6 day Sept trip to Scotland

Check the time tables for the main intercity bus lines Citylink and the trains Scotrail, they will also give the prices.

On six days you are highly unlikely to get to Orkney, the airline is Flybe and they are not cheap. Think £250 return from Edinburgh minimum, each. Which I imagine would wipe out a bulk of your money.

My opinion is the train will be a better fit, but that comes with the train's limited network and extra costs. Stirling is relatively easy from most of the central belt, as is most of the central belt from Stirling.

To my knowledge Skye's airport is no longer open to commercial traffic.

Skye's airport closed in 1988.

I think that even if you drop Orkney, which you need to, you will be pushed to cover your itinerary by public transport in 6 days. You are likely to be spending all your time travelling rather than seeing places with your present itinerary. I think that there is no point going all the way to Skye without spending at least two full days there. Edinburgh needs two days minimum. That leaves you two days for the rest plus travel time.

There are no cheap flights to Orkney as there are only limited flights. The ferry runs from the very north of Scotland and you can do a very long day trip from Inverness. Probably something like 6 am to 11 pm.

I seem to recall that the rail station at Glasgow airport is a couple of miles or more away from the airport and you have to get a taxi or bus link. There is a regular service into Glasgow then you need to get the train to Edinburgh, which is a further hour away. Landing at Glasgow to arriving in Edinburgh will therefore take you c 3 hours. Try not to take this service peak commuter time, as you may have to stand up which is not recommended with luggage (I have done this!).

Thank you!

It looks like we won't be flying into Skye! lol

What would be the travel time from Stirling to Skye via train/bus? Where would you recommend stopping between Stirling and Skye as we'll probably want to break up the travel.

If you have your heart set on seeing each of these, the best way is day tours. With only 6 days public transportation will be too slow.

Arrive Sept. 6. Go to Edinburgh. See the castle, have a nice dinner go to web.

Sept. 7. Do a day trip Stirling.

Sept. 8. Enjoy more of Edinburgh and take a late afternoon train to Inverness.

Sept. 9-10-Do Day trips to Isle of Skye and another day trip to Orkney. Here's one tour company and another for Orkney. There are no doubt others.

Sept. 11--Train back to Edinburgh or flight to Edinburgh depending on your time. If you have time in the AM you can take the public bus to Culloden.

It's not a trip I would do, but it is possible.

Pam

Pamela's suggestions are bang on. When I was planning my Scotland trip I was going to use the train and bus system, but quickly discovered it would take far too long to get from place to place and ended up renting a car. Even doing what Pamela suggests you need to realize you are going to be spending a lot of time on a train or bus as it's a long way from Edinburgh to Inverness, and even the day trip from Inverness to Skye is a long trip. Have you looked into flights from Edinburgh to Inverness? I also wanted to get out to the Orkneys, but found the ferry schedule too restricted given the time I had. It will be a priority for when I get back!

Although Scotland is a relatively small country it's not that small, it takes a long time to travel to places like Skye and Orkney, especially by public transport. The isolated and sparsely populated nature of these places means there is limited demand and the only flights are therefore on small (c.30 seat) aircraft at high prices.

With such limited time and budget I think Orkney probably just doesn't fit. I wouldn't personally do a day tour from Inverness, it must be hours of mostly sitting on a bus. A day trip to Skye is similarly long and I don't see how you can see much. Also, in both cases, but particularly Skye, if the weather is misty/overcast on the day you go (as is frequently the case) then you'll not see very much!

From Stirling to Skye is probably 7-9hours by public transport depending where you're going on Skye. You need to either go to Glasgow or Inverness then bus from there - Most public transport to the W and N Highlands goes from Glasgow and Inverness respectively, not Edinburgh. There is a direct bus to Skye from the forecourt of Glasgow airport at 1020 every day, so if you wanted to go straight to Skye on arrival that might fit well, although its a long bus journey after a flight like that. Lastly bear in mind that even once on Skye, public transport is limited so actually getting around to see some places could be quite a hassle.

I think in reality you definitely need to drop one of Orkney or Skye and I would maybe even drop both. I also wouldn't personally spend that long in Inverness itself - it's a nice enough place, but quite small and not all that much to see. There are plenty other scenic areas in Scotland that are easier to get to like Glencoe, Loch Lomond, Highland Perthshire (Pitlochry, Dunkeld, Aberfeldy etc), Aviemore etc. If you want to visit an island you could to to Oban and take trip to the likes of Mull or iona.

Long distance busses in Scotland are provided by Citylink, see www.citylink.co.uk for timetables/booking and www.scotrail.co.uk for trains. You might also want to look into the likes of Rabbies and Discover Scotland for tours.

