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Scotland: Highlights, Islands, and...Covid

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Scotland: Highlights, Islands, and...Covid

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Old Jun 26th, 2022, 07:22 PM
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Days 13-17

The next morning I walked down the street to Boots and bought a Covid test. I came back to the apartment and took the test, praying that it would be negative and I was just suffering from a cold. No, definitely not. Those two lines showed up quickly and strongly. I had avoided Covid for two whole years, been extremely careful about wearing a mask before trip so that I wouldn’t get sick and have to delay my vacation, and worn a mask most (but not all) of the time on the bus, and here I was, Covid had finally got me!

The next four days that I had planned to spend in Edinburgh were scrapped. I wouldn’t get to see the museums. I was looking forward to lunch at The Dome that afternoon. I would have to cancel. I’d also have to cancel my reservations at The Witchery, Baba, and The Queen’s Arms. My pre-purchased ticked to Holyroodhouse Palace would go unused. To be honest though, my thoughts didn’t dwell on that for more than a minute, I was more concerned about getting home! I knew I’d have to extend my trip, but by how long? I started googling, but there was so much information, some of it contradictory, from a variety of different sources. That’s when I posted a question here on the Fodor’s forum.

I knew I shouldn’t go out, but I also needed food for the next several days. I put on a mask and ran to the M&S foodhall. Wow is that place amazing! I assumed I’d be living off Lean Cuisine-quality food while in isolation, but M&S is a treasure trove of every type of pre-packaged meal you can think of. I got penne arrabiata, Thai green curry, Mexican-style chicken and rice, a fruit crumble, and a whole lot more. I even bought a scones baking mix and jam, thinking that instead of joining the jubilee picnic in the park, I’d make my own scones and watch the broadcast from the apartment. I generally enjoy cooking, but if I had access to an M&S food here at home, I might never cook again!

I also found that UK Netflix had a bunch of shows that US Netflix doesn’t. I really wasn’t feeling more than light cold symptoms on this day, so a few days in isolation wasn’t looking so bad.

Unfortunately, I didn’t remember to look at the responses to my question on Fodors until the evening. Thanks to the many helpful people who responded, I learned that I would not be able to travel until 10 days after my diagnosis, that I should take an “official” test right away to set the clock ticking on that 10 days, and that I would need a letter of recovery rather than a negative test to get home. It was too late in the day to take an official test, so I scheduled one for the next day and set about booking an AirB&B for the time beyond the original end of my trip. I also called KLM to ask about changing my flight. Since I wouldn’t receive official test results until Monday, I wouldn’t be able to fly home until the following Thursday.

By that night my light cold symptoms had turned into a terrible sore throat. For the next two days I basically just lay in bed and watched Netflix. Luckily the sore throat was my main symptom, but it was the worst sore throat I’ve had in my life. And all that food I’d bought? Why is it that everything I bought was spicy?! Even the popsicles I’d bought were pineapple flavored! The scone mix I bought was bland enough, but for those first couple of days I was not feeling well enough to do much of anything. I ate bread and drank tea, SO MUCH tea for the next few days.

Four days later, my original departure day, I was feeling much better. I moved lodging to an apartment in Dalry (I let the proprietor know I was recovering from Covid), and continued my isolation. When people tell me I’m lucky I got an extended vacation, I tell them no, it was just a very expensive Netflix binge!
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Old Jun 26th, 2022, 07:52 PM
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Days 18-21

By Thursday my sore throat had been gone for a couple of days, and I thought that I would be itching to get out and take a walk, but I didn’t have the energy. The effects of Covid….or perhaps the effects of several days on a diet consisting solely of bread, tea, and chocolate.

On Friday I did feel like going out. I walked up to Dean Cemetery and then along the Water to Leith to Dean Village. I walked around cute Stockbridge and Circus Lane. The Pantry – one of the restaurants I’d wanted to eat at – had outdoor seating, so I had lunch there. The chickpea and halloumi dish was different than what I’d been expecting, but it was good.

While I was out I started getting texts and links from friends saying that the US was dropping their test-to-return policy. There was rain in the near forecast, and I was eager to learn more about the news, so I headed back to the Dalry townhouse. KLM wasn’t picking up the phone and I was incurring per-minute international calling charges, so I had my sister call the airline instead…and she had me rebooked for Sunday. That made me really nervous. At this point the policy hadn’t actually been officially changed; there was just an announcement saying it would be. I would be symptom-free for several days by Sunday, so I was confident that I was no longer contagious, but I was just worried that the airlines wouldn’t have changed their procedures for a 9am flight Sunday morning.

By Saturday morning the order rescinding the test-to-enter policy had been made official, so I was feeling a little less anxious about flying Sunday. I wasn’t really interested in trying to get in all I’d missed from my planned itinerary, but the one thing I did want to do is go to Mary’s Milk Bar, a specialty ice cream shop in Grassmarket. I got some ice cream (passionfruit ripple), which was very creamy and good, and also picked up a couple of their chocolate bars. They are expensive, but the flavors are really unique, and besides, I had cash I needed to spend. The blood orange and Szechuan pepper is very good. The geranium and lemon tastes just like a garden, but is best eaten a little at a time!

