Kristina

Gardyloo- Can you tell me a little more why you like the Plockton - Torridon - Ullapool section of the itinerary?

This route you suggested- https://goo.gl/maps/WRy9b9Ltaps has only 2 nights on Skye? I was thinking of 3.
Your route:
1 Edinburgh - Glen Etive - Glen Coe
2 Glen Coe - Dornie - PM on Skye
3 Day on Skye
4 Day on Skye - Plockton
5 Plockton - Torridon - Ullapool
6 Ullapool - Inverness, train south

What if instead of the day 5 section we spent another day at the beginning getting to Skye and maybe going to Oban? And then after Skye drive to Inverness from Kyle of Lochalsh?

1 Edinburgh - Stirling-Oban
2 Oban-? (maybe 2 nights in Oban? Possible to do a day trip to Mull?)
3 Oban?- Skye
4 Day on Skye
5 Day on Skye
6 Skye - Inverness, train south

This is just to lay out the days but I'm unclear as to where we'd go for the first 2 days.

Gardyloo

<i>Can you tell me a little more why you like the Plockton - Torridon - Ullapool section of the itinerary?</i>

Don't take this as being snarky, not my intent. But let's back up for a minute: why do you want to visit Skye, and why for three full days as opposed to two or four? Specific destinations? Beautiful scenery? Cultural sites or activities? Or does your thinking include something that might be less definable - "atmosphere," for example?

They're all legitimate, and choosing one place over another can support those reasons and make for a terrific experience. But it can also <i>preclude</i> experiences that might serve them better, "if only I'd known..."

With a very, very few days you have to choose what you want to see and experience, and personal tastes are important. My tastes lead me to go off the beaten path when possible, and in the Scottish Highlands and Islands it IS possible. So my route, to the extent it's possible with a very few days, tries to do that. Skye is beautiful and has good variety, but it's VERY popular when you'll be visiting. To me - not necessarily to you - being by myself in a beautiful or historic place is a marvelous experience.

Let me refer you to a "micro" trip report I submitted a couple of years ago. I had a car and only a couple of days to drive around the Highlands, so I picked a couple of places I hadn't visited in a long time, places I knew would be unlikely to have too many other people present when I was there. http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-scotland.cfm

I wanted to revisit Glen Etive because I think it's drop-dead gorgeous, and I wanted to revisit Croick and drive up to an ancient Pictish <i>broch</i> in one of the loneliest and most beautiful valleys I've ever visited. All three sites are not only gorgeous, they're incredibly evocative of a history that goes back millennia. I didn't go to Skye partly because it's a long way, but partly because I didn't want to share the road with hundreds of other cars. I wanted the solitude.

But that's just me, and suggesting that you should do as I do is insulting to you. I'm merely trying to lay out options.

So why Plockton - Torridon - Ullapool - Inverness? Because - <i>to me</i> - that area is beautiful and relatively empty compared to Skye and the Glen Coe - Fort William - Great Glen "corridor." Now it's not as empty as northern Sutherland (where I visited the <i>broch</i but it will certainly feel more remote than you <i>might</i> encounter on Skye. And it's convenient if you're ending in Inverness.

But swapping a drive down to Oban or Mull for that loop is totally fine. Getting from Oban to Skye can be a very long day as it either involves a long drive up the Great Glen to get to the Kyle bridge, or else a long drive out the Road to the Isles to Mallaig and a ferry. You might find yourself feeling rushed; I know I would.

I was going back to your original post where you stated <i>We’d love to see castles, standing stones, beautiful scenery, villages, do some nice hikes/walks etc. (yeah, all the usual things). We love to eat well, and enjoy drinking Scotch Whisky so we’d like to visit some distilleries.</i>

Just my opinion, but my "southern loop" - Ft. William - Mull - Kilmartin - Inveraray - Ft. William - meets all those criteria; the northern loop considerably less so. But like I said, I get the appeal of Skye, so it's not my place to say, "Don't go there." But with a few days you have to choose, and I think my proposed route would give you more variety, hit more of your priorities, and would be less "crowded" (a relative term) than one that includes Skye.

But this is YOUR trip and you're to be commended for doing the research you've already done. At the end of the day, there really aren't any bad choices when visiting the west of Scotland.

janisj

My 2¢ and to semi paraphrase -- none of the areas we have mentioned are 'better' than the others. Scotland is a BIG place with hundreds remote and less remote areas/sites all of which are gorgeous. You will only get a teensy taste where ever you end up going. I have been to every place Gardyloo mentions - some once, some a few times, some many times - and you can't make a 'wrong' choice. That is the problem - we often throw in other options just because we love the place sooooooo much. And end up confusing things. Skye is great, Torridon is great, the Great Glen is great, Aberdeenshire is great . . . .

Kristina

Guess what? We've been looking at a 6 day itinerary for this section, but I actually have 6 nights and 7 days!
We arrive into London and go straight to Edinburgh on a Thursday. We have Thursday and Friday nights in Edinburgh.
"Day 1" of the rest of the trip is a Saturday and we need to be in Fort William or Inverness the following Friday night to get on the train. So I have 6 nights and on the 7th day we meet the train.

