Thoughts on high-level 2 week Scotland Itinerary End April

Critical: Demand for lodging in Tobermory much exceeds supply. Although late April is well before peak season, I think you may have trouble finding something at this point. Do not delay! Fortunately, you'll have a car, so you will have the option of staying outside Tobermory.

Skye is even more popular, but Uig isn't the place the public-transportation users tend to want to stay, so maybe it won't be so tough. But you should check immediately.

I liked Glasgow at least as much as Edinburgh, and it's both less expensive and far less touristy. If by "two full days" you mean the first two nights of your trip, you will only have one day when you can be fairly sure of not being significantly jetlagged. That would be way too little time for me--but I love Charles Rennie Mackintosh architecture and really like art museums. I bet you'll really enjoy Glasgow. If you're flexible on the length of the trip, definitely add at least two days to Glasgow. I had seven nights there and needed more time; I'm sure I spent at least a solid two days tracking down the Mackintosh buildings that many people wouldn't bother with, however.

Edinburgh has a lot to see as well. I also spent about a week there--and I didn't go to Edinburgh Castle. Consider what side trips you might want to take. You can figure it will take about half a day to go see the royal yacht Brittania at Leith and the same amount of time to go see Rosslyn Chapel.

Rick lists his top sightseeing suggestions for a lot of major cities on this website. Follow each link and click on "At a Glance".

Edinburgh

Glasgow

As acraven says, if this is planned for this year, you may have problems finding accommodation on both Mull and Skye as many places will already be booked up. You may have to rework your itinerary around this. Have a look at this thread covering accommodation for Skye and the link to the Facebook page.

Apart from that, it is looking good. About the only change I would make would be to add a day to Glasgow. It is very different to Edinburgh and I know you aren't as keen on museums, but it does have some cracking ones. Kelvingrove is worth visiting. The Cathedral and Necropolis are also good.

Four days would be lovely on Mull. As well as Mull itself, there is the option to do a trip to Iona, Ulva or staffa. Also do one of the wildlife safaris on offer. If you can't find accommodation on Tobermory, then Mull is small enough to be able to cover it all easily from another base.

If you haven't already found it, the Walk Highland website is the walker's Bible, with lots of ideas for walks of all lengths and difficulties. The Undiscovered Scotland website is another wonderful source of ideas for things to do and see. It covers so many places ignored by the guide books!

While on Mull, a trip to Lunga (typically includes Staffa) would be good, unless you're repelled by puffins :-)

If you spend another night or two in Glasgow, I would recommend taking a day trip to Stirling Castle and the nearby town of Stirling. The castle is a gem, with a lot of history, and Historic Scotland offers free guided tours every hour, which were very interesting and informative. The town of Stirling also has loads of history, ranging from the Church of the Holy Rude to Darnell House Cafe, which is located in the house that Lord Darnell, who was married to Mary Queen of Scots, lived in. It's an easy (30 min.) train ride from Glasgow and is very doable on your own.

For car rentals, I would recommend Celtic Legend, who works with Arnold Clark, a car rental agency. I had such a great experience that I am using them again for my trip this coming spring to England. I was able to pick up the car outside of Glasgow at an Arnold Clark location (not at the airport, which is more expensive but at their South Street place) and then returned it at their location outside of Edinburgh (the Sighthill location). They include a GPS unit for free, which is a considerable savings as most other companies charge a daily fee for sat nav.

Both locations are outside of the city and were easy to drive into and out of. Celtic Legend was great to deal with. You request a quote from CL, they respond by email with the quote. You accept (or change as needed), and then they confirm it. You do not pay anything (although you can) until you pick up the car. You don't even give them a credit card number. Great staff and great service. I could not recommend them more highly. And getting and returning the car from and to Arnold Clark was so easy. I highly recommend them. BUT make sure you book early, especially if you want an automatic!

I agree with the others that 4 days are not too much for Mull. It's a wonderful place with beautiful and diverse scenery, and has the charming town of Tobermory, It was one of my favorite islands on my trip there last year. There is a lot to see and do there, as the others have told you.

But I will concur with everyone to start booking your lodging NOW! There are new rules in Scotland regarding licensing and fees and that has really affected availability. Check this forum for recommendations, check booking.com, and check Google (that's where I found my B&B in Tobermory and on Skye).

Good luck! You will love Scotland!

Just coming back to give you the places I stayed in 2023. You might try your luck at these.

Tobermory: Harbour Guest House. I loved this place - it was spacious, comfortable, and sat right on the harbour. I could look out my window and see the water practically on my doorstep. The breakfast area was charming, and had one huge picture window at the end with lots of greenery outside and several bird feeders, so you could sit there, eat breakfast and watch the birds. It has since been sold to Western isles hotel, a hotel that sits above Tobermory, and the price has gone up considerably. But I'm fairly cheap when it comes to lodging, so the updated price may not be out of your range. At any rate, it's worth a look. You could also check out Western Isles, although they are even more expensive. But I met a couple from England who stayed there and loved it.

Skye: I stayed at a small B&B about a mile outside of Portree city center. It was a house called Avonlea and the couple that owned it were very nice. The included breakfast was very good, plus they had a lounge for guests to use . The price at £50 a night was the lowest of all my accommodations. I was glad I stayed there because parking in Portree is difficult as it was so crowded and there were never any parking spaces. It looks like her website is not functioning, but you could email her if interested. Her name is Donna and the email is info@avonlea-skye.co.uk.

