Hi fellow travelers,
I'm having a difficult time planning the last day of our Scotland trip July 2-13, 2026. We'll be in Edinburgh and Glasgow for 5-6 days before renting a car and heading for the Highlands via Loch Lomond/Glencoe/Fort Williams/Dornie. We'll spend three days exploring Isle of Skye from our base near Eilean Donan Castle. But I'm stumped about our last day before returning our rental car in Glasgow and heading to the Edinburgh airport.
Initially, I was thinking of heading east through the Cairngorms toward Dunnottar Castle, but that seems too ambitious. Now I'm thinking of heading up to Dunrobin Castle, exploring a little of the Inverness area and then heading back toward the Fort Williams area (?) en route to Glasgow. I'm just not sure where to spend one night at that point, and it's also a bit difficult to find a one-night vacancy for a triple room. Any thoughts?
Also, my daughter thought it would be fun to see the Kelpies because there's apparently climbing/zip lines inside, but that may be too out of our way. Is it worth the detour? I'd love any thoughts.
Thanks so much and safe travels, everyone!
Kara
Posted by
Bellingham, WA
1767 posts
I don't think there is a zip line inside the Kelpies. They do offer tours, but the photos of the standard tour on the website don't show anyone climbing. The private tour suggests there is climbing involved, but ??? That said, the Kelpies are very cool. Especially at night when they are lit up (which I haven't experienced yet). The nearby Falkirk Wheel is also very cool to see. Not far from Stirling, either. Lots to see in this area, which is quite close to Glasgow. It's much less out of your way than the Cairngorms or Inverness.
Posted by
Isle of Skye, Scotland
1640 posts
Kara
Are you saying that you will be driving from Dornie to Glasgow in order to return a rental car and then continuing from Glasgow to Edinburgh Airport on the same day? If you are, then that's a whole day of travelling. No time for heading north east to Dunrobin or Dunnottar castles.
You are looking at a 5 hour drive from Dornie to Glasgow without stops. Summer traffic will inevitably slow you down. The main route would be A87 and then A82 via Fort William and Glencoe. The A87 and A82 have seen plenty of road accidents in the last few years, almost all involving rental cars/camper vans. The lack of alternative routes means that a fatal road accident will lead to the road being closed for many, many hours. I know this from personal experience of having to turn around and head home when I really needed to be in Glasgow.
If you want to go to the Kelpies, then your route would be down the A87, A82 and then cross country to pick up the A9 before heading south towards Falkirk. Whether this makes sense depends where about in Glasgow you are returning your rental car. If the west side of Glasgow then it makes no sense at all.
To the best of my knowledge there are no climbing or zip lines at the Kelpies, but there is a play area for young children. It is possible to book tours to see inside the Kelpies.
I think where you spend the last night depends very much on where you are dropping off your car.
Posted by
Oregon 🌲
528 posts
In 2025, I rented from Edinburgh and dropped the car off in Glasgow and there was no additional drop off charge. You might check on a one-way Glasgow to Edinburgh. For my May 2026 trip, I was able to cancel and rebook at a cheaper cost last month.
The Kelpies can be visited from Glasgow.
Posted by
Mountains of S. Oregon
1146 posts
We had the same experience with a Glasgow/Edinburgh switcheroo. Both our arriving Glasgow flight and departing Edinburgh flight got reversed due to cancellations, and Arnold Clark had no problem with our pickup or drop-off change. We did warn them about the pickup in advance. The drop-off was unpredictable until we pulled into the car return. and there was no oneway fee.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks everyone for the great info! We technically have two days to get from Dornie to Glasgow. We leave our cottage on the morning of July 11, and I was thinking of driving up to Dunrobie castle, then staying somewhere south of Inverness that night. I can't seem to land on a good spot. Then, we'll make our way to Glasgow on the 12th. We have until that night to drop off our car. If it sounds like I'm familiar with any of this terrain, I am not -- it will be our first trip to Scotland and (my husband's) first time driving in the UK. He's a lefty so he's rather looking forward to it. I will be the overly cautious passenger.