WWYD? One night Aberlour and One night Inverness or 2 nights Inverness?

Aberlour is much nicer than Inverness. Are you absolutely set on Loch Ness? There are many more beautiful lochs in Scotland that have not been spoiled by the commercialism associated with a fictional monster?

Oh and it's not a good idea to drive after a distillery tour if you've sampled the product!

I think 3-3.5 hours from St Andrews is a bit optimistic. This is the time with no stops, but it's a fairly scenic drive in places and you might want to stop somewhere nice like Dunkeld or Pitlochry.

I'd also mention that the A9 road you'll be traveling on is often described as the most dangerous in Scotland and often catches tourists out, sometimes tragically. As such, it's best to take your time on it and make sure you get plenty of rest stops..

Wrt Inverness, i'd suggest it receives so many visitors cause it's the only large(ish) town in the Highlands, not cause it's a must visit place. As such, I'd personally tend to spend more time elsewhere.

Thank you for the reply Skyegirl. No not set on Loch Ness, but it was more for the story for our kids. I was planning to drive from Inverness to Glasgow, taking a scenic route down A82. Not stopping anywhere in particular, however will if there is a must see. So would you stay 2 nights in Aberlour? Or one in Aberlour and one somewhere else? The plan right now is to arrive in Aberlour in the evening. Get up the next day and do both tours and then drive to Inverness for the night. I know most do not like one night stays but for this portion of our trip we are not concerned.

outshined78- Can you elaborate on which road you are talking about? We won't be in a rush. On google from St. Andrews to Aberlour offers 3 routes from shortest time to longest, A90 to A96, only A90, or only A93. Which would you take?

It's a bit hard to make good suggestions without knowing how this segment fits into an overall plan. Are you heading for Glasgow in order to fly home? Where else will you have been in Scotland (apart from St Andrews)? What are your particular interests? If it's scenery then the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park would be my choice ahead of Loch Ness (which I think is vastly overrated). If you enjoy history then perhaps a night in Stirling and a visit to the castle. Inverness is pretty dreary as it's a working town (I go there a lot for supplies - I live on the Isle of Skye) which serves the population of the Highlands but has little in the way of tourist sights.

We are doing Edinburgh, Highland games in Luss Alexandria, St Andrews for golf, Aberlour, down Loch Ness, Glasgow. Then to Wales.

Hi, jas3150,

St. Andrews to Aberlour in three hours? Is that by helicopter?

There are three basic ways to get from St. Andrews to Charlestown of Aberlour. The fastest way to make the journey would be to take the A91 out of St. Andrews, then the A919 to the A914. Follow the signs for Dundee. Once you cross the Tay Bridge, follow the signs for the A90, which should be signposted Forfar and Aberdeen.

Once you get on the A90, it's a fast road, with a 70mph speed limit in most places. As you pass Stonehaven, take the A90 Aberdeen bypass, which should be open by now. Follow the bypass around to the A96, which should be signposted Inverurie. Take the A96 to Huntly, then head west on the A920 for Dufftown. I think that's where Homer's beer is made. Head north on the A941 to Craigellachie, then west on the A95 to Aberlour. Now that the A90 Aberdeen bypass is open, you should be able to make the trip in about four hours. However, if the kids are with you, you may have to make pit stops along the way.

If you do end up taking that route, a very worthwhile stop would be Dunnottar Castle, just south of Stonehaven. Even if you don't walk down to the castle, the views from the overlooks are spectacular. Due to its location on the promontory overlooking the North Sea, it's quite probably the most impressive castle ruin in Scotland.

You can also get to Aberlour by heading over to Perth, then taking the A9 to Aviemore, and the A95 to Aberlour. However, if you look at a map, that route takes you miles out of your way, as the A9 has to skirt the western side of the Cairngorm Mountains.

Your third option, which is the most scenic, and most direct, but would take the longest, would be to take the A923 out of Dundee for Blairgowrie, then the A93 north through Glenshee. The A93 turns east at Braemar, and you'd follow it to Ballater. From Ballater, you'd take the A939 north through Tomintoul to Grantown-on-Spey. From there, you'd take the A95 east to Aberlour.

There's not a whole lot to do in the Aberlour area, other than visit distilleries. If the kids are with you, you may want to consider one night in Aberlour, and the next night in Elgin or Nairn. If you stay in Elgin, the very beautiful Lossiemouth Beach is nearby, as is Spey Bay, for dolphin watching. There's also dolphin watching in the Beauly Firth near Inverness. You'd stand a much better chance of seeing dolphins than you would of seeing Nessie! As Skyegirl pointed out, there are many lochs in Scotland more beautiful than Loch Ness. However, you could avoid most of the tourist traffic by taking the B852 down the east shore of the loch, through Dores and Foyers. You'd end up at Fort Augustus, where you can join up with the A82.

If you end up spending the second night in Inverness, there are several good town walks, shops open late, and a good chance of seeing live music. A Scottish restaurant (McDonald's) for the kids.

Best wishes for your travels!

Mike (Auchterless)

Great suggestions by Mike (auchterless) for your itinerary. He is also right that Elgin or Nairn would be a better bet than Inverness and the east side of Loch Ness is certainly the least worst option!