My 10 & 14 year old daughters and I will be flying into Glasgow in June (11am) and then will meet my wife in Oban the next day (she'll be coming off a week long stay at Iona).

I'd like to get to Oban the day we arrive (or close). However, we need to rent a car for traveling in Scotland. Is Glasgow going to be the only place to a get a rental between there and Oban? If so, I need to find a place to stay in Glasgow for the night (as I don't want to drive after getting off the plane)that would be interesting but not too complicated to get going and get a rental car in the morning.

Any advice??

Anyone with an idea for me on this?

Yes. Take the train to Oban and hire there.

Not sure if I have understood the question correctly, but if you are to drive to Oban, from Glasgow, then Glasgow is the best place to rent your car. If you are definitely going to stay in Glasgow overnight then it would be sensible to do so in town - and pick up your rental car there the next morning. If the next morning is a Sunday however, you might only be able to pick up your rental car from the airport. I have found that Enterprise can have good prices if you order on line. I have used them several times without a problem and they have a city outlet that is quite easy to get to. If you stay in town I can recommend some hotels but it would be best for you to give some idea of what type of place you are looking for - budget etc.

not sure what is wrong with the forum, my latest reply didn't actually post until I posted this one...

Looks like it didn't post, although I can see it on the summary to the left of the browser. Here it is again:

Not having been to Glasgow, I'm not certain what to expect. I was thinking of training to Oban and renting from there, but I'm certain you can rent in Oban.

Short of that, I'm concerned about getting from the airport to a B&B or small hotel ( 25 pound per person/night range), staying the night, and then navigating my way out of town (from the airport with no other adult navigator). Is the airport outside of town? I just am reluctant to deal with a lot of traffic until I have myself firming driving the the left side of the road! Overreacting?

Glasgow airport is west of the city, you get on M8 heading west, get on M898 to cross the Clyde on the Erskine Bridge. Then north on A82.

Should be easy driving.

Hi nelcarp,

My mother and I did a similar trip. We rented the car at the Glasgow airport and stayed at hotel in Glasgow's West End for the night. The next morning, we drove to Oban to catch the car ferry to Mull.

Getting out of the city was very easy: Great Western Road is the A82. As I recall we followed it until we had the choice of two routes to Oban. Getting to the hotel was a little more difficult, mostly because our hotel was on a road that can be seen from Great Western Road (main road through the West End), but cannot be accessed by cars from Great Western Road. If we had printed out the directions from the website, we would not have had the problem.

There are many townhouse hotels in the West End. We stayed at the Albion Hotel. They offer free street parking. The Kelvinbridge Underground was across the street.

Another option would be to take the shuttle into Glasgow and stay the night in the city centre. The next day take the shuttle back out to the airport and rent a car.

Hope this helps.

Very helpful! Thanks!

We've flown into Glasgow several times..(usually arrive earlier in the morning). Being jet lagged affects people differently, but driving judgement is usually not the best. We usually have a "2 hr. limit" for driving on that same day.
You CAN, and we did it very easily..drive out of Glasgow , over the Erskine bridge and up A 82 to the west side of Loch Lomond.(wouldn't be over 45 min) Lots of lovely quiet places to get that first nights rest```then it's an easy drive the next day over to Oban.
Renting a car at the Glasgow airport is easy...the desk is convenient and the cars are "right ouside"<
IF you really want to stay closeby, there is a Holiday Inn Express within walking of the terminal., and others I'm sure which you can get by googling "Glasgow airport hotels".
I wouldn't fiddle with going into Glasgow that first night OR taking the train.,, but that is up to you.
The airport IS on the West Side of the city and has very easy access for getting out of town and on your way.

I meant to mention in my previous post: Your wife's week long stay in Iona sounds wonderful. Our minister did just that, and I'm wondering if your wife will be attending a conference,a retreat, or "touring" etc.
It is such a serene, calming, beautiful place.(no cars). We were there only about 2 hours, but I understand it is great for hiking and exploring.

mari5-

sorry for the delay in getting back to you. My wife is attending a week long session on peace and justice issues. She is a minister and this is part of her sabatical.

Update to my plans. My daughters and I arriving in Glasgow on June 21st. We now plan to spend the night in Glasgow, pick up our rental car in the morning and head out of town.

We'll arrive in Glasgow around 10:30am. We'll spending that day looking about the city centre and fighting jet lag.

I'm thinking it might be simplest to leave our luggage at an airport hotel and stay there at night since we'll be picking up a rental car in the morning. Are we giving much up by not dragging our bags into the city centre to stay instead?

If in city centre, recommendations?

Normally I'd opt for a city centre hotel - but in your situation, staying at GLA makes some sense.

However it will mean it won't be easy to go back to the room if you lose steam during the day.

So - either convenient for the first day in the city -- or convenient for collecting the car the next morning out at GLA.

Good point. Any recommondations for location in the city that is an easy trip from GLA? Train or bus?

nelcarp, by coincidence we're arriving in Glasgow the same morning. Maybe we'll bump into each other in the airport!

The airport isn't far from downtown so it won't be expensive to take a cab in. There's absolutely no need to return to the airport to pick up a car the next day. Book it for Glasgow city instead of the airport. It won't be difficult to drive out of the city towards Oban in the morning on the motorway. I'm sure that it will be less expensive to rent a car in Glasgow than for three people to take the train to Oban and rent one there.

I'd recommend that you stay somewhere central so that you can wander around the city and return to the hotel for a brief nap if needed. You probably can't get into a room before 1:00 but you should be able to drop off your luggage as soon as you arrive.

Google Glasgow B&Bs, budget hotels, accomodations, etc for some hotel ideas. We've stayed at the Merchant Lodge in the Merchant City but it might be a little out of your price range. Location is great, however and rooms are clean and modern so we were quite happy there. Only drawback is that there's no elevator as the building itself is quite old. Check it out: http://www.merchantlodgehotel.com/

A good area for reasonable B&Bs is Renfrew Street near the Glasgow School of Art and Sauchiehall Street. Mclay's Guest House is one possibility: http://www.mclays.com/

&quot;<i>I'm sure that it will be less expensive to rent a car in Glasgow than for three people to take the train to Oban and rent one there. </i>&quot; Not sure I understand. From nelcarp's lastest posts I think the plan is to pick up the car at GLA - not Oban.

In any case - for a first timer in Glasgow it will be easier to get the car at GLA than in the city center. GLA is practically at the Erskine Bridge and on the main route north w/o any city driving.

Janisj, if nelcarp is going to stay downtown overnight it's much more convenient to pick up the car in the city than to return to the airport. We've done if this way several times. The city car rental places are all near the motorways and detailed directions will be provided.

nelcarp, a great thing about starting your trip with motorway driving is that you will get used to driving on the left side while you're on a highway that feels familliar. By the time you hit the smaller roads you will be comfortable staying to the left.

Sure - I can drive in central Glasgow - as you can. But for someone not familiar w/ driving on the left -- learning in central Glasgow is NOT the way I would recommend. At GLA, one is w/i yards of the Motorway and 1 exit from the junction to the Erskine Bridge and the A82 north along Loch Lomond.

IMHO it would be MUCH less stressful than driving in central Glasgow on a weekday morning

But the choice is theirs . . . . . .

sorry, I was out of town without access. I appreciate both of your insights. Valid points.

JanisJ,

If were to get the rental at the airport, would you recommend taking a cab in and out. Moonlyn has made a good suggestion about staying in the city centre.