Scotland Highlands
 

I am planning to drive the west coast of Scotland in try to see some of the highland area. Any suggestions for lovely places to see by the sea? Would love to see sea cliffs and sea stacks. Love castles. Also does anyone know how to get to the Shetland Islands and how long it takes? Is there a car ferry?

We drove from Inverness to Gairloch and stayed in Gairloch for 3 days, doing day trip up to the Inverse Garden. The views of Loch Maree were unforgettable. Gairloch is very small with a delightful historic museum featuring local history. We then drove to Applecross traveling through Torridon, driving the winding road above the Loch Torridon and then along the coast. Beautiful and stunning.

Had lunch at the Applecross Inn before driving the infamous Applecross Pass or locally known Bealach na Ba - unfortunately all fogged in.

Not sure this is the area you are planning to drive. We loved it!

Thanks for your suggestions.

To reach Shetland, you can catch the overnight ferry from Aberdeen. It's a daily service departing at either 1700 or 1900 depending on the day of the week (the earlier sailings call in at Orkney on the way) and gets you to Lerwick at 7.30 in the morning. Timetable here:
http://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/timetables/

There are cabins and it is worth trying to book one. However there aren't as many cabins as passangers, so you do need to book in plenty of time to get one. The journey can also be quite rough in bad weather.

The west coast of Scotland is stunning, especially from Kyle of Lochalsh north. There is a typing error and it should be Inverewe Gardens.

It would help to know when you're planning to visit and for how long.