour). All of the reviews I've read say the train is amazing, but it will be somewhat of a hassle because it is overnight and we'll have to go back to Edinburgh afterward for a couple of nights. Is this something you'd recommend for a first-time trip to Scotland, or would those two days best be spent elsewhere?

I'm looking at some Rabbie's tours like the basic "General Highlands" and "West Highland Lochs and Castles". We usually just do our own things in the cities because I throughly research, but for the Highlands (especially since we're not experts on Scottish history--unless you count reading six Outlander books, plus the TV series), we think a tour guide will help us hit highlights and inform us of where we're visiting. I also want to see Melrose Abbey and Alnwick, which is offered as another day-trip. We are in the antiques business, so we love art, history, and museums. Also, I studied English Literature and the Humanities in college. We would love to see castles and historic sites.

If we did three days of day-trips, the other two would be spend in Edinburgh. While I do know we are only going to see the highlights, we are ready to see all that we can in these 5 days. I just want to ensure these 5 days are giving us the best overview of this magnificent country.

Thanks in advance for any advice and tips.

PS: Another option would be to just keep our car and spend 3 days driving around Scotland on our own (not a car in Edinburgh, of course). Is that good for first-timers, though, or should we stick to day-trips through small, highly-rated tour companies. For some reason, it seems like doing these would be more efficient, but am I wrong?

RM67

It it were me I would not bother with Ireland and then that would give you the time to explore England and Scotland a bit more thoroughly.

For the Scotland bit I'd suggest 2 days in Edinburgh, then 5-7 with a hire car exploring the highlands - actually basing yourself there and not attempting to drive back to the city every day. Leaves you about a fortnight to do London and some other bits of England

Sominex

I would keep the car; we're also renting a car in May; we're arrive in London for a couple of days then plan to take the train to Oxford to pick up our car, tour the Cotswolds, Lake District, on the Edinburgh & the highlands, flying out of Edinburgh at the end of our trip.
I agree, save Ireland for another trip!

bvlenci

We enjoyed driving around Scotland last year. We spent several nights in Glasgow ( which we loved, more than Edinburgh to be honest) and three days driving around, but no further north than Oban, and then two nights in Edinburgh.

If you keep the car, you could turn it in before ending your trip in Edinburgh.

Day trips save you the trouble of changing hotels, including the trouble of finding and reserving them. However you do waste time backtracking to your base. I wouldn't enjoy back-to-back day trips over several days.

dfourh

Could you rent twice? Once for the Cotswolds, then train up, then again for a big tour after a couple of city days?


>>>>>>We spent several nights in Glasgow ( which we loved, more than Edinburgh to be honest)...

My first trip to Edinburgh was 1979, and the Royal Mile was enchanting. I went back two years ago, as a daytrip from delightful Glasgow, and it was like Epcot Center. Everything dripping with tourist gloss, tourist monotony, tourist prices. LOVE Glasgow (just spent 3 nights there again last week).

docdan

I have not personally done this, but have extensively researched the Jacobite train situation as I am taking a group of 7 to this experience (5 of the 7 are Potter devotees) You could technically do this as a day-trip with a rental car, as Edinburgh to Ft William is a 3.5 hour drive ( with the usual provisos of uncertainty for Yanks driving in Scotland, weather, traffic, etc. ) the train leaves Ft William at 1015a and gets back at 4:15p. The information you got on the need for two nights comes from the whole train trip Edinburgh to Ft. William - if the entire thing is by rail, then overnight stays are a must and not recommended if your time in Scotland is limited.
so it is technically do-able to do the whole thing with a car in one day, but it makes for a very, very long day. - One idea would be to rent a car and drive up in the Am of your last whole day in Scotland, then spend the night in Ft Willliam or Glen Coe, then drive the next AM to the airport you were planning on departing for Ireland, dropping off the car at the airport.