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Location recommendations for 3 night stay

Hello All!

I’m an American working in Europe and I have a 4-day weekend to celebrate American Thanksgiving. I was thinking of using that time to visit Scotland and am wondering if anyone can speak to how it is visiting in November.

Also, does anyone have recommendations for a location to visit? I’d just love to experience the beauty of it, I don’t need to try a whiskey tasting or anything like that.

Any input would be appreciated, thanks in advance!

Posted by
8048 posts

I would probably vote for Edinburgh.

First, November will be damp and colder, with very short days, so if you're based in a city like Edinburgh, you would have many more indoor options than someplace in the Highlands.

Second, there are a lot of options for day trips around Edinburgh, although there is certainly enough to do in the city itself to keep you occupied. And Edinburgh in itself is very charming and lovely. But if you wanted to stretch out a bit, you could visit St. Andrews, Stirling Castle, and even Glasgow. All of these are within a short and easy transport by train from Edinburgh.

It's also easy to get to by train from wherever in Europe you are, and with only 4 days, I imagine you would want to lessen the time spent on getting to and from your destination.

Posted by
3230 posts

I visited Edinburgh at the same time and I am going to second that and say stay in Edinburgh.

Posted by
5444 posts

Make that 3. Edinburgh gives you lots of options, in the city or day trips.

Posted by
27 posts

It depends what your interests are.Edinburgh is a great and very handsome city but the Highlands are an all year round destination.The colours and light in November are quite stunning in the mountains and moorland and by the coast.
There are plenty of multi day trips which will take you to the West Highlands- lochs and glens type tours.Try to pick one which includes Glencoe and/or Inveraray.
Are you willing to hire a car? That would most easily and efficiently allow a west coast base for some travel around to see the outstanding scenery and sights.

Posted by
1294 posts

The highlands are indeed wonderful in terms of natural beauty all year round. However, many restaurants, cafes and even B&Bs are going to be closed for the season. If you have a rental car you could base yourself in Fort William, Oban, or even Inverness where there will be a better choice of accommodation and services than for example Skye. You could then make day trips. Or you could look at Robbie's who do several one and multi day trips into the Highlands.

Edinburgh would be great for a city break, and you could base yourself there but it's a trek to the real Highlands from there.