weiwei22

Dear friends, my parents (60's) and I are traveling to Scotland for ten days in September. We arrive in Edinburgh and would like to see mostly spectacular scenery without rushing around too much. (not too many castles) We don't drive so would like to take guided tours. I have read that Rabbies is well recommended. Should we concentrate on one coast? Can you recommend some must see's or itineraries. Many thanks!

Rubicund

It's a shame that you can't drive (or won't?) as you'll miss places and sights that acar would allow you to see. However, there are sevral companies who do tours and Rabbies do have a reasonably good name.

http://www.rabbies.com/
http://www.scotlandtours.com/
http://www.highlandheritage.co.uk/

to name but a few.

ESW

A friend won a Rabbies tour and was very impressed by the tour and Rabbies. Her review is here:
http://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/R...pProductReview

Have a look at the different tours on offer and pick the ones that appeal most to you. Where ever you go, you can be guarenteed good scenery in Scotland.

historytraveler

I just did a Rabbies tour of Devon and Cornwall. A good tour at a very reasonable price. It was a five day tour in between traveling on my own. I really enjoyed leaving the driving etc. to someone else for a few days.

LucyStanmore

Hello,

In what regards the must-see attractions, I can recommend you some of them: Glenmorangie Distillery Tour, Blair Drummond Safari Park, Glasgow Science Centre, Cuillin Hills and Loch Ness. Enjoy your trip!

pjjcm

On the whole the West Coast is probably the most spectacular but the journeys can be long.

The East Neuk of Fife is worth a visit for St Andrews and the nearby fishing villages eg Crail, Anstruther , Elie (which lie between Edinburgh and St Andrews and some of which are still active fishing ports) which are very easily accessible from Edinburgh.

If you are in the Fife area I'd highly recommend the tiny village of Falkland and its palace which contains one of the few still used Real Tennis Courts.

See here :-

http://www.nts.org.uk/property/falkl...ce-and-garden/

Hope you have a great trip.

Mimar

Both Rabbie's and Timberbush (www.timberbush-tours.co.uk)are recommended. Both do small group tours. Look at the tour options and do some research on what you want to see and where you want to go.

ESW

If you haven't already found it, the Undiscovered Scotland web site is a fantastic resource if you want information and pictures on places to go.
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/

janisj

I echo the recommendations for Rabbies and Timberbush. Both run very similar itineraries. If the specific tours fit the days of the week you want - I'd recommend Rabbies simply because they are smaller groups in smaller vehicles.

You could see Edinburgh for a couple of days, then do a 3 or 4 day Rabbies tour and then another 1 to 3 day tour and be able to cover a lot of territory easily.

weiwei22

Thanks everyone for the good suggestions. Are the longer Rabbies trips, 5-6 days more relaxed? (less driving, more time to explore?) The place names make little sense to me so I don't know how to decide... If it's not too much trouble would any of you look on http://www.rabbies.com/tour_scotland.asp and help me choose one or a combo? Sorry I know it's a lot to ask... I just feel really overwhelmed with choices! Thanks so much!

ESW

"The place names make little sense to me"

This is where a website like Undiscovered Scotland will help you. Type Undiscovered Scotland with the name of the place into Google. It will take you to what they call a feature page which has information and lots of pitures about the place. It will give you an idea of what it is like and whether you might want to visit it.

At a quick look the longer tours take you further afield (to the Western Isles or Orkney) so may not be more relaxed. To be honest, I don't think anyone can decide this for you. As you are travelling in September the decision may come down to which tours still have spaces on them.

pjjcm

Weiwei


Bear in mind that the trips to the Islands will , fairly obviously, involve boat/ ferry trips which might not be to everyone's

Difficult to call but this one looks like a decent mix

http://www.rabbies.com/tours_scotlan...our.asp?lng=en
taste.

This one does include Glencoe which is one of the most dramatic landscapes in Scotland.

janisj

weiwei22: I suggest you get a guide book for Scotland -- most any of the usual suspects would work -- DK Eyewitness, Fodors, Michelin, etc . . . They are almost always divided into regions - typically: Edinburgh; Highlands & Islands; The Borders; The Southwest; Northeast & the Castle Trail; Glasgow; The Trossachs; etc. Read up and decide which areas sound most appealing.

Honestly there are things you would love in every corner of the country - then see which of the Rabbies tours cover where you want to go.

weiwei22

I will check out Undiscovered in more detail, thank you ESW,Janis is right, everything looked good!

Thanks pjjcm, the one you picked sounded like a relaxing choice. I also emailed Rabbies for their advice.

weiwei22

I found this very helpful site that lists top 10 of every category of things to see in Scotland:

http://www.scotland-flavour.co.uk/top10/

Its quite personal and really helps to narrow things down!

janisj

Along the lines of that website -- look for 'Scotland the Best' by Peter Irvine - probably available on Amazon.

It isn't a guide book as such, but really my 'bible' for everything related to visiting Scotland. Really useful lists of the best sites/castles/lochs/waterfalls/walks/scenery/hotels/pubs/etc etc etc. You name it - there is a category.

weiwei22

Thank you Janis! I will look it up!