30 days in Scotland

Hi, Shari,

Wow! That is quite an unplanned adventure you're planning! You are going to get lots of suggestions on this forum. If you're travelling in September/October, you shouldn't have as much trouble finding accommodation as do visitors travelling in July and August.

Do you plan to drive the entire NC 500, or only a portion of it? Do you plan to visit Edinburgh (Scotland's number one tourist destination) at all, or are you going to be concentrating your holiday in the west and north?

Given the time that you have, you should be able to visit Islay, Mull, Skye, and the Outer Hebrides. On your way back to Glasgow, you should visit the northeast, for Deeside and the many castles in that part of Scotland.

Your husband will most likely need a permit for fishing. And he'll need to find a professional who can take him stalking. He should contact the Scottish Gamekeepers Association for advice. If you're going to be in Pitlochry, the Tay is considered good for fishing. In the Highlands, possibly the Shin and the Oykel. As you head back south, the Spey and the Dee are also good rivers for fishing. Again, though, he'd most likely have to obtain a permit for the particular river where he plans to fish.

Most accommodation booking can be done on line or by telephone these days. If you find a listing through one of the trip consolidators (Priceline, Expedia, etc.), contact your lodging directly, either through their website or by telephone. Most times, you will get a better price.

One thing you don't want to do is drive aimlessly. You should have the basis of a plan for each day, but you will find serendipitous moments if you don't have a strict schedule.

Best thing to do at this point is to get a good guidebook (Rough Guide or Rick Steves), and pick and choose what you'd like to see. Also check out some of the amateur travel videos on YouTube. I have been on many four and five week trips to Scotland, all self-guided, and I think that could be said by many contributors to this forum. So you should be getting lots of advice and recommendations in the next few days. I always travel on the cheap, so if you're looking at a low to medium budget holiday, it can be done.

Good luck with your research and planning, and keep asking questions!

Mike (Auchterless)

Welcome to the forum.

For starters, I would lock in your 1 must do: the Highland Games.

The Pitlochery Highland Games is a 1 day event on September 13. Tickets should be purchased in advance. I would suggest booking your accommodations asap so you can get something convenient in your budget. You'll probably want to book at least 2 nights so you can enjoy all the events including the morning Pipe Band Parade.

For the rest of your time think about your preferred travel style and interests. Do you prefer staying put for several days? Are you good with 1 or 2 night stays mixed in?

Have you started looking into possibilities for fishing and hunting? We are not hunters or fishermen, but we did spend a night at the Scourie Hotel on the Northwest coast during our 2023 trip. I've given you their link because they are known as a fishing hotel and their website might give you some ideas of what's involved.

One important thing to keep in mind is outside of the cities, you do not want to be on the road at night. You never know when a cow may decide to wander across the road, or some sheep decide to rest on the side of the road. So choose your lodging location well so you have some options for dinner without driving in the dark.

What would you consider your average nightly budget to be? Are you interested in self catering accommodations for parts of your stay? Any deal breakers?

Your going to have such a great trip!

Hi Shari
I highly recommend Undiscovered Scotland's website. It has an interactive map, an abundance of information on places of interest. They even provide directions for some wonderful driving routes. One thing to be aware of is that some of the Historic Scotland managed sites close 1 October so double check their site before you visit.

Undiscovered Scotland https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/
Undiscovered Scotland driving routes https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/ustours/index.html
Historic Scotland https://www.historicenvironment.scot/

You will love Scotland!

What a fantastic amount of time you have and certainly very easily filled!

Re salmon fishing - if you search 'salmon fishing guides' in the various places you are going then many will come up - there is at least one in Pitlochry as the River Tay , a renowned salmon river, flows past the town.More remote locations/rivers are also an option - the Kirkaig River for example, which is near Lochinver in the NW Highlands, the latter village adjacent to the NC500 route.As an aside, the House of Bruar Shopping Emporium just north of Pitlochry (and offering a beautiful circular walking loop past various waterfalls) has some very impressive salmon on display on the walls though several at least were caught in Norway.But there are a lot of artefacts associated with fly fishing, on display too.One search on salmon fishing with a guide gave this contact:

https://www.athollpalace.com/attractions/guided-river-tay-salmon-fishing/

Inverness is pleasant enough down at the river though it is a small city with the usual traffic and urban feel.Some sights (the city itself has no particular sights of great interest) a drive away include Culloden, Clava Cairns, Cawdor and Brodie castles (some fine Pictish stones at the castle entrance.) There is also Fort George.The large village of Fortrose across the narrow waters of the Moray Firth from Fort George, offers the best land based dolphin watching in the UK - best on a rising tide.Tide tables are published online.

