10 days in Scotland by car

Have you found the Secret Scotland web sit? They will do a custom driving route for you based on your interests and time frame. I used them, and it took a lot of stress out of the planning and driving. I did get the Historic Scotland pass, but I would hold off on that until you determine your route and see if it is worth the cost. Do you have ten days total, or ten days with the car?

Sandy, we spent a month driving around Scotland last year. With ten days, you'll have to make some tough choices... It's small enough that you could drive around the entire coast of Scotland in ten days, but you don't want that, I assume...

Also, you didn't say when you're going... If you're there in August, DO NOT MISS the Tattoo Festival. If your pocketbook can handle it, get the dinner in the castle before the show. It's grand. That also means you're there for the Fringe Festival. That'll give you more than enough to experience in Edinburgh.

With ten days in Scotland you'll have jet lag to deal with -- and eat up a day arriving and departing. I suggest the following itinerary -- and I'm sure others on this forum have their own suggestions... Paraphrasing Rick Steves, you won't see it all, so you might as well see what you've got time for...

Day One - Arrive Edinburgh and get settled in.

Day Two and Three - Tour Edinburgh, the castle, the Royal Mile, Holyrood House. You could do this in one day, but why rush...

Day Four - Pick up your car. You won't need one in Edinburgh at all. We got ours at National right next to the train station. Drive to Oban, stopping at the Kelpies and Sterling Castle. You MIGHT want to go to Bannockburn -- depending on how much driving you want to do. We did and found the docent-guided tour informative.

Day Five and Day Six - Oban - Tour the town's scotch distillery (book ahead) and take the three-island tour Rick advises about in his guidebook. We stayed at Pearl... It was worth the cost. Plus, the food (breakfast and dinner) at Pearl is good. It's a great central location -- you can walk to the docks for the tour's boat -- and walk to get good meals. So park your car across the street in the public lot near the hotel and leave it while you're in Oban.

Day Seven drive to Isle of Skye - We love to hike so could have spent a full week here. We stayed on the Waternish Peninsula in a self-catering home called Mint Croft. We only drove through Portree. There are LOTS of self-catering options in Skye. Also, you can take the ferry from the mainland to Skye -- assuming they have enough staff to operate the run. When we were there, they didn't so we used the Skye Bridge. You can visit the castle near the bridge.

There are a lot of other options just on that short route - Ft. Augustus (the boat locks are cool) is just one of them. Hike in Glencoe... Check Rick's guidebook for other suggestions.

Day Eight or Nine (depending on what you do in that neck of the woods and how much time you want to spend in Glasgow) - Drive back to Glasgow. to prep for your trip home. We didn't go to Glasgow at all, so I can't recommend anything there.

Have fun - and - uh - keep on travelin'.

This is the site for Secret Scotland. I'm sure they can help you. It must be very daunting planning a trip and it's hard to know where to start and where to finish and what to do in the middle.

www.secret-scotland.com

I'm not a fan of one night stops because there's too much by way of packing and unpacking so I'd allow two nights in every place you wish to visit, when you have worked out where they are.

The "Harry Potter" train ride is this so if you want to do it, you will be going to the west coast of Scotland at some point.

https://westcoastrailways.co.uk/jacobite/steam-train-trip

As for the Historic Scotland pass and whether you should purchase it, I think only you have the answer to that. What sites on the HS website interest you? Can you put together an itinerary based on the places you wish to visit?

Have you seen the National Trust for Scotland site? Even more places there which may interest you?

www.nts.org.uk

You don't say when this trip is planned for. This year? If so you may struggle to secure accommodation on Skye because it is a very popular destination. If you are on Facebook then I suggest you join a group called Skye Rooms to help you find a place to stay which suits your needs.

Have fun on your travels!

It's Stirling Castle, rather than Sterling Castle by the way, and Innver Ness is Inverness, but hey we all get sticky fingers!
The "Harry Potter" train (really The Jacobite) runs from Fort William to Mallaig, which is one of the two possible routes to Skye- from Mallaig by ferry, or from Kyle of Lochalsh across the bridge.
The problem is you are driving, and trying to fit even the ordinary train, let alone the steam train, into your schedule is a bit tricky. I think your time is a bit tight, especially on Skye.
Your route up from Oban to Skye (proposed in the previous post) has to take you through Fort William anyway before you make that choice. My thought would be to then take the A830 to Mallaig, the road runs parallel to the railway. Stop at Glenfinnan, then see the steam train cross the viaduct with lots of other people then take the ferry over to Mallaig.
Then on your way back you can come across the bridge.
Taking the train will cost you most of a day. If you parked up in Fort William and took either version (steam or scheduled diesel) of the train to Mallaig and back you could then drive the Skye bridge route afterwards, which would give you a mid evening arrival into your hotel on Skye. May be the best compromise.