I walked an indirect route to Grassmarket and back, and I really enjoyed getting a little off the beaten path and seeing Edinburgh beyond the Royal Mile and Princes Street.

All went well Sunday. I won’t go into detail about my experiences at the airport. I’ll just say things in Edinburgh were slow but it’s a smaller airport, so I’m pretty sure everyone made it onto our full flight to Amsterdam. I had a 5-hour layover in Amsterdam and spent that time on some comfortable lounge chairs. KLM did give us the US’s passenger attestation forms at the gate, but when I and several others brought up the dropped requirements they just shrugged and told us to keep the form just in case someone wanted to collect it in Salt Lake City. I didn’t totally rest easy until I was actually sitting on the plane about to take off for the US!

In the end, I arrived home four days after initially planned. I did incur extra expense with the additional AirB&B, but I’m just grateful things worked out as well as they did: I got sick but not worryingly so, I wasn’t charged any fees by the airline, I was able to easily find additional accommodation, my aunt happily stayed longer to cat and house-sit, I received lots of support from family, friends, and the Fodors crowd, I got to see a bit more of Edinburgh, and I got to come home a sooner than anticipated.

It was certainly a trip that will not soon be forgotten!


Dean Village

Dean Village

Dean Village

Dean Village

St. Bernard's Well

Circus Lane

Edinburgh Castle from Princes Street Gardens

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Old Jun 26th, 2022, 07:53 PM
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That's the trip; thanks for reading everyone!

I'll do one last post this week summarizing some highlights and tips. Let me know if you have questions and I'll answer them in the final post.
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Old Jun 27th, 2022, 10:36 AM
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Great report. Sorry you had to deal with Covid. I had it in December 2020 (after a trip to Tennessee), but it was a big nothingburger for me (some drainage and one day of slightly elevated temperature). Having that re-entry test hanging over us like the Sword of Damocles was no fun.
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Old Jun 27th, 2022, 11:40 AM
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Beautiful report! I very much enjoyed all the photos and details especially about the tours. Looking forward to the highlights and tips to come.
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Old Jun 27th, 2022, 12:56 PM
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memejs, the report is fantastic and your photos are superb! Really, the wonderful and frequently dramatic light and settings are outstanding. And having spent much time traveling in rain in Scotland, you also lucked out with your weather! What a drag to have contracted COVID while traveling, but it seems you managed as well as could be expected. Thankfully, the requirements changed so you didn’t need the letter of recovery.

Having spent a year in Edinburgh as an undergraduate (many moons ago), I loved the shots of that city and it brought back good memories of my time there. I loved the sheep in the meadows! And, after a year of eating porridge every day, I got a real kick out of the World Porridge making championships! I shoulda been a contender!😉
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Old Jun 27th, 2022, 01:33 PM
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Lovely photos and a lot of great information/ thoughts about your tours. Glad Covid didn’t strike hard and you were able to sort the logistics.
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Old Jun 28th, 2022, 07:43 AM
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Very happy to see your report. We are planning to visit Scotland next month. Your photos are beautiful. I hope you are feeling better now. Very much enjoyed all the photos.
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Old Jul 11th, 2022, 01:12 PM
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Finally coming back to do the promised final post with highlights and tips.

The Rabbies Iona, Mull, and Skye tour was fantastic and I would highly recommend it as a perfect tour for a first timer's visit to Scotland. It gives a good taste of the three islands and a great introduction to the highlands. Basically that entire tour was a highlight!

Plockton was a delightful little village that served as our base for visiting Skye. There's really nothing to do in the village and dining options are limited, but it's worth staying there if the location works for your itinerary.

The Western Highlands and Outer Hebrides tour was enjoyable, and I'm glad I did it, but there are lots of beautiful places in Scotland, so I'm not sure it's a must-do. It's more of a Lewis and Harris tour; the highlands portion of the tour wasn't super impressive since the main focus of the non-Outer Hebrides days was getting across the country. If the highlands are your focus, there's probably a better tour/itinerary.

Clothing: I always feel a bit underdressed when I travel in Europe, so I've begun to choose my vacation wardrobes carefully. I could have thrown all of that out the window for this trip! You can experience all types of weather in just a few hours, so bring lots of layers and clothing that can stand up to mud and rain (especially footwear). The activities on my tours weren't active enough to necessitate hiking gear, but the fabrics and footwear you'd use for hiking would be perfectly appropriate. I wore good, waterproof ankle boots, jeans, a t-shirt (or long-sleeved underlayer), sweater, and lined raincoat. If you run cold, like I do, a scarf and gloves may be nice to have on chillier days. If you're coming back to Edinburgh or Glasgow after a tour, you'll likely want/need a place to wash your clothes. There are also lockers in the Edinburgh bus station and at Waverley Station where you could leave a small bag with fresh clothes. Even in Edinburgh people seemed more attuned to the weather than to fashion.

