3Gnhgirl

Hello, this forum is the best for helping me plan our trips and I would appreciate any tips, ideas, hotels, restaurants, sights and comments on our upcoming trip to Scotland.. We are traveling with 4 adults during the end of April. ( yes, I know it will be chilly, we are coming from New Hampshire, USA. ) Our flight lands in Edinburgh at 8am from Boston via Dublin.. My initial thought is to rent a car from the airport and drive ,the first day/night to Glasgow. We have driven in Ireland, Italy and Aruba so are familiar with other side of road and narrow roads. From Glasgow to Loch Lomond and spend the night in Glen Coe,Glen Coe to Fort William, spend night. Fort William to Mallig ferry (will make reservation) to Isle of Skye for 2 nights. Isle of Skye to Fort Augustus (seeing Eilean Donan castle), spend night. From Fort Augustus to Edinburgh, We loved Ireland and look forward to the wild side of Scotland, some castles, culture and local music. We would mostly stay in Airbnb and maybe B and B depending on cost since we would need 2 rooms. We would like to see Loch Lomond and Loch Ness and enjoy the back roads and little towns. We like to stay intown after a day of sightseeing, so we can walk to restaurants and sights. What are your thoughts?

Moderator1

Moved to the Europe forum and tagged for the United Kingdom

janisj

Your plan really isn't that great

Random comments:

• Driving to Glasgow makes no sense and why? Do you want to explore Glasgow or just assume it is 'on the way'?

• Even being used to driving on the left -- driving after an over night flight is not a good idea

• Ft William is no great shakes so I would not waste a night there

• Loch Ness is also no great shakes but easy enough to see.

• There is really no need to pre-book the ferry - it limits you too much and they won't be running full

How many total days/nights do you have? Does the 10 days include the transatlantic flights or is that time on the ground (a 12 days trip all together)?

Play around withe something like this - I'm assuming it is a total 10 day/night trip but if it is 12 days there can be some massaging:

Arrive at EDI and stay 2 nights in Edinburgh car-less.

Collect car and stay 2 nights in/near Callander (this will be a base for Loch Lomond, Stirling Castle, Doune Castle, Inchmahome).

Drive through Glencoe and take the ferry to Skye -- a long driving day but totally doable. Stay 3 nights (2 nights is difficult because driving on Skye is slooooow)

Take the Bridge off the island and see Eilean Donan and Loch ness, stay the night in Spean Bridge or Kingussie

Drive back towards EDI staying the night maybe in Perth or Dunkeld.

Drop car at EDI and fly out. That is 10 days. If you actually have 12 -- then I'd add one night to Edinburgh and one night maybe near Inverness.

eastenderusvi

LOL! I hope you weren't driving on the left side in Italy and Aruba!

Listen to Janis. Stay in Edinburgh for the first couple of days to get your bearings on the country. There is a pretty good castle right there. There are lots of back roads and little towns all over Scotland.

3Gnhgirl

Hello Janisj, thank you for giving me many things to think about my poor planning. I was reaching out because I need the advice of those who have been to Scotland before and can help. I have 9 days which include arrival and departure. How does the following sound? Since we are flying out of Edinburgh on Day 9, we need to be close to the airport, which is why I put in 2 more nights in Edinburgh. It made sense to stay overnight the day we arrive in Edinburgh. I was trying to break up the drive from Isle of Skye to Edinburgh to spend time at Eilean Donan Castle....about how far is Spean Bridge or Kingussie to Edinburgh?
Day 1 Arrive-at 8am---overnight in Edinburgh
Day 2 and Day 3 Callander
Day 4 and Day 5 Isle of Skye
Day 6 Fort Augusta
Day 7-8- nights in Edinburgh
Day 9 depart Edinburgh

3Gnhgirl

Hello eastenderusvi,
I meant St. Croix and Ireland for driving on the left side of the road and mentioned Italy for narrow roads. And yes, I appreciate janisj's advice.

janisj

What time is your flight out of EDI? That will make a big difference where you can stay the last night. Two nights on Skye is really inadequate. The drive from say Callander to Portree will take close to 6 hours plus stops (at minimum Glencoe and Glenfinnan). That means at least an 8 hour travel day. So two nights will only give you one day to see any of Skye. The island is large and the driving is very slow.

