parisnow

I will be traveling with my mother who is 77 (but physically fit for her age)to Scotland. We arrive in London on May 10th and will be taking the train to Scotland. My mother loves scenery and we will not rent a car. She prefers those small coach day tours to my wrong side driving.
Here are my questions for you:

1. If you had to choose between a day seeing the Isle of Skye or the Isles of Iona and Mull which would you recommend? Are the Isles even worth the trip or should we focus on the mainland?

2. I read mixed reviews about Lock Ness. Is a day tour worth it or is it just tourist hype because of Nessie? Or is the scenic drive there worth the trip?

4. Is St. Andrew's worth the trip if you are not a golf fan?

5. Is Glasgow worth the trip from Edinburgh or should we spend more time enjoying Edinburgh?

6. We have 2 days set aside for travel outside Edinburgh. Where would you go?

historytraveler

ttt for parisnow

parisnow

ttt--perhaps they are awake now on the other side of the pond.

caroline_edinburgh

Hi there ! Yes, awake & eating my lunch now. how long will you be here in total & how are you thinking of dividing it up ? May should be a nice time to visit, with quite long daylight hours.

To answer your questions in order.

1. Er, hmmm... I'm afraid I've never been to Skye = I have been to Mull & Iona several times though & am very fond of them. Sheila will give you better advice about Skye but I get the impression that it is difficult to see without a car. Whereas you can get buses around Mull & of course just hop over on the ferry to Iona. How long have you got ? If you had, say, 4 nights, I'd suggest spending 2 in Tobermory & 2 *on* Iona - which is really nice, peaceful & quite spiritual-feeling when the daytrippers have gone.

2. Loch Ness is just a tourist scam - it's very far from being the most scenic loch. But I'm not sure what to suggest if you don't want to drive. If you were prepared to hire a car for one day from Edinburgh, I'd suggest driving up to see Pitlochry (walking through the theatre grounds to see the dam across the loch & the salmon ladder), Dunkeld & circling round the north side of Loch Tay & back through Callander. If you don't want to drive, though, maybe you could take a small bus daytrip from Edinburgh - people seem to recommend Robbie's ?Trailburners.

(What happened to 3 ? )

4) St Andrews's is quite a nice small ancient town with some interesting ruins & nice sands - but only you can decide whether it's worth a day out from Edinburgh or wherever else. The train doesn't go all the way there, only to Leuchers, then you get a bus or taxi.

5) I really like Glasgow & go a lot for the theatre & art exhibitions (going tonight in fact !). For young people (ahem), I believe it also has livelier nighlife, & it is a more bling-y kind of place than Edinburgh (more designer shops !). It has some great museums, notably the Burrell, and the Charles Rennie Mackintosh trail. And the people are brilliant. But again - only you can decide if you'd rather spend time there than somewhere else. How about looking at the Glasgow tourist board's website & seeing what appeals ? www.seeglasgow.com

6) I guess we've already covered the places *I'd* go. Many recommend the Borders with their ancient abbeys etc but it's not the most interesting area to me, & also not easy without a car. Many recommend Stirling which I'm led to believe has a good castle. (Erm -yes... never been there either )

noe847

Stirling really is a nice castle and it is very easy to do as a day trip from Edinburgh, or as a stop along your itinerary. It is great that you have posted specific questions. If you can give the length of the trip and the structure that you were contemplating it will probably be easier to give the answers.

Scotland is so beautiful to tour. We have driven about half of our time in Scotland, but have also traveled by train, which has its own charm. The train ride to Oban is very beautiful, for example.

noe847

Also, I am a big fan of Glasgow. I enjoy the energy and the culture there. In many ways, I prefer it to Edinburgh. They each have their own vibe.

The nice thing about Scotland is that you can mix the bigger cities in with the wonderful countryside. It all depends on what you like, though, and what the focus of your trip is.

historytraveler

Now that you have some expert advice, I'll add a few coments of my own.A day trip out to Skye or Mull/Iona makes for long day...doable but maybe not the best choice.

Concur with Caroline's comments on Loch Ness.

Glasgow, IMO, is certainly worth a visit, ifnothing else just to visit the Burell.