Re GLA apt to Edinburgh, the advice given earlier for travel is unfortunately a little off target and overcomplicated. Take the 500 bus from apt to Queen St stn then get the train to Edinburgh - should take no more than 2hrs absolute max. You can also get off the 500 at Buchanan St bus stn and get the bus to Edinburgh, this takes longer but may be cheaper. Bear in mind there is a lot to see in Glasgow so it's worth spending some time there.

Thank you so much for your replies!

Yes, I guess we're going to rent a car.. lol

And we're going to drop both Orkney and Skye and instead go to Mull. So for the 6 days we're thinking, Glasgow-Loch Lamond-Oban-Mull-Glencoe-Perth-Stirling-Edinburgh.

Does this make sense?

Dropping Orkney hurts my heart a little but, next time :-)

It looks good but tight. But bare in mind with Mull, almost to justify the cost of the ferry, almost £100 for two adults and a car 5 day saver return, you might want to consider 2 nights, which would result in three days on Mull. Though there are going to be trips you can take from Oban.

Prices at calmac.co.uk, can't get the hyperlink to work.

Possibly you might consider the area around Inverary on the mainland.

What's taking you to Perth? There are lots of lovely sites in Perthshire, but I've only been to Perth to buy a replacement watch! :) I know that there is history, but it's generally not high on a first time visitor list.

I would agree that it would be better to add a day to Mull if you can. It really is a lovely island. Have you seen the Nature episode on the eagles of Mull?

Pam

Re reading your new itinerary, I would second Pam's suggestion of cutting Perth in favour of more of Stirling-Doune-Linlithgow. The Fair City is probably not worth the detour on this trip if it eats time elsewhere.

Hm that's interesting. I thought I read that Perth was an interesting place to go to plus there seems to be a lot of places to stay in Perth.... We're camping at a campsite on Iona. I'm not sure how comfortable one night is going to be let alone two.. lol We may cut out Perth in favour of either another night on Mull or more time in and around Stirling as a few of you suggested. It makes sense.

Also, it seems that because we're not going to Stirling on a weekend we're missing out on both the ghost walk and the regular walking tour. Which is a disappointment. Does anyone have a suggestion on tours in Stirling that are in September on a weekday? I only found one tour operator. We're also doing 2 nights in Edinburgh.

Thank you :)

There is a lot to see in Stirling. I love the castle. If you haven't checked the website, do spend some time there so that you can plan your time. I also enjoyed climbing the Wallace Monument (although that is where I lost my watch!) and I got the best picture of Stirling Castle from the Cambuskenneth Abbey. I haven't visited Bannockburn since they put in the new visitor center. I wish I could help on the walk front, but I have often done my own. If you don't find anything you might check out podcasts. Here's one from Open University. i haven't listened to it and I can't tell if it is mostly the castle. Here's another from BBC. This one doesn't have Stirling, but sure looks interesting!

Perth is certainly in my opinion somewhere worth visiting in its own right, but based on the time you have and the route you want to take, it is the easiest branch to trip.

From Stirling to Edinburgh it would add two sides to a triangle and given the time to get there and away, I'd take that and add it into the capital/Stirling leg or on to Mull.

You mention you are camping on Iona, presumably leaving the car at Fionnphort. You may consider looking for a campsite on Mull for a second night, or look for a bunkhouse, in the north of the island, which would allow you a chance to see Tobermory and the top end.

IIRC there is a spectacular coast road past Calgary you can take from Fionnphort to Tobermory. The roads on Mull are mostly single track with passing places. Have a look at a few of the advice sites, Pam has linked to some excellent ones in other post, and on Rick Steves forum, again look for NY Pam!, about driving on single track roads. It should be noted that out of the settlements and unless marked the limit is 60 mph (100 km/h) and some people do drive at or close to that speed on them, 45 miles / 70 km is probably best you can achieve.

Question, re the single track road. Can you and your cousin drive a real, err, manual car? If so, go for the smallest you think you can. This gives a few centimetres lee way on roads like the ones on Mull and may save you money. If it needs to be an automatic, try for a class B or C.

On the roads of the Highlands and Islands you want the smaller end of the market.

I was in Scotland for 7 nights in May. We focused on Edinburgh and the Isle of Skye. We flew into Edinburgh, where we stayed for 2 nights. Then we took a train to Kyle of Lochalsh, where we rented a car and drove the 45 minutes to Portree, where we stayed for 3 nights. Took a train back to Edinburgh for 2 more nights and headed out.

My heart was set on the Isle of Skye, and I wouldn't have changed anything! The train to Kyle of Lochalsh was so gorgeous, I felt like I had seen so much of Scotland just on the train. It's a 6 hour ride, but the scenery is consistently gorgeous and changing. I can't imagine a trip to Scotland without the Isle of Skye.

If you go, stay at the Cuillin Hills Hotel, and pay the extra money for a second story room with a view.