It is usually better to think in terms of nights rather than days. But in general I would do it this way:

Nights 1 and 2 in Edinburgh
Nights 3 and 4 Callander
Nights 5 - 7 on Isle of Skye
Night 8 Dunkeld or maybe Perth
Day 9 depart Edinburgh

This would work if your flight is not in the early AM. Perth is less than an hour from EDI.

Or you could do it in reverse. 2 days Edinburgh, 1 day Ft Augustus, 3 days Skye, 2 days Callander. The drive from Callander to EDI is also about an hour.

AND -- this is only if Skye is a must. For a lot of visitors it is, but you need to understand the time and distance involved eats up a LOT of a short trip.

eastenderusvi

Okay! We definitely drive on the left in the USVI!

3Gnhgirl

Hello Janisj, Our kids flight out of EDI is 8am, ugh, and our flight is at 11am. (going to Washington, DC and later Boston.) We do want to go to Isle of Skye and are willing to give up time in Edinburgh and Callander. The drive from Callander to Portree is very long so would it make sense to only stay 1 night and stay somewhere halfway to Isle of Skye? Or if do the reverse, how long is it from Skye to Callander? I truly appreciate your help....our thought is to focus on Skye, returning at some point to Edinburgh....
Night 1 in Edinburgh
Night 2 in Callander
Night 3 in ??
Nights 4-5-6 Isle of Skye
Night 7 Inverness
Night 8 Edinburgh
Day 9 depart Edinburgh

3Gnhgirl

Are you living in the USVI? I hope your damage after the hurricane last year wasn't to bad. We had to change our February plans from St. Thomas to Curacao.
Your comments make me laugh at myself..I am.a traveling novice for sure....but learning to listen to others

janisj

If Skye is your main focus then I would consider upon arrival immediately taking the train from Edinburgh to Inverness, stay one night car-less. Then collect a car and drive to Skye via the bridge. Stay 3 nights. Then take the ferry and drive to Callander (LONG drive but the only long drive of the trip) stay 2 nights. Then drive on to EDI, drop the car and spend the last 2 nights in Edinburgh - fly out.

Sberg

We are from New England too and visited Scotland last year in September. If nature and beautiful scenery is what you are after definitely stay on Skye 3 nights. If it were me I would do:
Night 1 and 2 Edinburgh
Night 3 Glencoe (another place which is unbelievably beautiful)
Night 4,5,6 Skye (stay near Portree) There are some great hikes in the Quirang and Old Man of Storr. Fairy Glen is awesome too!
Night 7 Inverness (we did not go there but it looks like a logical place to stop. We stayed in Glenlivet which is not too far from Inverness)
Night 8 Stirling or Edinburgh. Stirling is not too far from the airport or Edinburgh. As you have different flight times and your kids have to be at the airport very early staying in Edinburgh might be your best bet as they could just take the tram into the airport (it is very easy and a simple way to get to and from the airport). You could go to the airport later.

Sberg

There may be a better route back to Edinburgh than going through Inverness. Maybe one of the Scotland experts will chime in.

janisj

I will throw one thing out there to just think about. You are traveling in April, and are setting your heart on exploring Skye. Weather is a BIG issue. They don't call it the 'Misty Isle' for nuthin'. It was not until my third visit to Skye that I saw a darned thing. No exaggeration. My first two visits, standing on the edge of Kilt Rock I could not even see Mealt Falls.

Now, that third visit was absolutely glorious(!) I've been to Skye at least 6 times though and half of them weren't that pleasant. That is a lot of time and distance on the off chance the weather will cooperate. Weather 'averages' don't mean much but to give you an idea: The average high in April is in the high 40's°F to about 50° and average lows are high 30's° - 40°.

eastenderusvi

3Gnhgirl: Yes, I live in the USVI and yes, the storms were incredible...BUT we are open for business and ready for you to return.

My travels (twice) to Scotland have taught me that the smaller roads are not only narrow, but have stone walls on each side. Very different from Italy, where you can fall off the edge into a gut. LOL But driving on the smaller single track roads is part of the Scottish experience. BTW, long drives seem like they will be fun, but the driver won't see much and it is difficult to stop for pictures.

