Scotland 6 Days - itinerary help needed!

The main issue you might encounter is that June is peak summer season and many self catering cottages will require a 7 night stay. This is going to severely restrict your options. I presume you need a minimum of 5 bedrooms too for 9 people, which will present further difficulties. Sykes is a booking platform that I have used many times and they have a good selection of large holiday homes in Scotland. I’d suggest putting your criteria into their site and see what if anything, comes up for your dates. I think availability might dictate your location.

Good luck and perhaps if you want further advice once you’ve seen what might be available we can advise further on location.

Jacqui (Skyegirl)

Good link Jacqui. There's lots of lovely places in interesting locations on there. It seems a few might be big enough for the OP and their family.

brintneylevine

Is there anywhere in Scotland that you've heard of that might appeal? It's tough to start from absolute scratch to recommend places.

Many on here would favour the west coast of Scotland. The Argyll region on the mainland, and there's many islands off the west coast that could fit your bill. If you Google for the Inner Hebrides that will get you started. Skye and Mull are probably the most popular. The Outer Hebrides islands include North and South Uist, Barra and Lewis and Harris.

Off the beaten path may mean you have to make your own entertainment to stave off boredom :) If we're sticking to the islands, finding somewhere near, bit not in, Stornoway for Lewis and Harris, Tobermory for Mull or Portree for Skye might give you some options for isolation, but easy reach to shops and restaurants in a car. Skye particularly is very busy, but skyegirl could probably recommend places slightly removed from the madding crowd.

Thank you all for your kind and thoughtful responses!

I am very interested in portee, Oban, and Helensburgh. My husband wants mountains, so I have also looked into Plockton, but I can’t seem to find lodging with a lot of scenery and nature there. I will keep looking.

Thank you all for your help!

Oban is OK. To me, it's really just a place to catch a ferry to the islands. It's the main port that serves those routes. It's pleasant enough, but is also more of a port town / working town than a destination.

Helensburgh, again I'd rate as OK. It's a nice enough town, many commute to Glasgow from there. There's a good waterfront on the Firth of Clyde. It might be somewhere you'd find a house big enough for everyone as there's quite a lot of larger houses up on the hill. Some may have them listed on your favourite apartment rental site.

Plockton sounds more like what you're looking for. The size of your party restricts what you can do in terms of accomodation, so it may be wise to widen your search to the greater Kyle of Lochalsh area. You are in quite remote country in some spots out there, so restaurants, bars and shops may not be entirely plentiful without a good drive.

Last year friends and I stayed in the beautiful little village of Camserney, just past Aberfeldy, for several nights. There was an abundance of nature but the 4 of us raised Camserney’s population to 24. Aberfeldy had restaurants and some hiking, but the stay definitely required a car. Several places near Pitlochry made a great day trip, as did a boat ride on Loch Tummel. The place we stayed isn’t currently listed on Air BnB but I saw others in that area.

Some of the most stunning scenery in Scotland IMO is along the coast east of Edinburgh between Gullane and North Berwick. The Fife coast between Anstruther and Kirkcaldy offers a similar view looking south. Both locales overlook the Firth of Forth. These areas are chockablock with golfers, so the B&Bs and self-catering lodgings are prepared for less lengthy stays, and it's easy to find great food and drink. Overlooking the firth as opposed to a loch shouldn't be too great a chore.

The east coast of Fife and the area around North Berwick (to the east and south east of Edinburgh) are indeed wonderful, but no lochs or mountains!

I agree with GerryM's comment on Oban. The RS Best of Scotland tour spends 3 nights there. We just took the tour. There was a full free "vacation from your vacation" day in Oban. Three people in our group took a ferry to Staffa to see puffins but everyone else had had enough time on ferries the prior day and stayed back in Oban. My husband and I struggled to find enough to do to fill the day. There is a castle but it was closed for a private event. We walked up to McCaig's Tower for the scenic views. We visited The Oban War and Peace Museum, run by volunteers. And then we out of things to do except eat, drink and shop. Perhaps the cloudy, chilly weather affected our enjoyment of Oban. We spent a lot of that day just playing cards in the hotel lounge.