We will be traveling in Scotland for a few days with another couple and trying to decide the best pass for our needs. We want to visit Edinburgh Castle and St Andrews Castle & Cathedral; however, we will be in several areas of Scotland (Inverness, Isle of Skye, Creag Mhor) and would like to visit some scotch distilleries along with historical sites. We will not need more than 5 day pass as we are then headed to Ireland. Is Explorer the best pass for our needs or does another pass cover historical and distillery sites? Thank you.
Hi RR, You need to do the math. Although there are other advantages to the pass most notably skipping the lines! On their website you can explore what other sites that they have in places that you are visiting. Use the explore by region to see what places you might want to visit and then check out the fees. Several times I opted for membership as that gave me free admission, discounts and quarterly magazine. I think that there are family memberships. Again, do the math.
PAm
My daughter bought the pass for us for our 5 days in Edinburgh...waste of money. I'm over 60 so I got the senior discount, and we just didnt' get to the smaller places offered on the pass. I'd say skip it and pay as you go.
Passes don't really seem to work out that well anymore...at least the short term ones, unless you spend all your days just going to the sites on the pass.
As others have said, do the math and decide whether you're truly going to visit enough of the covered sites to make it worthwhile. Realize that distances take longer than they look on a map, and some days you may simply not be in the mood to go to another castle or other historic site. In those cases you'd be forcing yourselves to rush from one to the next, just to get your money's worth.