Scotland Itinerary Input, Please!:)
 

Hello,I am planning a Scotland trip in April of '06 with a friend of mine.It'll be our first visit to Scotland.:)We will be driving, so our travelling will not be limited to public transportation.Here's our trip as follows:
1)Fly into Glasgow(in the a.m.)Travel into Perthshire area.Spend 1st night.
2)Drive up to Inverness.Stay 2 nights in i-ness area.(want to take cruise to see dolphins in Moray Firth).Also, cruise in Loch Ness.
3)Drive on through to Glen Coe area.Spend night in area.
4)The next 2 days/nights in Loch Lomond/Trossachs park area.(want to kayak or something in Loch Lomond)Fly home.
Did that make sense?I'm still working on our lodging, but don't have specifics yet.Did I leave out a major details?Let me know.I just want to enjoy our trip and not do too much and kill ourselves while we visit that beautiful country.Thanks!Lots of Love!

Your general itinerary is fairly reasonable. But I would do it in reverse. Loch lomond > Trossachs > Glen Coe > Inverness > Perthshire/Stirling > Glasgow > Home.

Main reason being, after an overnight transatlantic flight, you will probably be too jet lagged and tired to be able to drive far the first day. Loch Lomond is a very short and easy drive from GLA.

I did assume you were coming from North America. If instead, you're flying in from the Continent you won't have to deal w/ jet lag so your original plan works better.

One other suggestion - don't stay IN Inverness. Stay in a B&B outside of the town, or even better somewhere like Fortrose, Beauly or Strathpeffer. You'd still be w/i easy drives of Loch Ness and the Moray and Cromarty firths.

BTW - you don't even have to go out on a boat to see the dolphins. They come right in VERY close to shore and you can easily see them from the walls of Ft George or from the shore especially around Rosemarkie/Fortrose.

Janisj:Thanks for your input!:)
Also, since I will be driving, how hard will it be to find petrol and what can I expect to pay for it.They usually charge by liter, right?Help!:)

OTOH, depending on where you stay, you can get onto the motorway (freeway) at the airport, and not have to get off until you get to where you're going in Perthshire. Dunkeld seems like a good bet. Whereas you have a number of twists and turns between Glasgow airport and Loch Lomond.

If you go dolphin hunting PLEASE use one of the wildlife friendly boats. the dolphins are suffering from too much attention and OUr wildlife agency has set up a code of practice for the boat trip people. Please only use someone who follows it.

http://www.loupers.com/guidetowatching_boat.html

http://www.canyouexperience.com/

It sounds just fine. What sort of place do you want to stay in?

Nowhere you are going will you find it hard to find petrol. If I were you I'd get a diesel vehicle. Diesel is about 92.5p/litre. It may be more expensive in the more rurla localities.

I plan on staying at various B&Bs.I'm working on where now.There are so many choices;I love it!I'll let you know what I'm leaning towards in the next couple weeks.
I know this sounds really stupid but:
Here in the states when you want lunch; towns either have fast food, regular restaurants or cafes.I know it's a bit different in Scotland, especially in the countryside which is where I will be most of the time.I'm not worried about dinner, because I'm planning on staying in B&B that have restuarant in them or relatively close to a pub,etc.How hard will it be to find cafes,etc in the areas I will be going?I know it sounds like an ignorant question but I want to have things really planned out.Thanks for your patience.

Most B&Bs don't offer evening meal -- but some do. But as long as you are in a good sized village or town there will be pubs and restaurants nearby and there are fish and chips shops, chinese take aways, etc. Just lots of options as long as you aren't in a pretty remote B&B far from anything. One thing - IF you do go to fish and chips take away for dinner - be sure to ask at the B&B if it is OK to bring it back to your room. Most won't care and may even give you plates and silverware to use. But some have strict rules about cooked foods in their rooms - mostly because of the smell and possible mess.

as for lunch times -- again in any town or good sized village you will find places to eat. Pubs are usually a good bet. Not that many fast food options (a good thing IMHO) except at motorway rest tops or in the cities.

In Glencoe, the Clachaig Inn is a good place to eat lunch after visiting the visitors center.

And don't leave it til too late to have dinner - many pubs and restaurants will stop serving fairly early.

Thanks!I'm really getting excited about my trip!:)It'll be here before I know it.
Quick question: I will be going right by a place called 'House of Braur'.What is it exactly?How expensive is it?

