Hi

Any advice on Scotland in a campervan. I have wanted to do this forever and Im sure I could spend months but for my first foray I want to focus on the inner/outer hebrides if you think this would be a good idea. Is it easy to travel between the islands? I love nature, vistas and walking. Im going in May.


Thanks

Jo

Moved to the Europe Forum.

Are you flying in long haul or are you based in the UK? If you are flying in and if your 10 days includes the transatlantic flights, you'll really only have about 7.5 days free. It will take an entire day to get from where ever you land and pick up the campervan, to say Skye - and an entire day back so now you are down to 5+ days. So yes -- you can pick ONE island to explore by camper -- Mull OR Skye OR maybe Islay.

But more than that and the Outer Hebrides would be too much.

OR . . . are you already in the uK and driving a motorhome/campervan north to Scotland? Where are you starting from?

You can take a campervan on the ferries (though you can take the bridge one way to or from Skye if that's your choice). May has two Bank Holidays so you will want to pre-book the ferry as far ahead as possible.

To be able to zig zag between islands/Inner and Outer Hebrides you would want about two full weeks on the ground in Scotland.

These sites might help . . .

https://www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk...ies/motorhomes
https://www.scotlandinfo.eu/scotland...campsite-tips/

How big is the campervan? Where are you picking it up?
The North coast 500 route is popular and doable in a camper provided it isn't huge. It would be tight to do in 10 days though if you are flying in and driving from say Edinburgh.
Campers are not allowed on all the islands so you need to check which ones you want to visit and see if they are allowed. Ferries are pretty expensive with a camper - even a small one of up to 6m, and go over that length (and most are longer, since bike racks tow bars etc also count) and the price goes up by another substantial amount. Check the Calmac site for prices and bookings. www.calmac.co.uk
Some towns do not allow campers to park, nevermind overnight in them. Likewise car parks in the countryside can have no overnight parking allowed. You will probably need to find campsites quite often, which can soon get expensive.
May is a popular time to visit Scotland, with usually reasonable weather and minimal midges, and there will be plenty of campers and caravans about. With spring getting earlier midges are getting earlier too so be prepared!
As a campervan owner I am always dismayed by how un-camperfriendly the UK as a whole is, and by how expensive it is even with the weak pound against the euro.

Sorry I don't mean to put you off. I hope you can work out your trip, and have a great time, but do be realistic about the expense and the time it takes to get about.

Thank you very much for your help guys. I live in th eU and will fly to Edinburgh to pick up my van and then I would like to head straight to the western islands. I just wanted a recommended route really, preferably circular and just wondered if it was possible to go from say Oban to the outer hebrides and back via ferry.

The driving is slow . . . in a car, it is REALLY slow in a campervan. IMO/IME you do not have enough time to do the Outer Hebrides. Especially since you have to do a loop and return to Edinburgh to drop the van. Consider maybe Glencoe, Mull and Argyll . . . or . . . Skye and Wester Ross/a bit of the NW Highlands.