kXb

My husband, young adult children (22 & 17) & I are traveling to Scotland this June. It's the trip of a lifetime & I want it to be as perfect as possible. We do not want any sort of formal group tour as dh doesn't care for crowds. My children are somewhat adventurous as long as it doesn't entail too much strenuous activity (my 17yo daughter was totally against a multi-day self guided bike tour even though mileage per day was quite reasonable-at least to me). DH & I most definitely want to go on a guided fly fishing trip (need equipment provided as we are traveling only in carry-ons!).

I have some parts of the trip figured out but there are holes that I need to fill in. I'm a bit of a worry-wart and would be quite nervous not making arrangements ahead of time (unless I get good advice to the contrary....then I will try to be brave and not have accommodations arranged!). Also distances and time it takes to travel them is perplexing to me. We are from Texas so to go from one side of the state to the other is a 10+ hour process!

Here's the over all plan:
Arrive in Edinburgh on 14June and stay 4 nights at Ard-na-Said B&B
4 nights in unknown places but general idea is to drive to Isle of Skye area, Isle of Lewis (Standing Stones of Calainish), Stornoway, Ullapool, Inverness NEED HELP HERE!
Arrive in Banffshire on 22June and stay 3 nights at Old Manse of Craggan B&B (working on our guided fishing trip here but advise would be appreciated)
Arrive in Glasgow on 25June and stay last 4 nights in Brunswick Hotel

We are renting a car on our last day in Edinburgh and would prefer not to have to go out to the airport to pick it up. On the coastal leg of the journey, we don't want to be so rushed by driving and staying in a different place every night that we don't get to explore. Budget is in the mid-range as we have quite modest needs. Fancy/upscale is NOT a requirement but clean and comfortable is. Would prefer to have two rooms (double + twin) with a bathroom in at least one of the rooms but don't mind bunking in together for a few nights.

Hopefully you haven't fallen asleep by the end of this post. I would be so grateful for any and all comments.

janisj

I only have time for a very quick comment right now -- but 4 days is definitely NOT long enough for Edinburgh to Skye to Lewis to Ullapool to Inverness to Glenlivet. Just not doable . . . You'd need easily twice that if you ever wanted to get out of the car or off the ferries or see anything . . .

kXb

That's what I was afraid of that we were trying to cram too much in to a short period of time. I am happy to stay the full 4 days in one place with day trips around to see varying things. We want nothing to do with the likes of Ft. William as I hear it's very touristy and that is not our thing. Looking forward to more input!

historytraveler

I agree with janisj. You're trying to cover too much area in too short of time. janisj is much better than I am at sorting out itineraries, but I do have a few suggestions to get you thinking.

When working on itineraries, there are a few essentials. First work with a good map. I like the ones that have a scale of at least 4 miles to an inch. My favorite is 4.75-1" This, at least, gives you a good visual sense of travel distances. A good map site/route planner is another tool. For Great Britain, I like www.theaa.co.uk the best. You can plug in your destinations and use the <I> via</I> for any detours. Be aware that you'll need to add to the time estimates as they do not figure in any stops and can be a bit on the short side for travelers not use to the roads. Note that the scenery in Scotland can be distracting, causing frequent photo stops as well as other sidetracks that will likely come up. Ferry schedules to/from Ullapool/Stornoway and Uig/Tarbet need to be checked as crossings are not frequent and may not fit into your timeframe. www.calmac.co.uk

Personally,I'd stick to the area around Aberdeen/Deeside/Moray Firth. There are some excellent sites to visit and a good variety of things to see and do.
For standing stones,you could visit Loanhead Stone Circle not far from Aberdeen. They're not as impressive (in size) as Callanish, but there'll certainly be fewer people there.

You are right in trying to avoid Fort William. I'd also give Inverness a miss to but that relates only to the town itself as there are many pleasant spots nearby.

Good luck.

robertino

Four nights seems like a very long time in Glasgow unless you have something special planned. Even though it's a perfectly nice city, I would only spend a day in Glasgow, tops. In fact, I would probably drop Glasgow and add those four nights to your western Highlands / Hebrides visit.

Likewise, you could skip Inverness and still have a great Scotland experience.

