Need to tweak my Scotland itinerary and request hotel recommendations
 

I want to thank everyone for all the advice they gave me a few months ago when I was planning our itinerary!

We have made our airline reservations for Scotland. We arrive in Edinburgh on May 30, and we depart Edinburgh for home on June 15. This is a 16-night trip.

This is my “almost” finalized itinerary and I need to do some tweaking.

Edinburgh – 4 nights

Crail – 2 nights

Nairn or Grantown on Spey – 4 nights

**Portree on Isle of Skye – 3 or 4 nights

**Stirling – 1 or 2 nights (depends on how many nights we spend on Skye)

**Near Edinburgh Airport – last night ?

The asterisks indicate what could be tweaked.



Regarding Isle of Skye: I found a 3-day road trip itinerary for the Isle of Skye, which sounds wonderful, so I think to do it justice, we should spend 4 nights on Skye instead of the 3 nights I originally planned. Thoughts? The link to the travel blog is www.ontheluce.com/isle-of-skye-itinerary. If we spend 3 nights on Skye, we will spend 2 nights in Stirling. Of if we spend 4 nights on Skye, we will spend 1 night in Stirling.

Realistically, how long is the drive from Portree to Stirling?

Stirling Castle is a priority so we want to spend 1 or 2 nights in Stirling.

Our last night: Should we spend our last night closer to the Edinburgh Airport than Stirling? Our flight home leaves at 11:30am. I assume we need to be at the airport 3 hours in advance, which is 8:30am. And we will have to return our rental car as well. So I am thinking we could stay at the Dakota Edinburgh the night before flying home. It is 10 minutes from the airport and recommended by several people on this forum.

Hotel recommendations:

I would also appreciate hotel recommendations for any or all of our destinations. We prefer hotels, inns, or B&B’s instead of apartments because we don’t cook on vacation and we like having 24-hour front desk service. Our budget is in the $200 range. We want clean rooms and centrally located, especially in Edinburgh. We prefer not to take public transportation to the sites. Prefer walking. And like to have restaurants and cafes nearby especially if the hotel doesn’t include breakfast. We will be 2 couples, so I need to reserve 2 rooms.

I have already researched some hotels in Edinburgh, and TBH, I am surprised at the prices. Many of them are in the $300 range on average. I checked out the Market Street Hotel. They are not available on booking.com. I can book through their hotel website but we have to pay in full in advance and the room rate is non-refundable, which I really don’t want to do. It is pricey, but I would pay it if they offered free cancellation. Several other hotels I checked have the same non-refundable policy.

These are a few I am considering in Edinburgh that I can book on booking.com and have a free cancellation:

Hotel Indigo

Motel One Princes – not a motel. Looks nice. But they received some mixed reviews.

Ibis St. Andrew Square

Leonardo Royal Hotel Edinburgh (formerly Jury Inn)



Thank you for all of your help!

No time for in depth reply til morning - but just about the last night hotel: Stirling is quite a quick drive to EDI. For example -- say from Bannockburn on the south side of the city -- is only about 25 miles to the airport and it is motorway all the way. Thirty minutes to the airport rental car office is entirely doable. So unless you decided to stay in a hotel right at the airport, there's not much benefit in moving for the last night.

Hello Karen, a few thoughts from me.

Isle of Skye : I’d give it as much time as your itinerary allows because (1) it is spectacular beyond words and (2) weather can play spoilsport (especially if you will be hiking or trekking as well). We spent 3 nights there (based out of Portree as well, got very lucky with weather) in September 2017 and covered most of the sights enlisted in the comprehensive itinerary link you shared. With an extra day, I would have added the Loch Coruisk boat cruise (Misty Isle or Bella Jane), which was (very) highly recommended but sadly we didn’t have time for. In terms of planning inputs - I’d sort out accommodation at the very earliest, if you haven’t already. And, Calmac’s summer ferry schedules (and online ticketing window) are expected to open anytime soon.

Edinburgh : If it helps reassure you in any way, we’ve stayed at the wonderful ibis Styles St Andrews square, a perfect location to explore Edinburgh on foot, very convenient for the airport tram and sensibly priced (discounts on the tarriff for Accor members also). Also, a stone’s throw from one of our favourite restaurants Dishoom!

