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Loch Lomond - how long and where to stay

Posted by (lake forest park, washington, usa) on

Hello all you helpful people! My husband and I are visiting Scotland for 3+ weeks late August into September this year. Our itinerary is set as follows: 6 days Edinburgh, during festivals and the Royal Military Tatto; 2 days Linlithgow/Falkirk/Stirling; 1 day Loch Katrine (boat ride) and stay at Callendar overnight; 2 days Glencoe area; 4 days on Skye; 2 days in the Mallaig/Arisaig area; then 1 or 2 days on/around Loch Lomond/the Trossachs and we finish with a few nights in Glasgow with a side trip to Culzean Castle.. We are booked in with a car (between time in Edinburgh and time in Glasgow) and accommodations up to the point of our Loch Lomond/Trossachs visit. We won't be making any changes to that part of the trip.

I would like recommendations of what to do/see in the Loch Lomond area of the Trossachs and whether to spend 1 or 2 days there given all the other spots we have visited up to that time. Also, what area is best to stay in for doing day hikes, boat rides or whatever, specifically in that area. I appreciate whatever advice you can give for this piece of our trip. Thanks for all recommendations, Susan

Posted by
134 posts

I spent two nights in Balloch on the shores of Loch Lomond a couple years ago and enjoyed it, but I haven't been anywhere else in that area so others might be more helpful. The town itself, although nice, wasn't terribly scenic, but we enjoyed walking along the shore of the loch and were able to take a sunset boat cruise on Loch Lomond which was amazing! The company we went with was Sweeney's Cruises, I believe they also offer longer, daytime options, but we went with the sunset cruise. We also took the train from Balloch to Dumbarton to visit the castle there. Again, not the most picturesque of towns, but I loved wandering the castle and looking at the amazing views.

Others can probably give you better options, but this worked for us as it had good public transport (we were traveling by train) it offered the boat cruise we were interested in and it gave us the chance to say we were at Loch Lomond. Best of luck with your travel plans. Your trip sounds wonderful!

Posted by
5837 posts

We only spent two days walking along Loch Lomond from Drymen in the south, spending an overnight at a B&B near Rowardennan and continuing to Inverarnan north of the Loch. The east shore is the undeveloped wild side of Rob Roy fame. The village of Balmaha looked like it could be a nice spot to spend a night or two as a Loch Lomond base camp as could Rowardennan. We enjoyed a hot fish stew at the Oak Tree Inn in Balmaha after a morning walk over Conic Hill is driving rain.

Drymen is a village in Stirling district in central Scotland. Drymen lies to the west of the Campsie Fells and enjoys views to Dumgoyne on the east and to Loch Lomond on the west. [Wikipedia]

Rowardennan is a small rural community on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond in Scotland. It is mainly known as the starting point for the main path up Ben Lomond. [Wikipedia]

Balmaha is a village on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond in the council area of Stirling, Scotland. The village is a popular tourist destination for picnickers and day trippers from Glasgow as well as walkers on the West Highland Way. [Wikipedia]

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