SDsunflower

Thanks you history traveler and bdokeefe!
Feeling much better about route and lodging options, thanks to all of you who replied!

3 nights Edinburgh
2 nights Callander: Roman camp hotel
3 Mull: Glengorm castle hopefully
3 Skye: Cullins hotel suggested
1 Glencoe : trying for Clachaig
1 night before flight: probably Dakota in QUeensferry

maitaitom

Yes, Dakota was great for a last night place to get reorganized for the long flight home. It looks like an office building from the outside, but the inside is lovely, the rooms fairly large, the staff friendly and our bed was stupendous. Also, they had a good restaurant and a good bar. Pretty much all we could ask for on our last night.

SDsunflower

Thanks Tom! Sealed the deal at the Dakota

Need to keep cutting route:

hope 3 nights in Edinburgh will suffice, even though many suggest 4 (we’ll have 2 1/2 days)
2 Callander
2 Mull (is this still doable? Or too much a stretch for only 2 nights?)
3 Skye
1 or 2 ??? Glencoe or Dunkeld???
1 Dakota hotel pre-flight home

Experts: which seems best to you? We know all will be great, no matter what, but would love your thoughts...
Almost have a “plan”...
thanks again to all who have given us their advice!

PS: my close friend lived in Scotland a year and has visited many times... when I asked her advice, all she said was “I never went to Mull. Edinburgh needs more time.. Stay in as many castles as you can”...
NOT a great help.

janisj

I agree Edinburgh needs more time - . . . in a perfect world. But you simply don't have it. And if you stay in a well located property you can see a LOT in 2.5 days without running ragged.

2 nights on Mull isn' perfect but it is better than 90% of people get because they are day trippers over from from Oban. If you do only have the 2 nights - with a relatively early start - you could still get to Mull by lunch time since Callander to Oban is about a 2 hr drive -- then the ferry.

one night in Glencoe and 1 night in Dunkeld would be lovely.

SDsunflower

Thank you again Janis!!

I’ve been studying maps/routes and wondered ....

We could add a night in Edinburgh if better: 4 nights
We could cut staying overnight in Callander area....?
drive direct from EDI to Glencoe: visit Loch Lomond , Stirling Castle, and Doune etc, along the way. Sleep Glencoe (or only 1 night and add a night to Mull for 3 nights?)
then get to ferry for Mull next day: 2 nights
then ferry and drive combo to Skye. 3 nts
drive via Dunkeld for overnight on way back down 1 night. Visit various things we missed before sleeping there
final night as planned: Queensferry

how would that be?
4 Edinburgh
1 or 2 Glencoe
2 or 3 Mull
3 Skye
1 Dunkeld
1 QUeensferry

Your help has been stupendous ! The visuals along the way (looking at undiscoveredscotland and various blogs etc) have helped, but only you Experts know the conditions of the routes for best visuals. I read heading to Glencoe from the south is better route than coming from Skye, I have NO idea!)

janisj

I wouldn't myself. The drive from EDI to Glencoe with just a teensy detour to Killin will take close to 5 hours - so with a 2 hour stop at Stirling (about minimum to see the basics) and say 45 mins at Doune you are talking an 8 hour travel day. And likely longer with all the photo ops and if you include a drive down the beautiful Glen Etive - it will be a 10+ hour day.

I'd stick to the previous plan. Edinburgh is a lovely city but pretty much everything you'll want to see is in the center so you really can see a LOT in 2.5 days.

maitaitom

"so with a 2 hour stop at Stirling (about minimum to see the basics) and say 45 mins at Doune."

... and don't forget Inchmahome Priory. We coupled that with Stirling and Doune (don't forget those coconuts!) on our drive from Edinburgh to Callander. Inchmahome was a gorgeous, tranquil stop ... even with the short boat ride in the rain.

SDsunflower

Thanks so much Maitai and Janis!!!

sticking to route !

only part still wasn’t sure about.... ????????
stay 1 night Callander (Roman Camp) and then have 3 for Mull?? A lot of “one night stands”.
on way home post Skye : 1 Glencoe
1 Dunkeld
1 Queensferry

janisj

Three nights would be great for Mull -- but I would do 2 and 2.

Around Callander are : Inchmahome, Stirling castle, Doune castle, Loch Lomond (IMO those 4 are musts). Then there is Loch Katrine (the Sir Walter Scott steamer cruise on the Loch), many other lochs, waterfalls, and other scenic bits..

OR . . . do 2 Callander and 3 Mull, move everything forward one day and drop either Dunkeld or Queensferry.

maitaitom

This post is really making me miss Scotland ... Inchmahome

SDsunflower

Wow! What a photo! Can’t wait!!
i hope my questions help others so that Janis doesn’t have to work so hard next time!��

got it!

