Desperate for Savvy Travelers' Itinerary Help Please

When and where are you picking up your car? Having a car in Glasgow isn't worth the effort. I wonder if it makes sense to do a daytrip via train to Stirling Castle on day 3 and head to Dumbarton on day 4? Day 6 maybe stay overnight in Inverness and get an early start to Culloden and Clava Carins and then straight to Edinburgh.

Have you thought about Fort George from Inverness? It is the most amazing military construction built after the Battle of Culloden to control the Highlands and crush any future Jacobite rebellions.

Hello Allan,

I don't intend to rent a car until we are finished sightseeing in Glasgow and heading north. I thought Stirling Castle would be a logical stop between Inverness and Edinburgh. My daughter suffers from motion sickness so I am trying to avoid any bus trips. She'd be okay on a train, but if I had to take a taxi to and from the castle, she might end up waiting, green, for us outside until we are finished.

I will return the car as soon as we arrive in Edinburgh, or take it back to the airport and make my way back from the Glasgow airport, depending on the price difference for dropping in a different city. I haven't determined that part, yet.

Thanks, Linda

A couple of thoughts - You can take the #500 airport bus from Buchanan St . Bus Station to the airport . The car rentals are just across the road from the terminal . Once you have the car , head northwest on the M8 to the M/A898 and cross the Erskine Bridge to the A82 west This trip is really easy When you leave Dumbarton ( if you can manage , this . it's also very simple ) continue west along The Clyde to Helensburgh and visit The Hill House ( Don't be shaken by what you see on the map - from Dumbarton to Helensburgh is 8 miles , and the Hill House is only 9 miles from Luss ) Now for a quick explanation - You'll be in Glasgow , and synonymous with the city and its culture and history is the work of architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh , and his wife Margaret Macdonald . Here is a 45 minute documentary about them - ( three 15 minute parts ) - https://youtu.be/LNrV6vbu4os While in Glasgow you can stop in The Willow Tea Room on Sauchiehall Street for a glimpse , but a stop at one of his masterpieces is The Hill House ( 1902 ) now undergoing a major restoration . This short video will tell you about the project , and seeing this is a once in a lifetime opportunity . - https://youtu.be/9XSzwbFCFtc This may sound like a lot , but trust me its really easy and not terribly time consuming . I'm headed this way this coming September ( actually spending three nights in Luss ) so I'll be able to spend a full day at The house . One last comment about Mackintosh - Once , when someone said to him that he had talent , He responded " I had talent , but Margaret ( his wife ) had genius " EDIT - Its NORTHWEST on The M8 to the bridge , sorry about that !

Also , this map will be of assistance-https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Helensburgh,+UK/Luss,+Alexandria,+UK/@56.0097116,-4.7150858,11.25z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x4889078b65700273:0xeb7e2e9cc803b81c!2m2!1d-4.734014!2d56.002318!1m5!1m1!1s0x4889aa87fc342b0d:0x5fcd5fdbd8fb6f3e!2m2!1d-4.6422516!2d56.101491!3e0

Hi, Linda,

First of all, if your daughter is subject to motion sickness, it is imperative that she sits in the front passenger seat. That has worked out really well for us.

Where is your lodging in Glasgow? Have you made plans about what you'd like to see during your brief time there? There is much to see, so you need to plan as much as you can - many of the best sites are quite a distance from one another.

If you are picking up your car at Glasgow Airport, then your best bet would be to follow Steven's advice, and take the airport bus to GLA, then take the M8 west, and the Erskine Bridge to catch up with the A82, heading in to Dumbarton.

You'll be on the A82 all the way through Dumbarton, Luss, Glencoe, and on to Fort William, where you'll turn off on to the A830 for Glenfinnan.

Have you made accommodation arrangements for the Glenfinnan area? To be honest, there is not a whole lot to do in Glenfinnan, once you've seen the viaduct, railway station, and the monument. If you see as much as you can at the end of day three, you could get an earlier start on day four, in order to see more of Skye.

Do you have accommodation arrangements for Portree on day five?

On day six, when you're driving from Skye to Urquhart Castle, don't forget to take the A887 (signposted Invermoriston) at the east end of Loch Cluanie. That will save you some precious miles.

