My partner & I will be picking up a hire car from Glasgow early May. We have 5 days till we need to return the car to Edinburgh. (We then have 3 days to explore Edinburgh). We are really keen on focusing mainly on the Highlands region.
Any suggestions for possible driving itineraries/routes from Glasgow up through Highlands & back to Edinburgh? What places are a must see? Would it be best to base ourselves in one place in Highlands & then take day trips?
Any advice, tips & suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks

A few years ago we toured the Highlands by car for 5 days, then dropped the car in Edinburgh.

You might want to read my trip report (Kilts, haggis and bagpipes) here:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34822880

The only difference is that we started in Ayr, where we went to Culzean Castle.

It is better to roam around the Highlands. Go see Glencoe, the valley and anywhere around, Isle of Skye, the area around Loch Lomond.

We also liked very much Stirling Castle, Blair Atholl and Cawdor Castle near Inverness.

I think that you can get a reasonable idea of places to visit from the report submitted by garbrieltraian however if you wish to see further suggestions and photographs etc of the places suggested have a look at the Scotland section of http://www.frommers.com/cgi-bin/WebX?128@@.eed91a1
As you have a hired car I would think it would be better to travel daily as you will see different parts of the country and if you find somewhere exceptionally nice for you can if possible stay longer.

ttt

Definitely agree. We enjoyed Stirling Castle and Blair Atholl. There was a piper playing outsideat Blair, and a nice tearoom for refreshments after roaming the castle. What a fascinating, historical place! Stirling Castle overlooks Stirling, with the beautiful panorama and cobblestone courtyards. They also have a tearoom, with a rooftop eating area for looking out across the landscape. Stirling Castle is said to be haunted, and you could definitely imagine that. The King and Queen's chambers are well preserved, down to the massive fireplaces. The mountains of Glencoe make a scenic loop of forested countryside. Loch Ness has cruises and makes a very pleasant afternoon, with light lunch at the Clansman or tea and crumpets near the souvenir shop.

I'm trying to decide this as well. We will be touring the Highlands for 4 days (5 with day back to Edinburgh).
And we're trying to decide between basing ourselves in 1 place (Spean Bridge perhaps), or spending every night at a different spot........Something can be said about not having to unpack/pack each day. And for not having to drive back and forth each day....I really don't know.

Suggest you head for Skye.

With 5 days to explore, I would go to Skye. Im not sure if you have allocated travel days/days in Glasgow. But it looks to me, that you have 8 days (which is the same amount of time we had in Scotland).
There are some very, very helpful people on this board that can help you with specific itinerary.

We were there in October, and we had a wonderful time exploring the city and countryside..
Here is what we did.
Day one - Fly into Edinburgh - over night at "2 Cambridge Street" (fantastic B&B).
Day two - Explore Edinburgh - overnight
Day three - Drive to Stirling, Stirling Castle. Begin exploring Trossachs (Duone Castle, Dunblane Cathedral) overnight Buchlyvie.
Day Four - Continue expoloring Trossachs (Ichamome Priory, Aberfoyle, Callander) Overnight Loch Lommond.
Day Five - Fabulous drive through GlenCoe, Eilean Donan Castle and up to Portree, Isle of Skye via the bridge. - Overnight Portree.
Day Six - Explore Skye - drive all the way around! Overnight Portree.
Day Seven - Marathon drive back towards Edinburgh - visit spectacular road on Skye's Sleat Penninsula, and depart Skye via Mallaig ferry. Stopping at some sights along the way(Glenfinnan monument, Killin Falls, Rob Roys grve). Overnight Stirling.
Day Eight - Fly out of edinburgh.

Steviegene

I'm doing almost the same tour as you. Minus the day in the Trossachs. And I think we are going to go over Skye via the Ferry and off via the bridge. Did you happen to do a trip report??

We are planning a trip with almost the same itinerary...arriving in Glasgow the afternoon of May 12, and need to be in Edinburgh the afternoon of the 17, where we'll stay 2 nights. What do you think of 5 nights in Plockton, and doing day trips from there, rather than moving?

gabrieltraian, your thread brings back memories from a decade ago. Thanks.

haydeedoll -
sorry for the belated reply.
No I never did do a trip report...
But if you have any specific questions, I would be more than happy to answer any and all!

Thanks Steviegene!
We've actually cut our time in the Highlands and it looks like we're gonna skip Skye.
After 2 days in Edinburgh we are doing.
Wed: Drive to Spean Bridge via Glencoe - Overnight Spean bridge
Thurs: Drive up Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle...Maybe fit in a drive to Eilean Donan - Overnight Spean bridge
Fri: Drive the Road to the Isles and Back. Take in Glenfinnan - Overnight Spean Bridge.
Sat: Drive back to Edinburgh. Maybe stop in Stirling. End in Edinburgh

We are kinda leaving things loosely planned. We may always change our minds while there. We may decide that it's ok for us to move day to day. In that case we could take in Skye, for a short time....Right now I'm leaning towards just staying put in one place.