Well, using many helpful hints gleaned from these threads we are zeroing on the following but would really love comments on timing, places to stay, etc. for our May 5 - 15 first-time Scotland visit:
May 5,6 Edinburgh--we have a place to stay

May 7--pick up car Where is a good place between Edinburgh and Invergarry to stay/explore? Stirling? Should we stay there or push beyond after exploring Stirling? Where?

May 8, 9-booked at Glengarry Castle Hotel in Invergarry {can we explore Loch Ness/Inverness /Elgin Speyside in 2 days from base in Invergarry?

May 10, 11--Isle of Skye--where can we stay for around 60 pounds a piece? Do we need to book for lunch at # Chimneys ahead of time? Now?

May 12-13 want to explore Mull, Iona. Should we stay on Mull or stay near Oban(too touristy?)/Glencoe area? suggestions appreciated for specific places.

May 14 head back to ? That's a Saturday. Will the traffic be bad heading down to Glasgow? If we're leave May 15 9a.m flight from Edinburgh is it pushing it to try and see some of Glasgow Saturday night and stay, where?
Thanks for any and all comments, concerns ideas.
Marsha

Marsha

Stirling is far too close and too similar to Edinburgh to give you much of anything different. Given that you're aiming for Invergarry, why not come up to the north east corneer and stay somewhere totally different along the coast west of Fraserburgh- Banff? Cullen? Portknockie? Lovely little fishing towns each with their own history. You could do the Elgin bit of your explore from this base and save yourselves back tracking from Invergarry.

Yes, you need to book at the Three Chimneys and that as soon as possible, although I understand lunch is less of a big deal.

If you want to do Mull and Iona, stay on Mull or Iona. If you want to do Glencoe too, then stay somewhere between Oban and Kentallen.

It depends on the sort of place you want to stay where you pitch up at.

The problem with Mull is that basically the only interesting bit is (says she cheekily) around Tobermory, which is MILES from Iona. I'd stay down near the Ionan ferry and take a day trip up to Tobermory if it were me. YOu might do it the other way round.

If on the mainland, my old favourite the Pierhouse at Port Appin beckons.

You could easily be in Glasgow for Saturday lunchtime and I think you should try.

Sheila, thanks so much, I was thinking the same myself about Stirling, and was regretting that we weren't getting to those lovely fishing villages I saw beckoning. Will give that a try.

My husband is very keen on islands and wants to stay on one for a day or two, so if you have suggestions other than the Mull would love to explore that. I know that Skye is an island, but he's got this romantic image on staying on a smaller one as well.(and it's our 30th anniversary...don't know how that figures in to the island thing but anyway)
I have a lunch reservation at the 3 chimneys and am considering Rosedale(to be centrally located in Portree) or Sligachan which I think is further down the island. Greshornish House has a wedding the days we're there. Any thoughts on these choices?

Also, given the dates in May, do you thinkwe can wing it on B & Bs on the inbetween days, i.e. May 7, May 12, 13, so we can be flexible? About staying, going.
On Saturday night can we stay IN Glasgow and get a car returned to Edinburgh airport for 9 a.m. flight or is there somewhere inbetween? I've heard you need to get to the airport 3-2.5 hours before. Is this true? Thanks again for your patience. I'm really excited about our trip and so appreciate the help.

That must be the first time I've ever been asked about 3 places on Skye where I've actually stayed.

The Rosedale is pretty bog standard cheap and cheerful (although it's not so cheap) but it does have a nice location above the harbour.

The Greshornish has changed hands since we were last there, but it WAS cheap, remote (which I like), pleasant enouh and VERY Fawlty Towers.

The Slig would be my favourite of those three, as much for atmosphere as anyting, but make sure you get a room away from the main road.

Sorry, your other questions- you might consider staying on Iona- it's a lovely island and using it as your base for Mull. I would do that but it's not everyone's choice.

If you scrape a bit off somewhere else you could do Jura and Islay instead. But you have 2 hour ferry journeys to take account of.

