Scotland in 2023 - a few pre-planning questions

Ohh, I'll be following this. I'm planning Scotland for next year too. Did you see Allan's recent trip report? https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-scotland-the-search-for-jamie-fraser

We just got back from our first trip to Scotland. I wouldn't even consider a car for Edinburgh or Glasgow. You can also easily visit a place like Stirling Castle by train. I'd consider Stirling the must-see castle on your trip. We had a car for the mid portion of our trip which included the Inverness area then to Mull and then dropping it off in Glasgow. I'll defer to a more experienced Scotland visitor to answer what can and can't be seen without a car. I am thankful that I had my wife with me and wasn't driving solo. A 2nd set of eyes were valuable when driving on the other side with narrow roads and unfamiliar signage.

We were there for 17 days and didn't see everything on our list, however we both agreed that we did get a very good overview and what we missed may have been similar to what we saw, only in a different location. As a result, Ireland for a week is doable if you really want to see it.

We went in June and the weather was good but not great. I was surprised how many businesses closed before 7, even in the big cities.

Besides Stirling, we really liked our day at Culloden, Clava Cairns and Cawdor Castle. For us, the gardens at Cawdor were can't miss. Isle of Mull was a must-see for me, but that was for personal reasons. The RS guides ignore southern Scotland, but it's beautiful as well.

I was going to provide a link to my trip report but roubrat beat me to it.

A suggestion for all of you planning a journey to Scotland is for you to buy a copy of Rough Guide Scotland. We got ours from Amazon and wore out the first one.

Thanks, Allan and roubrat! I will definitely read the trip report! And keep me posted on your trip planning, roubrat!

Monte, I love Rough Guides and have reserved a copy at the library, but will wait on buying it since I'm hoping a newer edition will come out before I leave. I have 5 other guides from the library that I'm browsing through in the meantime. :)

I love Ireland a lot but in 3 weeks, and going to the islands, I would use your entire 3 weeks in Scotland - unless you already know you will be coming back for another trip and want to divide it. I leave Sunday and have more than 21 days in Scotland, with Edinburgh, Mull, Skye, and Lewis & Harris only (plus a few days back in Edinburgh at the end specifically for the Fringe). I will have a car on Skye and on Lewis and Harris.

Maybe some day I will get back for Orkney, Shetlands, and a few others…..

No car for Edinburgh or Glasgow. Some people drive where you want to go but many of the islands can be reached by ferry and/or bus. It will be useful to have a car in the Highlands, I think. Reserve lodging as quickly as you can. Lots of places (including the more affordable) on the islands seem to go fast and early. I will be staying almost exclusively in bed & breakfasts.

Shoot me a message if you want me to send you my itinerary. :)

Hi Mardee -

To answer some specifics:

Even with three weeks, trying to include Ireland means you risk ending up not doing justice to either country. Most people (if they are sensible) would kill for three weeks in Scotland, so stick with just Scotland. Especially if you plan to visit the Isles.

Getting round the Highlands is difficult by public transport, so be brave and rent a (small) car. Your options will be much greater even if you curse me on that single track road with passing places in the middle of nowhere or when you attempt to negotiate the Bealach Na Ba!

Book your accommodation on Skye now, or sooner. Try do one of the (half day?) boat trips on Skye that run from Elgol to Loch Coruisk. Spectacular scenery!

Avoid Edinburgh in August when the Festival, Fringe and Military Tattoo are on. Hotel rooms an endangered species then and in my experience ludicrously expensive unless you are miles and miles outside Edinburgh. Also plan trip, if possible, pre or post midge season (but bring a head net just in case the vicious little sods haven’t got the memo. Only the females bite. I’ll just leave that here…..).

The west coast in the Highlands is magnificent, if the weather cooperates. A sizeable ‘if’ but always travel hopefully! For that reason I wouldn’t be desperate to base myself in Inverness, except briefly on the way to somewhere else, or to visit Culloden, etc.

Loch Ness is pleasant enough, but it’s just a very large lake. Quite ‘monstrously’ touristy around Drumnadrochit and Castle Urquhart but otherwise not especially exciting. There are better places. There, I’ve said it.

Have a great trip!

Ian

If you are wanting to visit the Hebrides and Skye, then DON'T try and include Ireland too - there just isn't time to do Scotland properly and also Ireland. You will end up short changing yourself.

You do realise that Kirkcudbright is the opposite direction to the various other places you mention? Dumfries and Galloway is a lovely area that gets ignored by many tourists. BUT you do need to allow 3-4 days to begin to do its justice. Unless you are planning to spend more time around kirkcudbright, I'd leave it off the itinerary for this visit. There are plenty other equally good things to do and see.

