Hi All,

Thanks for your inputs in past months on various elements of my Scotland trip. I have finally put together my full itinerary for 8 days in mid-September. Please let me know if you spot any issues or have any suggestions (esp for lunch). Thanks in advance.

Day 1, Edinburgh
1. Check-in at the hotel in Grassmarket by 2PM
2. Late afternoon, walk through Princess Garden, New Town, Calton Hill, Cowgate

Day 2, Edinburgh
1. Visit Edinburgh Castle in the morning
2. Walk Royal Mile (Cam Obscura, St. Giles, Real Mary’s King Close, Parliament etc)
3. Visit Palace of Holyroodhouse

Day 3, To Glencoe
1. Take Airlink bus to Airport & collect our Ford Focus (or similar) from Alamo
2. Drive to Trossachs via Callander and do “Ben A’an Walk”
3. Post-lunch, drive through Rannoch Moor to Clachaig Inn to drop anchor for the night

Day 4, Glencoe
1. “Glencoe Loachan Walk” in the morning.
2. Drive to Glenetive to take in scenery
3. Post-Lunch, will do “Lost Valley Walk”

Day 5, Skye
1. A 7am start today to take Road of Isles to Mallaig in time to catch 10:50am ferry to Armadale. Pitstops at Glenfinnan & Sands of Morar on our way.
2. Drive from Armadale to Elgol and grab some lunch (preferably at Elgol ???)
3. Post Lunch, 3-hr Loch Coruisk cruise from 2pm with Bella Jane
4. Thereafter, drive from Elgol to Portree & check-in in our B&B in the town.

Day 6, Skye
1. “Old man of Storr Walk” in the morning & then drive through the Totternish peninsula with photo stops at Kilt Rock, Staffin etc.,
2. Post-lunch, will do “Quiraing Walk” and then visit Skye museum. Finally drive back through Uig.

Day 7, Skye
1. Drive to Glen Brittle and do “Fairy Pools Walk” in the morning
2. Drive to Ullinish and do “Oronsay Island Walk”
3. Post-lunch visit Dunvergan Castle
4. Finally, visit Neist Point for sunset and short walk

Day 8, To Inverness
1. An early start today, will drive to Eilean Donan Castle (photostop) and Urquhart Castle (visit & lunch)
2. Post-lunch, we plan to drive into Glen Affric and do “River Affric Walk”
3. Finally, drive to Inverness Airport to return our rental car by 6 and catch our 8:50pm flight to London.

a couple of minor and one major-ish comments

Day 1: Cowgate is basically right outside your hotel - not near Princess Street/New town/Calton Hill. And, if you don't make it to Calton Hill on Day 1 you can loop around from Holyrood at the end of day two's walk.

Day 5: The drive to Mallaig -- even w/ a stop and walk at Glenfinnan won't take 4 hours. It is about 60 miles so count on between 90 mins and two hours for the drive plus any stops.

Day 7: "<i>1. Drive to Glen Brittle and do “Fairy Pools Walk” in the morning
2. Drive to Ullinish and do “Oronsay Island Walk”
3. Post-lunch visit Dunvergan Castle
4. Finally, visit Neist Point for sunset and short walk </i>"

Fitting in Glen Brittle and Isleoronsay before lunch would be just about impossible. The Fairy Pools walk alone is about 3 hrs worth, and then there is the drive on to Loch Brittle and its beautiful beach.

Then the drive from Loch Brittle to Ullinish is more than an hour. The Isleoronsay walk is another 2.5-3 hours. So basically the two walks, other sites in the areas, and lunch will take up most of the day. The drive to Dunvegan will take about 30 mins. Last entry at the castle is 5PM and it closes at 5:30. The drive to Neist Point will take about 30 mins and sunset is a bit after 7:30PM.

Oh - meant to add -- the drive from Portree to Glen Brittle will take more than an hour

I just got back from Scotland this week, where we saw about half the things you mentioned. I haven't read your prior posts but just wanted to make a couple of comments in general:

Driving on Skye can take a surprisingly long time. Most every road is single lane with "passing places." Even though we'd been to Ireland and England, we found that driving on Skye was an extra adventure!

We stayed at a fantastic B&B right at the turn for Neist Point lighthouse. The drive from the B&B to the lighthouse parking is not that long, but the hike from the parking lot out to the lighthouse is substantial, so you might want to consider whether you want to do three walks plus Dunvegan Castle in one day.

There is an excellent restaurant called The Three Chimneys in Colbost, which the road to Neist Point goes through. You *might* be able to get a reservation if you call them now, but people do make reservations there up to a year in advance.

We did essentially the reverse of your Day 8 on our trip - we drove from Inverness to Skye, stopping at both Eilean Donan and Urquhart. The latter takes more time than you might think - it is interesting and quite large. There are restaurants near Urquhart in the tourist-trap town just north of it.

One castle we particularly enjoyed on our trip is Doune Castle, about 10 mins north of Stirling. It's where "Monty Python & the Holy Grail was filmed," and Terry Jones does the audioguide, which is substantially more colorful than most even if you're not a Python fan. We saw 8 castles on our trip (Edinburgh, Holyrood Palace, Urquhart, Eilean Donan, Dunvegan, Duart (on Mull), Doune, and Stirling), and Doune and Holyrood ended up being our favorites, with Urquhart right behind.

