Scotland 7 night itinerary
 

Hello all!

I'm hoping for a bit of advice on an itinerary.

We are visiting for 7 days at the beginning of July for our honeymoon.

Our plan is to land in Edinburgh on Tues 31 July and stay for 2 nights. I realise this is just before the festival starts, will it already be crazy busy?

Then drive to Glencoe, staying somewhere near there such as the Clachaig Inn and hopefully fitting in a short walk in the afternoon.

Stay 1 night

Drive to Skye, stay for 3 nights

then drive to the Highlands for one night to break up the drive back to Edinburgh and see a bit of that area - am thinking around Boat of Garten or Nethy bridge.

It sounds like driving back via Glenfinnan might be worthwhile?

Does this sound reasonable? Is the highlands worthwhile for just one night or should we just drive straight back and add an extra night elsewhere? is there another option for a stopover that will be better?

our focus is on scenery, villages, pubs, country hotels, and good food, rather than towns.

thanks!
Hannah

Should add - it's our first visit to Scotland beyond a couple of days in Edinburgh many years ago - so we would like to be guided to the quintessential spots/places around this route to get the true Scottish experience.

thanks,
Hannah

>>will it already be crazy busy?<<

Not nearly as crazy as a few days later. But accommodations will still be on the pricey side because lots of entertainers/artisit/workers arrive a few days early.

>>Then drive to Glencoe, staying somewhere near there such as the Clachaig Inn and hopefully fitting in a short walk in the afternoon.<<

Excellent idea.

>>It sounds like driving back via Glenfinnan might be worthwhile?<<

No need to decide -- drive one way via Glenfinnan/Mallaig/ferry and the other via the bridge. Drive times are almost identical. That way you can see both routes.

>>Is the highlands worthwhile for just one night<<

Not quite sure what you mean by this - you will have been in the 'Highlands' at Glencoe and the entire drive at least half way back to Edinburgh. The Highlands is everything north of a line approximately from Stirling to Oban. So you can break your drive anywhere and will be in the Highlands.

Didn't see your second post.

>>the quintessential spots/places around this route to get the true Scottish experience.<<

You are not going to get the 'quintessential/true' Scottish experience in just 7 days -- and especially driving all the way to Skye and back. You will have 2.5 days on Skye and otherwise you will be driving through scenic bits.

One of the nices short walks in the area is the Glencoe Lochan trail. It is an easy way marked route with stunning scenery. Full details and map here.
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/fort...oelochan.shtml

Thanks both!

To clarify, where would be the best spot to stop driving back through the Cairngorm National Park to Edinburgh for the last night?

Seeing the Cairngorms on the way back from Skye can either be done peripherally (from the A9 which basically skirts the mountains) or by approaching them from the northeast, basically by heading from Skye through Inverness and down via the whisky country along the Spey, something like this - https://goo.gl/maps/6mT3XJ5HAU52 . The latter is scenic but will take quite a lot longer (ignore Google's time estimates - they're way too optimistic.)

My recommendation would be to take this route - https://goo.gl/maps/38hVbFsR1xB2 - which would bring you back via Glen Lyon, one of the most beautiful (and much less visited as it's a cul-de-sac) glens in Scotland. I'd suggest staying in the pretty (and tiny) village of Fortingall with its thatched houses and fine country hotel. Drive up Glen Lyon in the morning before you make the easy drive back to Edinburgh. Note the yew tree in the Fortingall churchyard is allegedly the oldest living thing in Britain, maybe Europe. Fortingall is also alleged to be the birthplace of Pontius Pilate during the brief Roman occupation of the southern Highlands.

Note both routes have you visiting Glen Etive en route to Glen Coe. Glen Etive is stunningly beautiful and remote-feeling, despite being quite convenient off the main road. You'd head to Skye down the Road to the Isles past Glenfinnan, then return to the mainland after your days on Skye via the Kyle bridge.

Look up these places on Undiscovered Scotland - https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/ - which is an excellent resource for touring Scotland.

Bear in mind there is nothing (nothing at all) remarkable about Cairngorms NP. You will have seen as good or better scenery throughout the rest of your journey. You may be thinking of a 'NP' like Yosemite or glacier . . . It is just mountains like all the rest of the highlands. No need to go out of your way. After glencoe, Skye and Glen Lyon, Glen Etive, etc. , CNP will be sort of 'seen better' . . .

Definitely don't make a special effort . . .