amanda

but I am interested in some suggestions for a short (small) tour of a few areas! <BR> <BR>I know better than to try and see too many places in too little time.....I would have from 7-9 days for this trip. <BR> <BR>We love the outdoors (hiking), gorgeous scenery, and areas that are quaint but rich wiht history. SOooo.. you can all see why we'd consider Scotland for our honeymoon! <BR> <BR>I am particularly interested in seeing edinburgh and travelling to other regions from there. I have (beleive it or not) read ALL seventy-some posts on this topic from late august and september as well (some of you I seem to know by name, now). But, most of those replies were pertaining to a trip that was a couple weeks. <BR> <BR>I would appreciate advice on an itinerary of must-see areas (shooting out from edinburgh) by car. In addition, I'd appreciate advice on flying into edinburgh vs. flying into london and then taking the train, given my short time-span for the trip! <BR>Thanks, <BR>amanda <BR> <BR> <BR>

travellyn

Fly into Scotland to maximize fun time!

Danna

Amanda, congratulations and what a wonderful honeymoon you will have. We loved Galloway area, there are forest parks, hiking trails, castles and plenty of history. Dumfries/Galloway has a good website you can check out. I hope you get to Kirkcudbright, and be sure to have a pint at the Masonic Arms! Have Fun!

Sheila

amanda, sorry I missed this last night. I can send you a couple of Word documents- which are already here, but old on Edinburgh, day trips from Edinburgh; and maybe 5-day trips starting and finishing in Edinburgh. But it won't be till tonight. OK?

amanda

Thanks Sheila. any suggestions are appreciated. I think we'd be better off using edinburgh as a base rather than trying to go to other places to stay-- do you agree? <BR>From what I read-- the roads are slower drives in reality once you are on them, and you should take your time seeing the views, terrain, etc. <BR>i'll look forward to hearing from you.

Wayne

Hi amanda, <BR> <BR>We did scotland by car in 7 days. Being a small country you can cover much ground. We started from Edinburgh and drove to Loch Lomond, Glen Coe, Fort William and Ben Nevis, Isle of Skye, drove through Loch Ness and St Andrews before returning to Edinburgh. These are the places I recommend as "must-see": <BR> <BR>1. Fort William. <BR>Go to Glen Nevis which is the valley of Ben Nevis. It is such a scenic drive wih wild flowers and highland cattle. At the end of the road is a hanging waterfall. I proposed to my wife with a daisy i plucked form the ground there 3 years ago. <BR> <BR>2. Glen Coe <BR>Hauntingly beautiful and rich in history but not much to see. You can do it as a day trip form Ft William. <BR> <BR>3. Isle of Skye <BR>The best part of Scotland. Go to the Trotennish Peninsula to see some surreal rock formations. Stay at the Greenacres B&B which is has full sea views. <BR> <BR>Loch Ness was disappointing and does not warrat a visit. If you must see lakes, Loch Lomond is better. SInce you like hiking and gorgeous scenery I suggest you pass on cities (except Edinburgh) and head for the Scottish Highlands. Also, if you are not staying over in London fly straight to Edin. You'd be wasting a day in London getting from the airport, trafific, train ride, etc. <BR>

amanda

Thanks, Wayne! That info is perfect for the length of the trip we'll have. But, I am wondering where you were based--you obviously stayed in some of those cities..can you explain further? <BR>thanks!

Joe

Amanda: Your thread is #45. Go to #47 below for a good deal more information on Scotland. Also, do a find, above. There has been tons written on Scotland and every bit justified. A wponderful Country with marvelous people.

janis

Amanda: You can certainly see a lot of Scotland in that short time. But being your honeymoon, I would recommend a slower pace and a little pampering. <BR> <BR>My suggestions are -- First 2 or 3 days in Edinburgh. Then choose one of these 3 itineraries for the 4 to 7 days remaining. <BR> <BR>1- Go south into the borders for about 3 days. There is so much to see and it is completely different than the highlands. St Abbs Head, North Berwick, the border Abbeys, etc. Then across to Ayrshire (or Dumfries/Galloway) for a couple of days. There are wonderful B&Bs in places like Melrose, Duns (one in Duns has jacuzzi tubs, round balconies overlooking wonderful gardens and gourmet food for less tha 30GPB B&B), Kelso where you can base for a few days, relax and still see a TON of stuff. <BR> <BR>2- Go to Fife - someplace like Crail or Ansruther for 2 to 4 days. You can see all of the fishing villages, St Andrews, Falkland, Glamis, etc. Then travel over to the Trossachs for the last few days. From there you can see Stirling, Glen Coe, Killen, etc. <BR> <BR>3- Head west. Oban, Mull, Iona and Argyll. <BR> <BR>These would be good trips for a relaxing but still exciting Honeymoon. Don't try to cram too much in after all the fuss of the wedding.

