kaysfitlife

Hi All!

Stumbled across this site while I was looking up ways of transportation around Scotland. Read a few posts here, but everyone's itinerary will of course be different, so I was hoping to gather some feedback on the itinerary I have planned.

I have already purchased the tickets and will be surprising my friend with the news for Christmas. The planned trip will take place from April 22nd 2023 - April 29 2023. However, coming from the US, our trip won't actually start until April 23. Unfortunately I know we don't have a lot of paid time off, but we have always talked about traveling to Scotland together, so I took the dive and bought the tickets. Though after reviewing my plan, I wish I would've added more days... but it is what it is, and no matter how packed it's going to be, we'll make the most out of it. And that way, everything that we didn't get to see, we can come back for a second trip, right?

So, with that being said, my jam-packed itinerary has been penciled down as the following:

Day 1 - Arrival - Inverness (Sunday):
Inverness - Get there Sunday Morning (11am)

• Ft George
• Highlander Museum (Next to Ft. George)
• Culloden Memorial
• Staying at the 'Kilcumin Guest House' for the evening (already booked)

Day 2 - Inverness to Aberdeen (Monday):

• Travel by ScotRail to get to Aberdeen - 2 1/2 hours
• Aberdeen Maritime Museum
• Gordon Highlander Museum

Day 3 - Aberdeen to Sterling, then Sterling to Edinburg (Tuesday)

• ScotRail to Sterling - 2 1/2 hours
• Sterling Castle
• Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Museum
• Sterling to Edinburg that evening (ScotRail) - 1 hour

Day 4 - Edinburg (Wednesday)

• Edinburg Castle
• Walk the 'Royal Mile' and visit some of the following:
  • Scottish Parliament Building
  • National Museum of Scotland
  • National War Museum

Day 5 - Edinburg (Thursday)

• Edinburg to Prestonpans via ScotRail
  • Museum, Walk around battlefield
• Optional: Rossland Chapel via ScotRail
• Edinburg to Glasgow via ScotRail - 1 hour

Day 6 - Glasgow (Friday)

• No real plans as of yet; most of the areas we wanted to cover are listed throughout the itinerary as he is a big history buff. I thought about the Glasgow Cathedral, but again, optional.

Day 7 - Glasgow (Saturday - Leave)

• Plane to leave at 11am, so just need to get to the airport that morning.

Phew. So as I mentioned, looking at that now, I see it is very jam packed with areas/sites to see. Most of the places I listed are sites that he has always wanted to see, so I'd like to keep a lot of them on the list. If I had planned it correctly, I would've had my flight leave out of Edinburg instead of Glasgow, since that is where a lot of sties we want to visit seem to reside in/nearby. I'm going to call the travel agency and see if this can be adjusted, but in the event that it can't, I'd like to think I've booked a decent itinerary for us to go about.

So this is where I need you, the experts, to help this lady out. (Please).

1. I mention traveling via the ScotRail a lot - Is there a best way to go about how I should get tickets? I read about 'Spirit of Scotland - Travel Pass' on the ScotRail website, but wasn't sure if this is exactly what I need/the best option. We will be traveling: Inverness -> Aberdeen -> Sterling -> Edinburg -> Glasgow over the course of 4-6 days.
2. For the smaller areas we want to travel to (especially on Day 1 in Inverness), are there taxi services or bus routes that are the best option? We don't mind the occasional 20ish minute walks since we're both in good health, but again, not sure on best options (taxi, bus, Uber, etc).
3. Any recommendations on food in these areas? We'd love to try more Scottish food that won't break the bank, so please shout some out if you have any!
4. And of course, any recommendations on hotels? Ideally would like to book most hotels that offer a breakfast in the morning since we've got some jam packed days ahead (lol!).
5. Ways to pay? I have a credit card that offers no overseas travel fees. Wasn't sure if just getting cash converted was the best option, or using my credit card.

And finally, thank you to anyone who read through this mess. I appreciate your time and any suggestions you might have.

janisj

Welcome to Fodors - I just arrived home last night after 26 hours in transit so am a bit jet lagged so it may be a few hours before I get a chance to digest your whole post. But a couple of very quick initial comments:

• How are you getting to Ft George? There is a local bus but it takes about an hour each way. Ft George is ENORMOUS and tackling it on arrival day will take quite a bit of endurance.

• best way to get ScotRail tickets is to buy them from the site -- a few weeks in advance will get some discount. But do realize ScotRail often has operational 'issues' and with this sort of rapid fire trip -- one day w/ industrial action or construction on the line and the whole itinerary is blown out of the water.

To optimize things I'd maybe consider JUST Inverness, Stirling (note the spelling) and Edinburgh. You can take a train from Edinburgh with a change in central Glasgow to Paisley Gilmore Street station in 90 minutes and the station is less than 1.5 miles from GLA - so no need at all to try and squeeze Glasgow into an already too full plan. With say a 06:30 departure from Edinburgh Waverly you'd get to Gilmore St station before 8AM

More later -- after I'm fully awake

Gardyloo

I think you're really trying to cram too many things into the time you have. With just five full days, seeing more than a couple of places means you'll be spending much of your time in transit and juggling logistics. Late April can be great, or it can be on- and off wet and miserable, with no way of knowing far in advance.

My recommendation would be to limit yourselves to two cities and, if desired, do day trips from them. Inverness is not going to win any beauty contests, but it's well located for some local exploring. My suggestion would be to consult Rabbie's tours - https://www.rabbies.com/ - a highly reputable firm who offer small group tours with departures from several Scottish cities, including Inverness.

Stirling is close enough to Edinburgh (under an hour by train) to be included easily in a day trip. Companies like Rabbie's (or other similar small-group tours) include Stirling with visits to Loch Lomond, or the nearby Falkirk Wheel and statues of the Kelpies, or perhaps to fascinating Culross, an ancient village used in Outlander. There are numerous similar one- and two-day trips departing from Edinburgh (and from Glasgow) that could "leverage" your time significantly, and also allow you to settle into some accommodation for several nights so that you wouldn't have to break camp every morning.

Just as a thought experiment, consider spending two days in Inverness (Sunday and Monday) then travel Tuesday morning down to Edinburgh for two more nights (Tuesday and Wednesday) then on Thursday night move to Glasgow so that on Friday you could join a Rabbie's tour into the Argyll Highlands for a day. Friday night in Glasgow then easily to the airport for your Saturday departure.

This is but one example of a means of allowing you to see more with less hassle in your very limited time.