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Trip to Scotland needs re-working - would love help!

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I had a trip with my daughter planned, to Ireland and Scotland, after I did a DNA test and found my heritage most strongly based in that region (plus, I've never been!). She's soon to graduate college so my time with her is fading fast, so this trip is something we very much look forward to.

(I know it's not an ideal trip, realizing I could just spend the entire time in one country or the other, with the rather limited time we have, but I don't mind the driving, and love the time with my daughter - we want to see some of both countries)

The Ireland part seems pretty much solidified, lots of activity, lots of driving, but both of us see it as well rounded. The Scotland part, however, was thrown in complete disarray when I discovered the flights from Shannon to Inverness no longer exist (Logan Air used to have them), so now the entire 2nd half of the trip (12 days, 6 days each, basically), Scotland, is in disarray! I'd love your expert help.

We were going to be in the Doolin area on day 6 of the trip, to fly from Shannon to Inverness, then start at Isle of Skye and work our way down to Edinburgh. Now it appears we have to drive from Doolin back to Dublin (2-2.5 hours) and take a flight Dublin to Edinburgh. My assumption now is that we need to divide up our time in Edinburgh - a bit early on, a bit at the end (or just pack in Edinburgh right away, then head to Skye)

Here's my tentative revised Scotland-portion of the plan: (noting that the flight to Edinburgh is the day before these, on 6/9)

  1. (6/10) Edinburgh breakfast, drive to Glencoe, through Killin (3 hr drive total)
  2. (6/11) hike Glencoe morning, stop Fort William, take Maillaig ferry to Skye (Seaview Guest House?)
  3. (6/12) Skye, (Old Man of Storr, Brothers Point, Kilt Rock/Melt Falls, Quiraing, Dunvegan Castle, Fairy Glen)
  4. (6/13) Skye (more hikes/tours) to Blair Atholl or Perth/Kinross for brief visit, on to Edinburgh (Skye to Edinburgh is 5.5 hours)
  5. (6/14) Edinburgh
  6. (6/15) Edinburgh breakfast, leave

Alternatively, could land in Edinburgh, and do the following:

  1. (6/10) Edinburgh all day
  2. (6/11) More Edinburgh, drive to Glencoe late afternoon
  3. (6/12) hike Glencoe morning, stop Fort William, take Maillaig ferry to Skye (Seaview Guest House?)
  4. (6/13) Skye, (Old Man of Storr, Brothers Point, Kilt Rock/Melt Falls, Quiraing, Dunvegan Castle, Fairy Glen)
  5. (6/14) Skye (more hikes/tours) to Blair Atholl or Perth/Kinross for brief visit, on to Edinburgh (Skye to Edinburgh is 5.5 hours)
  6. (6/15) Edinburgh breakfast, leave

The drive Skye to Edinburgh is a doozy, so I'm not sure really what to do. The train options are LONG as well.

Posted by
13 posts

Have you thought of taking the flight from Shannon to Edinburgh? You’re still starting in the central belt, rather than the highlands, but it would save you the drive back to Dublin. Just a thought!

Posted by
2305 posts

Rather thsan head ding up to Skye, have you thought about Isle of Aran instead? It is easily reached by ferry from Ardrossan, so you have the option of flying either into Glasgow (nearer to Ardrossan) or Edinburgh. You could reach there the same day as you land in Scotland. There is plenty of walking as well as Brodick Castle and the ruined Lochranza castle. Add in a distillery too...

Alternatively you could base yourself in Oban/Mull for those days. From Oban you can drive to Glencoe for the day. I actually prefer Mull to Skye and there is lots of opportunity for walking. You can also take a ferry to Iona, Ulva or Staffa. Allow about 4 hours for the drive back to Edinburgh - less if it is Glasgow...

You won't need a car in Edinburgh (or Glasgow) as publu=ic transport is so good, so drop it off on Day 5

Posted by
8065 posts

I would second wasleys' recommendation for Arran or Mull, but especially Arran, given your time limitations. The island is very easy to get to and would take much less time than driving to Skye. It would also be much less crowded - Skye can really pack the tourists in during the summer. And it's small enough that you could easily see everything in the time you have.

To get to Arran, you just head to the Ardrossan ferry (about an hour west of Glasgow), and take the ferry over to Arran (about 30 minutes). You could take the train from Edinburgh to Glasgow, then pick up a car outside of Glasgow. Or potentially even fly into Glasgow from Ireland.

At any rate, the scenery on Arran is beautiful and it is not called "Scotland in miniature" for nothing. There is wonderful hiking, mountains, beaches, Brodick Castle and gardens, the Lochranza ruins, ancient cairns, quaint fishing towns, and several whisky distilleries. Your daughter might also like the shop, Arran Aromatics, which has wonderful bath and body items that are made on Arran. I had to tear myself away from that shop.

It's a small island so you could see a lot in 2 days, especially if you're renting a car. Although it is easy to get to and get around using public transportation, if you wanted to forego the car. Arran has a very good bus system that can take you most places. I was here in May of 2023 for 3 nights and loved my stay. https://www.visitarran.com/

That said, I also loved Mull, but it would take longer to get to from Edinburgh. But it is a beautiful island. Tobermory is a delight to stay in, and seeing places like Iona, Calgary beach and all the other gorgeous scenic views is just wonderful. Don't get me wrong; Skye is pretty wonderful, too, but it's hard to do it justice in a smaller amount of time.

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks, all, I have more research to do today!!

On the question posed here: "Have you thought of taking the flight from Shannon to Edinburgh? You’re still starting in the central belt, rather than the highlands, but it would save you the drive back to Dublin. Just a thought!" There's currently only one direct flight I can find, on RyanAir, and it's rather late at night. A possibility but we'd be re-working the Ireland part of the trip to fit it in, also, scares me a bit with these regional airlines as LoganAir is the one that messed up the near-perfect itinerary in the first place, lol - don't want another small airline to just drop these little routes last minute!

On the reccs for Isle of Arran, I have no information or knowledge of it, but that will be my goal for the day. I know my daughter, in particular, is excited most for Isle of Skye, probably because that's what I sent her info on months ago. If it looks similar, I think we're golden. The walking aspect is a definite plus, thank you.

Definitely won't have a car while staying in Edinburgh, just getting out/back in.

Hitting Google for maximum Arran research now! (work be damned!)

Posted by
7976 posts

Ryanair isn't a little airline.
It is one of the biggest of the low cost carriers.
Any airline, no matter how big and well established can swap and change routes.

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