Next summer a friend and I plan to visit Scotland for five days, but do not have any cities or sites in mind, We got a great airfare to London so we probably will rent a car or take the train system (?), Any ideas of best places to visit in Scotland? any ideas on best places to stay?
Thanks
Shelby

If you are flying into London and only have 5 days - taking the train or driving up (especially driving) would be a serious time waster. Since you will already be at a London airport - book a flight to either Glasgow or Edinburgh about 3 hours after your scheduled arrival. You will land in Edinburgh about the same time you would catch a train from Kings Cross station. This will save you nearly 5 hours of travel time on day 1. Driving would take an entire day - and driving at all let alone hundreds of miles while jet lagged is foolish and dangerous . . .

So - arrive London (LHR or LGW?). Fly to Edinburgh, spend 2 nights there. Pick up a rental car and take three days to tour around wherever you want (your choices are unlimited). Fly back to London to fly home.

This nets you the most time "on the ground" in Scotland w/ the least hassle.

Do a search on here, there are literally hundreds of threads about Scotland and possible short driving tours. What sorts of things do you want to see/do -- castles? Gardens? Distilleries? Scenery? Hiking? You must have <i>some</i> ideas/sites in mind. It is a big place and in a few days you will only be able to see a tiny bit of it.

I agree with Janisj. Last spring I flew into LHR and about 2 hrs later I was in Glasgow after a short flight(I flew BMI). Please detail what your interests are.

what do you like, Shelby?

Don't rule out Glasgow.....although every tourist tells you to go to Edinburgh. It's got a great buzz with much friendlier people.....great shops and all the Rennie Mackintosh architecture....the West End is great with lovely bars and restaurants and the Botanic Gardens. Glasgow is a only a 45 minute drive from Loch Lomond.