Scotland in June
 

Hi,
My husband and I are planning a trip in late June to Scotland for about two weeks.
I have researched info and read many of the chats. I appreciate everyone's suggestions. Here is our tentative plan:
Days 1-3 arrive in Edinburgh via the U.S.
Days 4-6 Glen Lyon region
Days 7-8 Trossachs region/ Sterling
Days 9-12 Skye
Day 13 Glasgow
Day 14 Fly home from Glasgow

Does this itinerary sound feasible? Not sure about the distances especially to Skye and then back to Glasgow.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

If you are driving just remember that it will take at least twice as much time as you expect just loking at the milage numbers because there are few motorways and the speed limits, not to mention practical speed, are lower than the US or Canada.
It will probably take you all day to drive from Skye to Glasgow.
That said, if youdon't mind a long day in the car between points it looks like your itineray is feasible

Good point - allow for only averaging 35 mph.

Other than that I have no comments except to say congratulations on not trying to fit too much in, like most do. Oh, and presumably you will pick up the car on leaving Edinburgh & ditch it on arrival at Glasgow ? You don't want a car in the cities.

The time allowance for travelling too and from Skye depends on whether your intention is to get to your destinations quickly or to stop off at places en route.

Either option is possible but you will need to plan for them slightly different.

The Skye to Glasgow route can be done 'without stopping' in about 4 to 5 hours but expect to be frustrated in the single lane twisting roads. (Similar from Sterling)

If you are planning a leisurely drive with occasional stops to enjoy the scenary then I would add 2-3 hours to these times.

Hope you have a wonderful trip the areas you are planning to visit are amazing.

Two things- I did a great long list of things to do on teh Upper tay fr someone else a couple of years ago. If you email me, I'll send it to you

And just to assist if you're googling- and not because I'm a pedant, honest- it's "Stirling"

Sheila thanks for the correction (I don't think it's pedant (or is that pedantic - now I am really confused) - LOL

Isn't it funny how you doubt yourself?

I did a google map search to remind myself of the distance between Skye and 'Stirling' typing correct and never thought about it yet when replying I typed 'Stirling' and then amended it to 'Sterling' just because someone else did. I even thought of money at the time

I should have had more faith in myself (must be time for a cuppa).

Hi,
Thanks for the feedback about our trip to Scotland. A few more questions. What ferry would be the best for us to get if we go to Skye from the Trossachs region and then back to Glasgow at the end of the trip?
Also, is it best to book B and B's before we come to Scotland? Or is it feasible to find B and B's once we are in the countryside? I would assume we would book hotels in Edinburgh and Glasgow but wasn't sure about the places in between. Any suggestions of places to stay that are not that expensive (given the US dollar's decline)would also be great.
Thanks!

I would recommend pre-booking the accommodation to avoid disappointment and last minute panic in trying to find somewhere to stay.

When we visited Skye (3 years ago I think) we stayed in lovely B&B called www.cruinnbheinn.co.uk which was very reasonably priced and the family were great.

In Glasgow, I stayed in the West End at Kelvingrove Hotel - see tripadvisor reviews and photos(including mine) at http://tinyurl.com/2k7a4c.

In Skye, we stayed at a lovely B&B - Ben Tianavaig. For tripadvisor reviews and photos (again, including mine), visit http://tinyurl.com/2uz3dd.

Both great budget choices.

Your itinerary takes in all the main sites in scotland and if you get some sunny weather then it should be spectacular.

Pre booking accommodation is always a good idea, especially if you end up in any small towns which tend to get really busy. www.roomsinscotland.com has a lot of accommodation in various places.

As for your travelling, i dont know if you are going to drive to all the destinations but if not then http://www.travelinescotland.com is great for planning trips using public transport.

&quot;<i>What ferry would be the best for us to get if we go to Skye from the Trossachs region and then back to Glasgow at the end of the trip? </i>&quot;

The best bet is to take the bridge (Kyle of Lochalsh) one way and the ferry (Mallaig/Armadale) the other. So you can take the bridge route to Skye and the ferry route off the island - or vice versa. That way you see different things on both legs.