I haven't been to Lewis so cannot comment, but it seems far. I might substitute with Mull and Iona. Iona is a pretty special place.

kXb

Thank you for all the advice so far. I can certainly trim down a few days in Glasgow and add them to the coastal area (maybe stay at Plockton, Kyle of Lochalsh or Mallaig??). We will drop the Isle of Lewis/Ullapool plan altogether and will just do the Inverness area on a day trip from Banffshire if we have to see something over there.

Historytraveler, thank you for the links. Will take a look. I had not even thought of the Aberdeen area but that would be quite logical to swing that direction from Edinburgh on our way to the Highlands. It sounded like an industrial town so I hadn't really considered it. Will try to do more research.

Any help on specific places to stay (b&b or quaint hotel) or further general advice would be appreciated. We are eager for input on the "must see's" in the places we are already scheduled to see as well. I do have one book we are referencing "Scotland for Dummies" but if someone has another recommendation, that would be great.

Thanks all!

alihutch

Actually you could spend a week in Glasgow and not get bored! If you're interested I can suggest some things to see and do. Your hotel is in Merchant City which is a great spot a very short walk to the city centre and with lots of great bars and restaurants around, as well as the City Halls and the Old Fruitmarket for varying concerts. Here are 3 websites about the Merchant City area:
http://www.merchantcityglasgow.com/
http://www.merchantsquareglasgow.com/
http://www.glasgowmerchantcity.net/

You're also near to the Cathedral. If you hop on the underground and come out to the West End, you'll find a great area near the University (which was founded in 1452) and the Botanic Gardens.
With any luck you'll arrive just as the new Transport Museum (designed by Zaha Hadid) opens on the River Clyde.

If your daughter likes shopping she'll be very happy, as it's the best shopping city in the UK outwith London.

By all means cut down on Glasgow a little, as there is so much to see in Scotland, but don't right it off as a one day thing!

kXb

Thanks alihutch. I had heard the shopping is wonderful so my daughter will be happy indeed! and I guess I'll be "forced" to go along to supervise

Gordon_R

<i>I had not even thought of the Aberdeen area but that would be quite logical to swing that direction from Edinburgh on our way to the Highlands. It sounded like an industrial town so I hadn't really considered it. Will try to do more research.</i>

Read carefully - the (good) advice you had was to visit the countryside around but not <i>in</i> Aberdeen. You could also consider Perthshire and Fife for interesting ranges of things to do and see outside the big cities. Check out www.visitscotland.com (the official visitor info site) for more ideas.

kXb

Gordon_R, you are right! I didn't read very carefully at all. I will focus more on the prepositions

Thank you for the link. Will peruse soon. So much to see and so little time. I feel like time is running short.

I referred to this in my first post but does anyone have any guidance on the rental car situation. Any companies that seem to be the most reasonably priced?

All the input is great.....keep it coming!

janisj

Every time I see your thread I am on my way out. But you are getting lots of good advice from others.

"<i>I can certainly trim down a few days in Glasgow and add them to the coastal area (maybe stay at Plockton, Kyle of Lochalsh or Mallaig??).</i>"

OK -- You will be ON Skye -- if you have an 'extra' night(s) -- spend it ON Skye. There is no reason (at all/ever) to stay in Mallaig unless you missed the last ferry of the day and have no other choice. Kyle is just across the bridge from Skye so no reason to pack and move to Kyle. And Plockton is worth a stop -- IF you have already spent 2 or 3 full days on Skye.

re Glasgow -- I don't think you should cut it out -- but 2 full days would be better IMO. (Alihutch will hate this BTW ) If you had weeks - then yes 4 or 5 days in Glasgow would be great. But you don't - and every day you spend in Glasgow is cutting out much needed time you need in the north. (Or at most spend 3 nights in the city)

And this will surprise some- I think you should also cut one day from Edinburgh. It is one of my VERY favorites places anywhere. But 3 days will give you a very good overview and time to hit all the highlights w/o a frantic rush. It is a compact city.

The cities are easy -- it is the rural/countryside touring that takes loads of time. Instead of 4 days/4 days/3 days/4 days I'd consider 3 days Edinburgh, 7 days for the west/Skye/NW, 3 nights in Banffshire, and 2 days in Glasgow.

sheila

My tuppence worth?

You can do your 4 days in Edinburgh if you want to. I wouldn't but I'm not a city person. There is waaaay more than 4 days of things to do

Don't worry about getting places to stay in June,. It won't be hard.

