Scotland, London & Paris? How should we go about this?

Hi Paige -

Here are a couple of thoughts.

In the time you have the ‘slow travel’ will of necessity take a back seat, because you are covering a lot of ground in a comparatively short time.

This is one of the best cases ever for an open jaw flight booking. Either fly into Glasgow/Edinburgh and leave from Paris or vice versa. Personally I would fly into Paris, spend a few days there, then take the high speed train to London and spend some time there and then travel on by train (or plane) to Edinburgh. The train will show you more of England going up the east coast so may fit in better with your slow travel. I’d be inclined to spend roughly the same amount of time in each location - even then, you won’t be able to do it all, but this isn’t a criticism of the planned itinerary, it’s just the observation that there’s a lot to see and do.

On your schedule, I wouldn’t go to Skye. It’s still quite a trek from Edinburgh and you’d be coming back almost immediately you arrive, and you’d severely eat into your time in Edinburgh. Skye is a big island and takes a while to cover anything like thoroughly. Because of this, I see Skye as a destination in its own right and I’m a bit concerned by the reports that suggest it has been overrun with tourists in recent times, making accommodation potentially difficult. From the reports and videos I’ve seen most don’t visit the places I think are best on Skye, and here I’m referring to the Cuillins. That said, these are particularly rugged mountains and not for the casual or inexperienced or poorly equipped and it is my personal preference. If you are determined to see Skye I would book on a Rabbies tour (or similar, other tours are available) mainly because, yes, to see Scotland best you really do need a car. Where a car is as much use as a chocolate teapot would be central Edinburgh though!

I’m sure you’ll get more detailed responses here and plenty that will tell you that you are biting off more than you can possibly chew in the time available. But that said, it’s your trip and if it’s what you want to do then go for it. You’ll see plenty, but certainly not everything and you may find you are travelling a bit more ‘intensively’ than you planned. I hope you have a great time!

Ian

Slow down and take a moment to list what you truly “must” see.

What time of year are you traveling? That might affect your plans.

You can easily experience the English countryside. This helpful Timeout link provides an over view of those an hour or so outside London.
https://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/ten-chocolate-box-villages-within-reach-of-london

Do you expect to drive or use public transport?

Flying into London and out of Paris is an option.

Securing Eurostar tickets for travel between the 2 cities should be done well in advance to save you $.

Can you provide a bit more information?

I would fly to Glasgow or Edinburgh and start there. Fly home from Paris. Include Icelandair and Aer Lingus in your searches.

Rent a car and pick a cottage or rural inn at a western Highlands location near Oban, Glencoe, or Ft William and explore from there for a few days.

Then work your way down to London and on to Paris. Consider skipping Paris but don’t drop Scotland which seems to be your main interest.

I’m in the minority that feels that day trips from big cities is a poor idea. You are spending a lot of time commuting from the most expensive places. Some people like the idea of commuting from cities since it defers committing to seeing one site over the other till later, but you will have to research and commit to a selection of sites at some point.

My opinion is that unless this is your ONLY opportunity to visit all three, I’d skip Paris for this trip. I’d spend a couple of days in Edinburgh, a few days in London and in between tour Scotland and England by car. DH and I did this trip several years ago for 16 days and still feel like we missed so much. Ideally, we’d like to do 16 days in Scotland and 16 days in England.

You REALLY need to devour some guidebooks and decide what’s important to YOU. But don’t make the mistake of making your schedule so tight that you arrive in a designated destination only to sleep there and move on the next day.

If you're planning the trip for this summer, you may have difficulty finding available lodgings on Scottish islands if you don't have a car. Two months ago it seemed that just about everything was booked up in the towns most accessible by public transportation.

Recommend flying in to Scotland and departing from London. Save Paris for another trip.

We did a 28 day drive tour of Wales and England and loved it.

Here are the details of our trip:
28 days in Britain and Celebrity Eclipse home
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=599139