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Looking for feedback on itinerary

My adult daughter and I will be headed to Scotland in May. We have a tentative framework but really could use some help on fleshing out the details:

May 14 arrive EDI (sleep Edinburgh -Residence Inn Edinburgh/using points)

May 15 Edinburgh

May 16 Edinburgh(visit St. Andrews, ?)

May 17 train to Inverness (sleep Inverness- Castle View Guesthouse)

May 18 Inverness (Culloden, Clava Cairns , should we pick up car today and drive here, or take a tour? combine with Loch Ness instead of tomorrow?)

May 19 pick up car, drive to Skye via bridge passing Loch Ness/Urquhart Castle and visit Eilean Donan Castle- (sleep Skye; no reservation yet)

May 20 Skye - would like to take a boat tour- maybe Sea Tours of Skye; also drive to view main sights

May 21 leave Skye via ferry, drive to Ft William (sleep- Inverlochy Castle); possible tea or dinner at the Castle

May 22 ?

May 23 ?

May 24 ?

May 25 fly to AMS -no flight yet, should we fly out of EDI or Glasgow

We are looking for feedback to see if the pace of our trip looks ok. Also, not sure what to include on May 22-24th, other than would like to visit Sterling Castle. We could go straight to Glasgow but we also like smaller towns so would be interested in recommendations (Glencoe? somewhere near Stirling? other?)

Thank you for your feedback- we would really appreciate it!

Posted by
3227 posts

What are your plans in Skye? There are some lovely hikes, I would also suggest Museum of Island Life.
For your open days, head to Oban and do the 3 Island tour for puffins and Fingal’s cave on Staffa.
Search the forum for Scotland trip reports. Get Rick Steves Scotland guidebook.

Posted by
6323 posts

If you make plans to fly out of Glasgow, you could allocate a few days there. I loved Glasgow and made a day trip to Stirling Castle while I was there. It's an easy 30 minute train ride from Glasgow Queen St. station. The Kelvingrove museum is fantastic, as is the Necropolis. There's a lot to see there, and it's a wonderful city. The airport is very easy to fly out of, and if you need an airport hotel (depending on your flight time), I highly recommend the Holiday Inn Express.

Also, if you do stay in Glasgow, I also recommend Grasshopper's Hotel, which was so lovely and friendly. If you want to check out my trip report, there is a description of it (and also other places in Glasgow). https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/scotland/solo-in-scotland-trains-cars-and-ferries-and-a-wee-dram-or-two

Posted by
1836 posts

May 18

I would suggest you pick up a car and visit Culloden and then drive to Fort George which was built after the battle of Culloden to control the Highlands and crush any further Jacobite Rebellions. The scale of Fort George is impressive with its ramparts, ditches and walls. It was state of the art when it was built and it is virtually unchanged since then. It remains one of the largest and most impregnable fortifications in Europe.

By the time it was finished, the Highlands were relatively calm and no action was ever required from Fort George. There is a story, maybe apocryphal, that one shot was fired by a jittery soldier on night duty who thought he saw a Jacobite soldier creeping up to the fort and fired at him. Next morning the guards found the dead body of a cow.

It makes a fascinating visit (and you may even see bottlenose dolphins in the Moray Firth).

Visit Clava Cairns on the way back to Edinburgh. The visitors will have left by then and if you are lucky you may have the place to yourself. It is also a lot more atmospheric later in the day!

May 19

Eilean Donan Castle is one of the iconic views of Scotland, but the actual castle was rebuilt from a ruin about a hundred years ago. The inside doesn’t live up to the promise of the outside. It is possible to buy a ticket just to walk across the bridge and round the outside of the castle .

Looking to the blanks in the itinerary...

I would suggest Oban as a possible and choose Glasgow rather than Edinburgh for the flight to Amsterdam (assuming flight times work out). Depending on time of flight you may want to overnight on the 24th near the airport

There is Kilmartin Glen just south of Oban which has one of the best collection of prehistoric remains in a small area anywhere in Scotland. If you are walkers, have a look at this web page which details a 4mile walk around the glen

Alternatively there is Inverary Castle which will give many more bungs for your buck than Eilean Donan. The town itself with its Jail is well worth exploring.

If time allows you could take the scenic route to Dunoon and then catch Western Ferries back to Gourock

Posted by
1121 posts

While on Skye I would strongly advise against driving 'to see the main sights'. The honey pot sights of Neist Point, , Kilt rock, Old Man of Storr, Quiraing, fairy pools, and fairy glen are over crowded and disappointing. The roads to them are clogged with tourists who don't know how to drive on single track roads and parking can be chaotic. Far better to come for more than a couple of days and spend your time exploring the less popular, but no less spectacular sights. Literally any walk or hike that you could choose from Walk Highlands website outside those honey pots would give you a better perspective on our wonderful island. If you need guiding then Skye Geography Tours could help you explore and understand the landscape. Boat trips out of Elgol with either Misty Isle or Bella Jane are fantastic and the drive to get to Elgol is fabulous too. If you can possibly allow at least one more night then I don't think you will be disappointed. Broadford might make a good base as Portree can get a bit over run. Or you could base yourself in Carbost, which has a good pub, or Edinbane which has both an excellent pub and a fine dining restaurant. Be aware that you will need dinner reservations or else you will face a long wait or end up eating supermarket sandwiches in your hotel or B&B room.

Best wishes
Jacqui (Skyegirl)

Posted by
1606 posts

I see you only have 2 nights on Skye. I recommend spending 3 or 4 nights on Skye. The scenery is stunning and so unique! Since you will have a car, I recommend following this driving tour:
https://www.ontheluce.com/isle-of-skye-itinerary/
We spent 4 nights on Skye and we followied On the Luce driving tour for 3 days. It worked out perfectly for us. We visited most of the highlights.

Stay on Skye May 19, 20, 21 and 22. We stayed at the Viewfields Hotel in Portree.
https://viewfieldhouse.com/

Then spend 2 nights (May 23 and 24) in Glen Coe. The scenery is spectacular! And if you go in May, the rhododendrons will be in bloom. We stayed at the Glencoe Inn in Glencoe Village. And drive down the Glen Etive road for more spectacular scenery and hundreds of rhododendrons. The Clachaig Inn is another place to stay.
https://www.crerarhotels.com/the-glencoe-inn/offers/stay-longer-save/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw0bunBhD9ARIsAAZl0E2diQRfe0ydFrE2TM7EesTSdiTu6Ctv0Y5cxj-kfMw40Y3mnWFBVysaAs7KEALw_wcB

https://clachaig.com/
https://www.ontheluce.com/glen-etive-road-scotland/