Gardyloo- thanks for the explanation. I wanted 3 days on Skye because I didn't want to feel rushed. Same with Oban, I thought 2 nights in one place might be better. I'm not sure I want to move hotels every day.

About the far northern route, I'm concerned it might be TOO isolated for us.

Google maps says it will take about 3 hours to drive from Oban to Kyle of Lochalsh. Is that totally unrealistic? And if so what is the more realistic amount of time?

Gardyloo

<i>Google maps says it will take about 3 hours to drive from Oban to Kyle of Lochalsh. Is that totally unrealistic? And if so what is the more realistic amount of time?</i>

I think three hours is pretty unrealistic; Google Maps doesn't include traffic, stops for fuel, food or mother nature, stops for picture-taking etc. Plus Kyle isn't really your destination; depending on where you stay on Skye, there are more minutes, hours and cars to count.

You probably know this, but many roads (not Oban - Kyle, but many on Skye, Mull, and much of the western Highlands) are "single track" roads with passing places every few hundred yards, plus a lot of sheep on the side of the road, which makes them slow and makes Google's estimates laughable. Here's what they look like (from near Torridon) - https://goo.gl/maps/ht5vDYCGR8k

It's pretty much a full day (I'd allot 5-6 hours, not 3) but a very pretty one, regardless if you take the Mallaig ferry route or via Spean Bridge and the Kyle bridge. The Mallaig route will be more expensive obviously, and you'll need to sync your time with the ferry schedule. I think it's prettier, however.

janisj

I'm sitting in the admirals club at DFW half way to London. Just a VERY quick comment now . . . You CANNOT use any of the on line calculators for accurate drive time, and google maps is about the most overly optimistic.

But in general, you need to add 25% to nearly 100% to every time. Especially in summer with the free range livestock, the caravans (travel trailers) and the extra holiday drivers. Then all the gorgeous photo OP stops - just plan on about 35 mph on average.

Nikki

Three years ago I was looking for a place to book on Skye in August and it was very difficult. For one of our nights all I could find was the Kinloch Lodge. We hesitated because it would be our most expensive hotel, not just of this trip, but of any trip I can remember. I heard grumbling from my husband but we booked two rooms anyway, for ourselves and our friends.

As we were leaving, all four of us agreed it had been worth every penny and we would all go back.

You might be interested in my trip report, which also includes our week in Edinburgh going to many festival performances:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...o-scotland.cfm

Kristina

Nikki-I've already read your trip report! Good stuff. And I'd while I'd found Kinloch Lodge independently last month, it was nice to see your glowing review. I'm afraid we can only afford 1 night there. I'm especially interested in eating there. Do you remember what kind of room you had?

PalenQ

Like janis says driving times are optimal - she makes some valuable inputs about that.

Can't be in a hurry so inflate driving times a lot.

Nikki

I don't remember which type of room we had. It was in the main building with the restaurant. It might have been the standard room with sea view, but I'm sort of guessing here.

dwdvagamundo

bookmarking. Thanks everyone. Great advice in this thread.

PalenQ

I wonder if janis got to London after all?

Kristina

Regarding driving times, if we wanted to drive from the south end of Skye on our last day to Inverness to meet the evening train and drop our car before 5pm, would that be doable?
Or should we plan on our last night being closer to Inverness?

Kristina

Another question:
We arrive at Heathrow at 6:50 am. I need to book a connecting flight to EDI. It looks like my only options are on British Airways at 9:15am and 11:40am. I don't see any other airlines doing this route from LHR.

We are arriving on a BA flight from the US, but I am assuming we will need to change terminals to get to the flight to EDI. Is that correct?

Considering this and that we need to go through immigration, does it makes the most sense to book the 11:40 am flight even though that gives us almost a 5 hour layover? The 9:15 fight would give us a little less that 2.5 hours. Obviously, I'd like to get to Edinburgh as soon as possible, but what's reasonable?

The 11:40am flight arrives at EDI at 1:05pm. Would it be faster to take a train or about the same? The train seems like more of a hassle because we'd have to go into London first, but if it would save time (and maybe money) I'd consider it. As of today, the flight is $128.

janisj

Most BA flights (but not 100% of them) leave from T-5 so no, you most likely would not need to change terminals.

historytraveler

You can check on the British Aiways website and find out which terminal you'll be arriving at and which one you'll be departing. Like janisj, I'm pretty certain EDI flights depart from T5 but you may be arriving at T3.

PalenQ

Would it be faster to take a train or about the same? The train seems like more of a hassle because we'd have to go into London first, but if it would save time (and maybe money) I'd consider it. As of today, the flight is $128>

No way faster -it may take a long long time to get to King's Cross station-then about 5 hours if the train is on time - would have to all in all take much longer than waiting for that 11:45 flight.