I know everyone wants to go to Skye, but it sounds too busy to me and I haven't been there yet. On the other hand, I haven't been anywhere in Scotland that I didn't really enjoy.

3Gnhgirl

Hello Everyone, I really appreciate all of the helpful comments. So, here is the most likely trip.
Night 1-2 Edinburgh
3 Glen Coe Area
4-5-6 Isle of Skye, Portree
7 Inverness
8 Edinburgh
So now I am looking for recommendations for accommodations in the above towns/cities and restaurants. Since we are 4 adults, most likely an Airbnb in Edinburgh the first 2 nights and in Portree, but are open to suggestions. Budgeting about $300-400 per night for the 4 of us. The last night in Edinburgh needs to be near public transportation to the airport for the early 8am departure for my daughter and boyfriend. As for food, we all enjoy seafood, local cuisine and craft beer.
What is everyone's thoughts about the trip order? Should we go in reverse?
Funny thing about weather, when we arrived to the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, it was pouring rain, fog and very dismal, there was no chance of seeing anything. We traveled down to the next village and had lunch, luckily the weather stopped raining and we went back and viewed the Cliffs in just some fog which made them seem very mysterious....so know the weather is always iffy...

Sberg

Best seafood we had on our trip was at Lochleven Seafood Cafe, which is near Glencoe in a town called Onich Seafood Restaurant by Glencoe, Ballachulish, Loch Leven, Highlands Scotland. If you go be sure to make a reservation as it is not too large. I think they close for the winter and I have no idea when they open in the spring but it was awesome!

In Edinburgh we had a great seafood lunch at a place called The Lighthouse in Leith. It is easy to get to by bus which we found out on the way home. We walked there from the Royal Mile and it was a long walk (but at least it was downhill). I was not about to walk back. It is right on the waterfront. Again, it was very small but the food was superb!

On Skye, while we were circling the Trotternish Penisula we had lunch at the Flodigarry Hotel https://restaurant-isleofskye.co.uk/menuskye/. We ate in the bar area. Food was great. Not many options for food in that area so either pack a lunch or look for where you might stop. We fell on this place by accident and had a wonderful lunch (and we were starving and cold as we had just hiked in the Quirang and got rained on.) Did I mention you should bring rain pants and make sure your boots are waterproof!!! We saw quite a few people in sneakers and poor rain gear and they were not happy.

For dinner near Portree we ate at the Skeabost Hotel. Again, food was excellent and they had quite a bit of seafood.

Best advice for Scotland is to be prepared for any weather and pack layers. Waterproof pants and shoes are key!

3Gnhgirl

Thank you Sberg, for the restaurant suggestions, will bring waterproof gear....I envision the trip to be somewhat we are experiencing today with our first Nor'easter....stay warm and dry.

Sberg

Hopefully the weather won't be a nasty as it is here today! We were there the first two weeks of September and we got the whole gamut of weather. It seemed to rain on us every time we got to the top of any mountain! It got to be kind of funny. But the weather changed a lot. After the rain we saw many rainbows and then the sun would come back out. We only had two days that were really a wash out the majority of the day. One day we were on Mull and it was literally raining sideways with fierce winds. But even those days the clouds made for some interesting vistas. Many people told us that May is a great month to go to Scotland as they have more rain in September. Not sure if that is true but we are planning to go back in May next time. You may luck out and have some great weather. Even with bad weather it is still absolutely beautiful. You just need to be prepared pack layers with a good waterproof outer layer. Hope you have a great trip!

5alive

Hey! That is funny Sberg suggested a restaurant in Leith, because that is where we stayed. It was one of our favorites of all our lodgings, in part because it was 2 bdr/2 bath, and there was also an option to sleep in the living room if someone would prefer. If you have already rented a car, there is ample parking, including some behind the unit, but we never needed to use those. We just parked out front. Leith is a bit further from the Royal Mile but we enjoyed walking around up by the docks. Because it is further from the city center, you will either need to take a public bus or a taxi/uber. Here is a link to the apartment:

https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-re...uni_id=1028212

We did see the Lighthouse restaurant later on our walk and it also looked good, but we actually ate at Teuchter's Landing.Great restaurant/pub in an old ferry building.

http://www.aroomin.co.uk/teuchters-l...bar-edinburgh/