Planning a trip to Scotland, could use advice..?

David- You will LOVE Scotland. However, I can't recommend basing in Edinburgh if you are really interested in the Highlands. Inverness make a great base, though. There are lots of good day trips from there- including some photography tours! After LOTS of trips, here's my personal favorite for Scotland (it doesn't include the islands, but you can easily tweak it for that): Edinburgh- 1-2 days train to Aviemore-2-3 days (funiuclar or hike up Mt. Caringorm, tour local microwbrewery and get samples, restored steam train along Spey river, visit reindeer preserve, visit Heather Center, tour several whisky distilleries by bus or train,visit Blair Atholl castle, canoeing, horseback riding, walks on Rothmurchie Estate...) train to Inverness- 2-7 days with day trips- (cruise up Loch Ness with stop to see Urquart Castle ruins and the village of Drumnadrochit, cruise on Firth for Dolphin/Wale watching,visit Culloden and Clava Cairnes,day trip to see Isle of Skye and Eliean Donan Castle, LONG day trip to see Orkney Islands, day trip to see Glen Coe, Great Glen, or others....)
train to Glasgow- 1-2 days This gives you a taste of modern, urban Scotland and the Highlands. By the way my favorite Scotches are Dalhwhinnie (great distillery tour) and Belvinnie 12 year double wood . We had the good fortune to have friends arrange a whisky tasting with their pubman and I actually got to learn what I like (and don't like) in whisky. I prefer the Speyside single malts- slightly peatly, but not too heavy, not too much smoke and a hint of heather. The Islay malts are more salty and very smokey and peaty and slightly fishy tasting to me. Lots more to learn, still!!!

We rented a car for a week, starting at the Edinburgh airport but overnighting the first night a bit out of town. The driving seemed to take twice as long as we thought: getting lost, skinny roads, sheep, getting lost. Driving was fairly easy, except when I decided to pick a 1 lane road so I could see an old church/abbey. But it was the only way to do most of what we wanted (Inverness, Elgin, whisky, castles, etc.) We then dropped the car off and spent a few days just in Edinburgh. Agree with Toni that day-tripping will only get you so far out of town. We missed Iona because I had planned too much distance before. Just an excuse to go back!

I agree with Toni, that Edinburgh is not a good base. It's a great place to spend a couple of days, but then you need to hit the road. It takes longer than you think to drive around parts of Scotland. I love to drive there as I too am an amateur photographer. I love being able to stop the car and spend some time taking some pix. Stirling is a great town to visit. You can drive out from Edinburgh, catch the Bannockburn battlefield, then visit the castle. I would also recommend Argyle's Lodging and the Wallace Monument. you could stay in Stirling, try to get a bit further north. I would try to get up to Perthshire and stay in Aberfeldy, or Dunkeld. Aberfeldy would position for a great drive the next day up Glen Lyon and then back and over the mountain to Loch Tummell and out past Queen's View. you could go all the way to Inverness or stop in Pitlochry. I would stay in Pitochry if there was something going on at the Festival Theatre that was interesting. I would recommend spending a few days in the Inverness area. I like the city and some of the smaller towns. Fortrose on the Black Isle or Strathpeffer or Beauly. There are some many wonderful walks near here. Glen Afric is awesome. Cawdor Castle gardens are a photographer's dream. Culloden is wonderful and look for the Clava Cairns. You can get wonderful pix of the Moray Firth from Fort George or from Chanory Point where you can also see dolphins at times. You can do a day trip to Ullapool and see Inverpoly. My favorite woolen shop is in Ullapool. If you drive south from Inverness you'll see Loch Ness. The north shore has Urquhart Castle and all the Nessie Tat. The southside has fewer people and some great waterfalls. Either way you go consider a side trip at Invergarry to drive Glen Garry. It was beautiful and no one was there! It ends with drover's road. Great photo opps! To be cont.