If you haven't already found the Undiscovered Scotland website, it is definitely worth book marking and spending some time on, once you have begun to narrow down your itinerary. It includes all sorts of places ignored by the guide books.

You won't need a car in Edinburgh or Glasgow as public transport is so good and traffic and parking an absolute nightmare. Some places like Stirling, St Andrews etc can easily be done as day trips by train. However, if you are wanting to visit more out of the way places, then a car is a definite bonus. This will apply on Skye and the Hebrides. On Skye, bus times are geared to getting people to and from school or work rather than tourists.

Make sure you rent from a reputable company - Arnold Clarke is well regarded and you may want to rent an automatic . Be warned petrol (gas ) is horrendously expensive in the UK compared with USA and car rental prices have rocketed since Covid 19.

The other alternative is to look at group tours - Rabbies Highlan Tours get really good reviews and run day tours or longer holidays from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness.

May or June are lovely times to visit. You get really long day light hours, especially the further north you go and will also get the spring flowers. They aren't as busy as July or August which is school holiday holiday time.

September you may still have the heather on the hills and by the end of the month into October you will get autumn colours (not as dramatic as New England in the Fall though). Again they are quieter months although you won't get the long day light.

The east coast tends to be drier than the west.

Oh my gosh, such wonderful responses - thank you all!!! Okay, Ireland is definitely out - I had a feeling it would be but nice to have it confirmed.

@TexasTravelmom, thanks and I will definitely PM you. So you are saying I should be booking lodging now? For May/June of 2023? I guess I better start looking! Where do you find your B&Bs?

@Ian, sounds like no car in the cities and car off the beaten path. I can live with that - I've rented a car in England before (including Yorkshire, where I got lost on the moors) so I've had some experience driving on the left. And thanks for the tips about the Skye boat tours and Loch Ness - I had no real desire to go there but good to know I'm not missing much. Midges! Yikes - sounds like mosquito season here in Duluth, although that only lasts about 2 months. It looks like I'd be safe(r) if I come in May or September?

@wasleys, good to know about Kirkcudbright - I'd like to see it but I'll save it for another trip. Thank you for the link to Undiscovered Scotland - I look forward to exploring it! And for the tips about renting and time of year to visit. I'm thinking May probably sounds best for me. And I'm also thinking I need to start looking for lodging.

To any or all of you, does it sound feasible to fly into Edinburgh, spend some time there and then in Glasgow, with Stirling as a day trip, then rent a car and travel to the Highlands? Or should I split the cities up? Edinburgh first (I will be flying Delta) then the Highlands, then come back to Glasgow? Or does it really matter?

Or should I split the cities up? Edinburgh first (I will be flying
Delta) then the Highlands, then come back to Glasgow? Or does it
really matter?

Probably doesn't matter. Edinburgh and Glasgow are only 45 minutes apart by train. We flew into Glasgow and immediately took a train to Edinburgh for 5 days, then to the Highlands, over to Mull and ended in Glasgow for four days.

If you wanted to add just a bit to your trip, you might consider dipping down into Northern England and doing Hadrian's Wall.

Sample Idea: Fly into Newcastle and take the train to Haltwhistle. Spend a day exploring the wall with guide Peter Carney https://www.hadrianswall-walk.com/

Then train up to Glasgow and start a clockwise tour around Scotland and ending up In Edinburgh.

@Allan, that's good to know. They looked close to each other on the map but I have a very bad habit of thinking things are closer than they actually are (to my detriment). :) Thanks!

@Carol, that's a great idea, except that I've already seen Hadrian's Wall. I was driving through England, and stopped in Berwick-upon-Tweed, then traveled southwest following the wall and wound up spending the night in Carlisle. It killed me at the time because I wanted to go to Scotland so badly, but knew I didn't have time to do it justice. It's the same trip where I was driving around England and got lost on one of the Yorkshire moors. I found a local and asked for directions but could not understand a word he said, so I smiled and nodded and eventually made my way out. I love the north of England and plan to go back someday.

Here's my advice, based on twelve trips to the British Isles and Ireland. Hopefully, it will be useful to you.

We returned two weeks ago from our most recent trip to Scotland. We have visited most of Scotland on various trips except for the Shetlands, the more remote Hebrides, and Glasgow. We always go in early June because we enjoy changeable weather and less midges. . The trip we just completed the weather was mostly overcast and cool with two days of blasting wind on Skye.

