We plan to spend about 14 days in Scotland in September, two couples. Is it necessary to book all our lodging ahead of time? We would like to have some flexibility. We want a mixture of hiking, castles, beaches, nature and some culture. Destinations include Aran, Isle of Skye, Highlands. Thanks All!
Posted by
Halifax, NS
263 posts
Book lodging on Skye right away. It books out quickly.
Posted by
Isle of Skye, Scotland
1124 posts
Yes you need to reserve or you risk not finding anything in the locations you mention. There are few chain hotels (apart from Premier Inn in Fort William and Inverness and Holiday Inn Express in Inverness) in the Highlands and none on the islands. There are fewer B&Bs than in previous years as many small operators have given up due to the financial and legislative impact of the new Short Term Lets law which came in to effect recently. You really need to be booking now for September.
Posted by
Mountains of S. Oregon
610 posts
The days of not knowing where you'll stay until the day before are long past. We did it that way in 1997, booking rooms the same day or just finding places while driving. Now, we plan our trips carefully and contact places as soon as they're willing to take bookings which is usually a year in advance, although some use Jan 1 to turn the page. Traveling as two couples only complicates things, and you might end up staying in different places. I suggest you book your rooms NOW. Most places have reasonable cancellation policies, so you can keep looking for better alternatives, although that behavior exacerbates the whole issue.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
6560 posts
Book ahead. You don’t get the flexibility you want, but you will have a room. When we went there with another couple in 2022, some smaller hotels and B&Bs didn’t have two available rooms and that was reserving 5 months in advance.
As already stated, the days of just showing up are long gone.
Posted by
17 posts
We travelled in September 2023 and booked all of our accommodation in January 2023. Even so, it didn't seem like Mull would work out so we changed out itinerary. I echo the others ... book ahead to get the accommodation you want. Even in September, it is still very busy throughout Scotland.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
52 posts
Book ahead! My husband and I went in Sept. of 2023 and I booked all our rooms in Feb. of 2023 - all places with good cancellation policies. It's amazing how quickly places will fill up!
Posted by
Bristol, UK
1013 posts
Book ahead.
My brother went up there with nothing booked this past September. They had a tent but ended up having to camp for the whole trip which was not the plan! There was some very expensive accommodation available but nothing at more moderate prices. They were really surprised by that and also by the amount of Americans they came across.