annabellesims9821

Hello all! My family of 5 are planning a 10-12 day trip to Scotland in July of 2024!

We are southern United States residents, and have never had the fortune to visit my family who lives right outside of Edinburgh. They don't have enough room to keep us all, so we're looking at several AirBnB's in the Edinburgh area as options. I'm sure they will have plenty of recommendations and places they'll want to take us. I'm looking for recommendations on places to visit outside of the Edinburgh area, that are must-sees! I don't think my family minds more of the main tourist attractions, so we would love to make the most of our time and see as much as we can. We are also open to less mainstream attractions that you all can highly recommend.

Here are some specific:
I know that my Stepdad would love to visit some historical cathedrals / chapels, and he is quite the Scotch and Whiskey lover, so distilleries are a must!
I think we would love to see the Highlands and other wonders of nature, and are up for some light-moderate hiking as well to catch some spectacular views.
The Islands, I am sure, are a must-see as well, so we are open to any beautiful Islands.
I think my parents would love a classic Scottish Pub to have drinks at as well, and my stepbrother is a coffee snob so recommendations for that as well are greatly appreciated.
We are open to museums, castles, shops, walking trails, scenic train rides, good drink and good food. We are not used to relying on public transportation down in Georgia, so please feel free to give traveling advice on how to get places!! Let me know if there is anything else I need to be specific of!
Thank you so much in advance!

janisj

Welcome to Fodors. What a fun opportunity to visit relatives in Scotland.

(to get this out of the way first - so your Scots family doesn't disown you . . . it is whisky [no 'e'] The whiskey with an e is Irish or American or Canadian, etc -- Scotch whisky be it single malts or blends is always whisky)

You say 10 to 12 days -- first of all, does that include travel to/from the UK? If so 10 days will net you just 7.5 days free on the ground and the first day or two will likely be a jet lag fog for at least some of you. Twelve days is a bit better but still only leaves you 9+ days for seeing/doing. What are the ages of your family of five -- all adults, some really little ones, or ??

Because your time is so limited, you may want to let your relatives take the lead.

Distilleries - no problem -- thet can be found all over so will fit in with other sites you may be visiting. The Scotch Whisky Centre at the top of the Royal Mile just below Edinburgh Castle might be a must for your stepfather.

The Highlands - again no problem. They are a vast area and once you get north of Stirling/Perth you are well and truly in the Highlands.

Cathedrals/Chapels - not an issue -- St GilesCathedral and Holyrood Abbey both in Edinburgh And Rosslyn Chapel just outside the city.

Islands -- now, that could be a problem. Especially if the trip is only 10 or 11 days. Skye/Mull/Islay are long drives from Edinburgh and travel ON the islands is very slow. So any visit to one of them would require 3 days minimum (2 night on the island). Arran is off the coast of Ayrshire and is a reasonable day trip from Glasgow but farther from Edinburgh. Other islands like the Outer Hebrides/Orkney/etc are much too far to make sense.

These were just my first random comments -- if you'd like more details

Jean

Don't forget castles and palaces! Edinburgh Castle, yes. But maybe Glamis, Scone or Inverary?

KarenWoo

And Stirling Castle, which is a day trip from Edinburgh.

janisj

Depending on where exactly the family lives -- Stirling Castle from say one of Edinburgh's western suburbs could be less than a half hour drive. Glamis -- again depending on where 'near Edinburgh' they are, is between a 90 minute and 2+ hour drive.

Inveraray would a loooooong day trip. Close to a 3 hour drive each way with no stops.

bilboburgler

https://www.visitscotland.com/things.../distilleries/

https://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/dis...istillery-map/

Jean

"I'm looking for recommendations on places to visit outside of the Edinburgh area..."

Maybe I misunderstood the OP, but I didn't think they'd be staying the entire 10-12 days in one place "near" Edinburgh. But it isn't clear. annabellesims9821, please let us know...

janisj

Oh - I agree. We have no idea what the plans are. That's why my post was so general and didn't list any specific sites (except for IN Edinburgh). We need LOTS more info including:

• Actual length of time on the ground
• Do they plan on spending the entire time in the rental near the relatives, or splitting the time and traveling elsewhere
• If they do plan on venturing out on their own would it be a rental car road trip or public transport
• Ages of the five (little kids/teenagers/all adults??)

and more.

Gardyloo

Next July seems like a long way off, but with five people traveling (ages?) logistics - transportation, lodging - can get difficult. The best way to see rural Scotland is by car, but with five people that can become complicated, unless you're okay with renting a minivan (called MPVs - multi purpose vehicles - in the UK.)

