Aug-Sept Scotland trip: Are these drive times and ferry connections reasonable?

I think most of your times look "possible" but you never know when you might run into a flock of sheep, mudslide, car accident, or road work. For example, Glasgow to Kennecraig depends on what part of Glasgow you're coming from, and what day of the week. You can get real specific with Google Maps by setting your "Leave at" parameter, then add an allowance based on the type of roadway. Assuming you feel comfortable driving at the speed limit from the wrong seat in the car, Google times are pretty close for M roads. I'd add 15% to A roads. and maybe 25% to lesser roads. Some small and single track roads have a much higher speed limit than you'll probably maintain. I'd also suggest you use "Street View" to preview the route so you're not making too many U-turns trying to find the ferry boarding area. Having a good navigator or talking GPS can also help.

July/Aug is high season, so you'll find lots of slow drivers, many Americans.

All you can do is have "plan B" in your pocket for the contingencies. Our travel style is to push the envelope pretty hard, and I think we've only had one oops, due to a ferry cancellation - it took a half day to get back on track, including repeated long calls to CalMac. On the other hand, I would never plan a specific ferry time at the end of a 4-6 hour drive.

Hi once again, losrichins, If you're picking your car up at Glasgow Airport, you should have just enough time to get to Kennacraig for the 1:00 p.m. ferry. Don't forget that you have to be at the ferry terminal 30 minutes before departure time. I'd be less stressed leaving at 8:30. To get to Kennacraig from GLA, follow the signs for the M8 west, Erskine Bridge. Once you've crossed Erskine Bridge, get on the A82, which you'll follow up the west side of Loch Lomond. At Tarbet, turn left on to the A83, which you'll follow all the way to Kennacraig.

Kennacraig to Oban is about an hour and a half, unless you decide to stop in Kilmartin. That'll give you some time to wander around town for a bit until it's time to line up for the ferry to Craignure. If you're lucky, you may be able to find one of the pay and display parking slots at the ferry terminal, and take the short walk in to town from there.

I have to assume that you're staying overnight in Mallaig. There are several restaurants there for dinner, or you can always get a takeaway from the chippie at the train station, and enjoy it down by the harbour.

Portree is about a 90 minute drive from Armadale.

Portree to Plockton is definitely all driving. Follow the A87, and once you arrive in Kyle of Lochalsh, look for the signs for Plockton. Your turn off should be on the left, just after you enter Kyle. I don't remember whether there is a route number, but it's definitely a "B" road.

Plockton to Newtonmore would be about four hours if you travel via Spean Bridge. If you go by way of Achnasheen or Invermoriston, that means that you have to travel through Inverness. Inverness can be a bit confusing for the first time driver, but just follow signs for the A82 if you're coming from Invermoriston. Try to avoid driving in to the center of town. You'll be turning left at the traffic light on to Kenneth Street - if you pass the Tesco, you've gone too far. At the fifth roundabout (the Longman roundabout), you'll turn right on to the A9 south. It should be signposted for Perth and Aviemore. If you're coming from Achnasheen, just stay on the A9 across the Kessock Bridge, go straight at the Longman roundabout, and follow the signs for the A9 south.

If you go by way of Achnasheen or Invermoriston, it's going to be a lot more like five hours, especially if you stop. What you'll see along the way will be determined by which route you take. If you let us know, we can tell you what to look for.

I'll leave sights to see on your way to Crail for the others here to post. I haven't been to the East Neuk this century.

If you haven't already thought about it, you may want to consider getting SatNav for your rental car, as jjgurley recommended. Unless your navigator is a good map reader!

Safe travels!

Mike (Auchterless)

The way I would look at Glasgow to Kennacraig is that the bus leaves from Buchanan bus station at 0910 and arrives at Kennacraig at 1230 in time for that ferry. If you were starting out from GLA airport at 0900 you have the benefit of not having to fight out of the west end of Glasgow.
That bus passes Barloan Toll at Dumbarton at 0949, so as long as you can drive as fast as the bus (and I hope anyone on this forum planning to drive in the UK can do that) with all it's stops you will be there on time, assuming no road problems. But if you are sat behind the bus and it gets delayed such as it misses the ferry, so are all it's passengers for Islay. WCM know it is a ferry connection, so will do everything they can to arrive in time.
Also sit behind the bus and you can't make any navigation errors.
The only difference is that there will be space for the foot pax on the next ferry- less certain for those in cars.
Clearly either leaving GLA a bit sooner, or booking on the next ferry would be beneficial, but then where do you stop with being cautious on your timings?

Like the bus I would schedule a ten minute restroom/leg stretch pause at Inveraray Front Street or at Lochgilphead Lochnell Street. Yes I know the toilets at both locations are chargeable, but both are scenic places for a leg stretch and you haven't got time to be so tight as to go to free toilets at Lochgilphead.

Hi even yet again, losrichins,

The Sunday Times has named Islay, and in particular Port Ellen, as one of the "coolest places to live" in Britain. Islay was the only Scottish location to make the list.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/scottish-party-island-named-one-143530576.html

Good thing you have your lodging reservations already!

Best wishes,

Mike (Auchterless)

p.s.: As far as public loos go, another good loo is in Ardrishaig, which is about two miles beyond Lochgilphead. The loos are in the town park/garden, which is on the left side of the A83 as you're heading south. The park has a very nice view over Loch Gilp. As with the others which isn31c mentioned, there is a 50p charge for entry.

Ah, the loos! So appreciate you all factoring these into our trip! And scenic sights are a plus with the loo!

