Need advice re: our first Scotland trip itinerary

It's a very fast paced trip. Any possibility of adding an additional day for both Edinburgh and Glasgow, and an overnight on Skye?

Have you already booked your flights? Maybe fly into Glasgow and return from Edinburgh, or vice versa. This would help your trip flow better.

Are you staying overnight on Skye? Hotels fill up quickly in the summer.

If planning to see the steam train travel over the Glenfinnan Viaduct, parking is very limited, so plan to arrive early to get a spot.

My immediate instinct is that you don't have time for Skye. Unless you have already booked accommodation in Skye then you may have already left it too late to secure anything halfway decent and/or affordable. And it's a heck of a long way for one night in Skye. You don't say what you are doing on the Saturday, so I assume exploring Glasgow? If so then will you still have a car in the city (not really needed or desirable) and if not then how do you plan to get to St Andrews.

My suggestion would be to scrap St Andrews unless you are golf fanatics and add a night or two if possible to Skye. That will give you time to explore more than just the Trotternish Peninsula (where the Old man of Storr, Kilt Rock and Quiraing are located).

If you are coming to Skye via Glenfinnan then I guess you plan on taking the ferry from Mallaig to Armadale. If so, then you need to book that as soon as possible as slots fill up fast.

If you are not confident at driving on the left, possibly in a manual transmission car (automatics are less common and need to be booked well in advance) then you might do better with a Rabbies tour (or similar).

In general, I do think it's an aggressive itinerary and is likely rushed.

Most notably, I would agree with the prior comment that Skye should probably wait for the next trip. If you added another night in Fort William - a small and very functional transportation hub with lots of good stuff around it - or went straight to Glasgow, that's where dropping Skye for a 24-hour visit makes sense to me. It just frees you up to not rush that part between leaving Edinburgh and getting to Glasgow.

Edinburgh to me is worth more than 1 day, but you have to work with the time you have. St. Andrews is well worth a day trip from Edinburgh (even if you're not golfers), but I would say that a 2nd day in Edinburgh at the end makes better sense.

As for driving, you can do it. Make sure you reserve an automatic (even if you are comfortable with stick shift at home) and pay extra for whatever damage waiver and excess protection you can get. Minor dings and scrapes are not uncommon for first time drivers in the UK being on the left hand side and on narrower roads. Driving takes more time than driving at home - the roads are part of that as is the desire to be patient while getting the hang of driving on the left. It just takes a little longer than you might expect to get around, though sometimes that's part of the fun.

If you like to have a drink at lunch here and there or plan to do a whiskey tasting, factor in also that Scotland has a very strict drunk driving limit.

Scotland is our favorite place to visit, you will love it!

Thank you all so much for your thoughtful and helpful input!

After considering everyone’s suggestions, I have added one day/night in Portree, and revised the trip as follows.

• Sunday: Arrive in Edinburgh by plane, explore in the afternoon/evening
• Monday: Explore Edinburgh more
• Tuesday Day trip to St. Andrews and back, explore old town in the afternoon/evening
• Wednesday: Drive from Edinburgh to Fort William (via Stirling Castle, Glencoe Valley)
• Thursday: Fort William to Portree by 1 pm (via 5 sisters of Kintail, Eilean Donan Castle). Explore Trotternish Peninsula
• Friday: Extra day for Isle of Skye (need suggestions)
• Saturday: Portree to Glasgow (via ferry to Mallaig, Glenfinnan Viaduct; Loch Lomond)
• Sunday: Relax and explore Glasgow
• Monday: Fly back to the US from Glasgow

To answer a few questions:

• I am a golfer, therefore want to at least check out the old course at St. Andrews.
• We plan to take the ferry from Armadale to Mallaig on the way back. Tickets are still available for the day/time we want.
• I have not bought the air tickets yet (but have looked into it). Note, I am now flying back from Glasgow.
• Glenfinnan Viaduct is the least important item on the list (not a Harry Potter fan), unless it's considered a must-see
• Who knows if I’ll ever be back? So I’d rather skip exploring Glasgow than rush through the Isle of Skye.

Any thoughts/suggestions/feedback?

Shaolie,

How are you getting to Saint Andrews? As a golfer you might be interested in The Himalayas Putting Course. We played 9 holes in the rain 2 years ago and everyone had a blast, even the twice weekly golfer in our group.

Regarding attractions, Eilean Donan is more attractive from the outside, than in. There are more interesting castles in Scotland. With the parking situation at the Viaduct, don't be disappointed if you can't stop. But, the drive from Maillig is nice.

But, first thing if you're going to Skye is book your room yesterday. Availability really is that difficult.

Hope this helps a bit.

@jeanm

We plan to drive to Saint Andrews, made reservation for an automatic car. Will try The Himalayas Putting Course. Thanks for the suggestion.

We plan to check out Eilean Donan from the outside, will be perfectly OK with just driving by Viaduct - no worries.

Any suggestions for accommodation in and around Portree ?

