It's been many years since our trip to Scotland but I still think about how wonderful the country is and how friendly the people are.

Our trip was for golfing for dh and son, but we hit many of the usual areas. We were in Edinburgh for a few days. Other areas we loved were Inverness, Dornoch (a step back in time--we stayed in a castle), Loch Lomond, Prestwick/Ayr, Turnberry, and St. Andrews.

People think of St. Andrews in connection with the oldest major golf course, but the town is lovely and there are cathedral ruins, a golf museum, wonderful shops, a university, etc.

Trains are handy for traveling there. I wish the US had decent mass transit throughout the country.

I love Scotland! I went in August 2004 and had a wonderful time. I went on a Contiki tour and stayed at Edinburgh for 3 extra days for the Fringe Fest. The tour took us through major parts of Scotland (Highlands, St. Andrews, Glasgow, Lock Ness, etc.) and it only rained once in the 10 days we were there. August also had the military tattoo and Fringe Fest, so I would recommend going during that time if you are into theater and arts. Have a wonderful trip!

Hey! I'm a native Scot and proud I agree mostly with Alidoll, except the bit about Ayr. It's right on the beach and is very nice if the weather is right! Troon is also a nice place to visit, just along the coast.

I live in the West so I would say come to Glasgow. It's very easy to get about - there is a subway system and a good rail system. You can get a train out to my little town in the country

Also, it's very handy for Loch Lomond - beautiful part of the world with some very nice hotels (Cameron House is the best, that would be a very relaxing & peaceful stay at this hotel). Also, Glasgow is only a 45 minute train journey to Edinburgh so you could visit both - I find Edinburgh is full of tourists though and simple things tend to be a bit more expensive because of this.

If you book somewhere to stay let us know and I can maybe give you some extra info

Hi,

I'm bumping this thread up since I'm planing a trip for this summer. I'm gonna go alone and fly into Edinburgh early July 1 and go home again on July 8. I'm thinking I want to spend about two days in Edinburgh but other than I don't know where to go. The more I read about Scotland the more overwhelmed I get.

I will not be driving so its either train, bus or walking. Any suggestions where I should spend my other five days?

I did a lot of research on Scotland, I was planning to go in May, thinking it would take us at least 3-6 months to become pregnant, long and behold it only took one month of trying, hence I will be to pregnant to fly, thus no trip.

It would depend what you are looking for. I'm a history major, and I was going to do a mainly historical oriantated trip of Scotland... not everyones thing lol.

I would advise though looking up and reseraching some of the castles in Scotland, many of them are beautiful and highly recommended for a trip.

If you are into historical cities and a more city type of trip then Edinburgh is the place to go. I was mainly going to concentrate on the Highlands, but I was concentrating on older castles and photography of the landscape.

My father went to scotland last year and when he was younger, what he told me, alwyas bring a light/med coat and an umbrella just incase, the weather can sometimes change quite quickly. (Oddly though his first trip was 2 weeks long and it was pure sunshine the whole time lol, that's suppost to be quite uncommon, but anythings possible, so be ready).

Have a great trip!
(also if you have time, the Viking sites on the Orkney Islands- beautiful!)

Scotland has really great bus tours that leave from Edinburgh, you can do either a day trip or an overnight trip. My mom and I did 2 different ones, Loch Ness/Inverness/Glencoe/most of the highlands and then came back to Edinburgh that night which I really liked but it's a 12 hour long thing so you are WIPED when you get back but it's good. The other one we did was a different tour group and we did Sterling Castle and the lowlands and went to a Whiskey distillery. That one took about 8 hours I think, I wasn't at all as beat when I got back. I loved Edinburgh, they have a lot to see and do I wasn't bored for a minute. And fantastic nightlife!

Originally Posted by Mediana

Hi, I'm bumping this thread up since I'm planing a trip for this summer. I'm gonna go alone and fly into Edinburgh early July 1 and go home again on July 8. I'm thinking I want to spend about two days in Edinburgh but other than I don't know where to go. The more I read about Scotland the more overwhelmed I get. I will not be driving so its either train, bus or walking. Any suggestions where I should spend my other five days?

Definitely do a 1-2 day highlands tour (I'd say 2 days, the one day tours don't go very far north) and go to Stirling. Glasgow you can skip and not miss much. Basically the only thing to see there is the cathedral/necropolis and I think the cathedral is still under renovation so you won't even be able to go it (don't take my word for the renovation timeline, check it yourself if you're interested!). When I was in Scotland I also spent a day in Perth, which was relaxing and the town is very charming. You might consider spending more than 2 days in Edinburgh, there's a lot to do and see there!

Edinburgh definitely has a lot to see to keep you busy for a few days! When we went in 2006 we spent five days there and never ventured out, when we go back in March 2011 we will be definitely be taking some day trips to the Highlands, a trip to Roslyn Chapel, etc. As far as Edinburgh goes I can suggest the Mary Kings Close tour, Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Castle (even though we didn't see it, it's supposed to be great), climbing up Arthur's Seat, St. Giles Cathedral and everything on the other side of Princes Street in New Town. There are supposed to be a lot of museums and whatnot in New Town.
The Grass Market is a good area for pubs and nightlife. It's basically just a city square full of bars.

