Blacknight

Every since my 3 day trip to Edinburg 9 years ago, I've been dying to go back and do a tour of the Highlands. I'll be travelling alone and I absolutely hate tour buses. The majority of my job entails driving, so that's no problem. Any thoughts on a route? I just need a starting point since I'm not that familiar with the island layout. I was thinking of 10 days (2 for travel) in the middle of June. Any thoughts and ideas are welcome. Thanks in advance, Fodorites!!

ira

Hey B,

How will you get to Scotland?

Where you land might be a good starting point.

When renting a car, I suggest www.europcar.com.

Avoid the Vauxhall Corsa. I drove one for 2 weeks. Awful.

janisj

Oh - heck w/ 8 days on the ground you could go almost anywhere.

I would plan on the 1st night car-less in which ever city you fly into (Edinburgh, Glasgow or Inverness) to recover from the jet lag. So you really have a week.

That is enough for Skye, Mull and and someplace else. Like drive from Glasgow to Oban for the ferry to Mull, maybe 2 nights on Mull, then ferry to Lochaline or Kilchoan and drive across to the Mallaig ferry, 3 nights on Skye, one night somewhere in the Trossashs/Callander then back to GLA and fly home.

But that is only one option - there are lots of other possibilities. For me 2 or 3 nights on Mull and 2 or 3 nights on Skye - then play w/ the rest of the itinerary.

BTW I'd really try to squeeze in a couple more days if possible.

janisj

>>When renting a car, I suggest www.europcar.com.<<

Start w/ autoeurope.com It is a broker and will hook you up with which ever of the majors (including europcar) which would be your best option.

>>Avoid the Vauxhall Corsa.<<

The way to void the Corsa is to book a slightly large range - if you book a 2-door economy, a Corsa is one of the likely models. But IME a Corsa isn't any worse than any other economy model.

Gardyloo

Well, in my view, car+Scotland = kid+candy shop, so you need to decide if you want chocolate or caramel.

With a week you have enough time to get to some fairly remote places for relatively quick tours, or some less remote places for more in-depth exploring, or just stay on the move and see a lot but not linger too long in any one spot.

So what are your interests? Mountain scenery? Whisky? Islands? Castles? Pretty villages? Historic or prehistoric sites...? It's all there, but unless you want to zigzag all over the place, you'll need to pare down the list just a little. Help us out here.

irishface

Mull is my favorite place in Scotland. I agree with those who recommend 2 nights there. Include a trip out to Staffa from Mull and maybe you'll be lucky enough to see puffins up close as well as the fantastic geologic rock formations. On the same day you could do a visit to Iona, site of much history (Many Scottish kings are buried there) and a peaceful place. It is only a five minute ferry ride from Mull.

I have only been to Scotland five times so obviously there is much that I have not seen and maybe there will be other places that I like better, but until then Mull is still my favorite.

Blacknight

Thanks for the great responses!

Ira ...since I've been to Ediburgh, most likely arrive in Glasgow or Inverness. I'm guessing a Corsa is the equivilant of a Mini Cooper or some other tiny car? That won't do.

Gardyloo...I love them all (except whiskey...bleech!!). I guess in order of preference, I'd have to say castles, historic sites, islands, pretty villages and then mountains.

Irishface...Staffa sounds wonderful!

It's off to B & N to pick up an atlas and a few travel books to map out a plan. Yes I know you can find everything on the internet, but I love having it right in front of me. Besides, the books have such pretty pictures. lol

Gardyloo

<i>I guess in order of preference, I'd have to say castles, historic sites, islands, pretty villages and then mountains.</i>

Okay, then here's a possible route (one of umpteen, of course) that would include some of those things.

Start at Glasgow airport and head north past Loch Lomond to Glen Coe. Continue west and south across Morvern to the Lochaline ferry to Mull.

Visit Tobermory and other places on Mull, including a possible day trip (no cars) to Iona, home of Christianity in Scotland.

Then return to the "mainland" (you're still on a big island, after all) at Oban, then head south to Kilmartin with its amazing collection of prehistoric sites and monuments. Then around the bottom and up Loch Fyne to Inveraray and its famous castle. Finally back up and over the hills to Loch Lomond again, and down to Glasgow to complete the loop.

This would hit all your points - castles, historic sites, islands, pretty villages in Tobermory and Inveraray, and it doesn't involve so much driving as to turn it into a "road trip" slog.

I'd suggest using Undiscovered Scotland - http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/index.html - to help with research on these (and other) places.

Map - https://goo.gl/maps/egZ12reGRHJ2