>>All--I really like the idea of the Isles of Mull and Iona. How long would it take to get a flavor of the place? <<

For Mull I would want at least 2 nights - which would give you the best part of 3 days.

I'm w/ Gardyloo re Inverness itself -- but the general Inverness area has a LOT to recommend it.

But 10 days for the NE/Inverness region/Mull/Glasgow is about 3 or 4 days too few when you factor in travel times.

I'd want 3 days (4 nights) minimum for Aberdeenshire, 3 or even 4 days for the north around Inverness (again NOT Inverness city), 2 or 3 days on Mull and 2 full days in Glasgow (so 3 nights)

Whew--17 nites in all! If you had to cut some of this, what would you cut?

If you have a 13 nights you could do 3 nights on Deeside, 2 nights near Inverness, 1 night in Glencoe, 3 nights (or 2 in a pinch) on Mull, 1 night somewhere like Kilmartin/Invereray/Luss, 2 nights Glasgow.

If you need to cut further -- then I'd drop the Inverness area, stay 3 nights on Deeside, then to Glencoe and stay one night both to break the journey and to see the glorious area, then on to Mull . . .

Thanks Gardyloo and Janis. I was "afraid" that one of you would say what Gardyloo said--east or west. The problem is that right now I'm planning for three weeks for the entire thing, as we get road-weary after that, and this is one part--although the largest part--of a larger trip that, at this writing, prospectively includes a few days in London, Manchester, a drive down the east coast of England, and a ferry to Rotterdam to see some things in the Netherlands and Belgium we didn't see a couple of years ago, and my spouse would also like to see some of Ireland.

Obviously we have some tough choices to make. I'll probably start a new thread on this topic once we've made some of those choices.

>> The problem is that right now I'm planning for three weeks for the entire thing, <<

I've spent literally months - pretty close to a year all together - in Scotland and haven't seen the 'entire thing'. No matter where you decide it will be gorgeous and since you can't possibly see/do it all . . . just pick the two or three areas that 'call to you'. Then don't second guess yourselves.

Still trying to work out my itinerary...

If on first day after Edinburgh we go to Stirling castle and the Phoenix Falconry center near Gleneagles golf course, does anyone have ideas on where should we stay that night?
I've been looking at Callander. Would that be a good option? Or can anyone recommend another towns or even specific hotel in the area?
Or, should we try to get closer to Oban before stopping?

Thanks Janis. Very helpful. Looks like the recommended route on Rome2Rio to Glencoe from Aberdeen goes through Inverness, so we could see Culloden Battlefield on the way, which is the main thing I'd like to see there.

We'll need to have a serious discussion about Ireland and Rotterdam this weekend. If we drop those, we should have more time.

Callander would be fine. A lot depends on how much time you spend en route; do you plan to visit Stirling Castle or Bannockburn or the Wallace monument?

You could get as far as Glen Coe with another 90 min. or so after the falconry place, but Callander to Oban is an easy and scenic few hours the next morning, too. I'd again strongly recommend a drive up Glen Etive before you get to Glen Coe.

If you decide on Callander, then you could add a stop en route to Sitrling in the remarkable preserved village of Culross on the Forth - used in <i>Outlander</i> and a fabulous place to get a morning coffee or some such.

http://gardyloo.us/culross1s.jpg and https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-st...32231717-0.jpg

<B>Kristina:</B> >>I've been looking at Callander. Would that be a good option? <<

Callander would be my recommendation. And nearby Inchmahome Priory would be a must IMO/IME.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FBVBTKNzta...Scotland_3.JPG

https://www.historicenvironment.scot...mahome-priory/

Doune Castle is also nearby (Especially if you are Monty Python fans)

<B>dwdvagamundo:</B> >>We'll need to have a serious discussion about Ireland and Rotterdam this weekend. If we drop those, we should have more time<<

Travel in Ireland is even slower than in Scotland -- so unless you are allowing a generous amount of time it <i>might</i> be better to leave Ireland for another/future trip.

Ok, not to throw a wrench in things, but what if instead of going to Callander, we stay that night in or around St Andrews? The next day is Sunday and we would be able to walk the Old Course as it is closed to golfers and open to the public on Sundays when there is no tournament (looks ok as of right now for our date). My husband is an avid golfer and might enjoy that, even if he won't be able to play.

Any recommendations of where to stay near or in St. Andrews?

Not sure yet where we'd head the next day, perhaps still Oban with stops along the way or maybe some place not so far? I think it might depend on how long we'll spend in St Andrews that morning. I assume we can leave by 1pm.

Gardyloo-thanks for the recommendation on Cullross, and Janis, yes, I'd like to see Doune as well. Hmmm...maybe we need 2 nights in the area.

Look at a map -- St Andrews in on the far east side of the country and Oban is on the far west side. Sure St Andrews is great -- but if you are headed that way you will want to totally rearrange your plans and go other places. -- not Skye, Oban and the west coast.

That is sort of like planning a trip to Calif. and then substituting Santa Fe NM for Santa Barbara CA. Both are great - but they are parts of different trips.

There are many great sites on the east coast if you now want to see St Andrews . . . . the Fife fishing villages/Dunnottar/Glamis/Edzell/Crathes/etc.

Hi Janis
If you are still working on your Scotland trip may I add my "two cents "? My husband and I were in Scotland from the USA in September 2015 and it was a fabulous trip!

