Intrepid_Artist

Hi all!

The Other Half and I are heading to Scotland end of April to mid-May and I am planning to travel to, what I understand as, the central region of the Highlands (Perth, Pitlochry, Aberfeldy, etc) and was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to how much time we should spend in that area.

We are in Scotland for 12 days and, ideally, I'd like to have a few days to see Glasgow and Edinburgh (not entirely sure how much time we need to either of those cities) in addition. Our interests are seeing historical places, getting outdoors for some awesome scenery and just experiencing the local culture.

Wish we had more time to spend there; but then again, don't we all wish we had more time for traveling?

Thanks a bunch!

janisj

This may not be that helpful-- but you can spend as much time as you want in the area. If you have a week - great, if you have 3 days - you can make do. I usually stay for a week at a time just south of there (near Callander) and have done so probably 10+ times and never run out of things to see/do.

I'd probably allot 2 days for Glasgow, 3 days for Edinburgh, and maybe rent a cottage for a week in the general Crieff/Aberefeldy/Dunkeld area.

From there you can do day trips all over from the Trossachs/Stirling to Blair Atholl to Glencoe and farther

Intrepid_Artist

Thanks for the response. I guess I'm really looking for roughly what the minimum time is I should be allotting for the bigger cities as we'd like to spend more time roaming around the countryside.

Any suggestions for must see places in those areas?

tjhome1

As is so often the case Janis' advice is spot on. Both Glasgow and Edinburgh are well worth the suggested 2 and 3 nights.

The rail trip between Glasgow and Mallaig is one of the best rail journeys in the world. There are lots of stunning walks in the area and driving round the Trossachs is another highlight, as is the boat trip on Loch Katrine. Stirling Castle also shouldn't be missed. Glencoe is also stunning.

Get a cheap copy of Scotland The Best by Peter Irvine and check out www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk which has a huge amount of helpful information and using those and this site you should be able to sort out a perfect vacation.

Janis is a fan of staying in a place and doing trips from there, an alternative is using tripadvisor to find some excellent B&B's in a few places and moving from place to place. Both have merits and it depends on what you think you would prefer based on personal taste and what you want to do/visit.

Tim

elberko

We traveled to Scotland for the first time last September. First 2 nights in Edinburgh, last night in Glasgow, and spent about a week in between driving a northerly route through the highlands and the Isle of Skye.

We love cities, and Edinburgh was great, but we don't regret spending a relatively short time there, because we would have regretted missing out on the rural parts more.

The book and website mentioned by tjhome1 above were very useful to our trip.

~Liz

Intrepid_Artist

Thanks to both Tim & Liz!

The 'undiscovered Scotland' site has proved a wealth of info (thanks Tim, I can kiss a good 2 hrs a day [at least] away now ) and good to hear, Liz, that you wish you had spent more time in the Highlands. I think that may be along the lines we were heading...

I think this will keep me busy for awhile.

Our plans at this point are still fairly open and we're always up for adventure and the unplanned so, as always, we're open to ideas for what to see (and perhaps what not to waste time on).

Thanks again!

travelmania05

I wasn't able to travel the undiscovered Scotland, but loved Edenborough. I recommend hiring a tour guide, just like would recommend for London. It's worth your time and money.

tjhome1

If you're rethinking then we thought that Skye was the absolute highlight of our week travelling round Scotland. It is the first place we want to get back to. That said though we loved our one night in each place only strategy for our first trip to the Highlands (we'd stayed in Glasgow and Edinburgh a few times before but never really travelled further north).

In terms of not to waste time on - from my experience only really Fort William, which I knew about from this site, and Inverness, which I didn't and where we spent a miserable few hours.

Happy planning

Tim

Aduchamp1

We are considering a similar trip to Intrepid. We have been England a number of times, but have yet to master driving on the left. We also wish to visit friends in York, see Edinburgh, and Dublin. We are coming from NYC and at first blush it looks like it would make sense to fly to London, take a train to York, then a train to Edinburgh, fly from Edinburgh to Dublin, then back to NYC?

Does this make any sense at all?

Thank you and I do not mean divert attention from Intrepid.

sheila

IT does make sense Adu.

I hope you're not rethinking, Intrepid, for no other reason than that's my home patch and I love getting people to see it properly.

What interests you about your Scotland visit? It will help to know how to recommend thaings