3 Edinburgh : Millers64
2 callander. Roman camp if they reply
2 mull: Glengorm Castle. Heard from
3 skye. Cullin HIlls
1 glencoe. Claidag (sp) as per Janis
1 ????
1 Queensferry : Dakota

Perhaps crazy, but Maitaitom ‘s photos on his fantastic TR, now has us looking at maybe swinging East on way south to get to Queensferry for final night.... we could swing East and see Donnatar perhaps and end near St Andrews so DH can see it Have to look at distances again and see if route is lovely and different from going to Dunkeld overnight

i can at least contact lodging now
still waiting to hear from Claidag at Glencoe (so?) for a few days now and ditto with Roman camp hotel. Cullin Hills in Skye looked great: if Tom and his group loved it, I am sold.
Thanks to all!!! This helped me collect my thoughts !!

Gardyloo

I know we're in danger of beating your itinerary to death, and honestly I haven't looked upthread to see how many versions we've been through, but in view of this last post, let me offer some modifications, possibly risking stepping on some toes, but there you go...

First, a map showing your (approximate) current route as I understand it: https://goo.gl/maps/BiQZ3NJtXuu

Now first, there's nothing wrong with this route. These are all terrific places. The longest day is going to be the Mull to Skye transit, as you'll be on single-track roads for much of the trip, plus two ferries to navigate. However (if I've got it right) you'll be retracing your steps between Callendar/Stirling and Edinburgh.

But in light of your last post, here's an amendment just to consider. https://goo.gl/maps/t8PCwXQ6dHs

Here's the revised timetable:

1 Edinburgh
2 Edinburgh
3 Edinburgh
4 Callendar
5 Glen Coe
6 Mull
7 Mull
8 Mull
9 Skye
10 Skye
11 Aberfeldy/Fortingall
12 St Andrews/Crail
13 Edinburgh

Now the reason for this rather drastic re-drawing of the map is simple enough. You've only got so many nights and your aim has always been (or so it seems) to see as much variety as you can. But as with all travel, the question arises about what economists call "opportunity costs," i.e. the question of what are you missing in order to accommodate X. Is another night in the Trossachs worth more than another night in the western Highlands or Inner Hebrides, and is that night worth more than one in a fishing village on the North Sea? Unanswerable of course, and unfortunately you won't know which experience delivers more bang for the buck in your own terms.

And I'm going to commit a big sin by saying that for many people, the kinds of scenery and experiences you're going to get on Mull and on Skye are pretty similar. The landscapes are the same, the historic and cultural context is pretty much the same, the weather's the same... you get it.

Then contrast that with Tayside and Fife (the areas farther east). The landscape is fairly different - more forested and agricultural, the towns are bigger and older, the North Sea is very different from the Atlantic, the history is quite different... So while there might not be the same visual punch as the western Highlands and Mull/Skye can deliver, the other aspects - the picturesque villages, the forested glens... well, many people find these areas to be just as enjoyable, in their own way, as the west. Will you? No way to know unless...

So this timetable would include an overnight in Aberfeldy or (my old fave) Fortingall, followed by a procession through the Tay valley (or farther north through Angus, e.g. Glamis Castle) down to St. Andrews, then back to Edinburgh via the impossibly picturesque "East Neuk" fishing villages like Crail or Pittenweem. The tradeoff is only one night in Callendar, but I'd move the Glen Coe night up so that you'd still have plenty of time in that general area for sightseeing. Again, it comes down to how you spend your days as much as where you spend your nights.

Fortingall Hotel with (one of several nearby) standing stones -



Pittenweem Harbour



The drive from Skye to Aberfeldy or Fortingall looks long on the map, but because you're on main roads for much of the trip, it's not terribly time consuming and can easily be done in a pleasant day. The Mull to Skye day is still the longest (ignore Google's time estimates of course) because of the ferries. I've put Mull back at three nights and Skye at two, but this can be reversed once you've decided what you want to do on each island. (And to be brutally frank if it was me I'd scrap Skye altogether as Mull - to me - offers such variety once you add Iona and Staffa into the mix.)

So yeah, another brainstorm, and sorry for adding any confusion into the mix, or over-gilding the lily. Like I said, your current plan is perfectly serviceable.

janisj

With all due respect Gardyloo -- but your new suggestion muddies the waters immensely. Every single place you recommend is wonderful - worthwhile - a must see. BUT it would also require 4 one-night stands, cut Skye back to one day and not give enough time to see places like Inchmahome. To do any sort of justice to the Trossachs, Fife, Perthshire etc this would have to be a three week road trip - not 10 days.

It is a big country with hundreds of 'musts'. One simply has to bite the bullet and realize on a short visit there are limits to what one can see.

Gardyloo

I respect your views of course, Janis, and we both know our traveling styles are different. I did say that this was all in the way of a thought experiment, so the OP is quite free to disagree. But when the OP talked about Dunnottar Castle and St Andrews in post no. 31, I just ran with the idea. The OP said they didn't want to "rush around like maniacs" as she discussed up front; so personally I'd drop one of the islands, in my case Skye, so that more variety could be added to the mix.

