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Day trip from Edinburgh- private itinerary

I will be in Edinburgh for a short trip in Mid April. For one of the days, I would like to make a full day trip out of Edinburg and plan to have a private driver (for personal reasons and I know it won’t be cheap). This will likely be my only trip ever to Scotland. Where would you go? West Highlands? Glasgow? Lochs? Any specific castles or abbey? With a private driver I can set the locations but everything I read sounds so good. For those who have been, what would you select? Not interested in time in museums. Thanks in advance.

Posted by
1376 posts

Hi, MaryL,

I have to say that I was very saddened by your post, especially the part about this likely being your only trip ever to Scotland. As a frequent visitor to Scotland, I can never understand why anyone could only visit once. But I'm sure that you have your reasons.

Since you only have one day outwith Edinburgh, you should make it a memorable one. As you have a full day to travel, I'd recommend visiting Skye by way of Loch Lomond, Glencoe, and Fort William; ferry from Mallaig to Armadale; drive around the Trotternish Peninsula; lunch in Portree or Broadford; then the A87 back to the mainland via Eilean Donan; and back to Edinburgh via Dalwhinnie, Pitlochry, and Stirling.

That would make for a very long day, but if you get an early start you'd see the best part of it in full daylight. It would probably be dark by the time you returned to Edinburgh.

I'm sure that you'll get many other suggestions. Scotland is a beautiful country, and at least you have one full day to enjoy the countryside.

Hope that gives you something to start with!

Mike (Auchterless)

Posted by
3119 posts

Hi MaryL, I have to disagree with Mike (Auchterless) here, even though I always love his advice and knowledge! The long day he describes would make me dizzy and probably carsick. I would want no more than a grand total of 3 hours in the car, and the rest of the time to walk around and actually visit/experience the destinations I'd chosen.

That said, how about heading for Glamis Castle and then stopping in St Andrews on the way back? Or, if a distillery is a high priority for you, go first to Blair Castle (but be aware it is managed rather like a theme park) and then Dalwhinnie Distillery, with a possible stop in Pitlochry on the way back. The scenery along the A9 is classic highland.

Also, if you want an easy half-day trip out of the city, you can take the Lothian Bus to Roslin Chapel. There's plenty to see there, and they have a tour of the building included in the entry fee a few times a day. If you buy a day pass, you can use it again for any additional bus travel in the afternoon/evening after you return to Edinburgh.

Posted by
1376 posts

Hi, epitd,

Good to hear you chime in on this topic. I suggested such a lengthy itinerary to MaryL as she has only one day to discover Scotland outside of Edinburgh, and as she said, this will likely be her only trip to Scotland. I put myself in her position, and thought that she'd want to get as much seen in one day as possible. At least that's how I'd feel.

My wife said that she'd have my guts for garters if she had to spend 13 hours in the car! Even with a professional driver. But the Skye trip could be shortened at any point - A9 to Dalwhinnie, west to Fort William, then back to Edinburgh via Glencoe and Loch Lomond would make for a good day trip.

My second idea would be for MaryL to visit the East Neuk of Fife, cross the Tay Bridge to Dundee, then visit Kirriemuir and Glen Clova, which is beautiful, and not frequently visited by tourists.

MaryL, we hope that these suggestions are of some assistance in helping you make your plans.

Mike (Auchterless)

Posted by
3387 posts

We were just in Edinburgh for a week over the holidays and drove out of Edinburgh a couple of days.
If I had a full day with a driver I would head north and stop for an hour or so at either Linlithgow Castle (a partial ruin but historically important) or Stirling Castle, which is fairly intact more or less.
From there I would head further north through the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. We drove this road and ended up turning down a little side road on a whim that led to Glen Etive. We had no idea what it was but we often do this kind of thing and sometimes stumble across true gems...this was one of those times! It was a five mile drive through valleys with waterfalls, beautiful farms and a few manor houses, as well as several large herds of deer and stags that were stunning. The light and color were fantastic and we spent about 3 hours on this road stopping, taking pictures, and just enjoying the scenery.
From there we headed up to tiny Glencoe for dinner in a cute little restaurant and then headed for home as the daylight was short and we didn't want to be out too terribly late.
Something like this would give you a nice taste of the country outside of Scotland without too much driving - a little bit of history and a little bit of the Highlands.