My favourite place in Scotland is Isle of Sky (northwest).
Surf the web and have a nice trip !!

I meant Isle of Skye

I will never understand why folks avoid the Lowlands of Scotland. No place is more beautiful with better walking trails and more history than the Lowlands. (and the Lowlands are not low.....they are almost mountainous but with green and trees covering everything.)

In our visit to Scotland we loved the Highlands and totally enjoyed visiting Glamis Castle (birthplace of the Queen Mother) and all that went with a tour of the north but I would have missed so much by not going south to visit Melrose and the southern towns.

To walk on a 5000 year old trail between Melrose and Newstead. The old ruins, the friendly people. I cannot imagine visiting Scotland and leaving out the Lowlands. Never!

Timlin: I definitely agree with you. The Borders, Ayrshire and the SW are all wonderful. But virginiarose has a very short time, apparently wants to go north and has some specific requirements (such as the Moray firth/dolphins). So recommending Melrose and the Border Abbeys isn't very practical.

On some of my trips to Scotland I have not gotten farther north than the Borders/Edinburgh, and on some no farther south than Stirling/Callander.

Just about any part of Scotland has a LOT to offer. Just because someone wants to go north doesn't mean they are "avoiding" the lowlands, they are just making choices. w/ just 6 nights it would be VERY hard to cover Glencoe, the Black Isle AND the Borders.

Virginia

One comment I'd make about your lunches and dinners. Don't assume in rural Scotland that you'll be able to eat after 2.30pm or after 9pm. You might, but it's not a given. But you're going somewhere where industry is tourism so there'll be somewher to eat, everywhere.

House of Bruar is pretty fine. It IS expensive and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It'sa kind of upmarket department store, majoring on crafts, the kind of food you buy to say you bought it, and cashmere. Think "Harrods of the North"; but not quite so big.

Hi virginiarose. Your trip sounds like great fun; my concern would be the weather that time of year. We're planning our Scotland golf tour for '06 and ruled out spring as an option - BRRR! Golf and kayaking - different strokes :-)

I love getting all sorts of responses!:)Thanks!
One more question: Does anyone know about 'Clifton House' in Nairn?I saw someone mention it on another post, but was unable to find it on the net.If not, can anyone suggests where to stay in Inverness AREA.Not so much Inverness, itself.Thanks!!I'll be looking for all opinions. :)

The Clifton House is a nice hotel, and Nairn is a nice town. Another option on the far side of Inverness would be the Lovat Arms in Beaulyhttp://www.lovatarms.com/

I don't think the Clifton House has a web site.

I have 2 recommendations for accomodations.

Around from Loch Lomand is Loch Melfort where you can find Hotel Melfort looking right out over the water.

Inverlochy Castle is kind of near Glen Coe and if you want a castle experience, its terrific.

You can find info and links to both in the Scotland section of my site.

http://www.mcdougalladventures.com/category/scotland/

Have fun. Scotland is wonderful!

Ummm. I'm a great fan of loch melfort, but it's some distance from Loch Lomond. Just over 80 very slow miles, I think.

Just a few comments on this whole thread. I was in Scotland this Oct, in many of the areas you mention, and you might want to read my trip report http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34691867

About House of Bruar: if nothing else, the food in the restaurant there is absolutely wonderful, and very reasonable. The choices are almost overwhelming! There's a nice walk to a falls there, too.

In the Inverness area, we loved staying at Dunain Park http://www.dunainparkhotel.co.uk/ I don't know your exact dates, but their 'low season' rates apply into April (according to their website) and that means you can get a reasonable dinner plan that will include their excellent restaurant.

I also stayed at Culloden House ten years ago,
http://www.cullodenhouse.co.uk/ and it is now incredibly expensive; but what an experience!

And about cars: we rented a diesel car, a VW Passat wagon (there were 4 adults) and we never had any trouble finding fuel in ten days of driving. Diesel does give you good fuel usage, though, so it is worth asking for.

Have a great trip - planning it is the half the fun, I think, and this forum is a big help!

Dorothy

Hi!!!Are there going to be activities available(at Loch Lomond) on the water?Or am I going too early?
Anyone familar with the'Water's Edge Cottage'in Loch Lomond area?How about 'Ascot House' in Nairn?

We stayed for a week in Callendar at the Leny Lodge self catering. It was a good location to do daytrips from. Leny also has a B&B on the property.