My girlfriend and I are looking at a week in either Scotland or Ireland over Easter. She's from Georgia and I'm in NY and we're trying to figure out where to fly from so we can fly together. AND most important, we can't decide between Scotland and Ireland. There are some really fantastic deals for Ireland that include airfare, hotel & rental car. That's tempting, but we both have our hearts set on Scotland. We plan on spending our short time in Edinburgh with a day trip or possibly an overnight trip to Inverness. We want a place to stay that is reasonable, clean and safe. We don't need fancy. We plan to leave the States on April 20th and return on the 26th. Is Easter a good time to be traveling in either country? Any advice is welcome! Oh and I'm an artist, I plan to take lots of photos to paint landscapes from. And we are both into the history of Scotland.
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
With such a short time, you need to approach this trip with the idea that you'll be back. That way you don't have to try to see everything. If you are a photographer, I would recommend spending a couple of nights in Edinburgh and then heading out to the countryside. I would drive as it's a torment for a photographer to not have control over stopping for the picture. ; ) I would head north toward Perthshire. You can head toward Aberfeldy and either go west and explore Glen Lyon and continue on to the west coast. There you can explore the islands and down toward Argyle. You also could head north over the mountain to Loch Rannoch, Queens View and on to Pitlochry, Blair Castle and Inverness. You can head back south via Loch Ness, Fort William, and Glencoe to Loch Lomond. In late April I think that you'll find places to stay, but will have fewer choices. The scenery will be spectacular. If you want to do some walks let me know. As for flights check flying into Glasgow as well as Edinburgh. You can be in Edinburgh within 2-3 hours max of landing in Glasgow via an airport bus and the train. Very easy to do. Pam You can
Posted by
Tempe, AZ, USA
1266 posts
Pam - If you and your girl friend want to fly together, you could each fly Continental to Newark and from there to Edinburgh. The cost would be around $1050. I've stayed at Mingalar(www.mingalar.eu) in Edinburgh. It's about a 15 minute walk from Waverly Station. EDIT *****
Pamela makes a good point about flying into Glasgow. You both could still fly Continental out of Newark for about $930.
Posted by
Washington, DC, USA
571 posts
If you've both got your hearts set on Scotland, I think you have your answer. Why go somewhere other than you really want to be? (Unless the Ireland deals are sooo much better.) I would normally suggest three full days for Edinburgh. I had 2.5 and wished for at least one more day. If you arrive on the morning of the 21st, you have five days/five nights. You could easily fill the time in town, but for landscapes, etc., you'll probably want either to have an overnight somewhere or for ease of planning, one of the day-long bus tours to the scenic highlands. Another possibility is a day trip to Glasgow. Personally I didn't like the city, but my wife enjoys the architecture of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, so we toured the Glasgow School of Art and she enjoyed it very much. EDIT: I can't speak about Easter season, as we went in October 2009.
Posted by
Charlotte, NC, USA
3428 posts
If you can find a way to stretch your time (either arrive on Ap 16 or stay until Ap 30) you'll have much for fun. If not take the time you have. I'd suggesst not spending more than a day in Edinburgh, especially if the trip stays short. We stay at the Royal British- across Princes St. from the train station. Good location, good breakfast. Then I'd suggest you take the train (Pamela and I disagree about cars)to Aviemore- at least 1 night. You will LOVE the landscapes in that region (the Caringorm Mts. and there is lots to see and do). If you stretch the trip, stay at least 2 or 3 nights. Then take the train to Inverness. Stay as long as possible. There are some great day trips- though the full schedule may not have started until May. There are crusies up Loch Ness, trips to Great Glen, Glencoe, Isle of Skye, Eilean Donnan Castle, even Orkney is doable as a day trip- though long. If you do decide to drive, The area around Inverness is perfect for you as an artist. We stayed with friends once who live in Drumnadrochit (small, lovely village at the top of Loch Ness). They drove us around one Sunday in December. Even then it was lovely. We went to Aviemore, Ft. Agustus, and several other places. From Inverness you could train back to Edinburgh or on to Glasgow.
Check into flying out of Atlanta, Charlotte, and Philly as well as Washington. You might have to fly into London then fly or train to Invernesss, Edinburgh, or Glasgow. Personally, if you only have the 5 days, I'd spend them all in Inverness.
Posted by
OP
Albany, NY, USA
62 posts
Great advice, Toni, thank you. LOL... When this trip started my girlfriend wanted to just go over on Friday morning and come back Easter Sunday. I told her I wasn't spending that much money to travel 2 days and "see" Scotland for 1 day. We got talking and we both get Holy Thursday and Good Friday off work and we tacked on traveling on Wednesday the 20th so we'd sort of wake up in Scotland. I'm working on getting another extension, to at least the 27th of April. I don't think I can get more than that, but even 2 days would be great. I just googled Aviemore and I'm definitely in trouble. I want to go there. I'll have to talk to Leigh about where we go to and stay for most of the trip. Thanks again,
Pam