An if you're flying out of Edinburgh I'd get closer than Glasgow. It's a 2 hour check in.

Another, question. Husband is urging me to not carry more than one small suitcase for our early May trip. Sounds like some kind of light hiking boots should come along, and with rain gear with sweaters or fleeces, but how formal or casual are places (3 whiskeys, Invergarry castle) Husband wants to know if khaki trousers and collared shirts will get him through Edinburgh, et al or does he need to bring a jacket (he hopes not!)

There are very few places which need formal clothes for dining in Scotland.

I know you'll get by at Invergarry with smart casual. Three Chimneys I don't know about and it'll be Thursday till I see the only person I know who's actually eaten there. I'll ask. Or you could email.

Thanks, Sheila, I'll check back after Thursday.

Well, our trip is a few weeks and I've just about finished the planning. However, I'd love some specific feedback on the following itinerary:
May 5, 6 Edinburgh (booked near the Royal Mile)
May 7 Pick up car in Edinburgh and head out. (I have a question about where to spend this night after you see the rest of the itinerary)
May 8,9 Glengarry Castle Hotel in Invergarry
May 10, 11 Isle of Skye at Rosedale in Portree, lunch at 3 chimneys
May 12,13, Oban area, Iona, Mull, Glencoe?
May 14 drive down to Glasgow through Loch Lommand/The Trossachs (most scenic Route, A82 all the way or A85?) to get to Glasgow for afternoon? evening.
night of May 14 need to Stay somewhere (name of town? place?) nearer to Edinburgh airport to catch flight leaving 9 a.m. on May 15.
And best restaurant and place for traditional music in Glasgow for a Saturday night ???

Soooooooo, about the first night out of Edinburgh. Can't tell you whether we like castles and history more than scenery , probably a few castles and good places to paint. A variety for our first trip to Scotland which is why I'm asking about the this third night in light of the other places we will be on the trip.
It was suggested that we head for the Fraserburgh,Cullen, Banff area for first day out of Edinburgh, but do you think that's too far and by what route if we do? I love the idea of the fishing villages but does the East Neuk area villages (Earlsferry to Fife Ness) make more sense for that kind of experience? AA says trip from Edinburgh to Fife is 2+hours and Edinburgh to Cullen is 4+. We're not going to be doing golf so we're not interested in St Andrews unless it's worth exploring the area on our way out to Invergarry.
Also read that the road from Crieff to Aberfeldy is nice. If we went to Fife would it be worth detouring that way on the way up to Invergarry and/or up to Cullen if we do that?

Since we're in Invergarry 2 nights could we be doing Loch Ness, Inverness and then around to Grantown on Spey (breweries, etc) and down the A9, A86 back to Invergarry.
Thanks for any advice. I've learned so much from reading these threads, but I'm a bit on overload now.

Hi Marsha

May 7 you have quite a choice as the direct journey from Edinburgh to Invergarry wouldn't take very long. I'm biased but Fife is worth considering. If you get good weather, any of the East Neuk villages will give you something to paint. My favourite would be Earlsferry - a short but steep hill behind the golf course gives a sensational view back over the village to the sea. You'd have time to get all the way to St Andrews (one of my favourite day trip destinations and I don't like golf), or you could be different and stay somewhere like Falkland. Depending on your nightly budget there are some wonderful old mansions converted into hotels in and around Cupar.

Or you could travel a bit further on May 7 and stay somewhere in Perthshire. Dunkeld is a favourite place of mine, I'm lucky enough to be able to do it as a day trip. Fantastic setting by the River Tay, magnificant ruined cathedral, wildlife centre with breeding ospreys, and the tallest tree in the UK is only a few miles away. If you're into traditional Scottish music spend an evening in the bar of the Taybank Hotel (www.thetaybank.com)which was originally opened as a "real music pub" by Dougie MacLean, a living legend of contemporary Scottish folk music.