1. Rent a car. It will allow you to maximize your time. We did a one way drop and the extra fee was nominal. 2. janisj on this forum provided excellent advise (thanks janisj)

We drove from Edinburgh to Oban for two nights. ( If you get an early start, a visit to Stirling Castle 2-3 hours is very doable) Arriving in the afternoon on day one will give you plenty of time to look around Oban. On day two book a day trip with
http://www.westcoasttours.co.uk/ to the isle of Mull and Iona. The tour is very good and since all transportation (ferry bus and small boat) is included the price is very reasonable. On our 3rd day we left Oban early, back tracked about 40 minutes and drove to Isle of Skye via Glencoe. It made for a slightly longer drive than we normally do but the roadway was very good and I can't even describe the scenery....it is that beautiful and well worth the extra time on the road. You can take the ferry Maillag to Skye or drive around on the bridge. Time wise I think it is similar. We spent three nights and two days on the Isle of Skye. We saw a lot of the island over the two days including a long hike to the fairy pools, Dunvegan castle, and the clan Donald museum on the southern part of the island as well as The Quiraing and Fairy Glen on the north side. We stayed in Portree (central) and had perfect weather allowing us the time to see a lot. We left Skye via the bridge and stopped at Eilean Donan Castle (the outside during high tide is the money shot, you could skip the interior) just on the land side on our way to Inverness. I believe that would be six nights with your first night in Edinburgh. If you are flying to London from Inverness, it would be a good base for the next three nights. Although Loch Ness is no big deal to you, stopping to see Urquhart Castle ruins on the banks of the lake is a nice break and a beautiful photo op. From Inverness there are several easy day trips. We loved touring the ruins of Elgin Cathedral about an hour out of Inverness. The battlefield where the clan uprising took place is very near Inverness and my husband really enjoyed learning about that. We also drove over to the Moray Firth area (about an hour from Inverness) to the dolphin conservatory to dolphin watch. Cawder Castle is an intact castle with beautiful gardens nearby. Speyside with the great whiskey tours is about 50 miles from Inverness and about halfway between Aberdeen and Inverness airports. So depending on flight costs and availability you could make your last night closer to Aberdeen.

Janisj, please correct any errors I might have made.

Kristina We were actually in Scotland for several more days, but this is very close to our first ten days. We loved every minute of our trip. One other tip besides the car, look at buying a Scottish Heritage pass. It includes Edinburg Castle, Stirling Castle, Elgin Cathedral and Urquhart Castle on this list and I think it will save you a couple of pounds. We meandered a lot of our trip around sites on the pass and saved a lot but you would have to add up the cost of the pass vs. the costs of what you wanted to see. However you finalize your trip you will have a wonderful time. We loved Scotland.

Thanks, I <i>did</i> look at a map. It looks like a 3.5 hour drive from St. Andrews to Oban (yes, I know, it's actually longer). It's also only 1 hour from where the Falconry center is so we'd already be close. I don't see how it's at all like suggesting we drive from CA to NM; it's 850 miles from LA to Santa Fe. St. Andrews to Oban is 128 miles.

In the end, it doesn't matter. I spoke to my husband and he'd rather go when he can actually play golf so we'll probably avoid it this time.

I wasn't being snarky. Auchterarder (where the falconry center is) to St Andrews is nearly a 2 hour drive.

St Andrews to Oban takes about 4.5 hours if you don't stop anywhere at all (Stirling, Inchmahome, Kilchurn, Dunstaffnage, etc). So it really is a two day drive if you want to see/do anything enroute.

lhoward0921: No mistakes Well except for the 'e' you put in the Whisky.

Thinking about the end of the trip...

I had been considering driving from Skye to Inverness on our last day, a Friday, to catch the 8pm train back to London. We would have to drop our rental car at the Airport, probably some time no later than 5 or so, and then get to the train station from there. Dropping the car at the train station does not seem to be an option (only pick up available there).

So, given all that, would it make sense to spend the night somewhere between Skye and Inverness on Thursday night? If so where?

Or, what about spending the night in Inverness itself? If we do that, we could drop the car on Thursday and spend Friday seeing Inverness. I know most people don't seem to be fans of this city, so perhaps this is not a good idea?

Here's where I'm at with the itinerary. I need to make some decisions soon because places are already booking up for August.

Day 1- Arrive Edinburgh mid day
Day 2-Edinburgh. Tattoo in evening (already have tickets)
Day 3-Get rental car, visit Sterling Castle and Phoenix Falconry. Overnight Callander?
Day 4- Drive to Oban or somewhere in that area?
Day 5- Daytrip to Mull with car or tour?
Day 6- Drive to Isle of Skye. Overnight/dinner at Kinloch Lodge.
Day 7 - Skye, change to Taigh Alean Hotel near Carbost for 2 nights (I know this place is a bit remote, but it looks charming and the bar/restaurant is well reviewed. Also, affordable).
Day 8- Skye
Day 9-Drive to Inverness, drop car, catch overnight train for London, 7:50pm
Day 10-London
Day 11-Fly home 4pm

The only hotels booked are Edinburgh and London. I'd still like to find a good castle stay, but I'm having a hard time finding one that isn't crazy expensive in August. Most seem to be more than 300 GBP for the smallest rooms with no view. If I'm going to spend that, I'd like some wow factor at least.

Does this look like a reasonable itinerary for someone who is willing to move around a bit?
Any advice on where to stay in Callander?
Any advice on where to stay in/near Oban? Other options for days 4 and 5?
Suggestions on where to stop on drives on days 4 and 6?
On day 5, is a day trip to Mull too much? Should we do something else in the area? Or even move on and not spend the 2nd night there?

Also, lhoward0921, thanks for your itinerary info. Looks like we might be doing something similar (see post above). Did you take the ferry to Skye?

Bumping this up in hopes of some replies on the latest version of the itinerary above.

We stayed in Annfield Guest House which was our favourite place on a month long trip.

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