just getting started on Scotland trip

I would start with a travel guidebook of Scotland to give you an idea of what each of those locations offer and also day trips from those places. It does seem to be a reasaonable itinerary to me. You will have some longer driving days, but since you have 3 nights at each location, it shouldn't be too bad. I can't really recommend activities and sights without a bit more information. What might be DO NOT MISS to me, might not be to you.

We've done some reading but tend to be planned rather than spontaneous travelers and we haven't worked things out in the detail, yet. To give you a feel for our tastes in Edinburgh we'll probably see the Old Town and walk Princes street, check out the National Gallery and hangout in Holyrood park. In Orkney we're all about the neolithic sites. On Skye nature is the plan with fairy pools,
the Storr, Quaraing, Neist Point and Glen Brittle (note, no rock climbing). In Glasgow it looks like lots of museum - the Gallery of Modern Art, St Mungo's, the Hunuterian and the Riverside. We're definitely up for pipes and other music as well as a single malt or two along the way.

Andrew.reis I was wondering, too if we were planning to stay too long in Edinburgh and/or Glasgow. So maybe Portree to Oban with an overnight there instead of 3 in Edinburgh (if we keep the total number of nights)? Would an afternoon and a following morning be enough time? I'll look into Inverness, etc., thanks.

Hi, radfoley,

You could spend three weeks in Edinburgh, and not see everything. You need two days to get to Orkney from Edinburgh. Don't try driving straight through to Thurso - you'll be exhausted by the time you get there. Inverness, or just north of Inverness, would be a good spot for an overnight.

Same thing from Orkney to Skye. Take two days. The scenery is just too spectacular to try to do it all in one day. Kinlochbervie or Ullapool would be a great overnight stop. Or Scourie. Handa Island would be an excellent place to visit, and the B869 to Lochinver via Drumbeg and Stoer. Also the Applecross circuit - west from Shieldaig around the coast, ending up heading east on the Bealach na Ba.

Best guides for Scotland are the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide. The RS guide misses too much, and concentrates on only a few selected areas. Footprint Guide is good as well. Fodor's is not bad, but it's aimed more at moneyed visitors.

Hope you have a wonderful time. We're heading over for our 25th. time this summer, so you know that we love Scotland!

Mike (auchterless)

I really recommend the website Undiscovered Scotland in researching your trip. It covers just about every place of any interest in the whole country, including several recommended short driving trips. I did the Glencoe circle drive (https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/ustours/oban-glencoe/index.html), and had the best time! https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/index.html

How are you planning to get to Orkney? I would schedule as two days just to get to Thurso for the ferry, stopping at Inverness.

I'd also change Skye to Mull, easier for Iona and a lot quieter.

Thanks everyone! A great start! I'll check out the recommended books. We will now plan break up the drives with a night in Inverness going north and Oban going south with visits to the environs, shave some time from Endiburgh/Glasgow and extend the trip by at least one night.

I was planning on a similar drive from Portree to Gills Bay to catch a ferry up to Orkney, but I was planning on stopping in Durness overnight. Just a few planned stops during that first day (a couple photo locations I wanted, as well as Ardvreck Castle, maybe Knockan Crag Visitor Centre - I'm a geologist), but more in the vicinity of Durness I had planned for the second day (Smoo cave, Dun Dornagil Broch, and Balnakeil Bay & old church). Then over to catch the ferry, aiming for the 13:30 ferry. Does this sound like too tight of a schedule?

Hi, Dave,

I sure wouldn't want to do it! I'm assuming that you'll be taking the coastal route once you reach the mainland. If you do, you're going to be traveling through some of the most incredible scenery on Earth. Just about every bend in the road will bring you to a "Holy shit!!!" view, and you're no doubt going to want to stop and enjoy. It's approximately 200 miles from Portree to Durness, but it sure isn't the I-5! It's more like Oregon SR 23/33 between Merlin and Agness.

Durness to Gills Bay is just over 100 miles, but it's just as time consuming as the west coast roads. If you want to make that 1:30 ferry, and make those stops along the way, you'll need to leave at dawn. You'd probably want to get to the ferry terminal at least 15 minutes ahead of departure time; 30 minutes if you've reserved ahead.

Best wishes for a gneiss trip. Take time to enjoy yourself!

Mike (auchterless)

Thanks for the input Mike. I was planning on heading inland to Garve, then catching the A835 north. Still pretty close to 200 miles though.

To the OP, if your arrival day from an overseas flight is Day 1/Night1 in Edinburgh I would not cut from that 3-night stay.

We have tickets for the Aug 3 military tattoo in Edinburgh. My tour starts aug 6 what could we see in our free time before the tour starts?

garywboydstun, it's best to start you own thread. That way, you'll get notified every time there is a response, instead of radfoley being notified!

HI, I did a somewhat similar trip about ten years ago with my folks--although I was older than 20 something and they were older than 60 something! We flew directly from the US to Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands. That was a long day, but it was well worth it. We rented a car in Kirkwall and left it behind when we caught the ferry from Stromness to Thurso. We took the bus to Inverness where we picked up another car. It was easy to do in the city center and not far from the bus stop. I think we walked it. (You will want to travel light if you can.)

We then did a road trip to the west and back over the top. We did not go all the way back to Thurso, but rather headed south before to check out the cleared village in Strathnaver and then east to Helmsdale. We had all been to Skye in the past and were more interested in Aberdeen and castles and so headed south via the castle trail to Dunkeld and ultimately to Edinburgh. We took three nights to go around the top. So, if you are thinking about doing that you'll need to realize that it takes a lot longer than 500 miles on the interstate. You need to allow time to look at things. You go the reverse of our trip and head north from Inverness. See this route on via Michelin. They say that will take over 7 hours with no stops. I would double that myself. I haven't driven that route, but I bet part of it is single track. Don't be scared of single track. To my mind, it's easier than double! You'll learn to work the passing places. (You save an hour by not going to Gairloch. But, I would suggest that if you have hikers with you that you pause in Ullapool and hike in the hills above town, or if you are more adventuress explore the Stac Pollaidh area.

I would suggest once you get back to the central belt that you ditch the car. If it were me, I would just spend 3-4 nights in Edinburgh and do Glasgow in day trips using the train--yep, less than an hour by train! You don't want to drive it as you will surely get caught in the traffic as I did just this past Wednesday!

There are tons of great places for hiking aside from Ullapool. In the Inverness area, Glen Affric is gorgeous--there's a long full day walk around it or shorter walks in and back out. In the Dunkeld area north of Perth there are some lovely day hikes. Near Aberfeldy you can do the Birks of Aberfeldy hike which take you up a stream past waterfalls and back down again. There is a wonderful website call WalkHighlands. But you should also check the village websites as well. And speaking of websites, do check out Undiscovered Scotland. I love the Footprint Guides, but they only have the highlands in a current edition. Check out Raw Spirit: In Search of the Perfect Dram to get you in the mood.