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Scotland, one week self drive?

My wife found crazy cheap flights to Belfast but we want to go to Scotland. Our plan so far is to rent a car at the Belfast airport, drive to the ferry and cross over to Scotland.I understand that there's a premium for renting in Belfast and taking the car over the ferry, but otherwise we'd have to arrange travel from the airport to the ferry, then rent in Cairnryan where there are only limited rentals.
Apart from that we don't have specific plans yet. This will be in mid June (9th-16th). We're less interested in big cities than countryside and smaller towns, and I'd like to see some of the highlands.
We'd appreciate any and all itineraries, advice and recommendations. Thanks.

Posted by
8142 posts

It would be faster and cheaper if you just took a short flight on Easyjet from Belfast over to Edinburgh and picked up your rental car there.

Posted by
6 posts

We get to Belfast around 0930 would have to wait until late afternoon or early evening for a flight to either Edinburgh or Glasgow. Anything worth doing near the Airport during that time?

Posted by
1279 posts

I've just come back from Torridon which has fantastic highland scenery, incredibly rugged. However the road through to Torridon is your famed 'single track road with passing places' and the road across the Applecross peninsular and through the Bealach Na Ba might give nervous drivers pause, but in terms of wild remote countryside it takes some beating! Handy for Skye too. The drive up Loch Maree with the peak of Slioch on the far side is less daunting but almost as good a scenic ride. Mountain View coffee shop in Gairloch does enormous sweet and savoury scones - recommended!

Hope you have a great trip!

Ian