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Scotland itinerary check

Hi everyone- Thanks so much for your helpful advice so far! We leave for Scotland in a few weeks and I’d love a final check of our itinerary to make sure we’re not missing anything along the way.

Day 1- Arrive in Edinburgh late. Probably Uber or Taxi from the airport (tram stops running around the time we land).
Day 2- Edinburgh. Royal Mile, Harry Potter walking tour, National Museum of Scotland, pubs, weekend markets, Edinburgh Castle. Will probably book hop on/hop off ticket to get around. Sleep Edinburgh.
Day 3- Anything we didn’t get to on Day 2. Sleep Edinburgh.
Day 4- Train to Stirling, pick up rental car (currently scheduled for 2pm but will probably change to earlier). Drive to Glencoe. Enroute, if there’s time and we change the pick up time- Loch Lomond, Inverary. Maybe a quick peek at Oban if there’s time? Clachaig Inn for dinner/ drinks. Sleep in Glencoe.
Day 5- Glencoe area hiking/ walks, HP sights. Or drive to Inverary/ Loch Lomond area if we weren’t able to yesterday.
Day 6- Drive to Glenfinnan Visitors Center, hike to see the train crossing. Drive to Mallaig to catch the ferry (we have a reservation) and drive to Skye. Sleep in Portree.
Day 7- Dunvegan Castle, Dun Breag Broch, Talisker Distillery tour and tasting (booked), fairy pools walk. Dinner reservations at Dulse and Brose. Sleep in Portree.
Day 8- Trotternish Peninsula Loop. Hike the Quiraing if the weather’s not bad. Fairy glen walks and other sights on the peninsula. Dinner reservation at Scorrybreac. Sleep in Portree.
Day 9- Get up early, Eileen Donan castle on the way, drive past Cairngorms, Aviemore, Pitlochry, Dunkeld. (Question- is the scenery better if we drive up through Inverness or if we cut through the southern route and skip Inverness and Aviemore but stop in Pitlochry and Dunkeld?). Drop off rental car by 3pm in Stirling. Tour Castle before 6pm closing if there’s time. Sleep in Stirling.
Day 10- Get up and tour the castle at 9:30am if we didn’t see it on day 9. Bus or train to Edinburgh airport for 4pm flight.

Our biggest wonderings are where to squeeze in Stirling Castle; we currently have it planned for late on day 9 or early on day 10, but both days seem to be cutting it close (especially day 10, which I don’t think is realistic as the bus will leave at 12). We could also train into Stirling early on day 4 and tour it before picking up the rental car, but I don’t know that we’d have time for Inverary etc if we do that.

Any thoughts or advice appreciated! Especially if there are any sights that we’re missing along the way.

Posted by
6231 posts

Our biggest wonderings are where to squeeze in Stirling Castle; we currently have it planned for late on day 9 or early on day 10, but both days seem to be cutting it close (especially day 10, which I don’t think is realistic as the bus will leave at 12).

Christine, if you have an Explorer pass (or membership), you go to on both days at no charge. Possibly do a quick tour on day 9 to get the highlights, then come back in the morning and take the 10 am guided tour (included with your ticket).

Another option would be to head down to Stirling on Day 3 and sleep in Stirling instead of Edinburgh, get up early and tour the castle then pick up your car rental at 2 pm.

Whatever happens, I'm sure you will enjoy your trip! I'm leaving for Scotland on May 3rd and will be there for 3 weeks. When are you there?

ETA: One other thing - I have no personal knowledge myself, but I have seen posts on this forum from other travelers who much preferred Stirling Castle to Inverary. Just sayin'... 😊

Posted by
1059 posts

On day 9 you are best off avoiding the northern route via Inverness. Instead head south to Spean Bridge and then cross country to pick up the A9 at Dalwhinnie. The journey from Portree to Stirling will take you 5.5 hours with no stops, so to get your rental car to Stirling by 3pm and still have time for stops for photos and lunch you will need to allow approx 7.5 hours minimum.

Posted by
142 posts

Thank you, Mardee and Skyegirl! Appreciate the advice. Mardee- I checked on the Explorer Pass because that is a fantastic idea that I hadn't thought of. Unfortunately, it says that you are restricted to one visit per site. Which is too bad, because that was a great idea. We leave April 15th- perhaps we will see you there!