Planning our July 2024 Trip

We visited Scotland last June, and we spent 4 nights in Portree on Skye. There were 4 of us, and all of us love Skye!!! The scenery is stunning, beautiful, and outstanding. I am on another travel forum, and some of the people there tried to convince me to visit Mull instead, because of the crowds on Skye. But I knew I really wanted to see the Isle of Skye, and I have no regrets. We actually didn't think the crowds were that bad at all. The crowds did not impact our trip in a negative way. In fact, Skye and Glen Coe were our 2 favorite areas in Scotland with outstanding and unique beauty. Probably the most crowded spot was the Old Man of Storr. There were some places where we hardly saw any people, such as the Trumpan Church on the Waternish Peninsula. And the drive out there was gorgeous with very pretty, bucolic, and pastoral scenery. We saw very few cars on the road.

The only problem that I can see is that there might be more tourists in July than in June. You should try to find out when the UK schoolchildren get out of school for the summer. I think it's sometime in July but not sure if it's early July or later. That could make a difference.

In Edinburgh we stayed at the Ibis Hotel on St. Andrews Square. Excellent location. We walked everywhere. Nice breakfast buffet included in the price.

Edinburgh restaurants we liked: Dishoom, Cafe Royal, Mussel's Inn Restaurant, Makar's Mash Bar, and Kao Pao Restaurant.

If you decide to go to Skye, we stayed in Portree at the Viewfield House, a Victorian mansion built about 200 years ago. Located on a hill overlooking a lake. Feels like you are on an oasis away from bustling downtown Portree.

Restaurants on Skye that we liked: The Hungry Gull in Staffin for lunch when you are driving around the Trotternish Peninsula; Edinbane Inn in Edinbane, A Taste of India in Portree, The Old Inn on Loch Harport, and Fraser at Bracken Hide in Portree. We had mixed feelings about The Rosedale in Portree.

We followed the On The Luce Roadtrip blog for Skye, if you are interested.
https://www.ontheluce.com/isle-of-skye-itinerary

I wouldn't call Skye crowded, though I didn't take any of the often-mentioned rural hikes. I doubt they're wilderness experiences these days.

The main issue on Skye is the demand for lodging and restaurant tables vs. the supply. You do have to book your lodging way, way ahead of time, else you'll be paying over the odds for probably-not-great places. And you need to book tables for dinner. (I don't know about lunch.)

One reason we didn't feel Skye was crowded is because it is a large island, so the crowds are spread out. People are not concentrated just in one area.

acraven is correct about making advance dinner reservations, though. When planning our trip, I was told this was necessary because of staff shortages due to Brexit and Covid. So we did make dinner reservations, but we never made lunch reservations and had no problem getting a table. There were 4 of us.

I did make our hotel reservations in November for our June trip.

My advice is to move quick on planning your itinerary and making room reservations.

We were going to visit Scotland this past June, and accommodations were very difficult to find--or very expensive. I honestly didn't realize that Scotland was so popular as a vacation spot.

We always have a Plan B, which was a long weekend in London. We then flew down to Rome and picked up a cruise to the Greek Islands and the west coast of Italy. What's nice about Europe is there's so many places to see. We weren't suffering.

In reference to School Holidays- in Scotland they are 28 June to 19 August. In England two weeks later.

I honestly didn't realize that Scotland was so popular as a vacation spot.

David, it's partly that, but it's because Scotland has limited lodging and restaurants, and it's infrastructure just does not support the volume of hotels and lodging needed to sustain the number of tourists who want to visit.

Plus, the recent tax that the First Minister imposed on short-term rentals has cut that number back even farther. Many smaller B&B owners have decided not to continue with rentals because of that.

I honestly didn't realize that Scotland was so popular as a vacation spot.

The Outlander Effect and the recent short term rental license requirement are both playing a part in the amount of lodgings available to visitors to these shores. It seems to me that going forward demand for accommodation will outstrip supply.

Nancy, I think Ballater as a base is a good idea and it is possible to visit many places from there as day excursions. It's a pretty highland village in it's own right as is nearby Braemar.

You can drive to Inverness/Loch Ness/Culloden, Pitlochry for Blair Atholl and Bruar, Glamis Castle, Dunnottar Castle, Aviemore, Speyside and many others.

This is a good website to get you started https://www.visitabdn.com/

as you mention sea food this Ballater restaurant might be of interest https://fishshopballater.co.uk/

I know Ballater and that area of the Dee valley quite well so can answer any further questions you have. Send me a private message if you like.

Skye is a large island and the crowds can be avoided by not going to the 'honey pot' sights such as Old Man of Storr, Fairy Pools, Neist Point etc, or at least going very early or later in the day. You will have plenty of daylight in July! Also check out Walk Highlands to search for walks/hikes on Skye (and anywhere else in the Highlands). You'll be sure to find plenty that haven't made it into guidebooks or on to Instagram.

If you are coming to Skye then I suggest Portree or Broadford for accommodation. The best seafood restaurant on Skye is Lochbay which is on the Waternish peninsula. It has a Michelin star but is not at all pretentious. You will need to reserve approx 3 months in advance to secure a table.

In Edenburgh, try Maison Bleue at 36 Victoria St. just off George IV Bridge St. just off High St. (The Royal Mile) and close to the castle. Go to googlemaps.com, type in the address, and you'll be able to locate it easily. You can use the street view to "walk" to it before leaving home. You can't miss the blue façade. Did not need reservations for lunch, bur reservations are advised for dinner. Small place, same ownership for years, and excellent food.