I am heeding to the warnings about driving...Glasgow to Kennacraig will be our first drive in Scotland and many, many years since driving on the right side of the vehicle and left side of the road. We pick up the car at Paisley on Murray St...I believe this is the airport, correct? We will plan to get there at 8am so we can get started on our drive to Kennacraig. This will be on a Saturday am...does this affect the drive time either longer or shorter?

Is there a reason to choose one route over the other to Newtonmore...Spean Bridge vs Achnasheen or Invermoriston? I have heard hints at avoiding driving through/around Inverness-does it present challenges to be aware of???

The Ferry from Tobermory to Kilchoan is not one that I can reserve? We will be there the last Sat of Aug, so will it be more crowded and do we need to arrive a lot earlier to catch the ferry?

We will stay 2 nights in Mallaig. Any excursions/must sees here?

If we have Google maps on our phones, do we need to purchase SatNav?

Finally, (for this post), we have heard we need to make reservations in some of the towns for dinner...which of the ones I have listed and any recommendations?

Thank you all in advance, once more.

Oh, and I did see the article regarding Islay! Now we are even more excited to visit!

Paisley Murray Street (Arnold Clark) isn't at the airport (it's an off site airport lot). I would train to Paisley Gilmour Street then hop in a taxi for the short ride to AC. On no account go to the airport.
I've just 'driven' the start of the route on Google maps. When you come out of the rental lot, it's a slightly funny junction. Don't cut/slide round the corner as I would. Turn right properly into the left lane of McGowan Road slowly and immediately turn left onto Murray Street. After a short distance you will come to traffic lights/signals where you turn left.
Down that road you come to your first roundabout (traffic circle). You want the second exit, to join the M8 westbound- just sit in the left hand lane (the 'slow lane') as you are coming off onto the slip road (on your left) for the Erskine Bridge two exits along at exit 30. Locals would speed up and go into the middle or outside lane to overtake then cut back into the inside lane after exit 29a. Note exit 30 follows very shortly after 29a.

For Plockton to Newtonmore my choice would be via Spean Bridge, not so much to avoid Inverness (though that is a benefit), but it is the shorter route (distance and, in theory, time). For my money the road along the river gorge from Spean Bridge to Tulloch (at least for the passenger) and then along Loch Laggan is pretty scenic. I guess that is a subjective matter.

I would also turn off part way along there to the isolated Cille Choirill Roman Catholic Church for a brief stop (and don't forget the impressive Commando Memorial just before Spean Bridge.

Hi again, losrichins,

Stuart (isn31c) has given you some great advice regarding getting out of Glasgow (well, Paisley!). Just to add a wee bit to that, the road that you turn left on to from Murray Street is the A726, Greenock Road. The Erskine Bridge is not very far from the airport. Once you're on the bridge, stay to the left to make getting on to the A82 somewhat easier. Ask at the Arnold Clark rental counter if you have any questions/doubts.

The Arnold Clark office opens at 8:00 a.m., so there may be a line of potential renters waiting when you get there. Best to get there about 15 minutes early, and have all of your papers in hand. Perhaps Stuart can answer this - How easy is it to get a taxi from Gilmour Street station? Would it be easier to take the 500 bus to the airport and take a readily available taxi from there? Also, losrichins, does Arnold Clark offer customer pickup to take you to their office? And would that pickup be available before their opening hour of 8:00 a.m?

For the Tobermory to Kilchoan ferry, you should be able to purchase your ticket starting tomorrow (February 18th). That will guarantee your spot on the ferry, but you still need to get to the ferry slip about 15 minutes ahead so that you don't get bumped. If for some reason the ferry is cancelled (weather, breakdown, etc.), you can hustle down to Fishnish for the frequently operating ferry to Lochaline. In that case, drive to Salen (mainland, not Mull) and head north from there.

Next question - Yes, reservations are pretty much required for dinner, especially in some of the more isolated and tourist oriented areas. Anywhere on Islay, Mull, or Skye, and definitely Plockton. Although all of those places have decent takeaways, if you don't mind eating outdoors, in your car, or at your lodging. Hint: Bring along some plastic cutlery, as it's not always provided by takeaways. You can always dispose of it/recycle it at the end of your holiday.

If you enjoy hiking, there are two very good hikes out of Mallaig, although you could just walk up to the end of East Bay for good views of the harbour. You may want to consider visiting Camusdarrach Beach, which is just off of the B8008, just east of Mallaig. Camusdarrach Beach was used as Ben Knox's beach in Local Hero. It's one of the prettiest beaches in that part of Scotland. You can continue on the B8008 to Arisaig, and for more adventure, you could take a day trip on the MV Shearwater, which departs from the Arisaig marina. And, as previously recommended by Stuart and others, you could take a cruise with Western Isles out of Mallaig, either to Knoydart/Tarbet, or on one of their seal watching cruises.

In answer to your Plockton to Newtonmore question, which way you travel is entirely up to you. If you are pressed for time, by all means go by way of Spean Bridge. If time is not a factor, I'd recommend going by way of Achnasheen. First of all, the drive to Lochcarron from Plockton is lovely. Then the drive along Glen Carron to Achnasheen, and the A832 and A835 will dump you out on to the A9 and a relatively easy drive through Inverness. By then, you'll have plenty of driving experience, so Inverness will be a piece of cake! If you had even more time, you could take the A896 from Lochcarron, drive through Glen Torridon, and pick up the A832 at Kinlochewe. Now that would be a lovely drive!

With all of this information, you are going to feel as though you've already been there before you even get started!

Best wishes once again,

Mike (Auchterless)

Mike,
I think we've decided on an Uber from boutique 50 hotel, but for other people in the future I've not personally ever seen a lack of taxis at Paisley GS. At that time of day they should be looking for return fares after bringing commuters in, even on a Saturday. Or that's my thought.

On a personal level I would walk round from GS, but won't say that to a tourist.