Gmathes

My husband and I will be traveling to Scotland this summer for 7-10 days for our 20th anniversary. We are on a _very_ tight budget. We want to spend one day in Edinburgh, the rest in the highlands, one in Iona and Mull, and driving the countryside seeing the sights. We're renting a car. Looking for nice quaint b and b's. Thanks!!

GGG

You'll find B&amp;B's everywhere in Scotland. It's very difficult to recommend any specifically as they may not fit your budget or travel plans. However, the quality of B&amp;B's is in general very good. Keep an eye out for a sign on the door advising how many how many stars the B&amp;B has been awarded by the Scottish tourist board....you'll always find that 3/4/5 star places have very good standards. <BR>Depending on where you go and time of the year, expect to pay around 50-60 pounds a night for a room and a breakfast that'll probably keep you going till dinner.<BR>Good luck.

BJ

My husband and I went to Scotland almost 4 years ago. We had rented a car in Ireland and came to Scotland by ferry. We stayed a week in a cottage on Loch Fyne that I had rented over the Internet before leaving the States. Other than that, we had no set plans, we just got up and headed out for an adventure every day. It was a great home base for touring the Highlands and the Argyle Peninsula, home to my MacMillan ancestors. Every day was filled with new and wondrous sites as we took all the little back roads and wandered the mountains and forests and shores of many lochs. We ventured thru the tiny Glen Orchy Pass, tramped for miles along the rocky shore of Loch Lomond to reach Rob Roy's cave (not a prominently marked tourist site, you have to really SEARCH for it !), wandered Queen Elizabeth's Forest and were wowed by all the hidden castles, looked for Nessie at Loch Ness and found my ancestral MacMillan Cross in a neglected church at the end of a road to nowhere. It was late February, but the weather was delightful and varied. I long to return and explore the area further...so very much to see !

janis

Outside of Edinburgh, accomodations in Scotland are pretty inespensive. You will have to try hard to spend &pound;60 per night double. There are MANY places in the &pound;15-&pound;20 per person per night range B&amp;B. When in summer are you going? As long as it is not in August you will have no problems finding rooms as you go along. For instance Red Bay cottage at Fionnphort, Mull is less than &pound;18 per night and has a gloroius view of Iona.<BR><BR>Check out their website at www.tuckedup.com/redbaycottage.html<BR><BR>SeaView in Fionnphort is even nicer but is more expensive.

janis

make that &quot;inexpensive&quot; . . . <BR><BR>(How can I spell Fionnphort correctly and mess up inexpensive????)

Steven

Janis, I don't know - but it's a good thing your finger didn't slip on that web address you listed.

Danna

Gmathes... We also went for our 20th.. we took the bus (or coach) between towns, and then taxis if we needed them to sites. Walk, take the bus, and visit with folks along the way is my suggestion. I think the whole 'you must rent a car' is overrated. If you are determined to go off the beaten track yes, but for normal travel the coach is cheap and fun. Have a grand time!

Ginger

Thanks for all the replies. We are going to go the last week of June, and the first few days of July. I'm considering just taking Janis' advice and finding spots as we go. Janis, Seaview was one of the places I've found on the internet and have contacted John there. We would love to stay there one night if we can swing it. Thanks for the other recommendation. I'll check it out. Of course the largest expense for us will be the airline tickets. I think we can eat pretty cheaply and we're not big shoppers. Thanks again and if anyone else would like to reply, I'd be happy to have more advice.

janis

Ginger - you will LOVE Sea View. I have stayed there. It is wonderful to wake up in the morning and see the Abbey over on Iona just by sitting up in bed. The food is great and the pub next door has terrific food too. <BR><BR>I mentioned Red Bay primarily because it is less expensive and budget seemed to be important to you. In June you will have no trouble finding budget accomodations - BUT Sea View does book up so if you are thinking of staying there - book as soon as you are sure of your dates.<BR><BR>I would suggest you stay there 2 nights if you can spare the time. That gives you one day to see Tobermory, Calgary Bay, Duart Castle, etc, and another day for Iona and a boat ride out to Staffa. Staffa and Fingal's cave are AMAZING! The Staffa boats and Iona ferry leave about 200 yards from Sea View.

PatrickW

If you're winging it (a sensible thing to do to give you flexibility over where and when you go), you can always ask local tourist information offices to help you book a B&amp;B. They will have directories of B&amp;B places for the various areas. <BR><BR>See also<BR>http://www.visitscotland.com/accommodation/index.asp

JMM

It seems like youhave received lots of good info on how to find B&amp;Bs so my comment will just be on the subject of meals.<BR>Your B&amp;B breakfast should be ample enough to keep you going with just a light snack for lunch. For dinner, try pubs - some have quite good food cheaper than at a restaurant.