In Oban The Waterfront Fishhouse had excellent sea food.

I haven't been to Skye but if you're concerned about crowds, consider the Isle of Mull. We were there in June of 2022 and loved it. It's an easy ferry from Oban. I'm not sure if there is much to choose between Oban and Skye, for us, Oban was just a place to stop to go other places and not a destination in itself.

If you go to Skye or Mull, book your hotel soon.

We loved Glasgow, but drop your car off when you get there, you won't need it.

I highly recommend a day trip from Glasgow to Stirling Castle. That was the highlight of our 2-week trip. It's an easy train ride.

There is a saying that one is either a Muillenach or a Sgiteanach, if I've got the names right. A Mull person or a Skye person. I am a Mull person. I think Mull is less favoured due to history, the Skye boat song has advertised Skye for years, but also Skye has been marginally easier to get to for decades. Especially since the bridge was built.

For seafood, Tobermory has Cafe Fish which had a good rep last time I checked, not keen on seafood myself.

For accomodation remember the general season is short in Scotland which is why it sells out fast and can be expensive.

Another vote for Mull - you also have chance to visit Iona as well as Staffa and Fingal's Cave. There is plenty of wildlife too...

We are really starting to lean towards Oban then on to Mull and the outer Islands I REALLY want to see PUFFINS!!!!
Have to look at look at Hotels and how to do this without a car we will be traveling from Aberdeen by train with final destination of Glasgow.
Nancy

By train from Aberdeen you would have to go to Glasgow Queen Street first then change trains to Oban. At Oban the ferry terminal is steps away from the station with a broadly hourly ferry service to Craignure on Mull.
At Craignure a service bus to Tobermory meets most daytime ferries, picking up at the pier end.
Tobermory is the main town on Mull, and is where most trips to the Puffins, and Fingals Cave leave from.

Some of the boats leave from Fionnphort at the other end of the island, also picking up on Iona.

This summer there was a coach (bus) ran from Aberdeen to Oban- change at Perth Park and Ride, so avoiding Glasgow- thus seeing totally different scenery. Time will tell if that comes back for 2024.

See this trip report from Mardee about her time in Tobermory this year (in her case with a rental car)- https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/scotland/solo-in-scotland-trains-cars-and-ferries-and-a-wee-dram-or-two

West Coast Motors (office in Oban) sells combo tickets covering the ferry to Mull, bus across Mull ferry to Iona, with optional ticket to Staffa. Buying the combo tickets is a bit more expensive than buying the individual components, I believe, and you don't see Tobermory. I enjoyed the commentary on the bus across Mull, and I think that's something you don't get if you just take the public bus, though I could be mistaken.

Note that lodging in Tobermory is very, very tight. I found it a bit easier to get something in Oban, but I was looking for a twin room rather than a double, and that seemed more challenging.

I don't know if this helps, but here's a link to my Trip Report from my visit last year. We had a car for the trip except for Edinburgh and Glasgow. Days 10-12 were Oban and Mull. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-scotland-the-search-for-jamie-fraser

Thank you everyone. I now have PAGES of hints and ideas of must do and places now in mind. I need to stop planning and lock in what we are doing with our final time. Thanks to the reviews from your trips I now know we want to spend a few days on Mull and relax and enjoy the slow pace and get to go over to Iona and Staffa. Before returning to Glasgow for a few days.
Please keep the tips comming I can use all the help I can get!
So our current plan is now
Flying into EDINBURGH on June 26th then train to ABERDEEN on June 29th
June 30th we pick up our rental car and drive to BALLATEER. Weare spending a few days at CRAIGENDARROCH and will use this as our home base for touring until we check out on June 5th and drive to OBAN and get the ferry to MULL have not decided how long to stay on Mull we are due in GLASGOW on the 8th or 9th. We stay in GLASGOW until the 12th.
Now to make final reservations for Mull. And start to think about booking tours and dinner reservations ....... ah the dreaming and scheming a trip takes.
Nancy

If puffins are key then from Skye you can take a wonderful boat trip from Elgol to the small isle of Canna. You will see more puffins than you believed possible on that trip with either Misty Isle or Bella Jane The trips are easy to arrange and the journey to Elgol is spectacular. A bonus is the amazing Amy's Place cafe at Torrin on the way to Elgol.

THANK YOU to all the people that reccomended I check with ARNOLD CLARK for a rental car. WOW I saved so much money and it was so easy to reserve an AUTOMATIC!
I just hope it is as easy when we arrive to pick up our car.
Nancy

If you are going to Mull and going to take the car to Mull, have a look on YouTube about driving on the single track roads. Mull is almost entirely single track and some are better than others.

Thanks we are busy preparing for our trip and watching Driving Videos iss now a very important part of our presentation. Lucky for use we have both lived in very rural areas and are used to dealing with one lane bridges and dirt roads.
Nancy

I ate salmon each night during our entire trip to Scotland--it was great! We did Skye but it looks like you have decided on Oban. Our trip was April, so much less of a crowd issue than during the summer. Skye worked out very well for us as far as lodging and getting off by ourselves. You will love Scotland--it was more incredible than I could have imagined and I totally fell in love with it.