They are several tour companies in Edinburgh that offer day trips to Stirling, the East Neuk, St. Andrews and others. Sorry I can't remember the names but all the hotels will have the appropriate brochures available and in May you'll probably be able to book easliy enough after you arrive. Otherwise opt for a Edinburgh website and look for day trips.

sheila

My tuppenceworth?

If you are talking about day trips from Edinburgh to Mull or Skye, forget it. Just not worth the pain. If you can get there, THEN spend a day, taht'sa different story. Caroline's right about the logistics, although there are quite a lot of small tour operators doing stuff on Skye. Skye for natural and romantic history. Mull's less magnificent, but has a very nice harbour town in Tobermory and iona is one of the most special places on earth, if a bit over touristed (not in May, mind).

Thumbs down to Loch Ness. Lots better scenery elsewhere and closer to Edinburgh

St Andrews is lovely, golf or no. (Mmm. St Andrews without the golf? Mmm). But a proper trip round the East neuk of Fife INCLUDING St Andrews would be lovely.

Agree with Caroline about Glasgow.

If my holiday was intended to be Edinburgh and I was allowing myself 2 day trips, I'd take one in the Borders for the Abbeys and wooolen mills and a big hoose or two; and one to the East Neuk. If you're looking for 2 recommendations over and above what you've already asked about, please say.

parisnow

Thanks all who responded to my post.

I am still trying to work out the itineray that is why the questions were not detailed. Orignially we had planned to buy a Brit rail pass and take the train to Scotland...but after reading another post a few days ago when Caroline quoted the plane would safe $ and time we are now flying to Scotland on May 10th. To answer some of your questions:

1. I have no idea what happened to
#3. Deleted the rail/plane question
but thought I had re-numbered.
2. We arrive in London Heathrow at
7:00 am on May 10th, 2006.
3. Originally we were going to fly
back to London on May 15 (morning)
and take the chunnel to France...We
are going to the Loire Valley
and ending the vacation in Paris.
We have decided to cut back the #
of days in Paris and spend an extra
day in Edinburgh and Loire Valley.

Current preliminary itinerary.

1. Wednesday May 10th arrive in Edinburgh mid day. Spend rest of the day relaxing and strolling around Edinburgh.

2. Thursday to Monday take the following trips from Edinburgh.
A. Coach tour to Stirling/Lochs
that includes trossachs.
B. Day trip to Highland lochs &
Pitlochry.
or
St. Andrew /East Neuk.
C. Day trip via train to Glasgow.
D. Two days for Edinburgh.
3. Fly from Edinburgh to London Tuesday May 16.

ALTERNATIVE ITINERARY
1. Fly to Glasgow May 10th, arrive mid-afternoon. Spend rest of day in Glasgow.
2. Thursday May 11, take early train from Glasgow to Oban. Then ferry to Isle of Iona overnight in Oban.
3. Friday May 12, early train to Edinburgh spend rest of day in Edinburgh.
4. Sat & Sun
Day tours to one of the places listed in above itinerary.
5. Monday time in Edinburgh.
6. Tuesday say goodbye to Scotland.

Which would you choose. Keep in mind my elderly mother will be with.

noe847

I'm assuming that you are flying to London from North America. Are you then flying round trip from London to Glasgow or to Edinburgh?

You need to plan for the first day of travel to be quite exhausting. There won't be a lot of the day left by the time you check into your hotel.

I think that the "alternative" itinerary is too ambitious for the time you have available in Scotland. You will see Glasgow in a jet lagged fog the first evening, only to get up the next day to head to Oban.

The train to Oban from Glasgow takes 3 hours. There are not very many trains that run per day. I have not done the Iona trip from Oban, but I think it would be very difficult if not impossible to get from Glasgow to Oban, then to Iona then back to Oban in one day. You would see none of Oban. And you will lose most of the next day getting back to Edinburgh (I think you have to change in Glasgow. I guess you would have stored your luggage in the Glasgow train station's left luggage facility).

To me your "current" itinerary is much more manageable. Here are my suggestions, depending on whether you fly into Glasgow or into London:

If you fly into Glasgow:
night of May 10 (and maybe 11): Glasgow. You could wander around the remaining part of your arrival day, and then have a full day the next day to visit some of the Glasgow attractions, staying there another night or heading by train to Edinburgh (1.5 hrs by train) for the night. The rest of your nights would be in Edinburgh.
Friday the 12th: Edinburgh
13th: a day trip to Stirling, or Pitlochry area with lochs, etc.
14th: another Edinburgh day
15th: day trip to St. Andrews area
16th: fly to London

If you fly from London into Edinburgh:
Spend all nights in Edinburgh.
May 10 (what's left) and May 11: Edinburgh
May 12-15: three day trips (include Glasgow, St. Andrews and one other), and one more day in Edinburgh.

sheila

Go with something based on 1, not 2.

