Glasgow as home base

Local here, rather than traveller :)

I would certainly recommend Stirling - I don't know about any organised tours in Stirling as I haven't taken any, but it's also a place that's really easy to do self-guided: there are very frequent direct trains between Glasgow Queen Street station and Stirling that only take about half an hour, so it's easily reachable. Stirling Castle is a lovely place to explore and I remember the guided tour there being very worthwhile. The town itself is also worth seeing; it certainly has a very different feel from Glasgow! A heads-up that it's quite hilly - in particular the walk up from the train station to the castle is pretty steep.

Edinburgh would also absolutely work as a day trip from Glasgow - arguably Edinburgh deserves more than just a day, but you can definitely get a feel for the place on a day trip, and it's a lovely place to just hang out, have a wander, soak up the vibe. You can also access Edinburgh very easily on direct trains from Glasgow; the fast train via Falkirk High takes about fifty minutes. The Glasgow-Edinburgh route is sort of the main spine of the country so the trains are super frequent. (And Edinburgh is also really hilly - lots of inclines and steps! - but definitely worth it.)

Hope you have a lovely trip!

Take a look at Rabbies Glasgow Tours.

There are many other tour companies for day trips, but Rabbies is highly recommended.

We spent 2 full days exploring Glasgow and then a daytrip via train to Stirling. I'd recommend going there without a tour so you're time isn't limited. Stirling Castle was our favourite so on our 2 week trip and we spent 5 hours there.

If you want to look at day tours from Glasgow Check out Rabbies Tours.

Thanks so much, I appreciate the recommendations!

If you're interested in Charles Rennie Mackintosh's architecture, a side trip to Helensburgh to see The Hill House is worthwhile. Helensburgh has a couple of rail stations. Helensburgh Upper is the one closest to The Hill House, but most of the trains go to Helensburgh Central. After seeing The Hill House, it's a pleasant walk down to the center of town, where you can later hop on a train at Helensburgh Central. Travel time is 40 to 50 minutes each way.

Inveraray (for Inverarary Castle) is a longer trip--about 1 hr. 50 min. each way by bus--but doable. Buses are infrequent enough that the schedule needs to be checked carefully for this trip.

I haven't been to the Isle of Arran yet, but it has been discussed with some frequency on the forum. I'm planning a multi-night stay, but it would be possible to make a day trip to Arran from Glasgow. It requires a train to Androssan (45 min.) or Troon (40 min.), the two ports from which ferries (1 hr. 15 min.) travel to Brodick on Arran. There's bus service around the island. This trip involves a lot of moving parts, so I feel like it's probably not a high priority for someone who's going to have other opportunities for island visits in Scotland.

Thank you, I had looked at touring Inverary as well. Great information - if not for this trip, hopefully a future one.!