Also you might find this blog very useful - https://annestravelsandhikes.com/, managed by a TA DE (Scotlandmac) and of course www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk.

Scotland is very special to us, and co-incidentally we will also be returning in early May for a long roadtrip through the Northern Highlands, Orkney and Outer Hebrides !

FWIW, on one trip, we had a slightly earlier flight than yours from EDI and spent the last night at the Doubletree at the airport... about 5 minutes' walk from the car rental return and about 10 minutes' walk from the terminal entrance. The hotel has an airport shuttle, but we wanted to walk before boarding our flight. The hotel is nothing special but very convenient.

I'll let the Scotland experts comment on the itinerary, but your drives between points would be too long for me, especially if you were thinking of making sightseeing stops.

Everybody has different priorities and interests; there's no "right" answers to your questions. But a couple of opinions...

Stirling: If it was me, I'd move things around a little and include Stirling as a day trip from Edinburgh, either at the beginning or end of the trip. In fact, I'd save money and hassles with the car and do a Rabbie's day trip to Stirling from Edinburgh, perhaps the one that includes a drive-by of Loch Lomond and the Kelpies. If this means extending your time in Edinburgh by a night, so be it, but IMO it would save time and driving time later, and might allow for you to include something else.

Nairn/Grantown: I recall that whisky is a priority, but to me (remember, personal views) four nights might be a bit much. I'd probably "borrow" a day from the whisky country and add it to the time in the west. Maybe you could add some time on the mainland either north or south (or both) of Skye; for example, visit Plockton and/or Torridon to the north; or return to the mainland via the Mallaig ferry in the south, then route through scenic Glenfinnan and back to Edinburgh via Glen Coe and a detour down Glen Etive along the way.

Last night: I've stayed at the Dakota a couple of times and quite like it. They have an airport shuttle, so you could conceivably drop the car the night before your flight and rely on the hotel's shuttle to get you to EDI on time when you fly. Or spend the evening in South Queensferry, a very enjoyable wee village with a lot of history about it.

Just some thoughts. Even as is, I think you're going to have a terrific time.

We stayed in RossMor B&B in Grantown-on-Spey and loved it. The owner made dinner reservations for us at different places in town, all walking distance, for each night of our stay.

How many nights did you stay here? And what did you do in the area? Thanks!

Thank you janisj, ANUJ, Jean, Gardyloo, and Barbara-in-FL. I appreciate all of your advice.

ANUJ, I appreciate your thoughts on Skye, and I am leaning towards 4 nights there. And it's nice to know you stayed at the Ibis Styles St. Andrews Square and enjoyed your stay there. I think we stayed at an Ibis in France in the Loire Valley one time and were happy with it. I might reserve 2 rooms there (free cancellation) and I can change my mind if I find something else.

Gardyloo, I appreciate the suggestion about the Rabbies tour but we prefer to visit places on our own. Probably as we get older (we are in our 70's) we might prefer tours where everything is done for us.
These are the things we want to do around Nairn/Inverness: 1 or 2 whisky tours, Elgin Cathedral, Urquhart Castle, Culloden Battlefield, and perhaps Cawdor Castle and a boat ride on Loch Ness. The reason I say "perhaps" Cawdor Castle is because I don't want my travel companions to overdose on castles. We sometimes decide on what to see and do in the moment. Sometimes we omit a planned site. But for me, Elgin Cathedral and Urquhart Castle are must-sees. I love ruins in spectacular settings. So, knowing this, can we see everything on my list in 3 nights?

And if I decrease Nairn/Grantown to 3 nights, where would it make sense to spend the extra night? Jean mentioned some of the driving times are long. I know the drive from Portree to Stirling will be long: 5.5 hours per a site called Wanderlog. This supposedly includes a 30-minute stop. Would it make sense to stop along the way somewhere between Portree and Stirling for one night? Such as Killin? And we could make a stop at Glenfinnan along the way. If we do this, we would then spend 1 or 2 nights in Stirling.

I can't decide where to spend our last night (either Stirling or at the airport) until I hear from our friends about their flight schedule. We are using miles so we were limited in flight choices. Our friends will have more choices and I know they won't choose the same flight as us because we fly non-stop from Edinburgh to Chicago, and then backtrack to Boston. So our friends might be leaving earlier (or later) than us.

