We will be in Scotland 5 days at the end of June. We fly into Edinburgh. I keep reading guide books and I just make myself more confused. I know I want to spend a couple days in Edinburgh but beyond that I’m lost. Highlands? Mull? Glencoe? We love beautiful scenery, castles, great food, for sure a whiskey tour or two. I’m thinking of hiring a driver for a couple days. We will stay at least 2 days in Edinburgh but where would you base for a second stay? We are well traveled but for some reason planning this trip is overwhelming me.
Posted by
Bellingham, WA
1897 posts
Take a look at the tours offered by Rabbies. They have one-day and multi-day tours leaving from Edinburgh, including whiskey-themed tours. Probably more affordable than hiring a private driver. https://www.rabbies.com/en-us/tours/scotland/from-edinburgh
Posted by
Camano Island, WA, usa
1747 posts
If you have only 5 days I agree that you would benefit by going on a few guided day trips with a company like Rabbies. They have curated day trips that give people what they are looking for in a timely, no hassle manner. They have several choices. If you do an overnight, accommodations are arranged and paid extra. Look at Visit Scotland Website. The Scottish scenery is beautiful, but much starker than what we are used to in the PNW. Of course, we have fewer Castles! If you are interested in Whisky, spelling is correct, you could focus on that! Bon Voyage!
Posted by
Chicagoland
2358 posts
Are you locked into flying both in and out of Edinburgh?
If you're up for train travel you could spend a couple nights in Oban. Just over 4 hours by train from Edinburgh or only 3 hours from Glasgow you'll travel through some scenic Highland countryside. With 2 nights in Oban you could enjoy West Coast Tours 2 or 3 island day tour to Mull, Iona and, maybe, Staffa, have a tour and whisky tasting at the Oban Distillery, take a walk to Dunollie Museum and Castle and enjoy some great seafood in town.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
3029 posts
Alternatively head up to Fife with Dunfermline, Falkland, the fishing villages and St Andrews.
Posted by
1 posts
Thanks #yoderlinda for posting this. We're in the same situation and looking for ideas for the 2days beyond Edinburgh. Rabbies doesn't have our dates available. Does anyone have other recommendations for local tours like Rabbies? TIA.
Posted by
Isle of Skye, Scotland
1692 posts
There are other companies with a similar offering to Rabbies. You could check out Timberbush or Highland Experience , both of whom run tours to the Highlands and certainly Skye as I see plenty of their vehicles here on the island. Hiring a private driver will be extremely expensive and likely to be booked up already for June.
Posted by
Mountains of S. Oregon
1170 posts
With that little time, maybe you should consider a couple of nights on Arran Island? It's called "Scotland in Miniature" and is highly regarded by many here on the forums. We haven't actually been there yet as we're still busy seeing Scotland in regular size. I've got it scheduled for our fifth 3-week trip in 2028.
Posted by
Duluth, MN🌲
12310 posts
I will second the recommendation for visiting Arran. It's not called Scotland in Miniature for nothing. It has lovely scenery, from beaches to mountains, Brodick Castle and Gardens, ruins, ancient cairns, two distilleries on the island, and since it sounds like you're not driving, good public transportation (which is not true of every island in Scotland).
It's easy to get to from the mainland. If you're not driving, you would just take the train from Glasgow to Ardrossan and then take the ferry over as a foot passenger. Brodick is the main town and where the ferry ports, and if you don't have a car, that's probably the best place to stay as you can get the bus easily from there. It's also a nice place to stay even if you have a car. That said, I stayed down in the south of the island, but I had a car, and so I was able to drive around as it was a little out of the way.
It's really a lovely island, and that's where I saw my first Hairy Coo. They also have some nice shops, including Arran Aromatics, where they make their own shampoos and soaps and lotions right there. They had some lovely smelling products there. And there's the Arran Cheese Shop, which had some wonderful looking cheeses.
Here's a few links that might help you:
https://www.visitarran.com/
https://www.stagecoachbus.com/plan-a-journey
https://www.arranlets.com/getting-to-arran
https://www.visitarran.com/plan-your-trip/getting-around
Posted by
Atlanta, GA
1199 posts
This may be an unpopular opinion, but we didn't like Edinburgh a whole lot. It was VERY touristy and crowded. I'm glad I went, but if I were in Scotland for 5 days, I'd do "Edinburgh in a day" and then hightail it to the countryside.
Posted by
Boston
18 posts
We found that Macs Adventures offers a wonderful train and walking tour of the highlands - starts in Edinburgh. You take a train to a town, stay in a B&B, they provide recommendations for 3-7 mile walks around the town/countryside. Our itinerary includes Blair Atoll, Inverness, Portree, Fort William, Spean Bridge and then ends in Glasgow. We had taken a bike tour of the highlands over 30 years ago (insane unless you like riding up mountains...but gorgeous and wonderful). This is a much gentler approach to a slow look at the country.