Edinburgh: I stayed at the Premier Inn on York Place, and really liked this location. I would never call the hotel "charming", but the rooms were clean and roomy. The beds are very comfortable and they always have extra pillows. I would stay there again or in that area. It was quieter than the Royal Mile and had more of a residential vibe. And Edinburgh is so small that it doesn't take long to get to places. Breakfast was not included but is reasonably priced (£7.99 for continental, £9.99 for cooked) and was very good.

Another option is the Ibis Style hotel on St. Andrew's Square. Several members here have also stayed here and spoke highly of it. In fact, if I went back to Edinburgh, I would probably try it out. I met someone there for lunch and loved the lobby! It had a very artistic flair. I especially loved the location of the Ibis. It's right on St. Andrews Square, which is very close to the tram stop and bus station (for day trips) and Waverley Station is right up the street. The square itself is beautiful with lots of trees and flowers, and a very residential feel (I would say that about all of New Town), but plenty of restaurants right there. Dishoom (my favorite restaurant!) is right on the square.

Glasgow: I would be surprised if there were rooms available here but it's worth checking out. When I was in Glasgow, I stayed at Grasshoppers Hotel, which was very charming. I booked it based on recommendations from this forum (and Rick Steves) and loved it. The hotel is located right next to the train station.

The rooms are very nice with lots of room and a comfy bed. They have an amazing selection of homemade cupcakes and ice cream (with vegan options) that are always available (gratis!) for guests. There is a lounge with coffee and tea makings for guests and wine and beer is available for purchase, based on the honor system. The lounge was a wonderful place to meet people as everyone tends to gravitate there. Breakfast is included and is served buffet style with cooked options as well as cereals, yogurt and so on. The staff was very friendly and went out of their way to be helpful.

Normally, finding a reasonably priced room in Glasgow is very easy. If there's no big-deal special event happening, you should have no difficulty there. I'd just take a quick look at booking.com to be sure the rates look reasonable, then take care of the other reservations first.

Thank you everyone for the detailed info. I've started looking into lodging asap. I think you all are right about adding a day to Glasgow.

Question - I may have to cut the itinerary short a little. If I keep 2 days for Edinburgh - is that enough? I have read that the city is pretty walkable and things are close by.

If I have to cut a day from Skye or Mull, what would you recommend? I'm leaning more towards cutting it from Mull but open to ideas.

PS- There is space at The Grasshoppers, Glasgow on your dates.

I would say to cut a day from Mull if you need to- explore Mull properly.

Leave on the first ferry from Tobermory, then book the ferry from Mallaig at about 1pm (varies depending on the day of the week), bearing in mind that you need to be in line at Mallaig 45 minutes early.

That should get you to Uig at around 1500, giving you time to go the wrong way (anti clockwise) way round the peninsula on the way to Uig, arriving before nightfall.

Bookings for the Mallaig route open on 18 January and for the Tobermory route on 23 January.

Thank you everyone! Do I need to rent/book a car before booking the ferry ticket to get to Tobermory from Oban?

So I interpret your initial itinerary as:

• Glasgow: 3 nights (2 full days)
• Mull: 5 nights (4 full days)
• Skye: 5 nights (4 full days)
• Glencoe: 3 nights (2 full days)
• Edinburgh: 4 nights (3 full days)

1. Yes, add a day to Glasgow.
   1. 3 days (4 nights) will work for Mull. Four days is not too much, but cut here rather than Skye - although it may depending the lodging you can find.
   2. Yes, you can see a lot of Edinburgh in 2 days.
   3. If pressed, you could probably drop a night in Glencoe and give yourself one full day (2 nights).

You have been talking in terms of days, not nights. So if getting from one place to another is included in some of your “full day” calculations (or you haven’t calculated that in), you are running shorter on time than it sounds. Driving and ferries are not swift. So, for example, getting to Tobermory for 3 nights gives you 2 1/2 days on Mull - or less depending on which ferry from Oban). Take a good look at your available nights and timeframe for moving from one place to the next.

We just booked a few nights at Cuillin Hills Hotel in Portree on the Isle of Skye. Looks beautiful!

Theres not a lot too Uig.
You could vist the small supermarket ,enjoy Gordons hospitality at the Ferry Inn and browse the wall posters in the Calmac after that you will be kicking your heels.

Hi rahas -

I’m going to agree with m’colleague Richard here and say not a heck of a lot of anything in Uig. If Portree proves difficult to get somewhere to stay, have a look at Broadford further south. Or at Carbost near the Talisker distillery. Not very big, but spectacular setting!

Ian

I'd agree that Uig is not a great location in which to base yourself for 4 days. Eating options are limited apart from the excellent Ferry Inn and the OK Uig hotel. There's also a pub next to the ferry jetty but it's not the best. Portree, Broadford, Carbost (excellent pub and also a new pop up restaurant opposite Talisker distillery run by the Three Chimneys restaurant), or even Dunvegan which has two good restaurants would be better and also give better access to the majority of sites that visitors want to see. Uig is a trek from anywhere apart from the Quiraing.

The pub by the ferry slipway lacks a certain charm but does have a jukebox.
Gordons drumming and conversation made for a far more entertaining evening or two.