Gardyloo, I also like your suggestion of returning the rental car to the airport the night before if we stay at the Dakota Edinburgh. It will make the next morning much easier.

I have been researching accommodations in Crail and Anstruther. Is one place better than the other to spend 2 nights?

I found 2 places I like in Anstruther: The Waterfront for about $142 per night includes a full cooked breakfast and has free parking.

https://www.anstruther-waterfront.co.uk/

The Bank for about $150 per night includes Continental Breakfast and free parking.

https://www.thebank-anstruther.co.uk/

In Crail, I like Balcomie Links. Price includes breakfast and free parking.
https://www.balcomielinkshotel.com/

Any opinions on which fishing village is a better choice? I am sure they are both nice. My decision will probably be based on the accommodations.

I'm just dashing out and will be able to look closer at your Fife choices later. (either Anstruther or Crail would be wonderful - the individual properties could make your decision for you)

But did just want to make one comment -- Both Urquhart Castle and a cruise on Loch Ness would be done on your travel day between Nairn or Grantown-on-Spey. They are directly on the route from Inverness, down Loch Ness, and to Kyle and the Bridge to Skye. No need to schedule them as a day trip from Nairn / G-o-S / wherever you finally decide to stay.

janisj, thanks so much for pointing this out to me. I just looked at my map, and I see what you are talking about. I just checked driving times from Urquhart Castle to Portree, and one site says 2 hours and 12 minutes, and another site says 3 hours. Are these reasonable drive times?

I'd be pretty comfortable @ 3 hours. 2:12 - not a prayer. Especially at the beginning of summer - even though schools will still be in session there will be a lot of caravans (travel trailers) and motor homes on the road. Driving on Skye is quite slow. But it will be daylight no matter how long it takes so that isn't an issue.

OK -- looked at the hotels. Crail is my favorite of the fishing villages. Having said that -- the location of The Waterfront is the best. Driving in the center of Anstruther can be tough but more so up the hill a bit where the Bank is. I'd be curious where exactly both hotels have parking - doubt either has an actual car park so maybe passes for street parking?? The Waterfront is steps from the Anstruther Fish Bar, The Fisheries Museum and the excursion boats to the Isle of May.

(The Waterfront and The Bank must have the same owner -- their websites are just about identical)

Balcomie Links looks like a nice property but is sort of stuck out on the edge of town on a lot in a residential area and next to a caravan park and vacation condos, and not on the water. It's less than a mile walk to the Harbor so not terrible - but if one is staying in a fishing village, me personally - I'd want to at least see the water.

janisj, if I remove a night from Nairn and we stay there 3 nights instead of 4, where would it make sense to add the extra night? Would it make sense to stop over for one night on the drive between Portree and Stirling? Such as Killin, and then we could visit Glenfinnan as Gardyloo suggests.

OR the other option would be to spend 2 nights in Stirling so that we can visit the castle and Loch Lomond NP. I would still have our last night undecided until our friends make their airline reservations.

You'll visit Glenfinnan in any case -- assuming you take the bridge to the Isle and the ferry off the Isle you'll drive tight through Glenfinnan (and Ft William, and Glencoe). IMO/IME it only makes sense when visiting Skye to arrive one route and leave by the other -- two totally different experiences.

I've lost track of your actual number of nights but if you do have an extra night I'd do something like: Portree to Glencoe. stay one night either in Glencoe -- about a 4 hour drive, or in Killin - approx 5 hours. You could detour up Glen Etive which is between Glencoe and Killin. But if you try Glenfinnan, Glencoe, Glen Etive and Killin all in one day that will be one LOOOOONG day.

So if it was me I' just do the drive from Portree (including some exploring of the south western bits of the island you wouldn't have seen before), take the ferry to Mallaig, visit Glenfinnan, maybe stop at Neptune's Staircase if you have the time, and finish up at Glencoe. Try to get a room at the Clachaig https://clachaig.com It will be day light very late so you'l have late afternoon and evening to explore Glencoe. Then the next morning drive while driving out through Glencoe to the east take a detour down into Glen Etive, then back to the main road and on to Killin. Visit the Falls in Killin and then on to Callander/Stirling. The whole drive from Glencoe to Stirling is about 2.5 hours so with an hour in Glen Etive and 45 mins to an Hour for Killin it is still a reasonable day's drive.