Could be a lot cheaper but only if you booked weeks in advance.

Heathrow terminals have lots of amenities and places to eat, shop, etc.

Sue_xx_yy

<i> I need to book a connecting flight to EDI. </i>

Just a minute. You said you already had a transatlantic ticket, booked for a great price. So your flight to EDI will be a separate ticket. According to the link below, unless you have a connecting ticket, you won't be deemed a 'connecting passenger'.

http://www.heathrow.com/airport-guid...ween-terminals

Gardyloo is a seasoned flyer though, he can advise for sure. Let's assume the worst. First, you need to:

1. deplane and clear immigration at LHR, probably terminal 3 for most transatlantic flights. Usually you will escape the random selection for customs inspection. Hard to estimate - I've gotten through this step in 0.75 hours, but 1.0 hour is probably safer.

3. Then, if you aren't a connecting passenger, there's a (free) interterminal train that connects terminal 3 and terminal 5 (5 is where our BA EDI flight landed, so I'm assuming that this will be the case for your EDI departing flight.) Duration of train is 20 minutes, leaves every 15 minutes. Let's say you just miss the train and have to wait the next one. That's 35 minutes.



4. Okay, now you check in and then make your way to the gate before they close it (usually 20 minutes prior to departure). Are you checking bags? Allow 1.25 hour for check-in. So we have about 2.75 hours/2 hours 45 minutes. Okay, I built in a little pessimism, but the fact remains you have but 2 hours 25 minutes from landing to the 09:40 flight.

Gardyloo is a seasoned flyer, he can confirm, but I think that 09:40 might be a bit tight, given you are flying on separate tickets. So it would be the 11:40 flight.

Nuts to that.

Forget the flight, take the train. Although the 11:40 flight would arrive at 13:00 or so, you will need to deplane, then make your way downtown, so you will in fact probably be downtown only by 14:30, having spent the day thus far in airports. The train at least offers a view.

Clear immigration by 07:50, then commute to Kings Cross station in downtown London, arriving around 09:15. Take a 10:30 train to Edinburgh, arriving 15:14. If you must do this journey, you might as well see something out the window.

Personally I'd take the train only as far as York the first day. You'd get to York by 12:30, could stash your bags at your hotel, go see York Minster, come back, and collapse at your hotel (first days tend to end early owing to jet lag.)

Next day you continue on to Edinburgh, arriving at, say, 11 a.m or so. Drop your bags, then do a walking tour of Edinburgh, finishing at the castle. Yes, I know you have 2 nights booked, but to hell with it. This makes for a more relaxing arrival in Edinburgh.

Day 3 - pick up the car at Edinburgh airport and commute to Glencoe.

Day 4 - Head to the Skye bridge/Dornie area.

Day 5 - head back to Glasgow airport.

Day 6 - fly to London. Stash your bags at an airport hotel and head downtown to enjoy a bit of London.

historytraveler

FYI, the British Airway's website recommends a minimum allowance of 90 minutes if changing terminals. Unless your inbound flight is seriously delayed you should make the the 9:15 flight and certainly no problem with the 11:40. If landing at LHR, I would not take the train unless I was planning an overnight or two in London. Just too much of a hassle. Terminal 5 has lots of shopping, restaurants etc. It's very easy to spend some extra time there.

Gardyloo

Where are you flying from? Your profile says you're in California, but none of the California BA departures arrive that early at LHR, so I assume you're connecting someplace in the US? If so, and if you're on BA metal and <b>not</b> a BA codeshare operated by American Airlines, it's almost certain you'll arrive at Terminal 5. All the EDI flights depart from T5, so if you need to take your bags through customs and re-check them, at least it's all under one roof.

You could phone BA and find out how much it would cost to amend your current ticket with EDI as your final destination. I doubt they'll do it, since you said upthread that you got one of those crazy cheap ticket deals, but asking is free. If the change fee is less than the cost of the separate ticket then go ahead with that, if not, go ahead and buy another ticket.

If you end up with two tickets, you can ask the check-in person in the US (who might not be a BA person, so this might not work) if they can tag your bags through to EDI even if they're on separate PNRs (passenger name record, your booking.) That way, you'd go through passport control at Heathrow but bag claim and customs at Edinburgh.

Otherwise you'll take your bags through customs at Heathrow, then go upstairs to the departure level and re-check them. It's a busy time of day, but you'll be among the first transatlantic flights arriving.

I'd probably take the 9:15 flight either way and not be too
worried about it. If your international flight is late, you can go to the BA service desk in the arrivals area and they can probably switch you to the later flight; I've found them quite reasonable in situations like this.

<i>If by some chance your flight isn't operated by BA</i> (for example if it's American's flight from Chicago that arrives at 6:50, but which carries a BA codeshare flight number that starts with 15xx) then you'd be landing at Terminal 3 and the 9:15 EDI departure would be a no-go. You'd have to collect bags and travel to T5 outside security; the process can easily take two hours.