Finally, this might be old news to many folks, but plan on needing up to 60 mins for lunch and 90 for dinner. No one in Scotland is in any hurry to bring you anything, including the check. We ended up bagging several things we'd planned to do because between the single-lane roads and the leisurely pace of service in Scotland, everything took a very long time.

"<i>No one in Scotland is in any hurry to bring you anything, including the check.</i>"

In general--anywhere in the UK they will not bring you a bill until you specifically ask for it. I have see more than one North American complain about slow/inattentive service when all they meant was the bill didn't come w/ the after dinner coffee.

I'm not saying this is what happened to megapax --but keep it in mind. If you want the check--you must ask for it.

(They might think we're rude in the States bringing the bill before it is requested --just different customs . . .)

Thanks JanisJ and Megapax for your thoughts.

On Day 1, idea is to just walk through Cowgate when we are returning to the Hotel which may be before or after the dinner so in a sense our walk is just Princess Gardens – New Town – Calton Hill.

As for Day 5, I understand that cars need to be checked-in on the calmac ferries atleast 30 mins before departure (true ???) so we target to reach there by 10:15 am latest. So effectively we will have about 3 hours to reach from Glencoe to Mallaig incl. two stops. Reassuring to know that we could relax a bit over our breakfast  Also should we buy ferry ticket in advance or just buy it when we reach there.

On Day 7 – If we give, Dunvegan Castle a miss and do just 1.5 hr fairy pools circuit instead of full 3hr “fairy pools + Coire na creiche” circuit , do you think it would work then ? I was thinking more like : 9-12 : Drive & Walk Fairy Pools, 12-4: Drive & Walk Oronsay Island, 4-7: Drive & Walk Neist Point & 7-8: Drive back to Portree. Will either carry a picnic lunch or a quick grub somewhere around Ullinsih.

Day 5: If you want/need to be on that specific ferry --and it seems you do --then yes, you want to pre-book. The ferry shouldn't be booked up that time of year, but any time you want a certain sailing you should book it. But you can wait until you are in Edinburgh and book at the Tourist Information Centre at Waverly Bridge.

Day 7: If it was me -- I'd HATE going only halfway down Glen Brittle and missing the glorious scenery/beach just to save a little time. You just have to bear in mind that most roads on Skye are very sloooooow.

Me -- I'd plan an early morning drive out to the end of Glen Brittle, then back track to the trail heads for the Fairy pools.

http://tinyurl.com/4279k8b

Then around noon/one-ish head on to Isleornsay. It will take about an hour plus any stops/lunch enroute. But yes, better yet have your B&B pack picnic lunches for you. Ask them the night before. Plan on spending most of the afternoon there.

meant to add examples of the drive times on Skye. On your first day From Armadale to Elgol will take about 90 mins. And after the cruise -- from Elgol to Portree will probably take another 90 mins to maybe even 2 hours, depending on what sorts of vehicles you get stuck behind.

I was wondering whether one of the Scotland experts would say anything about the drive to Elgol! It can take a lot longer than it seems from looking at the map - you'll be misled at first because the road from Armadale is wide and lovely - but once you get to Broadford and head back down towards Elgol, it is almost all single-track. I'm afraid the first time I drove it there were probably vehicles stuck behind me (although I promise I pulled over as often as I could). It has been two years since we were there, but I don't remember a lot of lunch options in Elgol either; I think we basically picked up a picnic lunch in Broadford and ate it while watching boats at Elgol. The cruise to Loch Coruisk is well worth it, though.

One tip I got when I was planning my trip was to visit the Museum of Scotland while in Edinburgh. It's close to the Castle, and the hour you spend there (it's free) will be well worth it in giving you the history of the country. Skip the stuff you can see in other museums and go straight to the Scotland-centric exhibits so you can understand why all the castles are in ruins and make your trip to Holyrood much more interesting.

It's a good idea to reserve the ferry in advance, and on some ferries it's a must, e.g. the Craignure-Oban ferry (Mull to mainland). On a different ferry, however, we literally drove right up to the ship and were ushered on, but it was a very small ferry that only held a few cars (and we were one of only two families on the ferry).

Leisurely service in restaurants wasn't just about the check - we often had to wait 15-20 mins just to get fish & chips, or 15 mins after requesting the check to actually get it, and than another 10 before they came to collect it. If you expect that and have the time built into your itinerary, it's no problem. It's similar in Spain, Germany & the Czech Republic, according to my well-traveled teens. Just eats up a lot of your day waiting for food and service.

Anyway, Scotland is a lovely place, and Skye had the most amazing landscape I've ever seen.

Thanks Janisj, Barbara and Megapax. I think I will heed your sane words and keep my last day to drive to glen brittle and fairy pools walks + lunch (where ???) + drive to ullinish and Oronsay island walk. If at the end of it all, we think we have sufficient time and energy will decide between neist point or claigan coral beaches or just a longer drive back to portree. Any recommended scenic driving routes from Ullinish to Portree ??

