Isle of Skye, Highlands, Edinburgh, London - itinerary feedback

It looks like your plan is well thought out with the caution that driving in Scotland may take longer than planned. Also you may regret not being able to linger longer at a great location. But no matter, you can make plans to return to your favorites. As for routes, I would just study google earth. There are only a few direct routes in Scotland. As for London: Street Markets are fun if you like Junque. Look at the National Trust UK site London Metropolitan area for other interesting places to Visit. The Tower, Greenwich, Hampton Court , Westminster are other Favorites. We drove on two tours of Scotland. Be sure to visit the Necropolis in Glasgow and the Castle in Edinburgh. When visiting the Distilleries remember that Scotland has severe DUI regulations.

It looks like you have a pretty decent plan. There are a number of things to do in Glasgow, but with your very short time period I don't know that it would be worth it to go into the city. If you decide to though, I quite enjoyed lunch at the Willow Tea Rooms. You mentioned having tea in London, but doing it in Scotland is a great experience also.

There is plenty of hiking in Glencoe, but I really enjoyed the Glencoe drive that RS has in his Scotland guidebook. It did not take an extraordinary amount of time and the scenery was gorgeous.

It looks like you'll hit the biggies on Skye, and I would not try to add anything else to that list. I'm not sure if your B&B is in Portree, but if it is, I had the best fish and chips of my life there at the Harbour Fish & Chip shop. It's a quick and inexpensive meal, but so fresh and delicious.

Since you only have a couple of days in Edinburgh I would focus on what you already have planned. You could also hit a museum or two if you like, since they are free to enter. There is also Dean Village, which is a nice walk from the castle area and is quite picturesque. If you need a lunch place and like pork, check out Oink.

In London, one of the things I really enjoyed was the Tower tour with one of the Yeoman Warders. If you do the Tower and want to see the Crown Jewels, get there early! Also, please don't listen to people who tell you that the food in London is bad. I have had great food on both of my visits to the city, and none of it included Indian food. If you would like specific recommendations, feel free to PM me and I will happily tell you what I enjoyed.

You will have a great time!!

This concept that the food in London and Britain is bad is outdates by about 30 years. Yes you will find some bad, just as you will in France, Italy and i am sure the States. London is a melting pot of cultures and its food reflects this, i have had loads of amazing meals there, just go with what you fancy and enjoy!!!!

I hope that you aren’t arriving day 1 after a long transatlantic flight and then planning so much driving!

Edinburgh to Glasgow could take 1.5 hours, as traffic in both cities is bad. You then want to have lunch there and see some of the sights. Glasgow to Glencoe is at least 2.5 hours driving, not allowing for any stops plus you want to stop en route for a couple of hours. You aren’t going to get much chance of seeing anything of Glencoe!

Glasgow is out of the way, so drop it and head north.

Bad food in London was in the 1970s. The best London Indian food is Brick Lane or not in London, but places such as Bradford, Leicester etc where there are large Indian communities.

Not many places offer high tea, but afternoon tea is the way to go.

The royal wedding happening in Windsor 25 miles away won’t have any impact on the crowds in London.

First day, skip Glasgow. A "quick stop for lunch" there would not make sense. I would say don't drive while jetlagged, but you are already booked in Glencoe for your first night. OK, when you leave Edinburgh head for Stirling and follow the A811 to the southern end of Loch Lomond where you pick up the A82. A good place for lunch is Duck Bay, a few miles north of Balloch. There's a nice restaurant with a commanding view of the loch. A few miles further on, the small village of Luss is very charming; it has a public car park and public restrooms. (Luss is off the highway & marked by a small sign -- don't blink or you'll miss it.)

Glad to see you're visiting Glamis Castle; it is well worth it. The Tower restaurant is wonderful, and as you probably know it is in the National Museum building. The National Museum is very spacious and offers a wide variety of exhibits. It's a good place to get in out of the weather if inclement.

Windsor will be crowded on 19 May and probably 18 and 20. Your choice whether to be part of the crowd or avoid the area.

Overall, it looks like you "are going to pack in as much as we can" which would not be my preference, but each to his/her own.

Driving on your arrival day is generally not considered a good idea, what with jetlag and driving on a different side of the road than
you are used to. I would say that sounds pretty stressful for the person doing the driving and not enjoyable at all.