Inverness & Loch Ness you could do in a day trip to & from Invergarry. Hootananny (the name of a pub) in Inverness has some fantastic traditional music evenings but it would be quite a drive back to Invergarry late at night. Elgin & Strathspey is possible in one day but you'd need to be selective about what you stopped to see. Elgin Cathedral is worth a visit if that's your scene, and the town also has a big cashmere / knitwear visitor centre which can give good bargains. If you want to visit a distillery there are dozens to choose from, especially around Dufftown. I wouldn't like to say which is the best.

Route back to Glasgow - The A85 from Oban and the A92 from Glencoe meet at Crianlarich. The most direct way to Glasgow is the A82 down the west bank of Loch Lomond. This road doesn't let you see the best of the loch, and is usually so busy that the driver won't have time to look at any of it. A more scenic route from Crianlarich is the A85 east to near Killin, then the A84 south to Callendar (Trossachs) and A81 to Glasgow. Be warned this route will take most of a day, so stick to the A82 if you want some time in Glasgow.
Traditional music in Glasgow - a pub called Babbity Bowster on Blackfriars Street has long had a reputation for good music and good beer. Or check out www.gigguide.co.uk/glasfolk for current listings - these will be "performances" rather than "join in" sessions. Big problem is that after a Saturday night of traditional Glasgow hospitality Your chances of catching a 9a.m. flight from Edinburgh are not good.

For the last night before you fly out from Edinburgh I'd be very tempted to stay in one of the airport hotels and save a very early start the next morning. This would give you time in Glasgow on May I've stayed in the Quality Hotel which was perfectly adequate, and their bistro / restaurant was a pleasant surprise. There's also a Hilton at the airport. The airport hotels will usually have a free shuttle bus to the airport terminal. If you ask them nicely they might even let you chack in your luggage then go back to your hotel for breakfast and get the bus back to the airport.
Alternatively if you stayed in Glasgow and missed your plane home you would need to spend a few more days in Scotland which you might well want to do by then!

Craigellachie, thanks so much for your thorough response; now we have some pleasant decisions to make. It seems like distances in Scotland are not as far but the traveling is slower than in the US. Of course, I know you can take all day depending on how you meader along the way, but you and sheila have really helped up with options. I"ll let you know when we decide. We might also wait and leave some days to chance and what we see along the way, since we're booked for some and not others. thanks again.

Marsha

sorry for the delay in response. I've been away.

For your first night, I have a couple of thoughts. Fife's nice, but it's very near Edinburgh. If I were to stay there I'd probably pick Elie or Anstruther. It's all a matter of taste

I probably wouldn't pick the Buchan coast. If I were aiming for the North East, I'd probably pick Deeside or Donside.

Dunkeld is a good suggestion from Craigellachie; before I'd read it, I was swithering with Blair Atholl. Lots of nice things to see and do round there- the castle, Killiecrankie, the House of Bruar and just up the road, Dalwhinnie distillery, in the morning.

OTOH, you might like to think of...Craigellachie. The Hotel is fabby, and Speyside is gorgeous, and you could drive up the east coast and you are in the middle of whisky country. (not beer, dear; that's what you get from breweries

I still haven't checked the dress code for the Three Chimneys. Sorry. I'll do it now.

The route I'd choose from Oban to Glasgow, would be down Kilmartin Glen, up Loch Fyne, over teh Rest and be Thankful and down Loch Lomond (spelling). I can fill in things to do and places to see along that route if you like.

I'm with Craigellachie on the airport hotel thing. You'll have a 7am checkin and you can always go into the town centre for a night out if you like.

For traditional music in Glasgow, try the Scotia bar, the Victoria bar, or the Halt bar. The BBC's Travelling Folk web site keeps an up to date list of what's on where, but those are te sort of places where you'll likely get a session even if there's not a concert.

I have recently lost my email database, Marsha, so would you email me please, about something else.

