WOW! WOW! WOW! Thank you all. I wish you all were coming with us on our trip. Just want to let you know that your time an effort to help make our vacation interesting, enjoyable and carefree is very much appreciated.

One last quick question on car rental advice. We usually rent a full-size car because my hubby is 6'2" and I am 5'6". We are just more comfortable.

But since the roads are narrower are we better off going to an intermediate or even smaller one? Or is this not an issue...Once again thanks in advance.

I'd get the smallest car you are comfortable in. Not the smallest, or maybe not the 2 smallest classes. But definitely a compact/economy sized car.

Reasons being - VERY expensive petrol (can you say $6 a gallon?) and narrow roads, especially when driving through villages w/ cars parked every which way.

Once again thanks!!! 6abc

Not necessary to get a tiny car....We've traveled 7 or 8 times in Scotland by car and for the two of us (seniors) we usually get a full or medium car (Ford Escort ,tarus,or similar). and we go down narrow allys and streets in small villages etc. The larger car feels safer, more comfortable, ...and if you are taking a trip to Scotland then you just factor in the cost of gas....or don't worry about it.
$6 sounds about right, and having a little car wouldn't make a WHOLE lot of difference. Get an automatic if you feel more comfortable. For years we rented a manual and did fine, but we're "older" now so we rent an automatic (making one less thing to worry about)(:>)

An escort is about the size I meant . . . (definitely not considered "full size" in the States")

You're right....Escort IS small in U.S.

Mondeo rings a bell with me, and in looking at records we did rent a Mondeo a couple of times...might be a little bigger. Each company has different definitions of their sizes.

In France and Germany , whatever we reserved, they upgraded us to a Mercedes twice. Good car,,and did fine in those countries and drove very smoothly in France, Belgium. The second time they wanted to "upgrade" us in Frankfurt we refused because Mercedes are not allowed to be taken into Italy ( and we knew we were going to "dip" in to Northern Italy and back".)

Well, I digress!...but a larger, standard or medium or even full would be fine in Scotland. Parking is often tight~~~~but it sounds like you will be driving a lot and covering many miles and you want comfort.

What a wonderful Trip you will Have!!!! You have received some great ideas .

Twice we've rented a Renault Scenic, which we really loved. I don't know its classification, but it has a fold up third seat. It's really not that big of a car; we had no problem navigating the small roads of Scotland. It's kind of square and boxy so we had tons of room - my husband is 6'4" and I'm 5'6" - but we mostly got that car because we had one or more kids with us.

We had friends who were upgraded to a big Mercedes and they were miserable - too hard to get around on the back roads.

A mondeo is equivalent to a Ford Taurus. They stopped making the Taurus - don't know if that is also true of the Mondeo.

On our recent trip we rented 2 cars. We had a 4 door Ford Focus in Scotland, and it was the perfect size and very easy to navigate.
But, in England we got a Vauxhall Vectra and hated it. It was far too big. It was hard to park and tricky to navigate.

I am currently looking into car rental places. Any suggestions. I have checked out AutoEurope and Hertz. Prices seem to be all over the place. Any horror stories with any companies? We have rented from just about all of them in the States and have been very fortunate to always make out very good.

And has anybody stayed at any of the Airport Hotels near GLA. I am looking at the Holiday Inn Express. We are going to turn our car in the day before we fly out and depending on when we get there we will probably travel in to Glasgow on our last day.

Concur with Shelia - do go to Dunoon and plan to eat at the Coylet Inn in front of the big fireplace - just lovely!! Have the salmon if you can. If you stay in Edinburgh or Glasgow, I adore the B&B's both places: they're cheaper, more friendly, and you will get to see how folks (kind of) lived, because you will be in a house, not a hotel - you can find one on the internet. Scottish breakfasts are neat, too (I would avoid the blood sausages, though). The big, old hotel above the harbor in Tobermory, Mull, is a really neat place to stay. The venison and brambleberries, if you can find them on a menu in Mull, are spectacular! And don't forget to listen to the music in pubs on weekends there. (Going from Oban to Mull on the big car ferry - CalMac - is a delight in and of itself, but you can also get a CalMac ferry to Dunoon). There's an alcoholic drink (buy it at the store in a bottle) called "Scottish Mist". WONDERFUL - cream-based whisky! You can go to the whisky distillers if you want to - I wouldn't - but there is one which has/had a resident cat - kind of fun to know . You will love Scotland! Be sure to pack an umbrella and do watch the sheep - they have rights you don't have!

re the rental cars: Auto Europe is a broker so you might end up w/ Hertz, or Avis or whatever. I usually start there and use them as a benchmark to see if anyone else beats them If ind that about 60-65% of the time Autoeurope has the best rates. But definitely not always.

At GLA - either the HI Express or the Premier Travel Inn would be good. The Travel Inn will likely be cheaper.