The more you take out, the more you will enjoy what is left.

parisnow

Thanks again for the replies.

Yes, we are flying into London from USA. I was checking open jaw tickets and it was only seven dollars more to fly into Glasgow and out of Edinburgh. Alternative is in/out of Edinburgh. This option all depends on flight times.

After your response we will be staying with our original itinerary #1.
We are definitely taking a tour to Loch Lommond/Stirling/Trossachs another to St. Andrews region.
Would you recommend Piltochry or the borders?

Also what is the best way to get from the airport to the city?

sheila

Given you're doing something Highlandy, I'd go for the Borders for contrast.

there are buses at the airport which go right to the centre of the town.

historytraveler

The Borders make for a great visit. Of course you'll want to stop at the Border Abbeys, Melrose, Dryburgh and possibly Kelso. There is much to see here. If possible read some of the area's history before you go...very interesing.

parisnow

Thanks for the help everyone. Final itinerary:
Fly in and out of Edinburgh
1 1/2 days in Edinburgh
Day trip to Stirling/Trossachs
Day trip to St. Andrews
Day trip to borders
Leaving one day unscheduled to do whatever the day brings...Glasgow perhaps.

Thanks for the tip on how to get to/from airport. Decided to cover the Edinburgh side of the country. This will give me an excuse to come back and visit the Glasgow/Oban region on another trip.

One last question, I promise.

What are these ghost tours in Edinburgh that kept popping up in my internet searches?

caroline_edinburgh

Itinerary looking quite good although I personally wouldn't do so many day trips (and I'm not 77 ! but I am lazy ).

Do you know where in Edinburgh you are staying ?

The ghost walks are quite fun if a bit cheesy. I've been on the Witchery tour a few times & the last time it did seem to have become a bit of a parody, but it's quite interesting to go round some of the little back lanes & alleys in the Old Town which you probably wouldn't otherwise notice.

Have you thought about the open top bus tours in Edinburgh ? They are a good way to get an initial overview of the Old and New Towns & stop close to most of the main sights. You can get on & off as many times as you like. You may like to get off at the stop nearest the Castle, 'do' that', then walk down the length of the Royal Mile (downhill this way) to the Palace & the new Parliament building at the bottom, then get back on the bus afterwards.

After you've done with the open top bus tour, just get normal buses the other days in Edinburgh. A single fare anywhere is now £1 but a day ticket for unlimited use on any Lothian bus (the biggest & most useful operator) is £2.30 (just buy it on the bus - you need the exact fare). If you have time, the royal yacht Britannia is quite interesting - one of the open top bus tours goes there but it's cheaper just to get the normal number 22 bus to Ocean Terminal.

You are of course welcome to ask as many more questions as you like !

parisnow

We are doing so many day tours as a compromise. I like the city, mom likes the country. (I live in a city, mom's hometown population #735). She agrees to stay in the cities for a few days and I agree to take day trips. Besides that one unscheduled day will probably be Glasgow or another day in Edinburgh.

I still haven't booked our accommodations yet. Mom prefers a BB over a hotel when we are in Great Britian/Ireland. I have e-mailed a few. Got a response back for one place that their B&B is booked but offered us their self catering apartment (near the castle) for a very reasonable price. Trying to convince mom to do the apartment option.

caroline_edinburgh

At the risk of being accused of advertising, here are 2 B&Bs run by people I know who are very nice :-

1 Albert Terrace : http://www.specialplacestostay.com/s...FileID=bbb2002

Pringle's Ingle : http://www.scotland2000.com/pringle/

Both are in Morningside, a nice area about 2 miles from the city centre & on a good bus route (& where I currently live !)

sheila

I'm too lazy to hit the link. Is the Pringle place, Mike Pringle's, Caroline?

caroline_edinburgh

Hi Sheila. Yes, the 'Ingle' is run by Mike's wife Maggie, who's in the same book group as me.