Itinerary help for first trip

Are you coming off a Transatlantic flight? If so I would caution against getting a hire car and driving to Oban on your first day. Instead turn the itinerary round and catch a train to Edinburgh. You don't need a car in Edinburgh public transport is very good, driving horrendous and parking very expensive.

Stirling is easily reached from Edinburgh on the train, so maybe add an extra night to Edinburgh to visit Stirling. Hire a car from Edinburgh Airport and then drive to St Andrews for three nights. The area around St Andrews is great and there is plenty to do and see for the non golfers!

Then head to Oban. Again, there's plenty to do and see in the area. Glencoe is only a short drive from Oban and can be done as a day trip. Are you planning to do Mull as a day trip from Oban, or spend the day there?

Drive back to Glasgoe and hand in the car.

Forget Inverness and Aberdeen this time and don't try and cram in another location -save that for another visit!

The Undiscovered Scotland website is the to go to for ideas of things to do and see. start with the relavant map page and click on the names for text pages with information and pictures.

Thank you so much for the input. I am going to try and do as you suggested and see if starting in Edinburgh would be the way to go. I like the idea of train there and then picking up a rental car. Can you expand on types of sights/maybe day trips that can be done from St. Andrews. Also would you suggest a day trip to Mull. As far as golf would you have any suggestions. Many courses just not sure where to start. Both the guys are pretty good golfers and will have a registered handicap if needed to play. Any suggestions for quaint Scottish pubs. Love our pubs! thank you so much for your input.

One more thought. Would we be able to take the train from Glasgoe Airport to visit Sterling Castle and then continue on to Edinburgh. How many nights would you recommend? We were thinking 3. Thank you

Hi, Cheryl,

There is no train from Glasgow Airport. If you're going directly to Stirling, you'd need to take the number 500 express bus or a taxi to Queen Street Station, and take the train from there.

Mike (Auchterless)

Hi again, Cheryl,

I have to admit that your itinerary is a bit confusing. It looks as though you have 11 days on the ground, as most international flights and short hop flights to a connecting city leave before noon on your day of departure. So if you're planning to go to Mull first, then it would be okay to pick up your hired car at Glasgow Airport upon your arrival. Oban is a fairly easy drive from the airport, but you'd be best served by taking the Erskine Bridge and picking up the A82 from there. That would save you driving into the city, which can be a nightmare if you're not used to driving on the left.

Will your gentlemen companions be bringing their own clubs, or will they be renting clubs at the golf courses which they visit? If it's the former, you'll have to hire a vehicle large enough to accommodate the clubs and your luggage. There are several golf courses throughout Scotland which operate on an "honesty box" system, which means that you just slip the greens fee into a locked box and play on. Obviously, these smaller courses do not rent clubs.

There are two nine hole courses on Mull which operate under this system, if you plan to visit Mull while you are staying in Oban. There is not a whole lot to do in Oban, but in addition to Mull, you can also take day trips to Kilmartin Glen and the island of Kerrera.

One thing about Scotland - there are golf courses everywhere, as befitting the home of golf. Your companions may want to check out Kingsbarns, which is near St Andrews (and also very expensive!), and Carnoustie, which is a little north of Dundee.

As most of your holiday will be in central Scotland, you may not have the opportunity to get farther north into the Highlands. But you will be in enough places to get a feeling for Scotland, which will make you want to definitely return. If you can convince your companions to give up golfing for a couple of days, then by all means a swing through the North would be an excellent choice, even if you get no farther north than Inverness.

The best pubs are in small towns. I should warn you ahead of time that you should not wear any clothing coloured royal blue or light green while you're in a pub in the central belt., especially on a Wednesday or a Saturday when football matches are normally scheduled.

If you'll still have your hired car when you arrive in Edinburgh, try to find lodging with a free car park, or a space at reduced parking fee. Your companions will probably need the car if they are golfing while you shop.

As an aside, if you do visit Glasgow, you may want to check out the "Shopping Zed", which is made up of Argyll Street, Buchanan Street, and Sauchiehall Street. This is the downtown area, where all the main shops are. It's a nightmare for driving, so the best thing to do would be to park at the St Enoch Centre (Glasgow's largest indoor mall) and walk from there. Glasgow also has two large shopping centres on the outskirts of town - Glasgow Forge and Glasgow Fort. The Fort is the better of the two.