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Glasgow once, the night before my flight, and it was really hot and stuffy in the room. The a/c did not work, or there was none, I can't remember. This was 5 years ago though, and I wrote a letter and got a $50 voucher. The next time I stayed at the regular Holiday Inn at the airport and it was fine.

I have used AutoEurope or the sister company Kemwel for the last four trips. I have never been disappointed. The advantage of paying for the rental in full before you travel was a economical blessing. The fact that they usually have the lowest rates was yet another. I have always found the cars theys provide to be clean and well maintained. They usually book me into EuroCar. The staff is very courteous and helpful.

Slan Beo,

Bit

Thanks all! I found the best car rate by calling Budget directly. I actually found it a bit more difficult looking on line for cars because I wanted an automatic and most were just showing manual. Also by calling I was able to use my AARP (OH lordie I can't believe I am an AARP member, but I have been for 5 years now and it sure come in handy) I wasn't able to find a place online to enter in AARP or AAA membership numbers.

I am also checking out some cars on Expedia.com but I think the prices are about the same as going directly through the companies by phone.

OK I am finally getting excited. It is 9 days and counting. Time to start getting the Camera cards ready (I remember the days of going out and buying 100 rolls of film)and collecting all the cloths and throwing them in the spare room and starting to sort things out. Went to a great packing class the other day at AAA. Even though I have been traveling for years this was very helpuful. The women that taught it was a world traveler and had some great tips. We are going to try to pack with just 1 suitecase each. We will wear our hiking boots on the plane. They usually take up 1 suitecase. I guess what I find the hardest is packing hiking gear, poles, raingear heavy socks etc. and regular cloths (but we usually end up staying in our hiking cloths all day anyway-when will I learn, maybe this trip)

Thanks again for all your help.

6abc

Does Budget let you pay in full before you leave? There is something nice about having that "paid voucher' in hand when you walk up to the desk overseas. One can do it with Hertz, and I think NOW Auto Europe lets you do it. AutoEurope is a large consolidator in POrtland ,Maine with 24 hour customer service,even from overseas. They use different rental companies in different countries and have a good reputation....and good prices. We don't ALWAYS use them, but have a few times and were satisfied.
(One time in Exeter, England (train from London) we didn't have a paid voucher(another company) in hand and they just charged what they wanted..even though something else was on the computer). It was remedied upon our return of course.

You have received some WONDERFUL travel ideas and will have a fabulous trip. My husband and I LOVE Scotland...and I'd enjoy reading a "trip report" on Fodors talk upon your return.
I like your idea of not spending a lot of time in the big cities. A day or so in Edinburgh (possibly an all inclusive bus tour, and a walk down the Royal mile would give you and overview).!

What is your final itinerary? or will you "wing it " some.?

mari5, with Budget car rental you pay when you get there but I have a confirmation number and that is how we usually do it in the states. But I am still going to check out expedia and autoeurope and see if I can get it cheaper.

We are going to plan our first night and then just wing it. Some days I want to start clockwise and hit the fishing villages first and than other days I think the last thing that Shelia suggested was heading west to Gourock that sounds good to me.

Today I am feeling like fishing villages on the east coast would be a nice first few days. Get a few good seafood dinners. Mingle with some people and explore some little fishing towns and take some nice warf pictures and than head up to more solitude. This might be the way to go for us. It will give us a chance to slowly wind down and than get some good hikes in as we progress across the highlands and head west to Skye. Sounds like a good way to explore to me.

I am coping all of the info sent by everybody and hope to hit a lot of the suggestions. Everyone has been so helpful and I will post when we return.

Hi,

My input maybe too late to help, but I used this itinerary
http://www.secret-scotland.com/produ...c_tour_14_day/

I found it to be excellent. All the detail you could possibly ask for to find great B&Bs, good restaurants and places to visit. They really help you find the places that the big guides miss out. Much better than Lonely Planet in my opinion.

It was a 14 day itinerary, but there were 3 nights when we stayed in the same area so you could easily skip these and make it a 12 day itinerary.

The guide directed us to the Lochbay Restaurantant at Stein on Skye. Without the guide we would have never found the place. Cafefish on Mull was another superb recommendation by the Secret Scotland Guide.

I can also vouch for the B&Bs that they recommend along the route. A range of prices and all very good in our experience.

Enjoy
Jean-Noel

Thanks Jean-Noel.

With me it is nevre too late. IMO the only time it would be too late is when we have returned home. I will take a look at the itnerary. Thanks for the input.

6abc----I'm from Skye though living on the west coast just now so if you need any more help just shout.
One thing I would definitely recommend for your airport hotel is the Hilton which is having a late spring deal. It is £73 [$145] for bed and breakfast with dinner on the 1st night. The Hilton Grosvenor in Edinburgh is a lovely old hotel 150 years old and they have the same deal and their restaurant is superb.