There is just so much that you can see and do on days seven and eight that it would be almost impossible to make a recommendation. Obviously you have Culloden and the Clava Cairns. That will take up a half day. (Incidentally, the Clava Cairns have absolutely nothing at all to do with Outlander. The Craigh na Dun scenes were filmed near Kinloch Rannoch, and the stones were made of styrofoam.)

After your visit to Culloden and the cairns at the beginning of day seven, you have a myriad of choices. But as you're heading south to Stirling on day eight, you probably don't want to stray too far from the A9. However, you could visit Culloden and the cairns on the afternoon of day seven, and do some sightseeing around Inverness in the morning. You could look for dolphins by the Kessock Bridge, visit Fort George, spend an hour puttering about Leakey's Bookshop, stroll along the Caledonian Canal, etc.

I don't know how early in the day you want to get to Stirling on day eight, but a good place to spend the night on day seven would be Aviemore. It's basically a tourist trap, but you can escape the hustle and bustle by driving out to the western portion of Cairngorm National Park. There are some good hikes, and wonderful scenery, especially around Loch Morlich.

On day eight, you can take the A9 all the way to Stirling, visiting Pitlochry and/or Dunkeld on the way, or you could take the Blue Highway route south of Pitlochry, through Aberfeldy and Crieff. That is, if time is not an issue at this point. Be sure to give yourselves enough time to do a decent tour of Stirling Castle. Stirling is normally about an hour's drive from Edinburgh.

Balance the cost of a one way rental agains the cost (and time) of driving the car to Glasgow Airport and making your way back to Edinburgh via public transportation. I think you'll find that dropping the car in Edinburgh will save you a good bit of time. Hang the expense! It's your holiday!

Anyway, I hope that this helps in some way. As you said, it's a sampler holiday. Find things to whet your appetite, and plan for a longer trip next time!

Best wishes for your travels!

Mike (Auchterless)

As I started to book accomodations, I see there are not a lot of options around Glenfinnan. I'm looking for advice. I know my kids would like to see the Viaduct, and I want to see the monument with Bonnie Prince Charlie. BUT, I'm not finding much else there, and don't see many lodging options.

Anyone with more knowledge have a different idea for Days 3 & 4? Is there something else to see enroute to Glenfinnan where we might spend the night, then get up in the a.m. to do those two items in Glenfinnan before heading to Mallaig?

I did read the advice about zipping through the Glenfinnan attractions before heading earlier to Mallaig to have more time on Isle of Skye. In that case, can anyone reccomend lodging in the Glenfinnan area?

As always, I appreciate your advice and expertise.

Linda

I have another question. Would it be crazy to try to do Culloden, Clava Cairns AND Sterling Castle in one day? If that is possible, I'd return the rental car in Edinburgh and have three FULL days there (with a 7 p.m. flight to Belfast). Would you keep the 3 days in Edinburgh or move an extra day to Glasgow, with only our evening arrival and two days, departing the evening of the second day? Clear as mud?

I'm trying to maximize our time, but do not want to absolutely rush from one site to another.

Thanks, Linda

Hi Linda
You will likely find more accommodation options in Fort William. For example there is a Premier Inn (motel type accommodation) there and many small hotels and B&Bs. For what it's worth the Premier Inn is always my choice if I need to stay in Fort William overnight. You could then get an early start and head out on the Road to the Isles to see Glenfinnan en route to Mallaig.

You will need to make a reservation on the Mallaig to Armadale ferry in order to take your rental car on board. I'd do that asap if you've not already.

In my opinion it would be a very full day to try to do Culloden , Clava Cairns and Stirling castle in a day. You will need to allow 4-5 hours to drive from the Inverness area to Stirling. The castle is excellent and well worth a couple of hours of your time.

I think whether you spend your last few days in Edinburgh or also visit Glasgow depends very much on your interests. Personally I could easily spend 3 days in Edinburgh and indeed am doing just that later this month.
Best wishes
Jacqui (Skyegirl)

Jacqui,

Thanks for the advice. I want to do all I can, but since I'll be the only driver, I do not want to exhaust myself, either. We'll spend another day in the Inverness area and after Sterling Castle get an afternoon start in Edinburgh.

Linda