As for pre-booking B&amp;Bs - I wouldn't worry too awfully much. Yes, you definitely want rooms booked for Edinburgh and Glasgow. I'd personally also pre-book in Glen Lyon since it is very rural. But around Callander/the Trossachs and on Skye there are many, MANY B&amp;B's and handy tourist information centers that can find you places on your route.

If you were traveling in July/August -- or if you were 2 or 3 couples/a large family I would have a different recommendation. Pre-booking everywhere would be best.

But in June and for only the 2 of you - you really can find places as you want/where you want.

Thanks for the feedback,
We will make reservations in Edinburgh and Glasgow as well as the Glen Lyon area. Any suggestions for places that are not too expensive?

really need to know what you mean by &quot;not too expensive&quot;.

We stayed at the Ravensdown Guest House when in Scotland last August and found it to be a good value (if you weren't paying August prices!). They are on the double decker bus line into the city and it's very clean and quiet.

But there are many to pick from. You might try www.scotlandby.com I found them very helpful for our trip.

We also very much enjoyed our stay at the Murraypark Hotel in Crieff but that may not be close enough to Glen Lyon to work for you. Lovely small inn with a nice staff and good food.

Parts of my trip report might of of interest to you:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35058184

We'll be in many of the same places at the same time - when do you arrive/leave? We will be in Edinburgh June 14-17, and in Skye June 26-29.

Hi all,

Well we finally have our tix to Edinburgh for June. It was cheaper to fly out of there and get a direct flight to the US. Our plan will stay the same as I wrote at the beginning of this post. Just a few questions.
Any ideas for B and B's in Edinburgh where we do not have to take a bus to get to places? We will rent a car so any ideas of best places to rent would be great
Also it seems that from the posts it would be best to get a place booked for Glen Lyon. Any ideas for a place?
For the Trossachs region and Skye we thought we would just drive around and then find a place so we do not have to rush to get to a specific place.
We will be celebrating our anniversary while on Skye, so any ideas for restaurants or B and B's might be helpful.
One last detail... Since we will be flying out of Edinburgh we will need to drive all the way to there from Skye. Is this possible or should we cut short one of our stays somewhere and stay overnight on the way to Edinburgh.
Thank you all for your input and ideas. I keep reading the posts to firm up our plans.

For restaurants on Skye, I suggest the following:

The Three Chimneys...one of the best in Scotland

www.threechimneys.co.uk

On the Sleat Peninsula...Hotel Eilean Iarmain and Kinloch Lodge

www.eileanarmain.co.uk
www.kinloch-lodge.com

Portree...Chandlery Seafood Restaurant next to the Bosville Hotel( although it's been several years since I ate there).

www.macleodhotels.co.uk/bosville

I hope you don't plan to rent the car until you leave Edinburgh ? Parking in the centre of Edinburgh is very difficult &amp; expensive.

If you don't want to get buses here your B&amp;B choices will mostly be posh ones in the New Town (the central Georgian part), where they mostly cost about &pound;50-60 per person per night - is that within your budget ? One which is a bit cheaper and very central is the Castle View Guest House on Castle St so you could try that. It always got good reviews here but was up for sale about a year ago - I'm not sure what the outcome was but it still seems to be in business. It did always book up early though, so it may be full by now - you have left it very late to book.

Otherwise, a bit cheaper, there are a few others on the fringes of the city centre - one I've seen recommended several times here is 2 Cambridge Street, or look for one in Tollcross.

Thanks Caroline,
50 pounds would be ok. I guess that is about $100 each.
We will not have the car while in Edinburgh, but will get it on the way out of town.
On the way back home we will be staying again in Edinburgh and will have the car. Can any one recommend a hotel near the airport since we will be leaving the next day?
Thanks!