Itinerary Help! 1st time to London / Scotland for Anniversary

I've rented a car and driven to Scotland and it was no big deal. However, I wanted to head west first. Going straight from London to Scotland, I would take the train to Edinburgh, maybe stopping for an overnight in York, which was amazing and worth a stop. Then, if you want to travel around Scotland, you can rent a car there. The train is much faster.

The only reason to hire a car and drive to Scotland is to stop off in England and see things on the way. But from your post you don't give any indication of doing so. In that case take the train, then hire a car in Scotland. Pity you have to return to London to fly home.

Tickets from here https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/

Train tickets bought soon are likely to be much, much cheaper than tickets bought at the last minute, so try to pin down the timing of your long, potentially costly rail trips (like London to Edinburgh and return) so you can buy the cheap (non-refundable/non-changeable) tickets soon. Don't buy till you're sure about timing and any stops you might want to make along the way.

I've never used points to pay for a hotel room, but I would guess that different Marriott hotels might have different point requirements per night. If so, London-area hotels are likely to cost the most points. Edinburgh will also probably be expensive in terms of points. If you're spending time in other places, the points might go farther there, but of course it has to be a city with a Marriott hotel.

One thing to pay attention to is the location. You know any Marriott hotel is going to be nice, but some such places cater more to businessmen, and they may not need to be in the thick of the tourist district. You don't want to be in an obscure location that subjects you to long tube rides into town, or a place that requires you to have a car you don't otherwise need for the area.

Another thing to be cautious about is the cost of breakfast at a hotel of the Marriott class. That cost can be very, very high in some business-class hotels. Verify that you don't have to take breakfast at the hotel if you don't want to.

Becca, we spent about the same amount of nights in England and Scotland a few years ago. We also used hotel points (Hilton) for our London and Liverpool stay. 1) How much time do you wish to spend in London? 2) How much time in Scotland? Regarding renting a car, is the driver comfortable behind the wheel in unfamiliar circumstances? Remember, they drive on the wrong side of the road over there. Some "B" roads can be narrow, even some "A" roads, so a small car is advised. Think Ford Focus or smaller. What are you interested in doing or seeing? Marriott should have hotels in a variety of London areas within their brands.

Marriott has a hotel in County Hall which is near the London Eye and Westminster. It's supposed to be a very nice hotel and the location is walking distance to a bunch of tourist sights and restaurants. We had considered the Premier Inn at that location (much much cheaper) before we decided on an apartment.

It makes little sense to drive all the way from London to Scotland, as our roads are very busy and not a pleasure to drive. The train service is great, so take this and rent a car in Scotland. Book rail tickets 12 weeks in advance.

why drive? You can fly Ryan Air soooo much cheaper. And so much faster. They also have free carryon.

It's a lot quicker taking the train, 4 1/2 hrs from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh. High speed rail is a wonderful idea! I've already booked for our trip in May.