Scotland: 2 Weeks

Look at Visit Scotland website as it is a great Gateway site for each region. Check out Secret Scotland and Scottish Heritage and National Parks. I would spend more time in the Edinburgh/Glasgow area because there are many more Historic Sites and Layers of History. We have driven thru Scotland Twice. You should focus on your interests versa a geographical area. If you have a Clan in your ancestry you can follow their history; my husbands clan is Campbell and mine is Ogilvy, so we visited Castles, such as Campbell Castle at Dollar and Home of the Campbell Clan and the Duke of Argyle, Inveraray Castle (we stayed in a Manor Farmhouse B&B). I would reccommend staying there on the way to Oban. You can do a walk-on on the Ferry, you may have to buy ticket ahead. You can catch transfer bus on the other side. I would study Google maps to see if you can avoid back tracking. Skye is beautiful with strange landscape and connects by a bridge; you can do it as a daytrip. There is so much more to Scotland than just the "Highlands". Check to see when and where they hold dog trials. You are more likely to see sheep than the Coos. You may have to look iwhere there is more pasture and farmland.

For Highland Cattle the easiest opportunities are at Pollok Country Park in Glasgow or at Swanston Farm in Edinburgh.

Swanston Farm is very easy to reach, for a farm- very frequent bus from central Edinburgh to the Hunter's Tryst pub, then a short walk.

The problem with Iona is that you have a fixed and unalterable date- if the ferries (especially the little one from Mull to Iona) are cancelled due to winds then you can't reschedule. Although much less likely in May it can and does happen at any time of the year.

Then on Day 6 half the day will be spent driving to Skye (whether by the Mallaig ferry or the bridge)- so you only get 1 1/2 days on Skye, so you will have to heavily prioritise your time there.
You don't say what you are doing in Inverness, but to me that is where to pinch a night from to add to Oban or Skye.

Depending where you stay in the Highlands on Day 13 it will take half a day to reach Edinburgh and off rent the car. So again you effectively have a day and a half- so significant prioritising will be required. I would actually suggest driving the Edinburgh Southern bypass from the Highlands round to Swanston Farm (it is only fractionally off the bypass), then back round the bypass to the airport to off-rent.

I assume you will be traveling by car.

While somewhat rushed, it s doable. You may want to save Stirling Castle for your return drive to Edinburgh. There is much to see between Glasgow and Oban with scenery stops, Loch Lomond, possibly Invarary Castle and more.

If you're looking for something a bit different, we stayed at Barcaldine Castle in Benderloch about 20 minutes outside of Oban in 2023. It is operated like a B&B. We took the 2 Island tour with West Coast Tours for Mull and Iona. We did see Highland cows on the trip.

I would add an extra night on Skye to give you time to see the island. You should book your accommodations ASAP as there is limited availability and everything books up quickly.

What is your idea of the Highlands? What are your interests? Family ancestry, Whisky, history, ruins, castles, neolithic sites? That will help you sort out your Inverness/Highlands nights. Really, not long after you head out of Glasgow you will be in the Highlands.

Enjoy your planning. Scotland is a beautiful country.

I would encourage you to spend at least one more night (or even 2) on the Isle of Skye. Two nights there will only give you one full day to see everything and you just can't in that time. Inverness is fine as that will give you time to see some of the places in that area, especially Culloden, Clava Cairns, and even a day trip to Nairn which is a lovely coastal town.

Another place I would suggest since you are going to Iona anyway is the Isle of Mull. You could easily spend three nights on Mull and that would give you two days to see Mull itself ,which is well worth a visit and also Iona. So you could leave Glasgow and head to Stirling Castle (I'm assuming this is a day trip?). Then sleep in Oban but the next morning take the ferry to Mull and stay in Tobermory, which is one of the most charming large towns in Scotland. There's so much to see and do there and it's just a wonderful place. On one of the days you could explore Tobermory and also Calgary Beach and some of the other gorgeous areas there. The second day could be spent driving to Fionnphort where you can have some delicious fish and chips at the Creel Seafood Bar, then catch the 10-minute ferry to Iona and spend the day there.