If the plan is to finish in Glasgow an anti-clockwise trip makes more sense.

And yes, you can hire in the town centre- at Waverley Station, and there's someone in Picardy Place, too, I think.

If Banff is about the fishing, may I direct you here? I think it has all the information you need.

http://www.fishingthedeveron.co.uk/R...ation_2011.htm

Stay in one of the wee fishing villages rather than Banff itself.

Take a full day to drive from there to Skye (me, I'd do the Lewis bit, but....)

As history traveller said, there's masses of prehistory in the North East, although nothing quite like Callanish.

Take at LEAST a day to drive from Skye to Glasgow.

kXb

I'm giddy with excitement at all the wonderful advice. Am ever so grateful and will take all into consideration.

Sheila, are you saying I shouldn't worry about reserving accommodations ahead of time or just don't stress until it's more pinned down as to where we want to go? And many many thanks for the link....my husband is in charge of the fishing and I will pass that on to him.

historytraveler

I'm not familar with <I>Scotland for Dummies, </I> but my two favorites are Peter Irvine's <I> Scotland the Best </I> and <I> Footprint: Scotland Highlands and Islands Handbook</I> by Alan Murphy. The <I> visitscotland </I> website that Gordon mentioned will give you valuable information as well as B&B possibilities.

As sheila said, you can pick up your car at Waverley Station, and it's fairly easy to exit the city from there (that is if they've finished with the construction on Princes Street). The airport is also easy to access and close to the M8 and M9.

janisj

Sheila's suggestion to go anticlockwise makes perfect sense and will streamline things a bit. Edinburgh > (maybe squeeze in Aberdeen area/Deeside here) > Banff area > Inverness area > the NW > Lewis/Harris > Skye > Glasgow.

If you do cut 2 or 3 days in total from the two cities you would have time to do it all including Lewis since you are talking 10-ish days for between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

alihutch

kXb You may be relieved to know that the only Versace store in the UK which was in Glasgow has closed, although they still have a presence in Frasers! Def you should supervise, lots of Designer, lots of 'High Street' and lots of Vintage/Quirky etc.
Btw walked past the Brunswick last night...lovely sunny evening, it's a nice quiet street.

Janisj Cutting back to 2 days is cool, my objection was someone saying that it was hardly worth a day, which I suspect you won't agree with either. Once we get nearer to having our holiday rental apartment, I'll be compiling lots of visitor info and tons of photos. The architecture in the city is stunning, and I already have many nics pics, though sometimes you have to remember to look up!

kXb

alihutch, vintage/quirky is right up dd's alley. I will tell her to start saving her money right now!

As much as we would like to see it all in the time we have, I think we are going to have to make some difficult choices and pare it down One thing we do NOT want to do is pack up and move every couple of days. We would rather stay in max of 4 places (two of which are Edinburgh and Glasgow of course!) and then make day trips to see things within a few hours of our home base. Just a brief viewing of the visitscotland site tells me it will be a great resource. Thanks Gordon_R! Now to find the time to peruse in depth (why does work have to get in the way of vacation planning!)

GreenDragon

If you click my name and find my 2008 trip report, it's in many of the areas you are considering. We did 3 nights each in Edinburgh, Grantown-on-Spey (near Banff), Orkney, Lewis, Skye (4 nights), Mull, and Killin.

I like the Janisj suggested itinerary.

Lewis/Harris is definitely worth it, IMHO. It's wild, it's sparse, it's filled with history and beauty, stark and strong. I could have spent a whole week there, and still not seen all I need to see. Just one warning - be wary of driving on The Golden Road. It's in my trip report, and a very scary drive (south Harris). OK, a second warning - if you are on the Isles of Lewis and/or Harris on a Sunday, most things are closed, including restaurants, grocery stores, etc. - plan accordingly. We just shifted our plans so we weren't there on Sunday, and had no problems. There's a great Indian restaurant facing the harbor in Stornoway on the south end - I think it was called Balti House?

Skye is a wonder. If I can ever move to Scotland, I would move there. It's magical. Look up the Fairy Glen, it's right near Uig.

sheila

I was saying you'll pick up accommodation as you go.

alihutch

kXb I'll get together a list of places for you. What else are you interested in and I'll suggest other Glasgow things...