Rent a car because using public transportation for the Highlands will consume lots of your time waiting for connections. We were very happy with Arnold Clark, a large rental company that only operates in the United Kingdom. If you have never driven on the left, do NOT try to drive that Applecross road - it has sheer drops. Otherwise, roads are fine. Single track roads have passing places every 500 or so feet - you can usually see the next one. We only had to back up a couple of times.

If you want to see some of Ireland you can split your time. One week for the southwest quadrant of Ireland - maybe split your time between Kenmare and Connemara. (Be very careful about renting a car in Ireland - lots of scams and be sure to get the super CDW because they will ding you for the tiniest scratch. ) Then fly to Glasgow - the airport is north of the city so it is easy to head to the Highlands from there. For Scotland, split your time between Glencoe, Skye, and the Plockton /Shieldaig /Torridon area (IMHO the most scenic areas) with a full day for Edinburgh at the end after you return your car.

If you enjoy a beer or a glass of wine with your dinner, be sure you stay at places with restaurants on the premises or that you can walk to the pub. Scotland has a ZERO alcohol limit for drivers - every place we stayed confirmed that information.

@Cynthia, thank you! Where is the Applecross road? I do have experience driving on the left, but I have a phobia with heights so if there are sheer drop-offs, I probably will want to avoid it. And I think I will hold off on Ireland - there are too many places I want to see in Scotland first. :)

Mardee - getting lost on the moors is an ancient tradition continued to this day, even by those of us who live here! You are right - a car for the rural areas, but in the cities, about as much use as the proverbial chocolate teapot!

I believe Cynthia is warning you off the Bealach Na Ba I mentioned on the Applecross peninsula! Lots of You Tube videos if you want to pre test your resolve!

Ian

@Allan, that's good to know. They looked close to each other on the
map but I have a very bad habit of thinking things are closer than
they actually are (to my detriment). :) Thanks!

While that route is quick, don't be fooled by how long it takes to cover distances in rural areas. For example, it took me 2 hours to cover about 50 miles on Mull due to single track roads. Even on the mainland, narrow and curvy two-way roads will add the to your drive. Inverness to Oban is 111 miles but could take 3 hours.

On our upcoming 20-day trip we’ve allotted three nights in the borders area to visit some woolen mills and abbey ruins, and three nights in Alnwick, England to see that castle and other nearby sights. We will have a rental car once we leave Edinburgh. Personally, I’d skip Ireland and make it a separate trip. Our first trip to Scotland was May 2008. This trip will be September into October as spring and fall are when we prefer to travel.

We’ve yet to finalize what we will see, but will see Stirling castle, the Fallkirk wheel, the Kelpies, possibly Scone Palace since we’ve been to Glamis already, Glenfinnan Viaduct, Loch Shiel Viewpoint, and other castles and/or forts. One of our travel companions is a Harry Potter fan so we’re incorporating some filming locations for him. Another has mobility issues so we’re minimizing walking distances. That same person has relatives dating back to the 1600s from Dumbarton, so we’re spending a night there.

Ian, thanks! I always forget about YouTube. I will check those out.

Allan, that makes a lot of sense. I recently took my 12-year-old grandson on a road trip from Minnesota to Utah to Colorado and back (visiting family there and stopping at national parks), and we wound up on a gravel road in Nebraska that continued into South Dakota. The mileage was only 31 miles but it was a good 75 minutes before we got off it and it seemed to take forever! I don't think we saw a single car for over an hour. I was having visions of car failure and being stranded with no cell phone service. :) But I digress - thanks for that info. I will definitely keep it in mind! BTW, I'm reading your trip report now and enjoying it a lot! I've read all the Outlander books (have not seen the series), but love that you're following some of the locations in the show/series.

jaimeelsabio, thank you! That sounds like a lovely itinerary. I will check out some of those places. What is the "borders area"?

Mardee, The Borders area is everything just north of the border with England. It's a lovely, quiet area with some great spots to explore.
Jacqui (Skyegirl)

Thanks, Jacqui! Does that include Eyemouth? I read a book once that took place there and thought it sounded very interesting. Maybe I should use Carol's suggestion of visiting the border but on the Scottish side. I think I will need 3 months in Scotland instead of 3 weeks!

