Thanks to previous responders, I've made some modifications:
- Starting in Edinburgh/3 night
- Cairngorms/2nights, can't find a room in Braemar but rooms are available in Ballard or Aviemore. Which side of park?
- Nairn/1night
- Skye/3 nights
- Glencoe/3 nights (maybe a day trip to Oban?)
- Stirling/1 night
How does this look?
Posted by
London
567 posts
There's lots of amenities in Aviemore. It's not the most characterful of places in a historical sense, but there's lots to do in town and it's a good base for visiting lots of places in Speyside and the Cairngorms National Park.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
6547 posts
In Nairn we stayed at Sunny Brae B&B and highly recommend it. We used Nairn as a base to visit Ft. George, Clava Cairns, Culloden, and Inverness.
Posted by
Massachusetts, USA
1605 posts
We stayed at the Sunny Brae B&B in Nairn, too, for 3 nights. Nairn is a very pretty seaside town, and the Sunny Brae is gorgeous! And the owners are so kind and wonderful. Delicious breakfasts!
We used Nairn as a base to visit Elgin Cathedral, Glen Moray Distillery, Cawdor Castle, and Culloden Battlefield. We visited Urquhart Castle on our drive from Nairn to Portree on Skye.
I think your itinerary looks good!
Posted by
Banchory, Scotland
268 posts
GerryM is correct in what he says about Aviemore and Ballater is certainly more characterful in that respect which is why I would choose it as a place to stay.
I think it really depends on what interests you and which places you might like to visit using Ballater or Aviemore as a base.
Posted by
London
567 posts
Ah! I didn't make the association of Ballard being Ballater with an "alternative" spelling. I wondered what that was. Ballater is nicer, yes.