I might not stay right IN Stirling - anyplace in the general area (Doune, Callander, Port of Menteith, Aberfoyle, etc will still be convenient for the Castle without being in the city (driving up to the castle is easy-ish and well sign posted, but driving in the rest of city - not so much. Maybe check out these two places:

https://www.romancamphotel.co.uk in Callander and https://karmagroup.com/find-destinat...e-of-menteith/ on the Lake of Menteith

Edinburgh hotel
 

Would second the recommendation for the Ibis at St. Andrew's Square. Super friendly staff, nicely decorated lobby area with plenty of nooks and crannies to sit and plan out your days whilst having a drink or not. Ample breakfast and location Can't be beat. not sure about parking though as we hadn't a car. A note about Dishoom, when we were there in April, we watched night after night as an hours long line formed. Even in the rain people would stand with their umbrellas waiting to get in. We asked the host when is. the best time to and she suggested if we can wait till 9 we'd walk right in. She was absolutely right, the restaurant was still full but we were seated within 5 minutes. Enjoy Edinburgh we loved it!

Mabella101, thank you for the recommendation for the Ibis. We won't have the rental car while in Edinburgh. I plan on renting the car starting the day we leave Edinburgh. And thanks for the tip about Dishoom!

Janisj, thank you for your detailed response. It's very helpful. I am more inclined to break up the drive from Portree to Stirling and spend one night in Glencoe. I will check out the Clachaig. And then one night near Stirling, such as Doune, Callender or Port of Menteith so that we can visit Stirling Castle.

I have heard back from our friends and they prefer to stay near the airport on our last night, so I will look at the Dakota Edinburgh. If I make these changes, this is what our revised itinerary will look like.

Edinburgh - 4 nights
Anstruther or Crail (leaning towards the Waterfront in Anstruther) - 2 nights
Nairn or Grantown on Spey - 3 nights
Portree on Isle of Skye - 4 nights
Glencoe - 1 night
Stirling/Callender - 1 night
Airport hotel, such as Dakota - 1 night

This means we have 3 one-night stays which we normally don't love but have done 1 or 2 on other trips. I don't think it will be too bad because we are driving so it's much easier to do one-night stays when one is driving. If we were taking trains, that would be different because it means taking a taxi to the train station, getting our luggage on/off the trains, taxi to next hotel, etc. Just more stressful and tiring. But with a rental car, I think it will work. And give us time to better see the countryside between Portree and Stirling.

We drove the opposite way ... from Portree to Nairn and were able to see The “Old” Sligachan Bridge, the beautiful views of Eilean Donan Castle, The Summer House at River Moriston, lunch and locks (no bagels) at Fort Augustus, the picturesque Urquhart Castle, Cawdor Castle and Gardens on the way to Nairn. Link below. In Portree, we loved the Cuillen Hills Hotel.

https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...three-castles/

Urquhart Castle ...

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e7e7cabb40.jpg

I personally would stay 2 nights in the area, but honestly your last two 1 nighters won't be too bad -- since wherever you stay in the Stirling / Callander area it is an short/easy drive to either EDI or the Dakota. Callander to the Dakota in S. Queensferry takes an hour-ish - to EDI about the same, Because an EDI hotel is really mostly for convenience the next morning and it is daylight so late you could spend a lot of that day sightseeing and not have to head to the Dakota til early evening or after dinner even. Then you can relax, have few drinks in their very nice bar, and get ready to hit the airport the next morning.

MaiTaiTom,
Wow!!! What a gorgeous photo of Urquhart Castle! I love ruins in spectacular settings. My daughter visited Urquhart about 10 years ago, and told me it was one of the highlights of her trip. I have read both of your Scotland trip reports and got some of my ideas from you. Thanks for the link. I will read your report again. And I will check out Cuillen Hills Hotel.

And what you accomplished in one day traveling from Portree to Nairn is amazing! I hope we have the stamina you have.

Are you suggesting staying 2 nights in Glencoe? Is this because there is so much to see and do here? It is supposedly a 1 3/4 hour drive from Glencoe to Stirling. Does this sound reasonable to you? If we decide to spend 2 nights in Glencoe, then we could drive to Stirling Castle after we check out and conceivably arrive at the castle by noon. Spend a couple hours at the castle, maybe sightsee around Loch Lomond NP (I know it's backtracking a bit), and then plan to arrive at Dakota Edinburgh in the early evening.