Any reason for doing the NC500 clockwise? Going up the east coast first means that the scenery reaches a crescendo by the time to come to Tongue/Durness and head south via the stunning areas of Assynt Coigach, Wester Ross/Torridon /Applecross.Outstanding west coast landscapes! Plenty of interest on the cliffy coast of the east before that - Dornoch is a pretty village, Dunrobin Castle is magnificent, Girnigoe/Castle Sinclair ruins are atmospheric, the Whaligoe Steps are a must IMO and the easy cliff top walk to the Duncansby Stacks near John o Groats offers some of our finest cliff scenery.There is also a delightful, flat coastal path from JoG along the coast for a mile or so and beyond, if energy allows, to lovely Sannick Bay.

I'll post a link here to my own more detailed write up of the 1st of 5 days (which would be a minimum) exploring the route, if of interest.This link begins with Inverness to JoG but of course you can go on to other links if you decide to head for Applecross/Torridon first.

https://annestravelsandhikes.com/2017/11/15/north-coast-500-day-1-planner/

And a map here of the route (with an addition including Kyle of Lochalsh as one gateway to Skye):

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1oUIESdL8_5pvv3UWLCQ0MIlEDA8onRzC&ll=57.9033454569376%2C-4.466500000000004&z=8

Skye is definitely worth seeing, very different scenery again and a few days on the Isle of Harris would be a priority for me also - it is stunningly beautiful plus VERY different to Skye.Harris's Luskentyre beach and that area is probably the most beautiful place I've ever seen, anywhere , in my own travels.

Deer hunting (stalking) is certainly available too, for example:

https://www.deerhuntingscotland.com/hunting/stag-hunting

The map below also shows what would for me, be an epic 10 days in Scotland - including a loop up through Pitlochry and over to Skye and Applecross/ Torridon.If you add your proposed NC 500, Skye and Harris to this itinerary and study the maps, it would easily fill one month!

https://annestravelsandhikes.com/2022/06/26/an-epic-10-nights-in-scotland-map/

I just got back from Scotland with my family, here is my two cents worth: Hostelling Scotland is a great chain of hostels where you can get private rooms if desired and cook for yourself. They've got locations all over the country, they were the best hostels we stayed at on our trip, welcoming guests of all ages. We had the misfortune to stay at a hostel called Safestay Charing Cross in Glasgow that I wouldn't recommend and from hearing all the complaints from other guests, I think I'm not alone in that. I ended up wishing we'd stayed nearer the university on the West side.
Celtic Legends seems to be the best deal for a rental car in Scotland, and we found they were lovely to work with. We ended our drive in Glasgow and they have a shuttle service that delivered us to our hostel after returning our car. The shuttle and general customer service was excellent.

We did drive up the East coast and really loved it, these are the spots we visited that you may want to look into: Dunnottar Castle is absolutely beautiful, but weather dependent. It will close when the weather is bad. Crathes Castle in Banchory has beautiful painted ceilings and excellent gardens. Tulquhon is a ruined castle near Aberdeen and included on the Scotland Explorer pass that covers Edinburgh and Stirling Castle. All these are an easy driving distance from Aberdeen. On the road between Aberdeen and Inverness we visited New Slains Castle that is along the most beautiful craggy cliffs (no cost, just free to wander the ruins, just make sure you pull up directions for the car park or google will not be very helpful). About a mile down the road from New Slains is the Bullers of Buchan which is a beautiful coastal cliff walk where you might see a lot of seabirds, I'm not sure what their migration patterns are. We did a break in Cullen to enjoy the world's best Cullen Skink in Lily's Kitchen Cafe and walk along the viaduct, and we stopped off at the ruined Elgin Cathedral (also on the Scotland Explorer Pass) which had a lot more going for it than I'd anticipated and was a fun stop. I know Rick's books cover the West and the Isles better than I could, but maybe that helps you to get started thinking about the East coast.
One other area we particularly loved was around Loch Tay. I know Rick recommends the Scottish Crannog Centre (as do I) but we rounded out our day with a hike through the Birks of Aberfeldy which was absolutely gorgeous (look at it on alltrails for some good information because doing the loop in the right direction will make a big difference). If you're a Monty Python fan at all, do a quick google maps search for the Cave of Caerbannog, and you'll find driving directions and in the reviews all the relevant information for visiting a very off the beaten track filming location for Monty Python's the Holy Grail.

Best of luck with your travel planning!

Claire89,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Aberdeenshire. It is a lovely area overlooked by a lot of posters here. Like you, we've enjoyed our time there with the variety of gardens and castles, both furnished and in ruins.