I would also add one more night to Edinburgh as that really needs two days to see all the wonders of that lovely city. So that's me of course; you do you. But if it were me, I would probably adjust the itinerary to something like this (changes are in bold).

Day 1: Departure flight
Day 2: Arrive in Glasgow
Day 3: Glasgow
Day 4: Stirling Castle, sleep in Oban
Day 5: Ferry to Isle of Mull. Sleep in Tobermory
Day 6: Isle of Mull. Sleep in Tobermory
Day 7: Head to Isle of Skye. Sleep on Skye.
Day 8: Isle of Skye. Sleep on Skye.
Day 9: Isle of Skye. Sleep on Skye.
Day 10: Isle of Skye. Sleep on Skye.
Day 11: Ferry to Inverness. Sleep in Inverness
Day 12: Drive to Edinburgh Sleep ?
Day 13: Edinburgh
Day 14: Edinburgh
Day 15: Departure flight

Thank you everyone for your helpful responses!

My family doesn't have any clan ancestry as we aren't Scottish, though @Kathleen that sounds like an amazing time being able to connect with family roots! Sounds like the general consensus is to ease up the location count. So far the changes I'm thinking are at least adding one day to Edinburgh, and possibly adding another day to the Isle of Skye. Also thinking of adding in Swanston Farm (thanks everyone for the rec!) and maybe hitting Stirling on the way back rather than between Glasgow and Oban. We also will be considering the castle/manor B&Bs recommended. :)

The thing I'm wondering is -- re: Oban, Iona, Mull and uncertainty with ferries, if there's high winds and the ferry gets cancelled, what are our other options to check out in the Oban area? If we're already seeing Isle of Skye, is seeing Iona more or less redundant (when we could see maybe more variety elsewhere in Cairngorm, for example)?

@jeanm, our idea of the highlands right now would be viewing some ruins/castles, some landscapes or hikes if we can get it, maybe catching a highland games (though I know it's early in the season so maybe that won't be possible -- will need to research this more). We aren't that big on whisky, but if there's a recommended traditional distillery and we have a free day we'd be happy to check it out.

Thanks again for everyone's feedback! I'm pretty early in the planning process right now so a lot of this is open to change.

I haven't been to Skye so can't comment, but I have been to Mull in late May/early June and since you want to go there anyway to get to Iona I'd recommend it as an alternative to limit your travel days. We had 3 nights in Mull and had plans to see Iona, unfortunately after the 2 hour drive there from Tobermory, the ferry was cancelled for the rest of the day due to high winds. Luckily there is so much spectacular scenery on Mull that while disappointing, it wasn’t devastating.

As another poster above did, we also stayed at Barcaldine Castle and loved it.

We spent 6 hours at Stirling Castle so be prepared for a long day if you plan on going to Oban next. I know I tend to linger at sites like that, but I think a 2 hour visit would be rushed.

Carefully map out your driving days and add 30% to the time Google Maps says. Driving in the highlands isn't speedy.

We found Inverness uninteresting but a good base because of the things in the area we wanted to see. You could strike it off your list if you don't have must-sees in the region.

As for the sheepdogs you could look into staying at Leanach Farm (Culloden) for your 'Inverness' night(s)- https://leanachfarm.co.uk/location

Iona is, well Iona. Skye is in no way a substitution for it. It would be unfortunate if you lost it by having scheduled too tightly.

Staying with the history theme the obvious alternative at Oban is the prehistoric complex at Kilmartin Glen- https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/kilmartin-glen-p247711

If you gave Oban an extra night, and Iona did happen then you have Kilmartin for the other day. It would be pretty rare at that time of year for the ferries to be off for two consecutive days, so there is your redundancy. Kilmartin you don't have to book so just go there on whichever turns out to be the spare day.

This is the Highland Games List for 2026-https://www.rshga.org/calendar#gdpr-preferences
so the Atholl Gathering on 24 May is the obvious (Blair Atholl is on the A9 between Inverness and Pitlochry).

