Scotland itinerary for October

• For me, Stirling is a no-brainer over Pitlochory. We spent 2 weeks in Scotland last year and our favourite day was Stirling Castle. It focuses on Royal History while Edinburgh Castle focuses on military history which we were less interested in. We spent about 6 hours at Stirling Castle.
• When you say a full day tour of Mull, are you meaning the drive across Mull to get to Iona and Staffa or actually drive around Mull? We spent 3 days on Mull and loved it. We never made it to Iona and Staffa because the ferry was cancelled due to rough waters. But no regrets, Mull is beautiful.
• In my opinion, Oban is a good base to go to Mull but there isn't much to do in Oban. I'd rather stay overnight on Mull. If you take your car over, study in advance on how to drive safely on single track roads.
• We drove from Oban to Glasgow and it was a nice drive. Add 20-30% driving time to what Google Maps tells you in Scotland. Many of the roads are narrow and curvy and you won't be blazing down an interstate like you may be used to at home.

Thank you so much for the quick response! I am definitely leaning towards Stirling Castle now. Any recommendations on where to stay in the area?

In regards to the Tour of Mull…you are correct…it is the drive across and then spending time on Iona (we would skip Staffa). I saw it recommend in Rick’s guidebook and it seemed like an efficient use of time. Is it better to stay in Mull? We would have a car and I thought the idea of trying to ferry the car over and drive around would be a bit much. Maybe I’m wrong?

Is it better to stay in Mull? We would have a car and I thought the
idea of trying to ferry the car over and drive around would be a bit
much. Maybe I’m wrong?

There is no wrong answer, but if the plan is just Iona for the day then finding a tour for the day may make the most sense; unless you love a sense of adventure and want to drive there. I don't regret the experience of having a car on Mull, but for personal reasons we wanted to spend a few days there and needed it.

Here's a link to a trip report I wrote after my trip. if you scroll down to days 10-13 deals with Oban, Mull and the drive to Glasgow. Day 15 is our trip to Stirling. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-scotland-the-search-for-jamie-fraser

The question about car hire in Oban has cropped up before and I can't remember what we found, except there was some head scratching.

But it's the biggest town in the area so there must be car hire, even if it's local garages. I can't remember seeing anything on my various visits but then haven't been looking.

A car on Mull is a hard question. There is quite reasonable bus service on the island. Car capacity is always tight on the ferries, so travelling foot pax or on a West Coast Motors tour gives greater flexibility, but you are limited to the two good bus routes. So not an easy call.

There are no national car hire companies in Oban, just local ones. That might cause issues if you are wanting to drop off in Edinburgh... Hire in Glasgow. Arnold Clarke is very well recommended (or book them through Celtic Legend if you are based in USA.)

I assume you have worked out the Jacobite Steam train [only runs in the morning][2] in October? Departing Fort William at 10.15, getting back at 16.03, is effectively taking up a full day. With only two nights allocated to Glencoe, it won’t give you much time to do or see much else.

If you haven’t yet found it, the Undiscovered Scotland website is a wonderful resource of ideas of what to do and see. It is way way better than any guide book. Start with the relevant map page and follow the links.

This is the thread we were looking for about car hire in Oban- updated with a recent successful experience- https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/scotland/practical-car-van-rental