I forgot to mention that there are great walks in the hills above Ullapool. Great views and wonderful pictures. As you head south from Loch Ness and near Spean Bridge look for the Commando Monument. Great views of Ben Nevis and the area plus it's very moving. You could head the rest of the way down to Oban where you could spend the night or catch a late ferry to Mull. Mull is a great island to explore. It's bigger than you think . I spent three nights there and stayed up in Tobermorey. I toured the castles, did the tour of Iona and Staffa and just wandered around the island. Wildlife tours are another option. At this point you can either backtrack a wee bit and head directly to Otter's Ferry on the east coast of Loch Fyne. Or you could head south and check our Kilmartin's Glen an area that is full of stone circles, an old dun, the site where ancient Scottish Kings claimed their Kingship. You'd then head back up the west coast of Loch Fyne and down to Otter's Ferry. Inveraray might be a good place to spend the night. Check out Castle Campbell and the Jail. I liked the town. Head back to Glasgow. There are some great museums in Glasgow and the west end has great music. Use the Undiscovered Scotland to learn about the different places. Here's their tip page for Driving in Scotland. Pam PS Feel free to PM me.

As much of what you want to see is on the west coast of Scotland you should think of flying into Glasgow and starting your trip there. To get to Otter Ferry you will need to head to Inverary (lovely romantic castle) and that is a good place from which to get to an area of stone circles, earthworks and Dunkeld where the early Scottish Kings were crowned. From there its easy to head through Glen Coe to Oban for the ferries over the Mull and Iona and then up to Skye After that you can head to Loch Ness and down to Edinburgh. Contact me if you want more info about driving to Otter Ferry - my father lived near there for some years and I have done that road a few times! Once you are out of the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh you are assured of classic countryside. By going this way, you could also throw in a ferry ride to Islay to visit some distilleries....... As I say contact me, and I can give you a possible itinerary for the west coast,

Agree that Edinburgh is too far from the Highlands to be a reasonable base for travel. Inverness is better, as are Oban or Ullapool. That said, if you are thinking of day trips, by bus or car, out of Edinburgh, that works, too. You just won't have the freedom of wandering all over the Highlands. The best way to go, though, is not to base yourselves anywhere. Plot a route through the Highlands and book accordingly. A trip to Iona is worth it. It involves a ferry from Oban, a bus, and another ferry, then walking, You can buy tickets for the entire thing in Oban. Allot an entire day. Loch Ness is beautiful, and a surprisingly quick drive south of Inverness. You will not see the monster. The rest of the Highlands is full of equally beautiful lochs. Scotland is lovely, as are the Scots.

Hi David - delighted you are coming to Scotland :0)) Highland games are great fun and you may just catch one in May (there are loads). Sounds like you've done a lot of research and have already got helpful advice. It's not as easy to travel round Scotland as you might think so don't be too ambitious re: distances. It also helps to have a couple of options at each stop in case it's pouring. May is a good time in the Highlands - not many evil midges ...
S ... You'll have a GREAT time

Hi David! My family and I had a wonderful 2 week trip to Scotland ourselves this Summer. We used Rick Steve's book and other resources. Did not rent a car. Instead, we took trains and buses. We did Edinburgh, Oban, and Inverness this way. Loved all of it! I recommend Rabbie's Tours in Edinburgh for one day trips. Rabbie's also has multiday tours as well. You can easily look Rabbie's up online. If you go to Oban - try taking a boat trip to Fingal's Cave/Staffa if weather is fair. I really loved this little Island and wish I had more time there. Late May - you may be able to see Puffins at Treshnish Isles (Lunga). Castleview Inn in Inverness is clean and reasonable B&B in a good location. But, you have to drag luggage up many steps. We liked it though - friendly and great location.
Wish you the Best - have a great time!