At a pinch (it would make for a (pretty long day) you could do Gourock on 10 May on the way from Glasgow to Oban (after the games take the Western Ferries route from Gourock to Dunoon, then drive up to Inveraray etc). The games end at about 4.30/5.00 pm.

Usually there is a light hearted opportunity for bystanders (and, yes I have seen US visitors do so) to take part in some of the activities at Gourock.

I am not sure how important Iona is for your family, but in May the puffins are nesting on Lunga. I visited there a few years ago during nesting season, and it was one of the best travel experiences of my life. There are trips offered from Oban that visit Staffa and Lunga. If I had my choice, I would do that over Iona. Iona had an interesting religious site, but I thought Staffa and Lunga were more interesting as far as landscapes/wildlife.

Okay, here's the new proposed itinerary:

• Day 1: Departure flight
• Day 2: Arrive in Glasgow
• Day 3: Glasgow
• Day 4: Glasgow to Oban (Inveraray or another stop on the way)
• Day 5: Oban (pick from Iona / Mull / Staffa (for the puffins!) dependent on weather)
• Day 6: Oban (same as before)
• Day 7: Oban to Isle of Skye (Glencoe on the way)
• Day 8: Isle of Skye
• Day 9: Isle of Skye
• Day 10: Isle of Skye to Culloden (Loch Ness on the way)
• Day 11: Culloden
• Day 12: Culloden to Edinburgh (Stirling on the way? unless too rushed, can do this as a day trip on 13/14)
• Day 13: Edinburgh
• Day 14: Edinburgh
• Day 15: Return flight

New things to look into: staying at Leanach (thank you for the rec!) and/or Barcaldine Castle, the highland games schedule, and specific sites in each area. I'm sure that this itinerary will shift as I research more, but this is helpful to at least lock down the Isle of Skye dates since (as some of you mentioned) lodging gets snapped up fast.

Hello HaleyDMartinez
Sharing one of my favorite sites when planning a visit to Scotland. Undiscovered Scotland is an interactive map with wonderful suggestions for places to visit and you can drill down for additional details on things that interest you. There is a section of driving tours also. We have traveled several of the suggested routes and the road to Glen Etive has to be one of our favorites. Really, can't go wrong with any of the suggested drives.

Undiscovered Scotland
https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/

Undiscovered Scotland driving tours maps
https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/ustours/index.html

Happy planning! You will love Scotland!

Try to forecast if this is a one-off trip to Scotland, or if it might be followed by one or more later in life. If it's the only trip, then I'd cram as much in as you can - this is commonly called "I'll rest in the grave" approach. f you can imagine future trips, focus on just one or two regions and see them more deeply. Don't forget there's Shetland, Orkney, Hebrides, Borders, Aberdeenshire and and many more areas not included in your itinerary.

The good news is any choice you make will turn out alright.

Culloden won’t take a full day. Link it in with Clava Cairns which is virtually next door. These are best seen either first thing or late afternoon when all the other visitors have left. They are also a lot more atmospheric when the sun is lower in the sky.

You might also want to include a visit to Fort George as well. This was built after the Battle of Culloden to control the Highlands and crush any future Jacobite rebellions and is possibly one of the most impressive artillery fortifications in Britain with its ramparts and ditches.

The scale of Fort George is impressive and it is virtually unchanged since it was built. It remains one of the largest and most impregnable fortifications in Europe. However, by the time it was finished, the Highlands were relatively calm and no action was ever required from Fort George. There is a story, may be 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....

Although the property is in the care of Historic Environment Scotland, the fort is still used by the military and soldiers are seen around the site. Allow plenty of time for a visit as there is a lot to see. If you are lucky you mmay also see dolphins from the ramparts.

In May you have lots of daylight so you can easily visit Clava Cairns after visiting Fort George.

I aggee with DianeSLA, The Undiscovered Scotland website is a wonderful resource. It covers so many places which don't get a mention in any of the guide books and there are some real hidden gems to be found.