"<i>Any recommended scenic driving routes from Ullinish to Portree ??</i>?"

Do you have a map of Skye? There is really only one practical route from Ullinish to Portree. Ullinish > Struan > Bracadale (a couple of miles in total) and then across the B885 (All single track) to Portree.

The only other options would be the long way around through Sligachan or the even longer route via Dunvegan.

There really aren't all that many roads on Skye, and you'll find very few 'alternative routes', or shortcuts. W/ a few exceptions like the Trotternish Peninsula loop and the Sligachan/Portree/Dunvegan triangle, most roads are essentially dead ends.

But not to worry -- ALL roads on Skye are scenic

Thanks Janisj. Indeed I know the most practical route is the straight one but I was wondering if we have time and we are ok to take a longer route back, is there any merit in driving via Dunvegan ? We would have driven through Sligchan in the morning already so am discounting that for time being.

One thing I'll mention since you've timetabled in quite a few walks on your trip: the Scottish weather doesn't always cooperate with such finely tuned plans, so have some back-up plans in place. I've been in the Glen Coe area twice this year and on both visits, the rain was tipping down and low cloud obscured much of the view. We drove past several determined walkers no doubt soaked through - not my idea of a fun day out. Same for the road to the isles up to Mallaig.

If you're prepared for this eventuality and have some flexibility to adjust your itinerary between indoor/outdoor options (based on the previous evening's weather forecasts for example), you'll get a lot more out of your trip.

Have a great time on your trip!

My husband and I did a very similar itinerary (also 8 days in September and visited Edinburgh, Trossachs & Skye) in 2006 and thought Scotland was very beautiful although remarkable desolate.

Just be prepared that you're going to be doing a lot of driving. We did enjoy our trip, but felt like we were in the car A LOT. There is the travel time between destinations which we accounted for while planning... but there are also a lot of scenic drives (basically our whole time on Skye was driving around).

If I was to critique I would say that one of our favorite parts of our trip was the boatride out to the island to visit Inchamome Priory in the Trossachs... recommended from people on this board.

Thanks Gordon & Stevie for your thoughts. I do have a few rainy day plans like museum at Edinburgh, again museum, castles and serpentarium at Skye and drive to oban/castle stalker from Glencoe but yeah hoping for great weather Also, hopefully we could balance the time in and out of car.

And janisj - slight change of heart - am now thinking of giving oronsay island walk a miss in favor of neist point. What do you think ?

You should certainly be prepared for rain, because it rains a LOT in Scotland. It can be sunny with almost no clouds, and 10 mins later it's pouring (and it can be sunny again 20 mins after that). Just assume it's going to rain every day and you won't be disappointed when it does!

I admired those tourists who look prepared for anything - the ones with waterproof hooded jackets AND waterproof pants - I wish I had been that prepared! We didn't alter our plans for the weather, we just stomped the 20-min hike out to Neist Point and back in the pouring rain, visited ruins in the pouring rain, and figured we are visiting islands - you have to expect rain.

Your itinerary is making me excited about my own trip (which is not nearly as fine-tuned, but that's partly because we are traveling with a 3-year-old) which is coming up in less than a month. I agree that you definitely need to work some flexibility into your schedule based upon the weather forecast - even if it just means flipping morning and afternoon plans. For instance, on one day we spent in the Glen Coe area (we also stayed at the Clachaig Inn, which always has a weather forecast posted near the reception area) we discovered that it was supposed to be clear on the coast in the morning, so we decided to do a scenic coastal drive, then came back to the glen in the afternoon, when it was just starting to clear up, and squeezed in a late afternoon hike. We also did a lot of walking in cold drizzle. On our 18-day trip to the U.K. in June 2007 it rained every day but one - but the sun also came out nearly every day, at least for a little while. I hear that June and September are the best times to go, so I am hoping for the best this September!

One question for you: are you planning to make reservations for the Bella Jane? I haven't looked into the details yet and am wondering if we can wait until we are on Skye to decide if we want to do a cruise, based on the weather.

Since the drive times out to Elgol and the Bella Jane boat trips can be 90 minutes or more, depending on where you're staying, I'd book ahead. You proably won't have a problem if you wait until you get to Skye. They do offer Flexi-booking where you give a range of dates and then call to confirm near the day you decide to go.

Thanks megapax. I did look at the 16-30 days forecast today and it doesn't look too good so yeah will be prepared for the rain.

Thanks hausfrau. Itineraries are kind of personal guide for me, just like to be prepared. Obviously won't be sticking to it verbatim. I have not yet made the booking for Bella Jane but I may in coming days if weather forecast is little better. Not sure if it would be full coz I checked for recent dates and places were still available.

Thanks historytraveler. Couldn't get the connection between drive times and booking ahead, guess am missing something. I will be at Armadale at around 11:30 and will hopefully be in Elgol by 1pm. Would it not work if we go and book our places then as afternoon tour is only at 2PM. I was actually thinking of getting some lunch too in that hour at Cullin View Cafe hoping its walkable distance from the Elgol boat pier. Let me know if am missing a piece here.