And with that short a period of time (assuming the 10-12 days is net of travel days) I think bouncing around the country is going to be somewhat off the table, assuming you want to spend a good portion of that time (half?) with your relatives in the Edinburgh area.

None of which, of course, is going to stop me (or others) from barging right in with our own suggestions and lists of "must-sees" (a ridiculously long list where Scotland is concerned.) Note you're going to get lots and lots of these recommendations, making your task one of sorting the "that sounds good" entries from the "meh" ones from the "OMG yes!" ones.

One resource that hasn't been mentioned is a fave of mine, Undiscovered Scotland - Undiscovered Scotland: Home Page - something of an almanac of destinations, but with quite useful sections on road trips, accommodations, regional specialties, and other resources.

So okay, I'll open the bidding with my suggestion. Spend some days with your family, then catch a train from Edinburgh to Glasgow (45 minutes) and change in Glasgow to the branch of the West Highland Line that goes to the Highland port town of Oban. Find a self-catering house (or two hotel or B&B rooms) and make Oban a base for at least 3 days, maybe longer. Here's why, in no particular order. There are a couple of locally based car rental companies in Oban, at least one of which will rent an MPV to you for day trips. Oh, and what day trips!

Islands. Oban is the gateway to the southern Hebrides, including Mull, Iona, Coll, Staffa and others. There are one- and multiple day trips offered from Oban to the Isle of Mull, then to Iona, to Staffa with its puffins and Fingal's Cave, or out to the "small isles."


Whisky. There's a decent distillery in Oban itself, another in the picturesque "capital" of Tobermory on Mull.

Castles. Google Duart Castle, Kilchurn Castle, and Castle Stalker, all within day trip reach from Oban.

History and prehistory. It's everywhere. Iona, reached by passenger ferry from Mull (or as part of a "three island tour" from Oban) was the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland and most of northern Britain. Less than an hour south of Oban (on the mainland) is Kilmartin, with the largest collection of prehistoric monuments in one place in Scotland - standing stones, stone circles, burial cairns... as well as another ruined castle. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/nVZ4huM5dr4sMKaW9

Towns. Oban itself is bustling, with lots of accommodation and dining options; Tobermory on Mull is insanely picturesque, and Inveraray, around an hour's drive from Oban, is extremely attractive. (It's home of Inveraray Castle, Cousin Shrimpy's digs from Downton Abbey.). Map - https://goo.gl/maps/LKqRHQJQfZKEiiPe8

Scenery and excursions. Oban is in easy day trip reach from Glen Coe or even Glen Etive or, if there are Potterheads in your group, from the Glenfinnan railway viaduct. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/BaDCCp3nJpjJSURn9

Music and culture. Aside from pubs with live music (there are a couple in Oban but no personal experience) one thing that struck me was that depending on when in July you visit, you might be able to attend some Highland games. The games on Mull occur in mid-July and attending them might be worth some schedule management. Bagpipes, dancers, cabers being tossed, alcohol being consumed... what could be bad?


Like I said, you have time to plan, but maybe not as much as you think, as July is the peak visitor period and accommodations can book up quickly. You're going to get plenty of other ideas here, all of them worth considering, so start doing your homework asap. Happy planning!

annabellesims9821

Sorry! Yes let me clarify. We were possibly thinking of staying in one location, and relying on public transportation to get around everywhere, including outside the Edinburgh area.

annabellesims9821

Good point! I’m assuming if we opt for the 12 total days, that around 8ish days are actually spent doing stuff? We were thinking of spending our time in one rental, in/near Edinburgh, and relying on public transportation (maybe a rental?). I’ll be the youngest on this trip, 24! My parents are early 60s, then my 2 step siblings are 27, and 30.

janisj

That additional info helps a lot. Using public transport will limit you a bit but there are still masses of places you can visit. Another question . . . 1) where (semi-exactly) do the relatives live - 'right outside Edinburgh' could cover a wide area and also makes a difference which types of public transport could work.

One recommendation if you do want to get farther afield and don't expect the local family to drive you far away -- take a look at Rabbies offerings. They are a very well established small group tour company. Never more than 16 passengers and usually fewer. They do day trips and multi-day tours covering many corners of Scotland.

edit: I tried to separate out the tours by length but both ended up linking the same home page so you can filter for the 1-day tours/multi-day yourself. Here are their day trips from Edinburgh https://www.rabbies.com/en/scotland-...from-edinburgh

and these are 2-4 days trips (they do longer tours but those likely wouldn't be of interest for a short visit to Scotland)