We had our Britain trip last month, and did the last 10 days in Scotland. Spent 2 days in Edinburgh, then took the car northwest in a circle drive starting in Tyndrum then west towards Oban and up to Glen Coe and then down a single-track road in Glen Etive--a beautiful 3-4 hour drive recommended at Undiscovered Scotland (the Oban-Glencoe driving route), followed by a rather long drive up Loch Ness to our B&B (Pottery House just south of Inverness right on the loch--best B&B of the whole trip!). We spent so much time near Glen Coe that we had to skip Urquart Castle (finally drove past there 30 minutes after closing). If it wasn't for our scheduled ferry ride to Orkney the next day, I would have spent more time in Inverness. As it was, we had a delighful several hours at Dunrobin Castle, about 90 minutes north of Inverness, before heading for our ferry. Orkney was amazing and I was glad we spent four days there, but it is definitely off the main drag and a destination spot, not someplace I'd recommend going to as a day-trip--too much to see!!

Thank you everyone for your input and suggestions. Espeically about B&Bs, as we'll try to stay at those mostly. My wife isn't too keen on hostels, thanks to the horror movies by that name, and her dad lol Guess those are left behind in my single days! As of now, my thoughts are that we'll start in Edinburgh for 2-3 days, then head to Stirling, then up north to Inverness. From there we'll head west along Loch Ness, down to visit Glennfinnan. I'm thinking of driving east from here along Loch Laggan for some nice Highland scenery & photography. I'd love to visit Skye or Iona, but that will have to be a judgement call at this point. Then we'll continue south to northern Loch Fyne, go down along the eastern coast to Otter Ferry as I mentioned originally. From there down to Glasgow and a little excursion to see the Spirit of Scotland. I'll have to to look through the day trips offered about possible a train trip... That'd be a lot of fun :) Still trying to find a stone cirlce on the mainland though, and a ruined abbey that's not too far out of the way. Thanks again everyone for your thoughts & sharing your stories. They've given me good ideas.

Have you seen the PBS show, Monarch of the Glen? A lot of it was filmed near Loch Laggan. Pam

Scotland is a great place! I went there this past May. I rented a car in Edinburgh and drove the Isle of Skye and then back to Inverness. I totally agree with the others that driving takes much longer than anticipated especially with stopping to take pictures along the way. I would suggest using Inverness as your base for the day trips. You could easily see Edinburgh, then drive up to Inverness and see several of your sites along the way, and then explore the highlands and Loch Ness from Inverness. Have a wonderful trip!

Someone mentioned Pitlochry above, and we did a day trip there from Edinburgh -- by train, since I can't drive and my husband hates to (we live in NYC). My husband wanted to see some distilleries, and they have two: a corporate run one and a tiny one, the smallest in Scotland, that was very cute and touristy. It made a nice juxtaposition to see both of them, and there is a hike you can do that takes you to both. If you like whiskey, it's a nice stop. By the way,t hough it's technically the Highlands and a bit hilly, it's not the craggy image one has of the Highlands. So if you want real Highlands, don't make that your only stop.

Hi - I would include the Oban area in your trip. All the ferries to the outer islands leave from there, and it's a nice town in itself. The countryside around Oban is gorgeous - especially in May. We spent 4 weeks about 1/2 hour south of Oban on a small island in May 2010 and loved every minute (we were exchanging homes). Took the ferry to Isle of Mull . Also -friends joined us who took the train from Edinburgh to Oban and said it was a fantastically beautiful trip. The Isle of Skye is also beautiful and the small, central town (can't remember name right now) was definitely small and not too touristy. Have fun! Julia

I used Oban as a 3-day base last year. Worked out fine. Remember that an Iona visit will consume most of one day.

Nice to see that others enjoyed Oban too. Our B&B host suggested that we skip Iona and go to Kerrera, a small island very close to Oban. We had a wonderful walk/hike to the ruins of Gylen Castle after a leisurely breakfast at our B&B. The walk-on ferry was cheap and we still had time to spend the evening in Oban. (If you go, don't miss Oban Distillery.) Bring a picnic lunch to Kerrera.

We stayed in Thurso this summer and enjoyed it immensely. A ferry ride and a tour of Orkney Islands is a must, as is a tour of the Queen Mothers castle. There is a really nice Holiday Home rental agency in Thurso that has really nice homes to stay in. Message me if interested. We also went to Wick and had a nice day there. There was a festival going on and the drum and pipe band was wonderful.