I am planning a 9 day trip to Scotland in May. I am not comfortable driving and was wondering if it would be wise for me to base my trip from Edinburgh for the time I am in Scotland and take day/overnite trips using public transport. Any suggestions??

Can easily do day trips or occassional over night trip. Edinburgh can keep you busy for the whole time depending on interests, but I would say 5 days is enough - cover Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh Castle and can add day trips on suburban buses (which tourists would not generally do) could include: the Pentland Hills - take a bus to Swanston, or to Colinton (beautiful river going through picturesque village) and walk up from there to the National Park right to the top of the hills for fantastic view of all of Edinburgh: Gullane - very pretty coastal town, home of Muirfield, one of the oldest golf courses - bus; and North Berwick - again coastal town - train trip. Further afield - Glasgow, only 45 minutes by very regular train;St Andrews, by bus direct or train to Leuchars and change to bus; Stirling and its castle; Crieff or Pitlochry in the Highlands - but not too far away that you could not do it in a day. Peebles in the Borders is a really pretty town with beautiful countryside - get there by bus and walk along the Tweed to Neidpath Castle.

Danielle - driving outside of the cities in Scotland is really not that hard. But if you really prefer not to - then Nick gave some really good suggestions. I would add a short train or bus ride west to Linlithgow. These amazing ruins are really great to explore and climb all over the walls and towers. <BR><BR>Edinburgh is a good base because it has good train and bus connections. The Tourist Information Center above Waverly Station has tons of information about organized 1/2 and full day, and overnight tours. <BR><BR>If I had 9 days and no car I would spend 4 or 5 in Edinburgh and a couple of nights in the NE - say around Aberdeen. The TIC there also offers lots of day trips into the &quot;Castle Trail&quot; and along Royal Deeside.<BR><BR>And a couple of nights in one other place on good transport lines (Stirling, near Ft William, near Inverness, etc.). The choice would depend on your interests. Stirling for the amazing Castle, the Lake of Mentieth, the Trossachs - or Ft William or Inverness for more Highland scenery, Loch Ness, Glen Coe, etc.<BR><BR>You could of course spend the entire time in Edinburgh and do day trips - but Edinburgh has in general the most expensive accomodations in Scotland - so instead of using Edinburgh as a base to see St Andrews and Stirling - you could stay in either place for a lot less money.<BR><BR>

Danielle: After reading your other thread I have completely different advice. You want to visit Anstruther and Forfar - both would be MUCH easier by car than by public transport. Anstruther and the other Fife fishing villages are wonderful and Forfar, Glamis Castle and other things in that area are also terrific.<BR><BR>If you have 9 days I would stay 2 or three nights in Edinburgh and and then rent a self-catering cottage somewhere in Fife or near Dundee and use it as a base for all the fishing villages, St Andrews, Forfar, Glamis, Falkland, and other drives to Stirling, the Trossachs, Perth and the Castle Trail. But for this to work definitely need to rent a car.

topping for Danielle. You started a new thread but had better answers here.

topping again. Danielle - if you are still interested why don't you check back in and at least acknowledge the info you have received so far. (Your other thread also now has some useful comments.)

I appreciate all the great information everyone provided. I apologize for not acknowledging the responses sooner, but I have not had access to a computer until today. Again, thanks to all and I will report back on my experiences.

Danielle, I made a comment about driving on your other thread without seeing this one first.<BR><BR>If you REALLY don't want to drive Edinburgh or Perth would be a good base. Neither Forfar nor Anstruther are on a train route, and you can do them by bus but it will be hard.

Danielle... Our first trip to Scotland was entirely traveled by Coach or our feet. We saved alot of money..AND.. we got to actually look around, visit with folk, enjoy the sites and we didn't have to drive. The second trip included a short car rental. The hubby had to be cajoled. We also figured out the Edinburgh bus system. My hubby was very willing to give over the task to the another driver. Take public transit... it is very easy and enjoyable. Have a grand time!

Danna: unfortunately Danielle needs to visit Forfar and Anstruther (this info was in her other thread). Both places are barely served by any sort of public transport. Pretty much just infrequent local busses. Buses/trains can bused for MANY of places in Scotland, but not those two.