June Scotland Itinerary Help

You're going to love Scotland.

Just a few things to start.

In Edinburgh, walking the Royal Mile starting at Holyroodhouse Palace and ending at the Castle will have you walking uphill.

Regarding driving, plan on everything taking longer than what Google Maps may show. You don't say when you're traveling, but you really don't want to be driving in the dark.

If where you eat is important to you, consider booking a table in advance. Especially on Skye, where some restaurants book up several weeks in advance.

Allow extra time to find parking at Glenfinnan Viaduct if seeing the train go by is important to you. We were in the area in 2023 and the parking lots were full and police were waving everyone to drive on.

How are you then getting to Portree. If you are taking the ferry from Maillig, reserve your car space in advance.

Give yourself more time at Edinburgh airport. Security was a zoo in September 2023.

I know we all have our own levels of interest on how much time to spend at a site but you really seem to be rushing it. Stirling Castle is a large place. We spent 5.5 hours there. Admittedly, I do like to linger. Culloden is doable in an hour and a half but it could be rushed if you want to take in the indoor exhibits. Clava Cairns can be done quickly but it is a nice place to walk and relax.

Ok, some thoughts about Skye. You don't say when you are coming, but I will assume summer.

After Glenfinnan are you taking the ferry from Mallaig to Armadale to get to Skye, or back tracking by road to Fort William and up to the Skye bridge? Ferry would be better from Glenfinnan, but needs to be booked well in advance.

On arrival in Skye it doesn't make any sense to drive up to Portree to then back track to the Fairy Pools. Better to see them before going up to Portree. If arriving by ferry you could have lunch at the An Crubh community cafe or in Broadford (several options). If by road then Broadford.

On your Trotternish day (Old Man of Storr, Kilt Rock etc) there is no need to go back to Portree for lunch. There are good options in Staffin including the Hungry Gull and Columba 1400.

You are using your 1 1/2 days in Skye to see the very busiest locations. Traffic will be very slow and car parks will be extremely busy. You might find equally wonderful locations by looking on Walk Highlands and choosing anything other than the sites you've already listed. Skye is fully of spectacular scenery. It just so happens that guidebook writers and 'influencers' (what ever they actually are!?) have decided that there are only about 5 things in Skye worth seeing. Which makes it busy for tourists and pretty nice for those of us who live here and know that it's not just about the top 5.

I always get twitchy when people give such detailed timings for their itinerary as they often don’t include time to find somewhere to park, reach the attraction and then go back to the car. This can easily add 30 minutes. They also don’t make any allowance for slow moving traffic . It is an intensive itinerary and you don’t seem to have built in ‘recovery time’ in case things don't go according to plan.

Day 1 - that is a pretty intensive itinerary if you are arriving in Edinburgh at 11am. Are you arriving off a transatlantic flight and are you likely to be jet lagged? Your timings also seem very optimistic. Palace of Holyrood House - suggested time for a visit is 2 hours... Check last entry times for Edinburgh Castle as their website says 5pm with a closing time of 6pm. Also two hours isn’t a lot of time to see the castle. most people suggest 2-3 hours.

Day 2. Again checking the Museum of Scotland website, their closing time is 5pm...

Day 4 -I agree with Skyegirl that it would make sense to have lunch somewhere before reaching Skye and visiting Fairy Pools on the way to Portree rather than doubling back to visit them.

Day 6 - You can pay to cross the bridge to Eilean Donan castle which lets you walk around the outside. It doesn’t really have grounds as such. Save time by admiring from the car park.

Day 7 - What are your intentions for Culloden? If just visiting the battlefield this is only a short visit as to be honest there isn’t a lot to see. The most informative part is the exhibition in the Visitor Centre . Your entry also includes a free guided tour of the battlefield. This is well worth doing as not only does it explain what you are seeing, it also puts the battle into context and what a disaster it was for the Jacobite Army. (If anything could go wrong for them, it did.)

What are your expectations of Castle Stuart? I’ve not been but it is now an upmarket golf club. I can’t find any information about ‘exploring the castle’. It is now a hotel with accommodation reserved for people playing at least one round of golf...