Scotland itinerary help

Welcome to the forum!

Days 4 & 5 isn’t realistic. If you have 2 nights somewhere you only have one full day. Even if you see things on the way there and on the way to your next destination you won’t have time to see all on your Skye wishlist. Driving is very slow going.

Day 6 - drive to Oban via ferry…
Be sure you check with your car rental agency to see if taking your car on the ferry is allowed. We stayed in Portree last month and used the bridge both ways.

Have a wonderful trip!

Hi jnewmast

Day 3 looks odd to me. You are driving north on the A9 and across to Spean Bridge, to then head south again. Only to then continue north to Skye on day 4. Turning right (north) at Spean Bridge and heading for Skye instead of Glencoe would be more logical. I would personally move Stirling to the day that you collect your rental car and see Glencoe on the way south towards the later part of your trip.

Your current day 4 will mostly be spent travelling from Glencoe to Skye. You won't have time for any of the sights you mention apart from Fort Augustus. Loch Ness is another detour on the way to Skye.

So you realistically have one full day on Skye, which is day 5. You will not be able to manage all the sight you've listed as they are spread out on what is a large island with poor roads and slow moving traffic. The Fairy Glen, Quiraing and Old Man of Storr are the sights that are closest together. Neist Point is an outlier at least 30 minutes drive from Dunvegan Castle. The Fairy Pools are south of all the other sights you mention.

You will be able to take your rental car on the ferry but will need to book your spot well in advance.

Days 3 and 4 have a lot of driving. On day 3 you’re visiting Blair Castle, going to Spean Bridge, then down to Glencoe. The next day you’re driving 15 miles east to visit the viewpoints, then backtracking to go up to Skye. At most you’ll spend 5-10 minutes at each of those three sites to take photos. Two days later you’re backtracking again back past Glencoe to get to Oban. If Blair Castle isn’t a must, you could go up to Scone Palace (similar to Blair Castle) then cut over to Glencoe. That would eliminate some of the doubling back.

Fort Augustus and the Caladonian Canal is a 30 minutes stop while Urquhart Castle is just a ruin and easily skipped. Loch Ness is like any of the other Lochs in the area. If Dunvegan Castle is still closed at the time of your visit, you could substitute it with Eilean Donan Castle that you have to pass anyway.

To estimate time, from where you’d turn off the A82 to go to Glenfinnan is about 25 minutes. Once at Glenfinnan, it’s about a 10 minutes walk from the parking lot to the viaduct.

I hope you enjoy Scotland as much as we did. Here's some of my observations:

• Don't underestimate how long it takes to drive places in Scotland, I'd add 30-50% of the time Google Maps tells you. We were there in June and it can be slow-going
• We stayed at Barcaldine Castle and loooved it. You'll want to get there before dark because it's in the middle of nowhere on a single track road and the turnoff to that road isn't obvious. There are also no restaurants nearby. We went back to Oban to eat.
• The drive to Stirling Castle from Barcaldine Castle via Loch Lomond will be 3+ hours; especially if you make stops for the scenery and it's a very curvy and narrow road in places. Leave early to give yourself plenty of time at Stirling castle, we spent about 4 hours there.

Hi, jnewmast,

I have to ask - when you say that you are visiting a place or sight, does that mean that you are going to drive by and have a look, or are you planning to get out of the car and walk/hike? The reason that I'm asking is that you appear to have packed a lot of travelling in to days three through six. You haven't given yourselves enough time to explore the areas you're visiting.

As others have pointed out, what looks like a short distance on your map usually turns out not to be. For instance, on day three you're going to pick up your hired car, which I'm assuming will be from the airport. The M90 only takes you as far as Perth. From there, you'll be on the A9, stopping in Pitlochry and at Blair Castle before heading on to Ballachulish via Spean Bridge and Fort William. Given a couple of hours each in Pitlochry and at Blair Castle, it would at the very least be early to mid-afternoon before you reach the A886 cutoff at Dalwhinnie to pick up the A86 for Spean Bridge. I can tell you from experience that the A86 is not a fast road!

By the time you have visited Fort William, it's going to be past supper time. You will still have the better part of an hour before you get to Ballachulish, and you're not going to have much daylight left to visit the Three Sisters Monument and Rannoch Moor.

On day four, if you are planning to drive from Ballachulish to Portree, give yourselves at least four hours. If you're stopping in Fort Augustus on the way to visit the canal locks, add an hour. Frankly, I would eliminate Urquhart Castle. You'd be adding an extra hour, at the very least, to your travels. You can see enough of Loch Ness between Fort Augustus and Invermoriston.