Please come back with more questions. That's why we're here!

Best wishes for your travels!

Mike (Auchterless)

Mike.. Thank you. First we arrive at 8:50 AM on 9/10/2023. We depart at 10:50 AM on 9/20/2023. So 10 nights. The guys will rent their clubs as they did in Ireland a couple years ago. It was easier than traveling with them. I am open to all suggestions as what we should see as we want to do as much as possible without changing lodging every other night. Can I ask what you would suggest for an itinerary? My only must do is Edinburgh and I was thinking 3 nights. I have looked at lodging with parking in Edinburgh. Was thinking that the guys may golf while we are in Edinburgh. Kind of was thinking we would pick a route, get our accommodations and go from there. I will take all the help I can get. Thanks again

Hi once again, Cheryl,

Okay, we have your three nights in Edinburgh wrapped up. If you have a 10:50 a.m. flight out of Glasgow on the 20th., you'll need to be at the airport by 8:20 a.m. The car hire offices normally open early, so you will have no problem there. But give yourselves enough time to drop off the car and walk to the terminal. It's about a 200 yard walk. Maybe 250 yards. The rental car return is well signposted, and there is a petrol station adjacent to the airport if you take the option of bringing the car back with a full tank.

If the gentlemen are playing St Andrews, they could take the car while you shop and see the sights in Edinburgh. Jenner's, the big department store on Princes Street, had a major fire yesterday, so I don't know if they will reopen soon. But they should have reopened by September if there is no structural damage.

So basically, you have about six days to see Scotland! If you are still planning to visit Oban and Mull, you should probably do that at the beginning of your holiday. Then in order to see as much as possible, you could travel up the Great Glen to Ballachulish, Fort William, Fort Augustus, and Inverness. Then you could return by Elgin and Speyside for the distilleries, or by Nairn, Tomintoul, Ballater, and Pitlochry for the scenery. That would put you within striking distance of either Glasgow, Edinburgh, or St Andrews. You could also take the fast route back from Inverness, which is the A9. If you go that way, make sure that you keep to the speed limit!

If you eliminate Oban from your plans, you would have more time to visit places like Glencoe and Culloden. Or you could do one day in Oban (the day that you arrive), take a day trip to Mull, and then start heading north upon your return to Oban. However, that would put paid to your attempts to spend three nights at each location.

I think that the best thing to do now is to get a good map of Scotland that you can either spread out or look at on a large screened monitor. Then you can plan your route, and make sure that everyone in your party gets to see everything and do everything that they want to do. Borrow from the library or purchase the RS guide to Scotland or the Rough Guide to Scotland to help you organize your itinerary.

Best wishes for your plans, and come back here with questions.

Mike (Auchterless)

Again, Mike, Thank you
So you have helped greatly. Thinking we fly in and go straight to Edinburgh for 3 nights. One of those days the guys will head off and play one of the courses, possibly Bruntsfield Links. I was thinking possibly they could hire a cab to take them if we don't want to worry about car until we leave the Edinburgh area. After that I need to research. That would leave me with 6 nights and playing St Andrews is not a must, but seeing it is. May also want to see Carnoustie (if we can fit in). So if there is enough to see we could stay i the St Andrews area and do a couple day trips. Then head to Iverness (as I feel like we need to see some of the highlands) spend 3 nights then on 19th head back to glasgow (maybe go towards Stirling and see the castle. Then back drop off car and stay close to airport. Then would not have to worry about parking. I do have a couple maps. So I will look closer. Maybe you can suggest day trips or sights for St Andrews area and Iverness.. Oban/Mull not a must. We know in 10 days we can not do it all. Want to be smart and chose some highlights. I am sure I will not be disappointed in whatever we decide.

HI All. I think I have my Sept Itinerary figured out. Let me know what you think.

Sept 10 Arrive Glasgow at 6:50. AM
Take #500 bus from Airport to train station. Take train to Edinburgh
Sept 10, 11, 12 Edinburgh
** At some point pick up rental car, hoping we wont need in Edinburgh. If our husbands golf they can hopefully hire a driver to take them and pick up.

Sept 13 -16 Stay in St Andrews. Visit the golf course and surrounding area. Would love ideas of what to see and do.

Sept 16, 17-19. Iverness. Thinking of staying in a B & B (working on that now). Would like to see Culloden, Cava Cairnes. Also would love suggestions.

