self-driving Scotland best place to stop between Edinburgh - Inverness

If you are having a scenic drive up
Braemar is smaller and has more charm than aviemore.You could drive to to see the Linn of Dee.
Or continue on and stay in tomintoul,
Couple of places you migt try and get too, Steall waterfall, The Old Forge inverie, Corrieshalloch gorge, cairngorm funicular, Loch Duich,The mad little road of sutherland.The drive up via Loch Lomond and Glen Coe is much wow-er than straight north from edinburh.
Happy travelling

Aviemore is NOT expensive. We stay at the Caringorm Hotel. Right across from the rail station. It looks like a little castle! Great food. In fact, we love doing Scotland by rail. It is easier in our opinion and you get to see just as much! Lots to do in Aviemore, too. I'd suggest the following- Edinburgh 1 (or 2) nights. Aviemore, 1 or 2 nights, Inverness the rest of the time. Feel free to private message me.

Another idea would be to stop over in Perthshire. Slip off the A9 and head for Aberfeldy. You can travel then take some smaller single track roads over the mountains to Loch Tummel and back out to the A9 past the Queen's View. Another possiblity would be to stay in Pictlochry. Look and see if there will be an event playing in the local theater there. I heard Aly Bain, the fiddler from the Shetlands play there once. It was terrific. Another idea woudl be to visit Scone Palace just North of Perth on your way norht and then spend the night in Dunkeld or Birnam. There's a lovely pub in Dunkeld that often has live music. Lots of B&B's and you can check out Dunkeld Cathedral in the AM. This little town was one of the chief eclesiastical sites in medieval Scotland.

Pam

Thanks you all so much, that has given me heaps of ideas, i will keep you posted on where we head. thank you

Tarn...if you go just a wee bit north of Inverness, along the road that borders Loch Ness through Drummnadrochit until you get to Ft. William and then follow the road back down the other side of Loch Ness, you'll find the Falls of Foyers, and the Foyers Bay House. Proprietors are delightful, and the husband is a Catelonian gourmet chef who proepares all of the meals in the quaint glassed in dining room facing the Loch.

To give you perspective on all of this, Inverness is the southern end of Loch Ness. Loch Ness is shaped like a river...long but narrow. Ft. William is the Northern end of Loch Ness. So basically what you'd be doing is starting at the bottom of the long skinny lake and driving up to the top and around and down the other side about halfway.

Foyers bay House has a website.

Inverness is at the north end of Loch Ness and Foyers Falls is indeed on the south side of the Loch and a great place to visit. There's a nice walk down past the falls. A circle drive around Loch Ness would be a great trip. There are fewer people on the southern side.

Pam

I would go to Glamis Castle outside of Dundee and then Scone Palace and Blair Castle on the way to Inverness...all 3 are very interesting and historic.

Don