Hi All. I'm in need of help in planning the last leg of a 10-day family trip to Scotland coming up in late May/early June. I'll be traveling with my two early 20s kids whose interests are pretty varied, from wildlife to castles. I'm lucky enough to have been to Scotland before but my kids have not. The plan is to spend three days in Edinburgh, with a day trip in that time over to Stirling and the Kelpies, then grab a car and head north for a night near Cawdor and two nights in Aviemore. We are going to do some activities in the Cairngorms, see Culloden, do some hiking and outdoorsy pursuits and tour some castles as time and pleasing everyone permits. We'll also hit my very favorite outlet store anywhere, the Walker Shortbread factory, which I'd recommend to everyone. I'm having a very difficult time planning the last four days we have from there until we fly back out of Edinburgh. The kids have expressed an interest in the islands off the west coast, perhaps Mull and Iona to try to see some puffins, or Arran because it has so much to offer. I'm not sure how long the drive would be from Aviemore heading in that direction and how much time would be needed and whether a night's stay would be needed along the way because real time driving and google maps drive times are so different and I'll be the only driver. I'd also like to hit Urquhart, by the way. I've seen some not glowing reviews of Oban in reading all of the posts here when it comes to accessing Mull.
I would love to hear ideas from people here because I am well and truly stuck and planning and booking time is getting short. Very best regards and thanks to all.
Posted by
16 posts
Our family with our mid-20's aged kids loved Oban, Mull, Skye and Iona last year. All were so beautiful. We loved walking along the quay in Oban, the bay was peaceful and beautiful. We all really liked Iona but the drive across Mull is a bit long on a single-track road. We also loved Skye.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
2479 posts
If you are talking about this year, then choice of island may well be determined by where you can find accommodation... There is not a lot of accommodation on Mull and, although less popular than Skye, it does book up quickly. You might find you end up having to book accommodation on the mainland and then take day trips.
Drive times - you can get an estimate using google maps but it is recommended to allow 25% on their drive times (you will be on unfamiliar roads and a lot also depends on traffic). Aviemore to Mull or Arran can be done in a day without needding an overnight.
You could also look at Bute.
Oh, and when you visit Culloden, do add in Clava Cairns too.
Posted by
Lake District, England
8882 posts
If you're going to Speyside for Walker's shortbread, and only want to go to Mull/Iona for the puffins, then instead you could continue to the Aberdeen area. There you could go to Bullers of Buchan or the Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve then maybe continue to visit the East Neuk in the Kingdom of Fife via Dunnottar Castle, Montrose, Arbroath and Dundee.
All of which is heading directly if slowly for Edinburgh Airport, rather than a sizeable diversion to Mull, and a lot easier to find places to stay.
I personally don't understand some of the views of Oban which are expressed here. It's a town I like, and there are any number of side trips you can do from Oban (apart from Mull and Iona). Arran (and Bute) are not the only islands in the Firth of Clyde- there is also the Isle of Cumbrae. That is an island you can easily navigate on foot or with the island bus service, if the vehicle capacity on the ferry from Largs is full. But Bute is every bit as good as Arran in it's own way- just doesn't get a lot of attention on here- and much easier to get to than Arran due to more ferries.
The scenic route from Aviemore to Troon via Killin and the Erskine Bridge (so avoiding Glasgow) is probably 4 hours- allow time for stops- say 6 hours. That route also takes you very close to the Scottish Crannog Centre if that interests you- it is in Rick's book.
Posted by
OP
Upstate Western New York
5 posts
Thank you! Your information is super helpful. If you think of anything else, please keep posting!
Posted by
49 posts
We're visiting Scotland for the first time this June/July and are doing a road trip from Glasgow to Mull (via Oban), Glencoe, Skye, and then finishing in Inverness before we head to Edinburgh by train.
From our own trip planning, we're particularly excited for Mull to see the puffins and plan to take a boat trip with Staffa Tours to see Staffa and Lunga - that may be of interest to you. If you want a break from driving, Nature Scotland also offer wildlife tours of Mull by car as well - we're taking one for this very reason.
As others have mentioned though, where you pick will be largely dependent on where you can find accommodation as this close to May/June you may have rather slim pickings.
Posted by
OP
Upstate Western New York
5 posts
Thank you so much!!