So the options for our last 3 nights would be:
Option 1)
Glencoe - 2 nights
Dakota Edinburgh - 1 night
OR
Option 2)
Glencoe - 1 night
Stirling/Callender - 1 night
Dakota Edinburgh - 1 night

If I choose Option 2, we could spend most of the day after we check out of our Glencoe hotel in the Glencoe area, then drive to Stirling/Callender in the late afternoon. And then visit Stirling Castle the next morning. Now I am splitting hairs, I guess! Can't decide which is better. The inn you recommend in Glencoe looks wonderful, too! A nice place to spend 2 nights.

BTW, I already booked the Dakota Edinburgh. The price is right and free cancellation on Booking.com

As janis says, Links is not in a interesting part of Crail, but it's a pleasant enough walk to the harbour. Easier parking and car access, too. I'd call Crail a village and Anstruther a small town, with more restaurants and such.

You might find this interesting. Steve Marsh on the Coastal Path. He makes it to Crail on Part I.

https://youtu.be/O5e8Ck0EZaY

They get to Anstruther at 41.5
push on a wee bit footweary to Crail. So actually both towns at start of part 2, sorry.

His woman is such a good sport.

View from Cuillen Hills Hotel ...

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cd26df53cd.jpg

being a bit pedantic, but "View from Cuillen Cuillin Hills Hotel ..." Named for the . . . Cuillins

thank you for this link. I have saved it and will watch it when I have more time.

MaiTaiTom, thank you for the beautiful photo of the view from Cuillin Hills Hotel!

janisj,
I've been re-reading my thread, and I see that in your post #15 you do say that the drive from Glencoe to Stirling is about 2.5 hours. So knowing this and after talking it over with my husband, I think we will spend 2 nights in Glencoe Village. My husband doesn't really want 3 one-night stays. Stirling Castle closes at 6PM in June. So if we get side-tracked with making sightseeing pit stops along the way after we leave Glencoe, we would be safe arriving at Stirling Castle by 3PM and still have plenty of time to tour the castle. And then drive on to the Dakota Edinburgh.

I made reservations at The Waterfront in Anstruther and at Sunny Brae Bed & Breakfast in Nairn.
https://sunnybraenairn.co.uk/

Depending on how long you are willing to drive for - as my suggestion adds around an extra 30 minutes to your day driving from Crail to Nairn- you might consider the drive via Stonehaven to visit Dunnotar Castle - as you said you like ruined Castles in a spectacular setting - and Stonehaven harbour - around 1hour 45 mins from Crail, leaving 2 hour 15 minute drive to Nairn if you use the A96.
There are also options to include a detour to Dufftown on the Stonehaven/ Nairn route in order to visit one of the many distilleries in that area .
Of course the shorter route via the A9 also has its attractions.

Hi Karen, in case you are looking for restaurant suggestions, we ate at Cafe OneOneTwo https://cafeoneonetwo.co.uk/menu/ in Nairn when we were there in August and really enjoyed it.

Tacking on to jptj777's post -- It would make for a long drive but since you are staying multiple days in Nairn it would be OK IMO. Search for images of Dunnottar and decide if it is a 'must' -- it really is amazing (I'd actually wait til the day to decide because hiking out to the castle is not fun in wet weather - in fact the castle closes when the weather goes pear shaped). Assuming a decent day, I'd drive up to Dunnottar, then > Aberdeen > Dufftown > Elgin > Nairn. In Dufftown visit Glenfiddich distillery. Glenfiddich may not be one of the 'special' single malts but its distillery tour/visitors centre is one of the best.

Going this route will be about a 4.5 hour drive so with 2 hours at Dunnottar and 1 hours at Glenfiddich it will be a pretty long day. Dunnottar to Dufftown takes about 90 minutes. The castle opens ay 9AM and Glenfiddich's last tour is at 3:30 so very doable.