If you are interested in visiting the Borders area and other parts of Scotland and want to see ruined abbeys and castles, please be aware that many of them are currently fenced off. Most of these you can access the grounds but cannot access the ruins. There are issues with unsafe masonry and also with the budget and not enough skilled workers to undertake the work. The major "cash cows" are available, but not the less well known ruins. In early June the only castles / abbeys on our list that we were able to fully explore were Urquhart Castle, Elgin Cathedral, Spynie Palace, Smailholm Tower, Ardchattan Priory, Kildrummy Castle, and Duffus Castle. Only the grounds open included Dirleton, Tantallon, Balvenie, Caerlaverock, Doune, Kilchurn Castles, and Dryburgh and Kelso Abbeys (didn't check on the other two border abbeys.)

Hi again Mardee.
Yes Eyemouth is in the borders region, although I have never been there.
Jacqui

So, I did a three week solo tour of Scotland several years ago, rented a car from Edinburgh airport, and returned it to Glasgow. I went in September in order to be able to attend the Braemar Gathering the first weekend in September. I spent the first 6 nights in Edinburgh, toured that city and did some day trips (including the one to Braemar), then I had the car for ten days and did a loop tour up through St, Andrews then up to Inverness, to Skye, back down through Oban to Glasgow. I did the drive to Applecross and absolutely loved it. I did not get out to the outer islands, though because it was going to take too much time out of the rest of my tour, so look at the schedules for those places carefully. I used Secret Scotland to do me up a driving tour with detailed instructions and suggestions on where stop. It worked quite well. I would love to do it again.

I find planning the trip as much fun as the actual trip. And I find it somewhat ironic that the answers to your questions - save the Ireland question - are completely answered in Rick Steve's guidebook(s). Spend the $25 and buy the book on this site (or, you know, that big box Internet store).

We leave for a month in a couple of weeks. Our guidebook is already dog-eared, and I know the audio tracks on his television programs practically by heart. We've also downloaded the audio tours Rick provides for free via his app. Of course, the Internet is loaded with other sites full of practical advice, too.

And I heartily agree with the others who have said pass on Ireland -- and savor Scotland exclusively... When you find yourself with extra time, simply sit and enjoy being there.

Cynthia, thanks - good to know about areas being fenced off. I'm thinking about a trip to England in a few years to see areas I didn't see on my first 2 trips. Maybe I'll save it till then.

Jacqui, thanks!

Anita, that sounds like a wonderful trip! And thanks for the tip about Secret Scotland - I found a couple of driving tours on Nordic Visitor Scotland that I am examining, but it's always good to see more. I will definitely check it out.

gbrennen, I'm the same way about planning. This is my favorite part. With regards to guidebooks, I know that there is a lot of info there, but sometimes it's nice to get information from people here - plus I got so much more information than I had asked for! That's the beauty of these forums. And I like his books, but quite frankly, I prefer the Rough Guides. Right now I have the physical RS guidebook, Rough Guide, a DK guide and on my Kindle, Lonely Planet and another DK. They are all from the library, but when I get closer to my travel date, I will buy a couple so I get the most recent version. Usually I travel with the Kindle version.

We just finished three weeks in Scotland:

1) Ireland is our favorite vacation country, but don't try to include it. Take another three week trip in 2024 to Ireland !

2) You want a car. What we did was fly 'directly' to Harris/Lewis, then hop over to Shetland, then fly to Glasgow to pick up car, then tour Highlands, drop car at EDI, fly to Kirkwall, then fly back to Edinburgh for the last few days. Rented separate cars on the islands, and didn't have one for Edinburg/Glasgow. Our plan was a little hop-scotchy because some friends joined us for the second/third weeks. LoganAir is a little extravagant (rates climb steeply with time to flight), but well worth the time savings.

3) We always do Celtic travel in late April to early June. Great weather, less rain, fewer bugs, smaller crowds, and shoulder rates at some places. Plus it's migratory bird breeding season. The one serious downside is that the trad music sessions are a little sparser.

4) One thing I've learned on this forum is that everyone's taste varies. I constantly see itinerary feedback requests that are completely at odds with something I'd want to do. I plan all our trips, and for this trip, I emailed everyone a list of 15 "category preferences" to re-order (e.g. Neolithic artifacts, Art Museums, Folk Villages, Music, Wildlife etc.) that I used to temper my own list.

Thanks, jjgurley! Luckily, I'm traveling solo so don't have to worry about the wants of others. :) Thanks for the tip about flying - others have mentioned that as well, so it's definitely something to think about. I'm fairly certain that I will be going in May so the time frame sounds good.

I did discover that the Orkney Folk Festival is the last weekend in May, and I'm wondering if it's worth planning a trip around that. Have you been? Or anyone here that reads this? I love folk music - any ethnicity - and think it would be an interesting experience.