Sept 19 drive back to Glasgow. Will turn car in and stay close to airport. We have a 8:30 flight back to the states.

Would love some suggestions. We are looking to see the sights castles, scenery. We can and will hike short distances. We are in our early 60s and very active. Love to visit traditional pubs, eat traditional foods etc. We are open to anything. Thank you in advance can't wait to explore Scotland!

Some suggestions to get you started...

ST ANDREWS:

Ruined castle (don;'t miss the mine and counter mine) and the ruined cathedral

Spend a day exploring the fishing villages

Falkland Palace

Do a day trip to Dundee (Discovery Point and HMS Unicorn, V &A,

INVERNESS:

Fort George - possibly the most impressive military fortification ever built with its system of banks and ditches. You may be lucky and see Bottle Noses Dolphins in the Moray Firth

Explore the Black Isle

Strathspey Steam Railway

Explore Beauly, Dingwall, Dornoch, Strathpeffer

Drive to Glen Affric and do the lovely Plodda Falls walk

Dunrobin Castle

Thank you so much. So I think I have decided to stay St Andrews 4 nights and 2 in Iverness. Does that still sound doable. We found that St Andrews is closed on Sundays and that would give us time to walk the course without golfers. This is something we really all want to do. Thanks for your input.

Hi once again, Cheryl,

I see that you are getting your schedule well in hand. Good for you! Wasleys has given you some very good suggestions. I'll add to that to give you some more ideas.

First of all, even though Inverness is called the "Capital of the Highlands", you will probably want to check out the true Highlands, which are west of the Caledonian Canal. Even though the Highland fault line runs on a diagonal line from near Stonehaven to about Arran, the most spectacular scenery lies west of the Canal.

In addition to Culloden, the Clava Cairns, and Fort George, you may want to take a day trip from Inverness, south on the A82 to Invermoriston, the A887 to Loch Cluanie, the A87 west to Auchtertyre, then the A890 to Strathcarron. From Strathcarron, the A896 through Glen Torridon to Kinlochewe (with a possible side trip to Applecross on the Bealach-na-ba hill pass, and the coast road around to Shieldaig), and the A832/A835/A9 back to Inverness. That would give you a real feel for the Highlands.

Another possibility for a day trip would be to Dornoch to visit the Royal Dornoch golf course, quite possibly Scotland's best links course. To get there, take the A9 across the Dornoch Firth, then the A949 in to Dornoch. The golfers will really enjoy this one!

To add to what Wasleys advised about what to do in the St Andrews area, the prettiest fishing villages along the East Neuk are Crail, Pittenweem, and Anstruther (Anster). If the Isle of May is open, you can take a boat from Anstruther, and have a hike around the island, with the possibility of seeing puffins. In addition to the sites which Wasleys gave you in Dundee, there is a very good museum of art (the McManus) , and the Overgate Shopping Centre is a good place to do some supporting of the Scottish economy. In addition to the Overgate, most of the central shopping area is in the vicinity of High Street and Murraygate.

The frigate Unicorn used to be berthed next to the RRS Discovery at Discovery Quay. However, it has been moved to Victoria Dock, which is about a ten minute walk from Discovery Quay. The Unicorn was built in 1824, so next year it will be 200 years old! It's currently closed for work, but it should definitely be open by the time you arrive. The RRS Discovery is definitely worth a visit - be sure to see the introductory film.

I should add, since you mentioned that all of you are in your 60s, that you are entitled to a discount at many of these museums and historic sites. The discount will be noted as for "Concessions" on the list of available discounts, so don't be afraid to ask. We've earned it!

Finally, if you decide to visit Carnoustie, you should go north a few more miles to Arbroath. There is a cathedral in the town, and an excellent paved walk, the Arbroath Cliffs walk, with great views looking out to the North Sea. While you're in town, try an Arbroath smokie, which are exclusive to the town, and best and most conveniently eaten in pie form if you're getting a carry out. The Declaration of Arbroath, written in Arbroath in 1320, was the inspiration for the American Declaration of Independence.

Hope that helps you with your planning!

Best wishes,

Mike (Auchterless)

I should warn you ahead of time that you should not wear any clothing coloured royal blue or light green while you're in a pub in the central belt., especially on a Wednesday or a Saturday when football matches are normally scheduled.

Mike, thanks for the warning - now I have to go shopping again!