We also found Celtic Legends to be the best value for our car rental in 2023.

I thank everyone who took the time to offer reccomendations and suggestions. Unfortunately due to family obligations we now have to delay our trip to next September. The one thing I am going to do is chose 3 bases in or near the areas we most want to see (or possibly 2) and travel from there. Please, the more recommendations, the better plan I will be able to come up with. Thank you all very much

I'm sorry you had to postpone your trip, but it will probably work out better in terms of having much more time to plan and book accommodations, which is always good for Scotland.

I do agree with the replies upthread about Celtic Legend, which provides car rentals using Arnold Clark as part of their travel services, such as whisky tours. They offer benefits like unlimited mileage and a free second driver, often at lower prices than going directly through Arnold Clark. I've rented from Arnold Clark using Celtic Legend and have rented directly from Arnold Clark, and in all cases, it was an extremely pleasant experience. Arnold Clark is a very professional company and I have high regards for them. I do recommend checking the prices of both, and if having a free second driver is important, then usually Celtic Legend will be your best option. Both of them will give you free quotes.

https://www.celticlegend.co.uk/car-rental/
https://www.arnoldclarkrental.com/

We want to see the islands, Highlands, North 500, hike, fish (husband was hoping to hunt)

I can't help you with the fishing or hunting, but I would check the Walk Highlands website for information on hiking. It has the best and most complete information you would need to hike all over Scotland. It's a wonderful website: https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/

I was in Scotland for almost a month in 2023, and I started off in Glasgow then traveled to the Isle of Arran for 3 nights, which was wonderful (I did have a rental car). Arran is known as "Scotland in Miniature" and it's really a gem. It's small and easy to get around but has so many beautiful sites there, and lots of coastline, ruins, a castle, and more.

After that I went to the Isle of Mull, which I highly recommend. Tobermory is charming and there is a lot you can see and do there. I stayed 4 nights in one of the harbor B&Bs and parked in one of the free car lots on the harbor. It's lovely to be able to walk down through the shops and restaurants that line the harbor. Bring your camera as it's very photogenic. You can visit the Isle of Mull Cheese Shop (Sgriob-ruadh Farm), which is about a mile from the harbor. There are self-guided tours to meet the farm animals and learn about traditional cheese making. There is also a cafe and a farm shop.

And don't miss Calgary Beach, which is about a 30+ minute drive—probably more like 40—from Tobermory. It's very narrow and the single track roads run through the mountains with some switchbacks, so you will need to go slow through much of it. It's well worth a visit to see the beautiful beach. And of course, there is the Isle of Iona, the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland and filled with so much history. It makes for a wonderful day trip from Tobermory. You can drive to Fionnphort, then take the 10 minute ferry over to Iona, see the ruins and the history there, have some lunch, walk on the beach. It's an amazing day.

After Mull, I went to Skye, which I really enjoyed but especially loved my day trip to the Isle of Raasay, which is a tiny island with a lot of history. It's a great place to visit if you are getting overwhelmed by the crowds on Skye.

My next stop was Lewis and Harris, another wonderful destination, with so many incredible historic sights and beautiful coastal towns and scenery. This was another of my favorite places and I highly recommend a visit.

After that, I headed for Inverness and got on the NE250 route, which heads along the northeast coast, stopping in places like Nairn, Elgin, Portknockie, and Cullen. I thne made my way down the east coast, visiting the Bullers of Buchan (an incredible site), Slains Castle ruins and Cruden Bay. I loved this area and it was such a treat to drive along it, stopping wherever you want.

At any rate, I would take the time to investigate a lot of places and figure out what you want to see.

In terms of driving itself, it is important to educate yourself before you set out on the road but driving on the left is fairly easy. After the first couple of minutes, you'll get the hang of it. Just remember when you first start up the car to think to yourself, "Go left." That's the time when you forget. Some folks put little notes on the dash. The first time, I messed up leaving the parking lot but after that I was fine (and so was the other driver who politely waited for me to come to my senses and get in the correct lane).

The hardest part of driving involves the single-track roads. Not only are the roads narrow, but there is no shoulder, so you have to be careful not to veer too quickly to the right or left, as you can ruin a tire by going off the road. Keep in mind there are plenty of passing places, and you'll get the etiquette down pretty quickly. Here's one video that is helpful: Driving on Single Track Roads

On Skye, some of the roads have heavy potholes you need to watch out for. There are some good roads there, though. For example, the road from Armadale to Portree is a 2 lane well-kept road.

Mull's roads were pretty decent but mostly single-track. In other places, they get a lot easier. I had no problems driving on Harris and Lewis, and along the coastal road from Inverness to Cruden Bay and farther south.