i've seen alot of threads on scotland, and i know some of the highlights i'd like to see...edinburgh, st.andrews, the highlands...<BR>can do in less than a week? how far are these apart? assuming i'd take the train or rent a car as necessary.

You will get a WIDE variety of responses to that question. My opinion is &quot;yes&quot; you can see those locations in a week and I would certainly rent a car.<BR><BR>It's maybe 200-250km from Edin. to St Andrews and roughly the same to some general point in the highlands. I think nothing of driving 100 miles per day on average. In the Scotland, driving 100 miles can be anything from a 2 hour to an 8 hour undertaking . . . which is either a pain in the rear or no big deal; that's the part you need to decide.<BR><BR>There are lots of &quot;purists&quot; on this forum who will claim that you should spend 3 days per square mile City Viewing or 1 day per 20 linear miles Country Viewing in order to &quot;properly&quot; visit Scotland (or anywhere else for that matter) or you will be wasting your travel time and dollars and insulting their travel sensibilities. I am not one of those people.<BR><BR>I once mentioned on this forum that a friend and I drove 3500 miles in a week in Europe, seeing 8 countries en route. One of the posters had the audacity to tell me that I (1) didn't see anything, (2) didn't have fun, (3) wasted my time and (4) gave American travellers a bad name. What's up with that?

By the way, abc . . . &quot;how far are these apart?&quot; seems an odd question for someone considering renting a car in Scotland. Get a map, do a little research and you'll get much more from this forum.

A LOT depends on how much &quot;less than a week&quot; you mean. Six days - sure - you could spend 2 days in Edinburgh, 2 days in Fife for St Andrews and the fishing cillages, and 2 days in Perthshire or farther north for Highlands scenery.<BR><BR>But if you mean 3 or 4 days then pick at VERY most 2 places -- Edinburgh/St Andrews, Edinburgh/the Trossachs, Edinburgh/Perthshire. <BR><BR>Despite what snoopy says - except for the motorways, road travel in Scotland is slow for most first (or third, for that matter) timers. Count on averaging less than 40 MPH. Train travel is faster - but does limit your choices. For instance, the train does not go to St Andrews. You would go to Leuchers which is about 8 miles away and then a local bus. This really slows things up if you have limited time.

make that fishing VILLAGES

janis...great. that's really helpful. i'll look to schedule about 6 days. is st andrews worth it? i love the water so i know i'd love the coast and stuff.

abc: St Andrews itself is worth from a couple of hours to all day depending on the weather, etc. There are the ruins of the amazing cathedral and the castle practically across the road, university bldgs, some very nice beaches (including the one they filmed the famous scenes in Charriots of Fire), the R&amp;A &amp; Golf museum, and the Old Course. If you are there on a Sunday you can walk the entire course if you are interested. There is no play on the Old Course on Sundays and it becomes essentially a huge city park with amazing views.<BR><BR>The rest of Fife is worth at least another day - the beautiful fishing villages (Crail, Anstruther, Pittenweem and others), the historic Falkland Palace and its pretty gardens, Hill of Tarvit House, and several other interesting places. And Glamis Castle is not too far a drive north of Fife.

I would make a slight adjustment to Janis's advice. You can get between places quite quickly- you can easily drive from Edinburgh to Inverness in 3 hours (well I can, you might need another 30 minutes, if you stick to the main roads. <BR><BR>But my country is many different things and you could easily spend that short a period doing just one or two. I'm NOT doing what Snoopy said... no doubt the holiday you choose will be the one that suits you, but if what you are after is flavour rather than view, two stops might well be enough.<BR><BR>In particular, you kind of need to decide what you want by way of &quot;Highlands&quot;- scenery or people. You can get scenery within an hour of Edinburgh but for the feel of Highland life you need to go much further away.<BR><BR>You could fly to the Uists for a couple of days relatively cheaply.

Listen to the Snoop; do some research other than asking someone to plan the trip for you.<BR><BR>You can do it in a week but why would you want to?

Point of correction to Snoopy's post - St Andrews is only about 50 miles / 80km from central Edinburgh. Its a straightforward 1 hour drive northeast, though its worth stopping to see the Forth Bridges en route. And yes, St Andrews is well worth a day's visit at least.

thanks all. that helps. <BR>snoop...i guess i thought this was research...

For some reason I was thinking about how long it took me to drive from Edin. to Aberdeen. Sorry abc, 200-250km to St Andrews was a little goofy.<BR><BR>Sheila, I would never accuse you of the sort of exaggeration I described.<BR><BR>janis . . . 40mph for two hours is 80 miles . . . I said someone could drive 100 miles in 2 hours, optimally. In fact, I said you might only average 12.5 mph at the slow end. The last time I visited Skye (which I think you correctly pointed out must have been about 12 zillion years ago because there wasn't a bridge) there was no traffic and even though it was a one lane road, 60km was easy to maintain.<BR><BR>I think an &quot;average speed&quot; is a meaningless, misleading term for people who've never driven in the UK.

Snoopy - the reason I always mention slow driving is so first-time American visitors can understand the differences. Just looking at a map and seeing an 80 mile journey they could naturally assume that means 80 to 90 minutes. When in fact (except on motorways) most American drivers would be lucky to do that in 3 hours. This is not a slap at Americans - I am one myself. But the driving is VERY different, as all the threads about driving &quot;on the wrong side of the road&quot; demonstrate. <BR><BR>You or I or Sheila or Tony may very well manage 60mph on the single track roads on Skye - but the average American driver will do those same roads at 30mph or less simply because they are not used to one-lane roads and turn-outs.<BR><BR>Even the relatively fast drive from Edinburgh to Inverness take most tourists much longer - there is Blair Atholl and the scenery that demands a stop or two. <BR><BR>So unless someone has driven in the UK many times it is unlikely they will make the same sort of drive times you talk about.

Now I'm feeling goofy for responding again . . . but <BR><BR>I said 60 kilometers not mph and I said 100 miles in 2-8 hours. You can't get too much slower than 100 miles in 8 hours . . . and, yes, I probably drive too fast.<BR><BR>janis - I've read lot's of your posts, they're informative and accurate and next time I go to Scotland I'll hope to get some up-to-date accommodation advice from you . . .