Hi! My mom, husband and I are visiting Scotland from USA in September. We will land in Glasgow and get a rental then drive to Edinburgh - beyond that, I'm struggling to figure an itinerary!

We all love history, walking tours, beautiful country and charming towns.

Any suggestions for how to spend our time? Initially I had thought we would go to Inverness from Edinburgh..any help would be appreciated!

We need a little more info - How many days will you be on the ground - not counting your arrival and departure days? If you are counting home to home, then 8 days nets you 5.5 days free to see/do things.

>>We will land in Glasgow and get a rental then drive to Edinburgh - beyond that, I'm struggling to figure an itinerary! <<

If you mean picking up a car at GLA and driving to Edinburgh and staying some unknown number of days there . . . don't. Firstly you don't want to drive after an over night flight - but mainly because one does not want or need a car in Edinburgh. A car is a liability there. So take a bus into central Glasgow and a quick train ride to Edinburgh. Then pick up a car out at EDI the day you leave Edinburgh.

Inverness is no great shakes - any specific reason you want to go there?

Also are you flying home from GLA or somewhere else?

Give us more details (8 days on the ground is a LOT different than 5+ days)

Thanks for the response!

The days are a bit in flux, but I'd like to plan with 7 full days on the ground.

Yes, we will fly in and out of Glasgow.

Definitely not married to Inverness if its worth skipping over, I had noted it b/c it appeared close to Edinburgh and near highlands. But honestly, completely good with crossing it off the list!

And noted on the car, thank you!!

>>I had noted it b/c it appeared close to Edinburgh and near highlands.<<

Well it is not at all near Edinburgh, and about half of Scotland is in/near the Highlands. Just driving without any stops for castles or scenery or anything it takes 4 hours to drive from Edinburgh to Inverness.

With 7 full days on the ground (which would be a 10 day trip including transatlantic flights) you could so something like 3 nights in Edinburgh (2 would be semi-OK but one or more of you may be jet lagged so up an moving on so quickly you might not see much in Edinburgh)

Then 2 nights somewhere in the Highlands - Pitlochry or Dunkeld maybe (Dunkeld is prettier and has the Hermitage and the Cathedral ruins). Then you could go to Glencoe for a night (the most AMAZING scenery) , and finish up with 2 nights in the Trossachs like Callander which is an easy drive to GLA. There you cold visit Doune and Stirling castles, Inchmahome Priory (wonderful ruins on an island), lots of lochs and waterfalls etc.

Or after Edinburgh maybe 2 nights in Fife (St Adrews/fishing villages) then north into Aberdeenshire and the Castle trail for 3 nights, then one night on or near Loch Lomond before flying out of GLA.


These are just a couple of options . . .

Janis has a wealth of knowledge and good advice about Scotland. Here is my newbie trip report from September - there was originally a heart icon in the title that has gone missing. If you only do one thing in Edinburgh, IMO, you should hike Arthur's Seat. My second recommendation would be a free walking tour of the city. I learned so much and saw things I wouldn't have otherwise!

I Scotland

thank you!

This really is helpful!

And I agree about free walking tours, my husband and I always try to do one in new cities - its great.

We were in Scotland this past July. We loved the Glencoe area and the Isle of Skye - especially the Isle of Skye! We spent about 3 days in Edinburgh and found this was a good amount of time. We were only there for 10 days and just got a "taste" of Scotland but would definitely go back to the islands & to check out the northern part of Scotland. Good luck with your planning and enjoy your trip!

If you don't know where to begin, Have a look at the Secret Scotland site...

They have a list of different itineraries for 6-8 days and will give you an idea what you can do.

I will echo havetwinswilltravel. We did the same....Covered Edinburgh Glencoe and Skye in about 10 days and would not change a thing!