Weather: I think late May was the perfect time of year to visit Scotland! Everything was so green and all of the flowers were in bloom. Temperatures were in the 50s and 60s during the day, and many days were a mixture of sun, clouds, wind, and often rain, although it rarely rained for more than an hour or so. According to weather charts, spring is actually one of the drier times to visit.

Food: Coriander (Oban) and Dishoom (Edinburgh) were the standout restaurants of the trip for me; both are Indian cuisine. The Ivy in Edinburgh has a gorgeous interior and good food. Most grocery stores have a lunch special where you can pick up a sandwich, drink, and snack for 4-5 pounds. If they're in season, pick up some Scottish-grown strawberries from the grocery store! If your accommodation has a microwave or stovetop, the M&S Food Hall is a fantastic option for very good pre-packaged meals in about any cuisine you can think of. The specialty chocolate at Mary's Milk Bar and Chocolates of Glenshiel (the website shows independent shops that carry this brand) are pricey but worth it for their unique flavors.

Cost: I'm not sure how long this info will be relevant, but just in case it's helpful, my 18-day trip came in at just under $4k (without the added cost of extended accommodations due to COVID).
Flight: $346 (these were the fees associated with using miles to book)
Tour: $1145 (two 10-day tours)
Lodging: $1732 ($774 during tour; $959 Edinburgh)
Food: $351
Attractions: $78
Souvenirs: $155

Thanks to all who read and commented!

Last edited by memejs; Jul 11th, 2022 at 01:14 PM.
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Old Jul 11th, 2022, 01:39 PM
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menejs, thanks for the tips and trip summary, I was telling my sister about Rabbies just this afternoon and saying we should plan a visit for 2023 maybe. Neither of us wants to drive and a small group tour would be ideal. Thanks so much for taking the time to tell us about your experiences, not to mention your stunning pictures!
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Old Feb 5th, 2023, 05:16 PM
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I’m just reading this now as I’m considering a trip to Scotland this year. What a great report and beautiful pictures, Glad you came back no worse for wear after contracting Covid and that you discovered the wonderfulness of Marks and Spencer.
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Old Feb 6th, 2023, 08:02 AM
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I really enjoyed reading your report last night. Spectacular photos and it was interesting to hear your take on the tour.
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Old Feb 6th, 2023, 04:18 PM
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aggiegirl and Paqngo I'm glad you enjoyed reading the report! Writing up trip reports is always fun for me too, since it lets me relive the experience.
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Old Jan 19th, 2024, 01:55 PM
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memejs – Your TR is great! Spectacular photos, beautiful! Interesting reading, informative, good tips and thoughts. Thank you so much for taking the time to tell us about your trip. It is very useful because it is reporting an experience in a tour, which we don’t see very often. And I am considering it to have my first visit to Scotland.

A question: After having the experience with “The Western Highlands and Outer Hebrides”, which tour would you have taken instead?

The Western Highlands and’ Outer Hebrides tour was enjoyable, and I'm glad I did it, but there are lots of beautiful places in Scotland, so I'm not sure it's a must-do. It's more of a Lewis and Harris tour; the highlands portion of the tour wasn't super impressive since the main focus of the non-Outer Hebrides days was getting across the country. If the highlands are your focus, there's probably a better tour/itinerary.”
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Old Jan 21st, 2024, 03:41 AM
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This is a fabulous trip report - thank you memejs! Last July we also took a 5-night Rabbies tour to the Outer Hebrides, but Covid struck half way through, in Stornoway. We are planning to return to Scotland and likely take the Rabbies tour to Iona, Mill and Skye.
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Old Jan 22nd, 2024, 06:48 AM
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leifields Good question. I don't think I personally would have chosen another tour. I was really excited about seeing Luskentyre beach. I said it's not a must-do more for those who might have fewer days and are using that as a main tour in Scotland. The Highlands part of that particular tour is mostly just driving through the highlands to get to the northwestern part of the country. There are better tours to take if you really want to experience the highlands. The Iona, Mull, and Skye tour was, in my opinion, the perfect introduction to Scotland. That's the one I'd recommend for a first-timer visitor. That being said, it seems like there is SO much to see in Scotland that it would be hard to go wrong, no matter what you choose.

GinnyJo Thank you! I'm so sorry you got hit by Covid, but I'm glad you have the opportunity to go back. I hope you love the Iona, Mull, and Skye tour as much as I did. I still think of Iona as one of the most special places I've been.
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Old Jan 25th, 2024, 04:01 PM
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Thanks for the reply, memejs. Yes, I'm considering the Iona, Mull, and Skye tour. But to add a few more days, as I wouldn't like to spend much time in long hour trips, maybe I would try public transportation to spend a couple of days in the Glencoe area.
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Old Jan 25th, 2024, 05:03 PM
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Originally Posted by leifields
Thanks for the reply, memejs. Yes, I'm considering the Iona, Mull, and Skye tour. But to add a few more days, as I wouldn't like to spend much time in long hour trips, maybe I would try public transportation to spend a couple of days in the Glencoe area.

Just a quick comment - there are some areas of Scotland that are easy/semi-easy by public transport. Glencoe really isn't one of them. There is only one bus route and it runs approx every 2 hours and essentially only gets one to Ft William.
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