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Itinerary Advice, Please!

My husband and I will be traveling to Scotland for our first trip in May. We'd like to see a bit of the Highlands as well as Edinburgh and Glasgow, although we have limited time. Please let me know if you think our itinerary is reasonable:

May 17th: Train from London to Edinburgh (early afternoon arrival).
May 18th: Sightseeing Edinburgh
May 19th: Sightseeing Edinburgh, train to Glasgow (afternoon)
May 20th: Sightseeing Glasgow, train to Inverness
May 21st: Sightseeing near Inverness (Culloden, possibly a whisky tour and/or a fishing lesson)
May 22nd: Finish up highlands sightseeing, Easyjet flight to London

Thoughts? We have been pouring over the RS Scotland book and are overwhelmed by all the things we'd like to do and lack of time. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Posted by
1443 posts

Usually near the front of RS guidebooks he lists his priorities for a short trip, medium trip, and long trip. I haven't seen Scotland or his guidebook on it, but his short-trip suggestions might be a good place to start.

Posted by
670 posts

I don't know the route that the train from Glasgow to Inverness takes, but that is where I imagine would be the best views of the Highlands. We hiked the West Highland Way, and the area from Tyndrum to Fort William was the most spectacular. My thought would be do a one day tour of the Highlands (perhaps there is one to/from Glasgow) rather than staying in Inverness. That being said, we did enjoy the Whisky Experience in Inverness, if it is still in operation.

Posted by
27062 posts

I'm a city-lover, a museum-lover, and an architecture-lover, but I think you have--comparatively--too much city time for a country with so much lovely scenery. I'd choose either Edinburgh or Glasgow for this trip.

Are you planning to fly from Inverness to London, or do you have to get back to Edinburgh or Glasgow for the flight? If the latter, you'd do just as well to take the train. I think the trip from Edinburgh is about 4-1/2 hours by rail.

Posted by
2 posts

I agree with the aforementioned reply- pick Glasgow or Edinburgh but not both. For me it's a no-brainer- Edinburgh. The city is magical with its architecture and history. No place in the world quite like it. The scenery between Inverness and Fort William is beautiful. And if you can, keep going and make it to Skye. Skip Glasgow.