I have three very important questions regarding our upcoming Scotland trip.
1. Should we stay at Hilton Glasgow or Hilton Grade inn Glasgow on the last night before returning to Canada? We will be returning our rental car at the Glasgow Airport early in the morning.
2. I have rented a car from Hertz. It is an automatic. Will my Canadian GPS work there? Does it have the same charging system?
I can't remember question number 3... not a good sign. Thanks.

The gps charging system will be the same (accessory/cig lighter plug). It will only "work" if you have UK maps though. The maps are a worthwhile investment in my opinion (though compare cost vs. all of Europe maps too).

Can't help with 1 or 3.

indy_dad nailed it on the GPS. All cigarette lighter power sockets work the same and be sure to get UK maps.

Thanks for the info! Can't wait!

Be prepared for your automatic car to be a big one. Most automatics that we have rented in the UK are people movers. Just good to know...

I found it better for me to have a smaller car with a manual, but I am left handed. Not sure if that made it easier for me to operate the stick, but it wasn't a problem.

No need to get a people mover. Automatics are available in compacts and regular saloons (sedans). They do cost much more, but it certainly doesn't mean you are stuck w/ a big car.

Check Autoeurope.com - it will show you automatics in lots of different car classes/sizes.

But if you can drive a stick it will save you $$/££.

In my opinion, you should stay in a hotel at Glasgow airport. Without my going to Google, there are several like Holiday Inn Express and Travel Lodge that are a few metres from the terminal. Traffic on the motorway out of Glasgow can be a nightmare at any time of day, so I would not risk getting stuck in traffic when I can walk to my check-in desk after a leisurely breakfast.

The savings on automatics v shifts is getting smaller because (1) Europeans have finally decided that driving in cramped city traffic with stick shifts sucks, (2) automatics get the same mileage as manuals unless the manufacturer engineers the car not to (compare 2003 Saab 9-5 with 1996 VW Passat - in the former, mileage rating was basically the same; for the latter, stick worked better - I owned both). Best mileage I ever had was a Mercedes diesel minivan (thus, no cache) in France that did 36-40 mpg.

We rented a sedan in Scotland in '04 that was both (a) automatic and (b) average size (somewhere between a Civic and an Accord). If that's a "people mover" then there are too many smartfortwos on the road in the UK dragging the average size of a car toward the size of a Hamley's collectible London cab.

And see if you can get a paper Michelin map too - ours was invaluable for back roads in Scotland (of which there are a ton[ne]). Don't rely just on GPS.

automatics = glorified golf buggys

A few years ago I rented from Europcar in Nice. There weren't a lot of automatic cars available, and I ended up being forced to drive a minivan-like vehicle that was a lot larger than I would have liked.

I just returned from Scotland, and I rented from Hertz at EDI this time. There were plenty of automatic cars available, in any class that I could have wanted. I rented an Audi S-class, which was nice and small, and easy to maneuver on city streets and small country roads.

I live in the USA, and I had never driven a right hand drive car on the left side of the road before. Deebers, if you're in the same situation as a Canadian, I would very strongly recommend that you stay with your plan of getting a car with an automatic transmission. With all of the other things that you'll have to get used to, you really won't want to be figuring out how to shift gears with your left hand too.

Absolutely positively buy some UK maps for your GPS, or rent a GPS with your car. Don't even think of doing your trip without satellite navigation. Of course you should carry paper maps as a backup.

I'm American and always rent a stick when in the UK. Believe it or not shifting left handed is easy. (And this is from someone who is just about useless w/ my left hand)

IMO having a stick actually helps keep you 'on the straight and narrow' (well narrow anyway ) because it is an extra mental cue that things are different and to stay alert. An automatic may give one a false sense of security and go sort of into auto pilot. That is when one can get into trouble.


Re GPS - yes they help - a LOT in some place - not so much in others, especially in really rural areas. So if you do use a GPS/SatNav - be sure to also buy an inexpensive road atlas after you are in the UK. Every newsagent/book shop/garage has them for less than £3 or £4.

Interesting... I would have been scared to try a manual transmission in Scotland, but, well, I didn't try it, so I can't comment from personal experience.

For what it's worth, I bought the Navteq maps from Garmin for my Nuvi, and they were incredibly accurate and complete in Skye. Like, every last little tiny road was on there, and in the right place. But I can certainly imagine that this might not be the case in other rural areas.

Oh - I agree a SatNav can be a big help -- I'd personally just never venture out on a Scottish road trip w/o a road atlas as well.

Me personally - I'd rely <i>just</i> on a road atlas before I'd rely <i>just</i> on a Sat Nav. (but having both is a good idea)

Cheap road atlases can be bought at any petrol station.

Thanks to all! I REALLY appreciate all the comments. ent today and got a great road map. Rented a car from Hertz. It is an automatic and not too big. In the process of trying to download maps for my GPS( TomTom) I am really getting ready. Leaving on July 2nd. Cannot wait.