May vs June?

May is usually less crowded in Scotland, and yes, fewer midges. I was in Scotland this year for 3 weeks in May, and the weather was really lovely almost the whole time I was there. Obviously you can't count on that, but I only ran into midges once in a boggy damp area, and it rained some, but not a lot.

We tried to go to Scotland the first of June and found accommodations difficult to get--and very expensive.

Had to change to Plan B--back to a cruise around the Eastern Med.

We visited Scotland last June. We had spectacular weather which I've been told is unusual. Temps were in the 60's and 70's every day; it was sunny every day except for one morning on Skye when it was misty and overcast during the morning. Midges weren't really a problem except for one or two evenings on Skye when leaving a restaurant.

I visited Scotland in the last week of June this year, and it rained, sometimes heavily, on five of the six days I was there. I had a wonderful time regardless, but I’ve booked next year’s return trip for the third and fourth weeks of May in the hope of getting a few more sunny days.

Both are great and you will get the wild flowers. The last week of May is a bank holiday and schools have the week off for half term. I'm surprised May is more expensive - perhaps people are booking then rather than June as they think it will be less busy...

schools have the week off for half term.

Small point of pedantry. Scottish schools don't have a week off in May. Scottish term times differ from England.

But the English also come cross border to Scotland to take advantage of that week's holidays, the same way as many Scots come to England for their holidays.

So it is a valid point.

But the English also come cross border to Scotland to take advantage of that week's holidays, the same way as many Scots come to England for their holidays.

I agree it's valid. I met SO many English tourists when I was in Scotland.

I agree. It is a valid point. Many people do indeed come from England to visit Scotland, taking advantage of English school holidays. Thank you both for pointing that out.

Since we're in the Scotland forum I thought it worth mentioning that Scottish schools don't in fact have a week off in May.

Thanks to this thread, I will be adding the English school calendar to my list of considerations for timing of trips to Scotland. The list already includes the Scottish school calendar, the U.S. school calendar, and, of course, Taylor Swift’s tour schedule. 😄

Thanks for the responses everyone.

I've booked the tour for early June.