Scotland

Since you will there for a week, I would not move. Unless you enjoy moving more than I do. I dont see any advantage in moving. Stay in Edinburgh and make your day trips from there. Trains are fast and convenient.

The one advantage might be lower room rates in Stirling. Investigate that. Do a google search for "Edinburgh accommodations". Same thing for Stirling and compare the room rates.

We found the B&Bs the best buy in Scotland. Do a search for B&B Edinburgh to find rental rates and locations. Then search B&Bs in Stirling.

You could spend an entire week in Edinburgh and have a great vacation. We did it once. On the other hand, it is a shame to go to Scotland and not see some of the highlands and islands. You could drive over to Oban on the west coast and spend a couple of days. There is a great tour that Rick recommends of Oban and Iona. We went for the three island tour which also included Staffa. It was great. That would take one day. You could drive up to Glencoe, which is quite close, to get a taste of the highlands. It is really beautiful there. Or you could visit another island from Oban.

I think Stirling is a really nice city, but it would not be my first choice only because it is similar to Edinburgh in that it has a great castle on a cliff. It might be best to go somewhere different or just stay in Edinboro.

You can hardly make a bad choice in Scotland, so don't agonize too much. It's a wonderful country. Have a great trip!

I would split the trip between Edinburgh and Oban. Oban rocks!

Scotland is a magical place and my suggestion to you is to either stay in Edinburgh and do day trips as someone else suggested (Heart of Scotland tours are really wonderful along with the train system) or go to Inverness for a couple of days since it is close to Loch Ness, Clava Cairns, and the Culloden battle field. This area is quite beautiful and rich in history. My daughters and I spent a week in Scotland last year and I wish I had researched more about Scotland before we went so I could have better planned my trip. I am not a big history buff but Scotland history is very interesting. You might enjoy reading up on it or even try the Outlander book series by Diana Gaboldon. She interweaves Scottish history with romance novels. It is better than I made it sound but this would be a way you could learn about the area. I hope you have a wonderful trip!

Inverness is my absolute favorite Scottish city for a base. There are so many wonderful day trips. Clava Carins and Culloden, Isle of Skye and Elien Donnan Castle, Orkney (long day trip but worth it) whiskey trips, curises on the firth. It really is a very nice place to stay for 4 to 9 days! I find one or two days enough for Edinburgh. If you want a third location and enjoy some "outdoor/adventure" type activites, Aviemore is about half-way between the two by rail and is a really neat and fasinating small village. You can do the sky car up the Carincorm Mt. There are lots of walks and hikes, a small brewery that does free tours and tastings, etc. Several nice whiskey distilleries are also easy trips from there. As is Blair Atholl castle.

I love Edinburgh, but if I had a week I would not spend the entire week in Edinburgh. I would spend three nights in Edinburgh, drive through Stirling to see the castle and the Wallace Memorial and then go north to one of the smaller towns in the highlands. I like Dunkeld and Aberfeldy, but Pitlochry would be nice. You would need a car, but that is what will let you see the countryside. If the weather in the west is good, then another idea would be to go as far as Fort William and see Glencoe on the way. From there you can do marvelous drives up to Loch Ness, over to Ardnamurchan seeing Harry Potter railroad on the way.

BTW don't forget the Borders as a place to visit. The abbey's are amazing and there's Sir Walter Scott's House. Hermitage Castle is down right spooky.

Pam

Just came back in May from Scotland. I visited Edinburgh, Oban, Skye and Inverness. I stayed in Stirling several years ago and enjoyed it, but I wouldn't give it three days. There are some interesting towns to visit, such as Callendar (sp?), but I would recommend spending some time in another region. Oban and Iona (see Rick Steves) were wonderful, especially the Iona tour through Bowman's tours. Inverness is easily reachable by car or train and you can take short trips to see Loch Ness, Urqhart Castle, Elgin Cathedral, Culloden Battlefield, Clava Cairns (a charming 1 and 1/2 miles down the hill from Culloden, free and VERY worthwhile), and my favorite: a one day Puffin tour to Skye. The tour can be arranged through the tourist center, costs about 35 pounds, and though it only covers the south-west of Skye, is one of my favorite tours. So-you have some good choices.