In Edinburgh you might try a whisky tasting at The Whiski Rooms so you can both taste without having to drive afterwards.

Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) is covered in scaffolding due to repairs. If you like history, I would recommend Westminster Abbey with either a Verger Tour or the audio guide. Prepurchase tickets online to avoid the long ticket lines.

Have a great trip!

Hi, Kara,

So you're not planning to sleep while you're in Scotland? You have yourselves pretty much a whirlwind tour. Just get a good night's sleep your first night. It takes a day or so to get over the jet lag, and I'm assuming you're going over from the U.S. I'm also assuming that your boyfriend will be driving, and that he'll be okay with driving on the left, and shifting gears with his left hand. I'd recommend a couple of trips around the car hire parking area, if it's his first time over, just to get used to shifting, more than anything else. If he thinks that he might be too stressed out by shifting a five or six speed manual transmission with his left hand, while remembering to keep left, it might be worthwhile to upgrade to an automatic.

If you do decide to visit Glasgow on your first morning, I'd recommend the People's Palace (free parking), Glasgow Cathedral, and the Necropolis (paid street parking). They're all fairly close together, and will give you a feel for the city (especially the People's Palace). You could have a quick meal in Cafe Source, which is in the basement of St. Andrew's Church. They do good Scottish food. I'd recommend not eating too much on your first day, especially late in the day.

The A82 will take you up the west side of Loch Lomond, and on to Glencoe. The A82 shouldn't be too bad in May. Have a stop in the village of Luss, which is really charming.

The fastest way from Glencoe to Skye is to take the A82 to Fort William, then take the A830 to Mallaig, and catch the ferry for Skye. Be sure to make an advance reservation. Coming back, if you don't want to backtrack, you can take the A87 to the Skye Bridge, then follow it to Invergarry to pick up the A82 again. You can then pick up the A86 at Spean Bridge, and follow it to the A9 at Kingussie, and north on the A9 to Coylumbridge.

Don't try to pack too much in on Skye. It's bigger than it looks. If you're going to do the Fairy Pools and the Quiraing, you probably won't have time for the Neist Point Lighthouse, as it's way in the opposite direction, on single track roads. You can visit the Old Man of Storr and the Kilt Rock on the way back from the Quiraing. If you're doing the Fairy Pools first, and since you're interested in distilleries, the Talisker Distillery is in Carbost, very near to Glenbrittle. They also have the only public toilets anywhere near the Fairy Pools. The toilets are free. The distillery tour isn't!

I'd recommend doing Skye in a clockwise direction, since most of what you want to see is on the Waternish and Trotternish Peninsulas. I'd also recommend Cafe Sia in Broadford, next to the post office. Good food, and decent prices, but slow service if they're busy.

There's lots of pony trekking in the Aviemore-Coylumbridge area. They don't really refer to it as horseback riding, but don't let that dissuade you - the ponies are big!

It's a long drive back to Fort Augustus from Coylumbridge - is there any way you can do the "Nessie" tour on your way back from Skye, to avoid backtracking?

It sounds as though you have everything planned out well. It's a good thing you're young! But be sure to eat lightly on your first day, and try to get to bed by 10:00 p.m.

Have a wonderful time!

p.s.: If you have time while you're in Edinburgh, the Royal Yacht Britannia is well worth a visit. It's in Leith, which is Edinburgh's river port. The National Museum of Scotland is a wonderful place, but you need to give it at least three hours to really appreciate it. It's on Chambers Street, and, like many of Edinburgh's museums, it's free.

I'm assuming that you will be dropping your hired car off at Edinburgh Airport, and taking the high speed rail in to town. If you can avoid it, don't drive in Edinburgh, unless your lodging has a guaranteed parking space. Edinburgh is a confusing city in which to drive.

I've been there many times, and I still get lost. Plus, the parking is outrageously expensive.

Happy travels!

Wow, thanks everyone for the extremely detailed and thoughtful replies! In hindsight it may have been silly to book all the driving on day 1, but we will hope to sleep on the plane and take 5 hour energy before we embark on our journey! We did get an automatic transmission so that should help. We will also be very careful with driving and the distilleries, no risks! I am leaning towards skipping Glasgow and going straight to Glencoe per the many suggestions. Thank you all again.