Glasgow or Inverness as homebase for Highlands

Neither is ideal. Have you looked at Fort William?

I would not move from Edinburgh to stay in either Glasgow or Inverness.

Have you considered Grantown on Spey, Aviemore or Pitlochry instead? Lots of scope for day trips from any of those towns.

I had looked at Fort William as a place to visit, but I will take a look at it as some place to stay. Someone else I've been talking to had suggested Pitlochry, but I had thought a larger city would be better. I keep waffling on whether I want to drive or take public transportation. I want to drive, but am a bit nervous about it.

Hi, imnessel,

Pitlochry would most likely not be a good town to use as a base. There is a lot to see in the area, but you don't really get the feel of the Highlands from there. If you want the true Highlands, you need to venture a bit farther north.

Inverness is probably not the best place to drive if you are worried about driving. There are many roundabouts and signage can be confusing. I've been there many times, and I still managed to get a bit off track last year. If you do decide to use Inverness as a base, you could get lodging on the outskirts of the central area.

Fort William might be a better choice for a central location. You said that you're travelling in the fall. It shouldn't be as crowded, but Inverness will still be. From Fort William, you have the choice of many day trips, including Inverness, Skye, Oban and south, east to Glencoe, or even Loch Tay.

If you're going to be driving, as you're a bit apprehensive, I'd recommend getting a car with an automatic transmission, and with SatNav (GPS). That will make life a bit easier.

Inverness would be a good base if you're relying exclusively on public transportation. Trains and buses go in all four directions, so you would have a wide selection of destinations available for day trips. You could take the train from Edinburgh to Inverness, and set up shop there.

Whichever you decide, self-drive or public transportation, you will love Scotland!

Best wishes, and safe travels!

Mike (Auchterless)

Great advice from Mike (Auchterless) above. Fort William would be my choice as a base. It’s not a city, while Inverness is a city, but cities are not really going to give you the highland vibe. If you choose Inverness you have a great choice of day trips with e.g. Rabbies or similar operators and can also take buses and the train out to Kyle of Lochalsh which a very scenic journey.

Fort William is a smaller centre, but located close to Scotland’s highest mountain Ben Nevis and also to Glencoe. There is also the rail line out to Mallaig, another very scenic run.

In Fort William you're amongst a lot of other people who are there for the hills, walking, biking etc. Inverness is a decent base to see The Cairngorms, but Grantown On Spey or Aviemore may be better. Inverness is where a lot of people from the Highland region go to work in an office. It's a fine city though.

Having a car really opens things up for you. Driving isn't so hard if you're a semi-confident (and competent) driver at home. There's lots of resources online to do a little prep for driving in the UK and you've still got some time.

Where to stay may depend on what you hope to see. We spent 3 nights and 2 full days in Inverness. It is quite dull but it was an excellent base for daily road trips. On day 1 we visited Culloden, Clava Cairns and Cawdor Castle. Day 2 we headed north to Dornoch and then Dunrobin Castle. On day 3 and on our way to Oban we made a stop at Urquhart Castle.

I wouldn't consider Glasgow a a good base for the Highlands but in some ways we enjoyed it more than Edinburgh. We also made a daytrip to Stirling Castle from there which was the highlight of our trip.

Thank you to Mike (@auchterless) and everyone else. This has been very helpful! I'm a competent/confident driver and had read to request an automatic (even though I can drive a manual -- not sure I'm up to that driving on the opposite side of the car and the road! I'm not THAT confident LOL). Fort William is looking better and better!