Craigellachie and Sheila thanks so much for the thoughtful suggestions. You've given us lots of great options and we'll see how far we get and where we wind up on those open days. Sheila incase we do have time to do: "The route I'd choose from Oban to Glasgow, would be down Kilmartin Glen, up Loch Fyne, over teh Rest and be Thankful and down Loch Lomond (spelling)." Would you mind "fill(ing) in things to do and places to see along that route if you like." We leave Friday night for the first leg of our trip (to Ireland) if you can reply by then that would be great.

We'll let you know how it all goes. Thank you all again. By the way, do you think we'll be needing Sweaters, coats, hats in 3 weeks on Skye? (it's 85 degrees here now so it's hard to imagine)

Go south into Kilmartin Glen. At this time of year, the gardens at Arduaine are stunning.

Go south through Kilmartin, stopping only to see…the stone circles, standing stones, chambered cairns and lots of other evidence of our prehistoric ancestors. At Kilmartin village, there's a very good visitor centre, which interprets it all for you.

Go to Dunadd, which is where we are supposed to have crowned the Kings of the Picts and climb the hill and see if your feet fit the grooves in the stones. The cross the moor (a National Nature Reserve) to Crinan. There is a pretty little canal which goes the 8 miles from Crinan to Ardrishaig and a wee song which goes..
The Crinan Canal for me
I don’t like the wild rolling sea…”

Stop at the Crinan Hotel and have afternoon tea overlooking the Atlantic.
A further option for you would be to take a quick side trip across the Atlantic to Seil Island. The village of Easdale at the far end is still one of the prettiest places. Left over from the slate mining of the 18th and 19th century, it’s rows of pretty white painted cottages looking over to the island of Easdale. Boat trips round the Corrievreckan whirlpool. There’s a hotel with rooms at the Bridge, called the Tigh an Truish (the House of the trousers).

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/seil/seil/

At the bottom of Kilmartin Glen you will find Lochgilphead and Ardrishaig- stop for the Vital Spark,- You could take quick side trip south to Tarbert. This is a lovely little fishing village with a picturesque harbour. The west coast of Scotland has huge long sea inlets, which we call sea lochs. They are like mini-fjords. So to get from anywhere to anywhere takes ages. It’s why, until the war, the economy of the west coast was based on the “Puffers”, little boats which went from port to port taking everything that was necessary to keep places going. The most famous was the Vital Spark, the heroine of “Para Handy’s Tales” by Neil Gunn- read, mark and inwardly digest, before arrival. She’s moored at Ardrishaig, (or sometimes Crinan) which I’m taking you past, so have a look.

Back on the main road you head up Loch Fyne, and you will find Inverary, a glorious planned village, built by the Campbell Duke of Argyll (boo, hiss). Visit the castle and the jail (read R.L. Stevenson’s “Kidnapped” before you come). There’s also a terrific restaurant called the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar just outside the village. Loch Fyne is where “Finnan haddies” come from- essentially smoked haddock. (Interestingly, since I first wrote this, I've discovered that Findon on the East coast makes the same claim) You will see little roadside signs inviting you to purchase.

Then cross over the Rest and Be Thankful, down to Arrochar and along Loch Lomond. Take the side road to Helensburgh, and see Hill House. Then stop at Dumbarton Castle, and go into Glasgow.

You will certainly need sweaters if not coast and hats. It's still bloody freezing here!!

What clothing for Skye? Never never never go without waterproof clothing, but also,never go without sun blocker, T shirt etc. In May it could change from winter (even snow if you're really lucky) to summer (sunburn in less than an hour) in 5 minutes - it's one of the things that makes the Islands and West Highlands so magical (the rain washes all the dust out of the air, so when the sun comes out it's indescribably good). If you're leaving from somewhere with temperatures in the 80's you'll need a sweater at least, though you might find that you're wrapped up in winter woolies and the locals are complaining it's too hot.

You guys are the best! We're off on the evening of the 22nd for 10 days in Ireland with sons, a financee, and a brother; and then my husband and I will hit Scotland alone on May 5 for R. & R. Thanks so much for your thorough responses. I already have a warm spot in my heart for that chilly place. Will report in upon our return....unless I hit an Internet cafe in Dublin with more queries.