Scotland Itinerary Thoughts

Two nights is really only one full day in a spot, especially given the distances and ferry bottlenecks. You also may find it difficult to find reservations for a trip if you mean this year, Skye in particular.

You'll find a lot of controversy about which of your stops to abandon. I'd skip Loch Lomond as a first victim. The next domino is a lot tougher.

Well, you certainly picked some wonderful places. But I do agree that you might get more enjoyment out of the places if you stay a little bit longer in each one and omit something.

You might consider leaving Arran off. It’s a lovely island and I enjoyed my time there, but I was in Scotland for three weeks and I spent three nights on Arran, four nights on Mull and four nights on Skye. Either that or remove Loch Lomond. Then take those two nights and add them to Mull and Skye.

Another thought is that you take a night or two off of Edinburgh. It’s a lovely city, but it’s small and you can easily see it with 3 to 4 nights there.

I’m going to agree with jjgurley and put Loch Lomond at the top of the list of those to be cut. Since you like less crowded places, I think you would really enjoy Arran.

There’s another place that you might want to go to while you’re on sky and that is the aisle of Raamsay, which is usually pretty desolate because a lot of people don’t know about it. It’s about a five minute ferry ride from Skye and it’s a beautiful island and there’s very few people there. You could easily spend the day there getting in some hiking, going to the distillery and having lunch at the café at the end there. That’s about all that’s on the island so there’s not a whole lot to do if you don’t like hiking but it’s a nice place.

I also just saw that you were planning this for April and May. JJ is right in that this is very late in the game to be planning for accommodations and so on. Scotland has a shortage of housing and even without that, it’s always had a problem accommodating the tourists who flock to the islands during the spring and summer. You shouldn’t have a problem with Edinburgh but with the islands and especially Skye, you might. I would start now looking to see what you can come up with

I like Mardee's suggestions. When you say you are spending 5 days in Edinburgh, do you mean 6 nights (which gives you 5 days) or do you mean 5 nights? We loved Edinburgh, but I agree that it is small, and I think 4 nights will be a good alternative. Then you can take 1 or 2 nights from Edinburgh to add elsewhere. I would remove Loch Lomond, too. Add extra nights to Mull, Skye, and Glen Coe.

And JJ and mardee are correct that this is late planning for this April/May.

I should have added but didn't get back in time:

Five nights in Edinburgh is really overkill unless you really love specific places, shopping, or loitering in cafes. I'd much rather keep an island that see one more museum. Five mile per day is not too serious a limit (I might be able to do 6mi). Most trails are fairly civil (graveled, not too steep, etc.).

Is this trip for 2026? If so, you probably won't find lodging on Skye this late date.
Have you driven on the left side of the road before? Last May 1, we stayed on Arran 2 nights; it was their summer. It was grand to explore, particularly Machrie Mor standing stones. These were a 1.5 mile walk in on a rocked road and we had it to ourselves in the evening. However, it was the hardest to drive of the 3 trips I've driven in Great Brittain. These were 1 lane roads with passing spots. The signs at bridges and road crests stated something to the effect "Oncoming Traffic in the Center of the Road".

Yes unfortunately I will be in EDI for 5 nights, my parents joining me those last two so I didn't want to take away all their time in edinburgh by leaving after one night. Otherwise, would definitely take time away from edinburgh.

In response to people's feedback I'm considering:
Arran (2 nights)
Mull (3 nights)
Skye (3 nights)
Glencoe (2 nights)

I'd have to drive from Glencoe back to EDI airport, but our flight isn't until 230 PM. That was another pro of Luss/Loch Lamond.

Your revised plan looks much better. For accommodation in Skye try the Facebook group Rooms In Skye which aims to match providers with availability to those seeking accommodation.

Glencoe to EDI in time for your flight is possible but I’d be tempted to only spend a night in Glencoe and head for a hotel nearer the airport on the second evening. Depending on budgets you could stay in the Hilton at North Queensferry, enjoy views of the 3 Forth Bridges and have a last dinner in the Wee Restaurant down in the village almost under the Forth Rail Bridge. Or you could stay in Dunfermline at the Holiday Inn Express. Either are just a short drive to the airport. Or you could stay right close to the airport terminal building at the Moxie hotel.

Personally I never like to leave a long drive to the airport as delays happen due to road accidents. I’d even find Luss problematic for EDI as it’s not a good road from there to EDI airport.

I'd also be very twitchy driving from Glencoe to Edinburgh for a 2.30 flight. What time is check in? I'd want to allow at least three hours for the drive. Don't forget you also need to allow time to drop off the car too.

I'd be wanting to stop a lot closer to the airport. As well as Skygirl's suggestions have a think about Stirling, Falkirk (for Flakirk Wheel and the Kelpies) or Linlithgow. Plan on a leisurely drive back to the airport next morning.

If this is for this year you need to be very careful and flexible with the ferries for Arran.
There is a lack of ships, and the timetables are literally changing weekly, if not more often as ships are shuffled around. Even the mainland port of Troon or Ardrossan keeps changing. Sometimes Troon only or Ardrossan only or both. Some ships fit in one, not the other, hence the swooping round.

All this is adding to the pressure on the Lochranza sailings.

Definitely a time when travelling by public transport to Arran gives a lot more flexibility than being burdened with a car.

At least they seem to have sorted out the ferries to Mull as that also looked like it was going to have it's service halved, with a one ship service from Oban.

Bute would be a good substitute for Arran- much easier currently to and from currently.