7days Scotland without a car, into and out of Edinburgh

I disagree with your friend. Glasgow is well worth a visit, and if you combine it with a day trip to Stirling (which I highly recommend) and a Rabbies' day tour, you will have a wonderful time. Inverness is a nice place but really, without a car, it would take more time than you've got to really explore the Highlands from there.

One of Rabbies' tours you might consider is their day tour to the Isle of Arran from Glasgow. Arran is wonderful! It's frequently called Scotland in Miniature because it has all the elements of Scotland there; mountains, beaches, history, castles, ruins; even 2 distilleries. I really enjoyed my trip there and recommend it. I was there for 3 nights, but it's a small island and I think you would see a lot in one day; especially given Rabbies' expertise. https://www.rabbies.com/en/scotland-tours/from-glasgow/day-tours/day-island-arran-day-tour

I agree with Mardee. Glasgow has a lot to offer. Your husband might enjoy this! https://golffang.co.uk/glasgow/

Glad to see you are going to include a Rabbie's day tour. I took the one that goes to Melrose Abbey and Rosslyn Chapel a couple years ago and really had a great day. I'm not as familiar with transportation options as others here on the Forum, but will say your places to visit may be dependent on the ease of getting there. I'd suggest while in Edinburgh you visit the Royal Yacht Britannia. I really enjoyed that. I stayed at the Premier Inn at York Place and would recommend. It was on the tram line from the airport, an easy bus ride to the Royal Yacht plus I was able to walk to the Rabbie's office. There is a pub right across the street from the hotel and I had a good fish pie there for dinner one night. I was there the same time of year you are going and we had wonderful weather, but I did make sure my raincoat & shoes were waterproofed before I left.

You've chosen a beautiful place for your week.

If you take one of the Rabbie's day trips north, you will be in the Highlands. Switching Glasgow to Inverness would only give you a different part of the Highlands. If you want to experience more Highlands, you need more days.

When you're in St. Andrews, treat your husband to a few holes at the Himalayas Putting Green so he can tell his golf buddies he played St. Andrews.

It's your trip. What do you want to see and do to feel you're in Scotland?

The only thing I enjoyed about Inverness was as a base to see other places nearby- which would be tough without a car. I enjoyed Glasgow as much as Edinburgh. We spent 3 days there including a day trip to Stirling Castle which was the highlight of the trip. We had spent a week in Edinburgh which included 2 Rabbies tours.

You all are wonderful, thank you!

My opinion is that if you do only Glasgow and Edinburgh you are missing the best part of Scotland! I absolutely recommend that at least staying one night somewhere other than a city. There are two and three night Rabbie's tours from both Edinburgh and Glasgow. That would at least get you out of the cities and see the countryside and/or one of the islands. I also didn't want to drive in Scotland so did a three night Rabbie's tour last summer and it was excellent.

Thank you, yes, this is what my friend thought. I think that the bottom line is that with 7 days we have to eliminate something and what that is is subjective. I appreciate the comments!

If you're in Glasgow there is a wonderful tourist office in the main part of town, I found them very helpful. Make sure you see the Cafe designed by Charles Rennie MacKintosh. And if you're interested in his work, there is a Trail of his work and a museum.

I'm going to recommend in favor of Inverness over Glasgow, as I find the latter far too gritty for my taste. But there's certainly lots to see in Glasgow. Rabbie's will get you north to the Highlands very effectively from Edinburgh.

Be aware that getting to St Andrews from Edinburgh by train will require you to disembark at Leuchars, then get a taxi into St Andrews. Buses also run between the two towns.

ETA: the Golf Fang place linked to above doesn't look like a place any of my golf buddies would enjoy. Very strange.

Getting off at Cupar for St Andrews is unusual advice, but even if you did there are at least three buses an hour from Cupar railway station to St Andrews so you don't have to take a taxi.
The normal route is to change into the bus at Leuchars.
But there are also direct buses from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perth, also from Leven (2 trains an hour from Edinburgh) via the East Neuk fishing villages.
Also buses from Dundee and from Stirling (changing at Dunfermline).

I would also not switch Glasgow for Inverness. First, it’s going to take a chunk of time to get there, then you will still need to find day tours to see sights as Inverness is really just a base for that. The town itself doesn’t have any great museums like Glasgow has. I spent four days in Glasgow and really enjoyed it. I did one day trip to Sterling and Loch Lomond, but spent the rest of the time in museums and using the HOHO bus. The other option would be to split your time between Edinburgh and a Rabbies three day tour north. Every time you change locations it eats into time better spent seeing the sights. I spent six days in Edinburgh seeing the city, and did a couple of day trips.

Getting off at Cupar for St Andrews is unusual advice ... The normal route is to change into the bus at Leuchars.

Getting old and stupid is unpleasant. Especially for others. Mea culpa.

My post has been corrected.

In mid-September 2023, we took Rabbie's day trip from Edinburgh to St. Andrews and the Fishing Villages of Fife, and really enjoyed it. We did it on a Sunday, so we could walk around the Old Course. We all got pictures of ourselves on the famous-to-golfers footbridge. It was fun to see the golf playing husbands actually excited about a day trip.

https://www.rabbies.com/en/scotland-tours/from-edinburgh/day-tours/st-andrews-the-fishing-villages-of-fife-day-tour