As Jacqui (Skyegirl) has pointed out, you have too much planned for Skye in the day and a half that you'll be there. Check out travel videos on YouTube, read some walk descriptions on the WalkHighlands website, and then pick out the walks which you find most appealing. The Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing are a little more challenging than the Fairy Glen or the Fairy Pools.. As Jacqui advised, Neist Point and Dunvegan Castle are way out on the Duirinish Peninsula, and deserve the better part of a day to themselves.

You've given yourselves time for a relatively leisurely drive to Oban, but do make sure to reserve a space on the ferry from Armadale to Mallaig. You may want to stop at some of the beaches along the A830 before you get to Glenfinnan.

You should check in to your lodging at Barcaldine Castle before driving on to Oban for a celebratory supper (if supper is not available at the castle), as Barcaldine is a bit north of Oban. There are several very good restaurants in Oban. As far as Oban goes, there is not a whole lot to see within the town. However, as you'll have one full day in Oban, you could take a day trip to Mull and Iona, visit Kilmartin Glen, or spend the day hiking on Kerrera.

I don't want to put a damper on your plans, but I can tell you from experience that it's best not to try to pack too much in to each day. I'd advise going back over your itinerary and narrowing down, or even eliminating, stops which are not absolutely necessary to your travel plans. Scotland is best savoured at a leisurely pace!

I can say, without a doubt, that you are going to absolutely love Scotland! There is no place in the world like it. (Even Australia!)

Best wishes for your holiday!

Mike (Auchterless)

What a wonderful community this is! Thanks to all of you for your considered responses, it is very much appreciated.

I can't shift the order of our accommodation at either Ballachulish Hotel or Balcardine Castle since to get a reasonable rate for these, I had to forgo the free cancellation. Plus of course I can't change my husband's birthday haha. So I guess the doubling back a bit through Glencoe is unavoidable.

Let's see if at least I've made things a bit simpler and therefore more enjoyable.

DAYS 1 AND 2 UNCHANGED

DAY 3
Pick up rental car
Drive to Glencoe via M90 and Spean Bridge and on way:-
Visit Pitlochry
STAY Glencoe 1N at Ballechulish Hotel
**** QUESTION: is there a quicker route?

DAYS 4 AND 5
Drive to Skye via road bridge and on way:-
Visit Fort Augustus
STAY Portree **2N at An-Airidh B&B
Visit Fairy Pools and/or Fairy Glen. My husband isn't keen on difficult hikes so he's delighted to remove those!

DAYS 6 AND DAY 7 UNCHANGED
Maybe add the day trip to Mull as suggested.

DAYS 8 and 9 UNCHANGED

Is this better? Any other additions or modifications?

Hi again, jnewmast,

There is a more direct route from Pitlochry to Ballachulish, avoiding Fort William and Spean Bridge, which you'd be seeing on day four, anyway.

Backtrack five miles from Pitlochry to Ballinluig. Head west on the A827 (should be signposted for Aberfeldy). The A827 runs along the north shore of Loch Tay. Just after Killin (be sure to visiit the Falls of Dochart) the A827 ends. Turn right on the A85, and follow it for 11 miles to Crainlarich. Turn right on the A82, and follow it in to Ballachulish. By going this way, you'll be able to see Rannoch Moor, the Three Sisters Viewpoint, and the Meeting of Three Waters in broad daylight. (If it isn't raining!)

In addition to being a more direct route, it's a bit more scenic than your original route would have been.

That should make day three a lot easier. If there is anything specific that you want to see in Fort William and Spean Bridge, you'll be going directly through them on the way to Fort Augustus on day four. If you do think that you'll need to stop there, you'd probably need to get an earlier start out of Ballachulish, in order to be able to spend more time on Skye.

Once again, very best wishes for your travels!

Mike (Auchterless)

p.s.: If you do decide to make a day trip to Mull and Iona, be sure to make your ferry reservations well in advance. The first ferry from Oban to Craignure, and the last ferry from Craignure to Oban, are usually filled early. However, you can always cancel if you change your plans. CalMac charges ten pounds for cancellation.

I was just gong to suggest the same route as Mike (auchterless) - great minds think alike!

I think your revised plan makes a lot more sense.

Yay thank you again, I'm doing a happy dance! I've amended my route as suggested.

The summer 2023 ferry timetable hasn't yet been released, but I'll be sure to book Skye and Mull early after checking it's ok with my car hire company.

I've read that Tobermory and Calgary are definitely worth visiting when on Mull.

And I like the idea of stopping at some beaches on the way to Glenfinnan too.

Such great additions to my simplified itinerary.

We are going to LOVE Scotland. :)