Going to Scotland for 3.5 days - need travel ideas. HELP!

Jeremy, I am not speaking from experience, but I will tell you what we're doing. We will be in Scotland in September, and we were going to stay in Inverness and then stay in Edinburgh. But to keep from having to move around too much, we decided to stay the entire six nights in Edinburgh, and we will take a bus tour for the day up to the Highlands and Loch Ness. (We will not have a car at any time during our trip.) And we're surely going to grab the train and go to Glasgow for a day. So besides going to stay in the castle, (which sounds very cool!), you could perhaps use Edinburgh as a home base to do your other jaunts. But I'm sure you'll get other ideas from those that have experience with travel there...

I have to agree that basing yourself in one place is probably your best move. Personally I find Inverness more inviting and feel it offers more. But if this is your first trip, Edinburgh would be a good base also. Additionally, it is good for connections to London. You could do a coach trip through the highlands on one day. On another you could take the train to Sterling or Aviemore or Pitlochry or even to Inverness. There are lots of things to do in either Inverness or Edinburgh. Let us know what you prefer and we could give you more specifics.

Thanks Toni and Amy

I definitely think Edinburgh is the place I'd focus on... With the Royal Mile, the castle etc... Not to put down Inverness, but that was more of a way to get to the other things around such as Loch Ness, Drumnadrochit, the castle hostel and fort William, I don't really know too much about Inverness in itself

I think that I might enjoy the idea of staying at different places rather than having to come back to Edinburgh 3 days in a row... but I am certainly open all ideas.

The problem with staying different places is that you have to pack all your stuff up, check out, fine the new place, check in and unpack again. It takes time away from your sightseeing, and can add stress. I wouldn't suggest three different places in three nights, but perhaps two would be okay. Of course, it's your decision.

Edinburgh is a fabulous and scenically beautiful city with a lot of history and attractions. It's a great base. You can easily see Stirling and St. Andrews as day trips. Inverness also makes a great base to see the highlands, and it's an easy train trip from Edinburgh. I would definitely not plan to stay in Fort William. It doesn't have much to offer in my opinion.

I agree with Carol about Ft. William. Inverness has the Loch, Castle Urquart, the firth (dolphins, etc.) Culloden Battlefield, Clava Cairns, Great Glen and Glen Coe, distilleries, etc. Drumnadrochit is a nice village, but mostly full of souveiner shops (some rather good) and a couple of good pubs and the monster tourist traps. In Edinburgh, don't miss the Whisky "museum". It gives the history and technique for making Scotch AND you get a "wee dram" at the end of the tour. By the way- my 2 favorite single malts are Dahwhinie and Belvinnie. Try them, if you get a chance.

I agree with staying in Edinburgh and for a trip this short you're best off just taking train trips. It's an easy day trip to Stirling from Edinburgh. Culrain sounds lovely, but it's a long way north I think I would save it for a second trip. If you want to take a night on the road, I think I would look into Piclochry. First, you can check to see if anything is playing at the Festival Theater. There are some very interesting places to stay in Pitlochry. Second, you can take a quick train ride up to see Blair Castle. Pam

Scotland is beautiful - my husband and I have been twice over the past few years. For 3.5 days, we suggest one day in Edinburgh on the Royal Mile, exploring surrounding museums, and architecture (some interesting Medieval monoliths in the nearby parks).
Day Two: Take the train to St. Andrews - this will also give you a taste of the lower highlands. Easy walk around St. Andrews to see the graveyards (really cool) and old fort (amazing tour that takes you through the centuries old underground tunnels). You can also play the putt-putt course that is near the putting greens right on the ocean shore. Gives you a good view for the course if you can't play. If you choose to play, you'll need reservations and official PGA handicap. Mostly worth it, if you're playing in the off season.
Day 3: Loch Ness is a LONG train ride - you might want to stay closer and go to Sterling Castle. Hike to the nearby (relatively) statue that overlooks the valley (great view of highland peaks).

Our suggestions: Skip Glasgow and focus on the low highlands on the eastern edge. When taking the train back to England - stop off at York to walk the wall and have tea.

After weighing the options, talking to friends who have been, and looking online and at guide books, I have decided that it probably is best to have an extra day or two in Edinburgh. With the short time period I have tehre, I figure it best to make Edinburgh my home base and take tours/day trips out to other places to try and get a taste of what Scotland has to offer. There is no way I could possibly do everything in just 3.5 days. There are some day bus tours that would stop at Glen Coe, the obligatory Loch Ness, and Sterling. And it leaves more time for Edinburgh and possibly a day trip somewhere else or if we feel like we need more time to explore a tour stop than provided.

Thanks for all your input.

I don't think you'll be sorry, Jeremy. Edinburgh is my favorite city in the world. I'm generally not that find of cities, but I spent a week there once and didn't regret a single day.

Just an idea here. We rented a car. Driving in Scotland is easy, and the part I absolutely would include is the highlands. Driving across the highlands with Scottish music playing is something I will never forget and hopefully repeat. You have to see the highlands to understand the beauty. We also especially enjoyed the Isle of Skye. You can see a lot in 3.5 days. We turned in our car at the Inverness airport and flew to London Gatwick. It is about an hour flight. The Inverness airport is tiny -- 2 gates. We got a Fly B (name of the airline) flight for about 18 pounds. It was a nice plane and on time flight.I found it using Kayak.com. Anyway, just a thought since you need to end in London.

I agree stay in Edinburgh. We were there for the same length of time and still felt like we could have seen more. We were there last October, so a lot of the night time tours were more "Halloweenish" but we really enjoyed Mary King's Close Tour. If you take day trips, don't bother with a car take the train.

Have fun!
Jill

I agree that trains are marvelous if you want to day trip on your own. Aviemore is about 1 1/2 hours out of Edinburgh if I recall correctly and Inverness about another 45 min. or so. There are tour companies that do marvelous coach (bus) trips out of Edinburgh- everthing from the big buses that hold 40-50 people to "vans" that hold 12-15 all the way to totally individual with your own driver and just you! I know that there are whisky tours, and highland tours.

Toni, have you had personal experience with any of those day tours to Loch Ness? I'm looking for recomendations....

We did a big coach tour- but that was more than 10 years ago, when we first too both our children. I'd recommend doing a search- Edinburgh day trips. Or check out the TravelBound site. They use reliable companies. I personally prefer the small van trips. You can talk to the guide/drive and small groups are more "manageable" for me.

Jeremy (and Amy)
You could take a train from Edinburgh to Inverness. Depart the Inverness station towards town, walk up the road (shaped like a T) to the dead-end, hang a left and cross over to the tourist infomation office. They have tours of the surrounding area - or you could contact the Inverness tourist office and see what they might have to offer. I've done a small van tour of the area where my driver piped with the piper at Urquhart Castle (pretty darn cool!) and when we had my dad in a wheelchair, we did a tour via private car so my dad could say he went to Loch Ness.

There are also big-bus tours of the area. I would have to get the EARLY train up to Inverness as it has a lot of stops on the way.

Just a response for those inquiring about the day trip to Loch Ness, Glen Coe, etc. My husband and I did the Rick Steves recommended Hearts of Scotland tour company (Lochs and Legends Tour). It took you up through the Highlands, Glen Coe, Loch Ness and then back down. While we saw a lot - be prepared for a VERY long day on a bus! Definately the way to see it all in one day though!

Thanks for the recommendation, Tammy. Bonne, thanks for the info, but the thing we liked about the daily Loch Ness tours was that they didn't just go to Loch Ness, but they also showed you a bit of the highlands.