capecod73

First time to Scotland - we are mid 40's couple who want to see castles, nature, and leisurely walks in the rain. Last week of April arriving at 7am in Edinburgh on Day 1. Here's what I've got:

Day 1 - Edinburgh
Day 2 - Edinburgh
Day 3 - morning -rent car, drive to Skye
Day 4 - Skye
Day 5 - I have no idea
Day 6 - Loch Lomond ? - drive back to EDI that night
Day 7 - fly home

clearly I need help filling in the details. Where to stay on Isle of Skye? Move around each night or is there a good central place to base out of? I have a desire to see Orca whales in the wild and looks like there's a chance of that in Scotland but would that bring us too far out from the area I'm focused on now? Which castles must I see? All help and advice is appreciated!

janisj

>>and leisurely walks in the rain<< That can be arranged

>>Day 3 - morning -rent car, drive to Skye
Day 4 - Skye<<

That is VERY aggressive. Edinburgh to say Portree on Skye will take about 6.5 hours with no stops (a little longer if you take the road to the Isles and the Ferry) With just stops at Glencoe and (depending on your route) Glenfinnan or Eilean Donan it will be an all day drive. Then you have one day ON Skye and have to leave the next morning to drive back east.

Is Skye a 'must'? It is a long way to drive at the best of times, but if the weather is lousy it is a LONG way to drive and not see much.

capecod73

I'm going off photos alone and Skye looks amazing. If there's another area we should visit instead I'm open to hearing it for sure. I should also add a full day of driving isn't the worst thing for us - part of the fun will be spending time together without our kids and if we are seeing great scenery we are ok with driving a bit.

BritishCaicos

If you are flying from a Boston then consider Tromso in Norway.

No castles but glacially created landscapes that are far more extreme than Skye and resident populations of Orca and humpback whales.

The coastal waters of the Hebrides have healthy populations of seals, dolphins, minke whales, porpoise and very special basking sharks which are an amazing sight. In more than 40 years of spending time on the water i havemt seen an Orca. There are more frequent sightings in The Shetlands but they are quite are in The Hebrides.

I have to say with such a limited time, if you are set inn Syke, I would fly in, rest and then go straight to Skye.

I would't discount the whole idea, the drive alone is worth the trip.

wendyanne75

We did Scotland last year and were almost convinced by people in forums not to drive to Skye because we were limited on time, but at the last minute we decided to do it and are so thankful we did, it was the highlight of our trip! We are hikers though and did 4 hikes there, 2 of which were 3-4 hour hikes and the scenery was breath taking. If you're up for one of those, Quiraing in my opinion can't be beat. There are plenty leisurely walks as well and you can drive to some pretty amazing views also. We stayed in Portree and it was a great base. It is a 5 and a half hour trip straight through from Edinburgh and roads are all paved and it's easy driving...I would stop in Dunkeld or Pitlochry for lunch and take a walk or go to Blair Castle, and make sure to stop and see Eilean Doonan castle on your way in to make it a more leisurely drive though...

capecod73

Excellent. We do enjoy hikes - usually 3-4 hours is my max depending upon how strenuous it is.

Gardyloo

Well, "should" visit is a bit of a reach; "could" visit is quite a lot easier, but it opens the door to so many alternatives that it's hard to know where to start. But faint heart, etc.... so...

In much less time than it takes to drive to Skye you could drive to Oban, and a short ferry ride later be on Isle of Mull. If you want to make a day of it, you could stop at The Kelpies, or Stirling Castle, or drive down Glen Etive to the place where Bond, James Bond, parked his Aston-Martin while he and M talked things over, then down through Glen Coe, like this: https://goo.gl/maps/NXa4eRp4P872 . Mull has it all - castles, wild mountain scenery, standing stones and stone circles, colorful Tobermory, access to ancient Iona... spend a day or two on Mull, then return to Edinburgh via Loch Lomond.

Or you could head up to castle and whisky country in the northeast of the country, then return to Edinburgh via the Angus and Fife coasts including St. Andrews and various fishing villages. - https://goo.gl/maps/UTLpevf4AuJ2

Or stay farther south and east (for better weather) and include parts of the Scottish Borders and the incredible Northumberland coast - more castles, ancient abbeys... like this - https://goo.gl/maps/h7229QPXtZk

Google the places mentioned or look them up at Undiscovered Scotland - https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/ .

Not trying to confuse the issue, but the options are nearly endless.

historytraveler

Absolutely agree. In the past few years many travelers have become fixated on the idea of visiting Skye. Skye is wonderful but there are many other places in Scotland just as beautiful, so don’t limit your options. You don’t need to follow the madding crowds to have an amazing trip to Scotland.

janisj

Skye is wonderful -- no question. BUT it takes a big time investment, and if the weather is dreadful all that driving would be for naught. If someone has visited once and lucked out with sunshine (or at least not sideways rain) of course they will recommend it. And should. But all we are trying to warn you about -- Skye is not the be all and end all of Scotland - at least you are going early in the season so you should be able to find someplace to stay (accommodation does book up pretty far in advance)

wendyanne75

Yes good point about the weather - one of our days was in fact sideways rain and we couldn't hike so we did some shopping and sipped a lot of scotch in a pub in Portree....so if you do go I would at least plan on staying 2 nights, ideally 3 if you can, to increase chances you will have 1 or more days of decent enough weather.