Appreciate your help!

We were 2 couples traveling together September 2023 and I had a miserable time finding 2 rooms booking 2 months in advance.

We ended up in a cottage owned by Skeabostview B & B. Friendly and helpful owner. It was about a 10 minute drive to Portree.

I suggest you see what's available on booking.com and also try Isle of Skye Rooms and don't limit yourself to Portree if you find a room at a good price. Sunset will be 10ish in July, so driving back from dinner shouldn't be a problem.

Also, dinner reservations should be booked in advance. Yes, the island is that busy.

Good luck!

It is hard to cut back on the list I know, but I think the revised plan is much better.

Your Tuesday trip from Edinburgh to St. Andrews may take longer than you plan. Seeing the old course and having a wander up to the lovely ruined cathedral and perhaps the ruined castle will take up a good part of that day in St. Andrews. Still it's well worth the trip as St. Andrews is lovely, especially for someone who enjoys golf.

Thank you, Steve, will keep that in mind. I am very excited for St. Andrews.

@Jeanm

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, Skeabostview B&B is sold out. We were able to find an alternative close to Portree for two nights. We'll take care of dinner reservations tonight—do you have any recommendations? One of us is a pescatarian.

I have another question about the route from Portree to Glasgow (via Mallaig). The drive is already quite long—about 5.5 hours according to Google Maps—so we were thinking of taking a break and spending the night somewhere nice along the way before heading to Glasgow.

Also, it seems that the stretch of the A82 along Loch Lomond can be quite winding, stressful, and potentially dangerous—especially slow during peak tourist season. I saw a YouTube video of the drive filmed during the off-season, and while the views are spectacular, it didn’t look very fun. Would it be better to take a detour via Callander using the A84 instead? It would add about 40 minutes to the drive.

Any suggestions, given the above concerns, would be greatly appreciated.

shaolie

I'm glad you were able to book a place on Skye. Since we had a kitchen in our cottage we didn't go out for dinner. We did have a late lunch at The Oyster Shed near the Talisker Distillery in Carbost, basically a hut with picnic tables.

Here's a recent post that discusses Skye restaurants and sights.

We travelled up from Glasgow to Skye staying 2 nights outside of Oban at Barcaldine Castle with a few stops along the way including Loch Lomond, Inverary Castle and Loch Awe. With this route we were only on A82 from just outside Glasgow to Tarbet.
Beautiful views and not really stressful (the stressful roads were much further up north for us).

I'm so happy your trip is coming together for you.

If travelling from Portree to Glasgow personally I would not go via Mallaig. I would take the A87 to Spean Bridge, turn left there and head east picking up the A9 at Dalwhinnie. Then pick up the motorway network to Glasgow at Stirling. I make the journey from my home in Skye at least once a month and never take the A82 unless the A9 is closed for an accident. I hate driving Loch Lomond. It will take you at least 6 hours and probably closer to 7 whichever route you take in the summer months due to the slow moving and busy tourist traffic.

If you do decide to take the ferry you need to book it now for the summer.

Thank you @Skygirl and @jeanm for your suggestions re: avoiding driving on A82. I did some more research and reviewed some previous posts on this forum. Someone suggested this alternative driving route for Glasgow to Fort William to avoid the most dangerous part of A82 while maximizing scenic views.

https://tinyurl.com/f3yse7r5

We have once again (sorry!) revised the trip to follow the route Glasgow-Skye-Inverness-Edinburgh, with the last leg done by train to reduce drive time (I am not too confident about how often my friend would be able to share the driving).

We’ll be picking up the automatic car from Glasgow and dropping it off in Inverness.

• Sunday: Arrive in Glasgow by 1 pm, explore the city in the afternoon/evening
• Monday: Drive from Glasgow to Fort William (via Tarbet, Inveraray, Kilchurn Castle, Tyndrum, Glen Coe, see map above)
• Tuesday : Drive from Fort William to Portree by 1 pm (Glenfinnan Viaduct, ferry to Mallaig). Explore Isle of Skye in the afternoon/evening
• Wednesday: Explore Isle of Skye more
• Thursday: Drive from Portree to Inverness (via Eilean Donan, Urquhart castle)
• Friday: Arrive in Stirling (direct train) by 12.32 pm. Explore Stirling Castle. Leave for Edinburgh by 5 pm.
• Saturday: Explore Edinburgh
• Sunday: Day trip to St. Andrews and back, explore old town in the afternoon/evening
• Monday: Fly back to the US from Edinburgh

What do you think? I really appreciate all your helpful input and your patience with me as I figure this out.

You need to book your ferry from Mallaig as soon as you can, with CalMac.

The best train of the day from Inverness to Stirling is the 0755 LNER train to London Kings Cross. First Class that far north is a very affordable treat, and includes a full breakfast.

For St Andrews I recommend doing that as a circular trip - train from Edinburgh to Leven, bus up the coast to St Andrews, bus to Leuchars for train to Edinburgh.