Scotland in October- Travel Advice Needed
 

I have been wanting to travel to Scotland for years and come October 5th I'll finally be headed there with 2 of my good friends! We'll be staying from October 5th (arrive in Edinburgh October 6th- 9:30am) thru October 12th. We will not be renting a car and plan on using railway and bus to get around. I would really like to spend some time in the countryside as I've heard that, while fascinating, Glasgow and Edinburgh are just cities at the end of the day. I've never left the U.S. before so I'm very excited but also very novice. Any advice would be appreciated!

1. Is there taxi service, bus service or underground transportation in areas like Loch Ness, Maillag, Fort William, Oban etc.?

2. Is it even possible to explore the lush green countryside areas without a car? How?

3. Where is one area that has the rolling green mountains, castles and is easy to get to?

4. Bed and breakfast recommendations?

5. Is it easier to pay for everything via credit card or is it important to have pounds too?

6. Suggestions on must-see (not touristy necessarily) festivals, castles, sites etc.?

I may think of more questions as we dive into planning. Overall, my main goal is to be out and experience the "real" Scotland and not just the city.

Thanks!

-Jillian, 25, Connecticut

seat61.com explains the train system

http://www.traveline.info/ allows you to see how the ALL the public timetables link together

Probably the best way to see a fair bit of ground is doing some of the coach tours that head out from Edinburgh.

Bed and breakfasts, just use tripadvisor using the B&B option, most of the Uk comments are good but use a bit of common sense

If I wanted to base somewhere more focused and not city, I'd fly to one of the island communities and just go walking/bus catching and pub sitting. I like Orkney, some of my Friends like Shetland and then there are a whole bunch of people who like the Western Isles. You can fly out of G or E for £100 each way and stay in small towns. Orkney is good because they have world class archeology and some very fine artists, but other islands have their specialities.

1. The only underground system in Scotland is in Glasgow. There are however trains that run between places in Scotland - see www.scotrail.co.uk

2. Easiest would be someone like Rabbies or one of the other tour operators. Just don't try to do too much in one day - Loch Ness is a long day even in high summer, let alone when significant parts of it would be done in the dark

3. Edinburgh has a number of castles and rolling countryside, if you want the Highlands then see 2.

4. How much (in GBP) are you willing to pay per night

5. I spent a long weekend in Edinburgh a few days ago. I mostly used contactless cards with the occasional need for cash - mainly for buses which require exact fare. The smaller the place the more likely you are to need hard cash

6. Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile in general, doubt if they'll be many festivals in October.

Cities & towns ARE the real Scotland, Outlander isn't a documentary.

Rabbies and Timberbush run small group tours out of Edinburgh and Glasgow. That's the best way to see something of the Scottish countryside without renting a car. Trains don't cover much of the wilder areas.

You will need some pounds, especially in the small towns. Get them from an ATM as needed. Otherwise use your credit card. But watch out for helpful conversions to your home currency. There's a conversion surcharge. Better to have all charges in pounds.

You don't have much time. But do as much research as you can. There are lots of applicable posts here on Fodors if you search. Borrow guidebooks from the library. And the website undiscoveredscotland.co.uk has a lot of information.

Finally, bring rainwear!

<<We'll be staying from October 5th (arrive in Edinburgh October 6th- 9:30am) thru October 12th.>>

No you won't, you'll be staying from October 6-12. On the 5th, you're flying overnight.

<<1. Is there taxi service, bus service or underground transportation in areas like Loch Ness, Maillag, Fort William, Oban etc.?>>

Go to www.nationalrail.co.uk for information on the trains. You're lacking perspective on the size of Scottish cities. Glasgow is the most populous in Scotland and it would barely crack the top 30 in the US. Aberdeen is 3rd and it would barely crack the top 100.

<<2. Is it even possible to explore the lush green countryside areas without a car? How?>>

Not on your own, with a day trip tour group.

<<3. Where is one area that has the rolling green mountains, castles and is easy to get to?>>

Aberdeenshire. The "mountains" are mostly big hills.