But IF the weather is vile, I'd just drive Anstruther to Perth, maybe visit Scone Palace, then head straight up the A9 through Aviemore then north to Nairn

Jackie44, thank you for the restaurant recommendation! I appreciate it.

jptj777 and janisj, thank you for the sightseeing tips. We have to check into our B&B in Nairn by 7PM, so I have to be cognizant of that while sightseeing along the way. I was originally thinking of taking the A9 through Aviemore but Dunnottar does look amazing. I already had that on my radar, but I am a bit concerned about the 200 steps down to the castle and then walking back up 200 steps! Walking back up is the worse part for me. All 4 of us are in our 70's. I have already had hip-replacement surgery, and now my knees bother me from time to time, although I don't have arthritis in my knees. Old age, I guess. I will keep Dunnottar on the table and discuss with my husband and friends.

Scone Palace looks beautiful and was not previously on my radar! Thanks for the tip.

The 7 PM check-in in isn't a problem. Easy to get to Nairn by then. But as spectacular as Dunnottar is, it is a bit of a hike down then up into the castle, then the same down / up back to the car. Much of the path is wide steps/small landings so easy to take breaks but it isn't a flat stroll by any means. If you can manage say two flights of stairs to a third floor walk up, then not a problem. But if any of you do have mobility issues maybe give it a miss. Plus even if it is a nice day, if it had rained in the last couple of days I wouldn't recommend it.

So planning on taking the A9, visiting Scone and Blair Castle en route is probably your best bet.

I am finding it difficult to find lodging in or around Portree for our dates in June. The Cuillin Hills Hotel has one room available for $340 per night and several rooms available for $490 per night, which is way above our budget. The Sligachan only has one room available and we need 2 rooms. Several other places I tried are not available as well.

So we are currently booked at the Rosedale Hotel in Portree. Is anyone familiar with this hotel? Unfortunately, they do not have parking but they told me there are 2 car parks nearby but I am concerned it will be difficult to find parking spaces knowing how busy Portree and the Isle of Skye will be. I just discovered the Viewfield House in Portree. Is anyone familiar with this place? It has free parking on their grounds. They suggested I contact them with specific room requests, which I did, and I am currently waiting to hear back from them.

To be honest -- on Skye in Summer beggars can't be choosers. As you can probably tell, the island has become outrageously popular - which doesn't just impact accommodations rates/availability, but also means the roads, parking and scenic spots get too crowded. There are more visitors than availability -- so you may just need to take what you can get. And waiting won't help - things will continue to book up. They will charge what they can get.

Unfortunately its hard to convince some that Scotland is absolutely FULL of spectacular scenery and Skye isn't unique

I know you said in your previous thread that Skye was non-negotiable, but this is pretty much the reason I tend to recommend the Mull/Argyll option over Skye. Skye's popularity means things like fully booked (and very pricey) hotels, congestion at the main tourist destinations, things like that, are increasingly common.

I do hope you can work things out, but in case they don't to your liking, I'd encourage you to consider Argyll and Mull as an alternative. You could drive down the Great Glen with a stop at Urquhart Castle if you like, visit Glen Coe as a side trip, then tour Mull and Argyll, with Oban as a possible base, before returning to Edinburgh via Stirling. It wouldn't represent much of an increase (if any) in wheels turning time, and my guess is that you'd find things much less congested and competitive than they would be farther north.

Now I'll shut up.

janisj and Gardyloo, I hear what you are both saying!:) Because it's only early November, I didn't think it would be so difficult to find lodging in Skye. Just curious, Are either one of you familiar with The Rosedale Hotel or the Viewfield House? And I admit I am shocked about hotel prices. We visited Greece last May, and we spent 3 nights in Santorini, which everyone says is notoriously expensive. We found a lovely hotel on Santorini and our room has a patio overlooking the caldera. Views were spectacular! And the cost was only $230 per night.

Haven't stayed in either one - I've only ever stayed at Sligachan or small rural B&Bs not in Portree - usually with just one or two rooms to rent.

Both Rosedale and Viewfield are in excellent locations, Viewfield House looks to be quite traditional/old fashioned - which doesn't bother me. Rosedale looks more updated sort of 'posher'. I'd probably be happy in either one

I booked two beautiful rooms at the Viewfield House in Portree! I cancelled our reservations at The Rosedale Hotel because I was concerned about finding parking spaces in Portree. Would prefer not to deal with that at the end of a long day of sightseeing. Viewfield House has free on-site parking and the price is much better than most other places, about $205 per night and includes breakfast.