SDsunflower

Thank you thank you thank you! OMG... such great choices,,, but DH has finally given his preference
I can’t believe all your thoughtfulness , especially in even mapping out possible routes...
Yes,,, Gardyloo, after asking my DH to look look look at routes and places of interest to him, he doesn’t want to miss Dunnottar Castle nor the Fife seaside , due to his history interest.
so,,, I thought it was a done deal, but
he wants to see that Eastern North Sea and seaside of Fife on way back back post Skye.


I don’t want to lose 3 in Skye nor 3 in Mull, as won’t have time to see Staffa/Treshnish otherwise from Mull and Skye has been a definite from the beginning.
Gardyloo: probably Fortingall too middle of area. Stay where instead ?

3 Edinburgh
1 nights only Callander or Inverary area: Stirling , Doune, Priory, Loch Lomond definite
3 Mull
3 Skye
2 nights to see Glencoe on way to Cairngorm (sp?) region and stop ???
we can deal with 1 night stays as best to create the loop.
get to see Dunnottar, Blair, Uruquart castles and outside of others and head southeast to see FIfe region/St Andrews before last night sleeping at Dakota in Queensferry.

janisj

>>he wants to see that Eastern North Sea and seaside of Fife on way back back post Skye.<<

>>I don’t want to lose 3 in Skye nor 3 in Mull, as won’t have time to see Staffa/Treshnish otherwise from Mull and Skye has been a definite from the beginning.<<

>>get to see Dunnottar, Blair, Uruquart castles and outside of others and head southeast to see FIfe region/St Andrews before last night sleeping at Dakota in Queensferry.<<

Unfortunately these are incompatible hopes/wishes in 10 days

Ditch the cairngorms -- they are just mountains and you will have seen more/better elsewhere.

Since we are totally redoing everything . . . Here is my idea: Cut Edinburgh to 2 nights and do your plan in reverse.

• 2 nights Edinburgh,
• 1 night in Fife. Drive along the Fife coast and spend the night in either St Andrews or Crail.
• 1 night Ballater (shorter drive) or Grantown-on-Spey (longer drive) either would be doable. Visit Dunnottar and any one additional of many castles in the area. Fraser, Craigevar, etc.
• 3 nights Skye. Grantown on Spey to Portree via Urquhart is about a 4 hour drive plus stops.
• 3 nights Mull
• 2 nights near Callander
• last night Queenferry.

This reduces your one nighters and shortens several day drives. The only really long drive is Ballater or Grantown to Skye.

Gardyloo

I like Janis' idea of a counter- (or anti-) clockwise loop. Just recognize that you're going to be spending a fair number of hours behind the wheel. This also probably scrambles your lodging plan, so I'd be firming up a "final" itinerary and researching lodging options asap.

Are you familiar with the "street view" option using Google Maps? That's where you can use the little "yellow man" icon to give you a car's-eye view of the road, and Google's coverage throughout Scotland is excellent. Look here for example - https://goo.gl/maps/Td6y9uiTxUp

I'd strongly urge you to get comfortable with this and use it to "preview" the routes you might take. You can see, within the limits of the web, of course, whether things look similar or different, just as a way to see what you might be seeing in the flesh. It's a very useful tool.

SDsunflower

Your patience is SO much appreciated Janis and Gardyloo especially!!!!!!!
Too little time, i do realize but thankfully, DH finally looked at some history/photos on internet yesterday and looked at Maitaitom’s excellent TR and adventure, and expressed desire not to miss the East due to its history and the differences in scenery....

Going to be reading a lot today ....
We’ll just recalculate route in Janis’ direction and manage with 2 nights in Edinburgh: tricky but doable....

hopefully, all your help will be used by the “silent” readers on Fodors who don’t post but read for itinerary ideas.
Too bad this one can’t be “pasted” somewhere on the Board to save all of you wonderfullly helpful
”Experts” from answering these itinerary questions over and over again....

I’ll find lodging and let you know what I find: this is more to hopefully let other readers see what we decide on...
If anyone sees this last post ( I feel badly to keep asking...), any favorite lodging for Gantown on Spey or Crail or St Andrews?

again, my utmost thanks for all your help Janis and Gardyloo especially!

kolaniasty

HI

For me Glen Coe and abslolutely you must see Isle of Skye.I was with May family in early MAy on the Isle of Skye. We lived in Glenelg, on land, but every day we moved by ferry. A great thing In total, I will not write much.
Just see for youself:

mnag

Haven't read all the posts - but if you are looking for accommodation near Glencoe - we stayed at the Airds Hotel in Argyll which is a real gem. Also highly recommend the Cullins Hotel in Skye. Hope you have a wonderful trip. Scotland is magical.