<<4. Bed and breakfast recommendations?>>

Where and at what price?

Go on tripadvisor and similar. Note that in Scotland B&Bs have 1-5 guest rooms, "Guest Houses" have 6-10 and are just larger B&Bs.

<<5. Is it easier to pay for everything via credit card or is it important to have pounds too?>>

This question makes no sense, easier than what?

The UK has a full spate of electricity and computer services that allow paying by credit card nearly everywhere. You don't need to BRING pounds because that's just daft - only old people and folks traveling exclusively in rustic areas of third world countries need to have local cash on hand. In the UK, you can withdraw at an ATM at the airport upon arrival. Obtaining foreign currency from your bank in the US screws you on the exchange rate.

Two more notes: (1) do not EVER use Dynamic Currency Conversion at a vendor in a credit card transaction or an ATM debit card withdrawal. That means if anyone (or any electronic terminal) asks if you'd like to "convert" the charge or "pay in dollars" your answer is NO. Pay in the local scrip only. Your credit card issuer or debit card issuer will give you the actual interbank exchange rate, the DCC system will give you an unfavorable rate.

(2) Get a credit card and debit card that have low foreign exchange fees. You're young - every nickel you save now on otherwise unnecessary fees can turn into a lot of them in the next couple of decades. Most credit cards and banks exchange money at the interbank rate (that's the published exchange rate you see on xe.com or oanda.com) but charge about 3% of the value of the transaction for foreign exchange conversion (and banks often have withdrawal fees). That sucks, but it's actually less than exchanging cash where the rate is far worse.

Credit Unions, Capital One, Barclaycard and others have no or small foreign exchange fees (0-1%). Capital One online banking also does not charge for ATM withdrawals.

<<6. Suggestions on must-see (not touristy necessarily) festivals, castles, sites etc.?>>

You're going in October. Festivals in the UK are in summer.

I am not going to re-invent the wheel -- from some of your questions it does seem you know very little about Scotland (not a criticism -- we all had to start somewhere :) ) But we'd really have to write a full on guide book to even get you on the right track.

If you are flying out on the 12th you will have 5.5 days on the ground which is nothing really.

First of all -- Do NOT underestimate Edinburgh. Yes it is a city -- but if you've never left the States it is like no other city you've ever seen plus it has the mother of all castles. I'd stay in Edinburgh 2 nights (which will only give you 1 full day part of a day on Oct 6)

Then check out the offerings on Rabbies (Timberbush is good too but Rabbies does exclusively small groups) https://www.rabbies.com/en/scotland-...from-edinburgh

Pick one of the 1, 2 or 3, day tours that appeals to you. (If you choose single day trips -- then pick 2 different ones and extend your stay in Edinburgh since the tours return to Edinburgh each night)

Rabbies/Timberbush is your only practical option to get very far into the countryside since you have soooooooo little time in the country.

<i>Festivals in the UK are in summer.</i>

Outdoor festivals are in summer but you do get indoor festivals most of the year especially non-music festivals like the Scottish International Storytelling Festival.

If the OP's dates are accurate they are in-country 5.5 days (6.5 IF they actually fly out on the 13th) and very few events are during those few days. None that would probably be 'musts' - though the Enchanted Forest would be fun if I had enough time to spend a night in Pitlochry.

http://scotlandwelcomesyou.com/october/

Thanks everyone for initial feedback. Clearly I have my work cut out for me. And BigRuss, thorough answers, appreciated, but let's keep the unnecessary snarkiness to a minimum. I'm well aware that we'll be arriving on October 6th, I booked the ticket ��

While it's a tall order, keep the advice coming.

>>Clearly I have my work cut out for me.<<

Yep . . .

I'd suggest you get a guidebook or two and look over the Rabbies link work out a basic plan and then we can help you refine it.

>>. Overall, my main goal is to be out and experience the "real" Scotland . . . <<

Not in five-ish days you won't really. You will have time to see Edinburgh and either a short group tour, or part of one other region accessible by train and/or bus.