Sheila

Hi again amanda <BR> <BR>I think I'd split the time if I were you. I think you can do what you want and get the trip you want- and I know there are times i get really teed off travelling; but a two centre holiday-one in Edinburgh, one in the Southern Highlands, might match your pace too. <BR> <BR>I'm right now about to send some options by email. Feel free to come back to me direct or her, if you'd rather

Kathy

I would fly directly to Edinburgh if possible. The train ride from London is about 4 hours and luggage can be a hassle if the train is full (if you're not traveling first class). You'll have a wonderful time, just take a good rain jacket and alternate (dry) pair of shoes!

wayne

Hi Amanda, <BR>We didn't have a base nor an itineary. We figured we'd keep driving until we found a town we loved then stay there. If we liked it alot we'd stay 2 nites. Sometimes we'd wander to neighbouring towns when we'd finish our "stay the nite" town. We wanted it to be footloose and fancy-free. We wanted to discover the cracks between destinations. <BR> <BR>This was our "unplanned" itineary: <BR> <BR>Nites 1 & 2 Edinburgh <BR>We drove from Edinburgh, passed thru Stirling, passed thru Loch Lomond, had lunch at a town called Luss by the lake. Quaint lil town with smoke coming out the chimneys but too small for us. Visited Kilchurn castle at Loch Awe and reached Ft William. <BR> <BR>Nites 3 &4 Ft William <BR>Spent 2 lovely nites there. Did Glen Coe as a day trip the first day and Glen and Ben Nevis the next day. <BR> <BR>Nites 5 <BR>We drove to Isle of Skye, the best part of our trip. It was so surreal and so beautifully peaceful. We could see the whole expanse of the Atlantic from our bedroom window (Greenacres B&B). We drove pass a pair of lovers resting their necks on each other (they were horses) and finally had a delicious seafood dinner where the candles overflowed into the table at Portree. <BR> <BR>Nite 6 Aviemore <BR>Drove to Inverness. What a disappointing town. We quickly did the Nessie musuem and headed South to Aviemore. We should have stayed another nite in beautiful Skye. Luckily suroounding Aviemore was charming. They had a reindeer farm at GlenMore forest park, so we walked among reindeers and finished the day looking at the sunset at Loch Morlich. <BR> <BR>Nite 7 Pitlochry <BR>This is the place where you see salmon jump. Nothing much here except for the hydoelectric power station and the best whisky distillery in Scotland, Edradour. I didn't know whisky could taste as smooth as milk. till then. <BR> <BR>Nite 8 Pittenweem <BR>We decided to drive thru St Andrews because we liked the coast. We ended up in a lil town called Pittenweem. We should have stayed at St Andrews. <BR> <BR>Nite 9 Edinburgh <BR>Gosh! Our hotel room didn't have a lift or a shower. The bath was disgusting so we bathe with a glass. It was cold water,hot water, rinse. cold water, hot water, rinse. Took us hald an hour to "shower". Now I know what water-rationong means. <BR> <BR>My advice to you is: wherever you go, use the lovely, lonely country roads. Don't use the highways or you'll miss the charm that Scotland has to offer. This way you never know what you'll discover. That in a word is "serendipity". <BR> <BR>

alan

You might have to fly in from another european city to Edinburgh, Glasgow handles the overseas flights. It's still only 40 miles away. Check out a site called www.safariscotland.co.uk, it is a travel agency for small groups, he goes to some out of the way places, and knows scotland like the back of his hands. Enjoy, it's a beautiful country.

barbara

We just got back from 14 days in Scotland. We started in Edinburgh, drove north to Pitlochry, Nairn, Gairloch and Skye, then back to Ft. Wm, Glen Coe, Glasgow and back to Edinburgh. The definite highlight of the trip was Skye. We were there for 3 days and wished it could have been longer. Stayed at Viewfield House - a wonderfully beautiful inn in Portree with fabulous dinners and breakfasts. Be sure to see the Quiraing (walk up up up to really appreciate it), Neist Point light house, Kilt Rock, the Cullins. The wonderful single track roads often studded with sheep and highland cattle make the driving truly wonderful. Also, in Fort William, we stayed at a fabulous inn called The Grange which had the BEST shower in all of Scotland. Unfortunately it rained for 2 days straight while we were there.