From what I've read Glasgow is a suggested place to see. Apparently they are becoming more known for art, museums, etc. instead of just being a fishing town like they used to be. I personally would love to see some of the Islands - like the Hebrides or the Shetlands but I'm not sure what there really is to do there. I'd just like to go for the scenery.

I hope you love it! Edinburgh is my favorite city in the entire world and I cannot wait to go back to Scotland next year!!

^ Oh yes the nightlife in Grass Market and Cowgate is fantastic, I did like 5 clubs in one night there once lol. I was very pleasantly surprised with their nightlife. Another fun thing in Edinburgh that my mom wanted to do and I didn't think I'd like was the Royal Yacht Britannia. It was really fun actually something different to do and they have a mall attached to it which we had a good time wandering around afterwards

I'm glad this was bumped. I'm looking at a trip to Scotland too. I'm looking at the end of October-early November, b/c of my work schedule. I read that it should be in the 40-50's (Fahrenheit), does that sound right?

I looked at pre-made packages w/ air, hotel and car and it looks like I can book air and car together and do the hotels on my own cheaper. I prefer smaller hotels and B & B's over big places. Should I bother booking all the places to stay in advance?

Do I need to rent a car though? I was looking at Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness and originally, Glasgow. Any other cities suggest staying in for a few days? I'm not into clubbing and nightlife so much- a low key bar is fine to do something at night and get out a bit, but clubs aren't me and I'm also going to be going alone. I am interested in history, seeing sights, museums, shopping, etc. for daily things. Also, safety wise, it seems okay for a single woman- I ask b/c even though I'm late 20's, my mom is a bit freaked out at me being alone- so much so that I scratched Prague and Budapest off my list for this trip to ease her into the idea of me going outside the US alone, b/c she was more comfortable w/ certain places that others (and I don't want to make her anxious, but at the same time, I don't want to not do anything or wait around until I happen to be in a relationship to go w/ someone).

I can take as little as 7 days or go up to maybe 14 days from the US- I have flexibility. The car rentals are expensive! I have found flights for around $800 from Florida and an automatic car is another $500, but if it is needed to see and do things, it is needed.

I'm going go buy a guidebook this weekend too, to look at my options more. Any advice is appreciated! I'm also considering Ireland too, b/c I'd like to go there, but it comes down to what the best deal is for me, b/c I plan to see both in the next year or so. A resolution of mine was to start doing at least one trip per year that really interest me b/c I have the time and money, even though I'm a single gal. Thanks!

Elizat I can't speak for the rest of the cities but I wandered around Edinburgh by myself quite a bit and felt completely safe. A couple of the evenings there was just two or three girls together as well and again, felt completely safe.

For a place to stay in Edinburgh I cannot recommend The Knight Residence enough to everyone I come across. I'm pretty sure I've told this story on here before but when we were there to get married my Grandpa forgot to bring a converter for his electric razor. He asked the front desk and they gave him a couple different things to try. None of them worked and one of the front desk guys actually loaned his own personal charger to my Grandpa. That is just the kind of customer service they have. They will bend over backwards for you to take care of you. It is actually what they call an apart-hotel so all of the units have a kitchen in them with washing machine. They are not super high class but they aren't shabby either and very reasonably priced. They are within walking distance of the top end of the Royal Mile, under Edinburgh Castle. There are two strip clubs on the corner but to be honest we never even noticed them. One night I saw a girl standing outside and with some crazy eyeshadow on but she was completely dressed and just looked like a clubgoer. The Grass Market is right there as well and they do have some hole in the wall pubs as well as more popular pubs that get super crowded. Their website is http://www.theknightresidence.co.uk/ if you want to check them out. You can also look them up on Trip Advisor.

ETA: Their high season runs from April to October so November will probably be a cheaper time to go, hotel and airfare wise. The weather you mentioned sounds about right. Scotland never really gets very warm.

Thanks everyone for you input. I'm gonna check up some bus tours and do some serious research.

elizaT Please let me know if you find a guidebook that has recently been updated. I could only find one from jan 2009 and the others from 2008.

Double post

I lived in Scotland for a while.

Glasgow shopping is better than Edinburgh, however there are some stores that are only avaliable in Edinburgh (for example Jenners & Louis Vuitton)

You can walk the whole of Edinburgh because it isn't all that divided, whereas Glasgow is very divided.

Personally, I wouldn't go to Loch Ness, there isn't much there, just the Loch really. Unless that's what you are into... Fort William was awesome, it's near Ben Nevis also.

elizat - I went to Scotland and Ireland in one trip. I liked Scotland, but completely fell in love with Ireland. I can't wait to go back! Also trips to Ireland seem to be really cheap right now (I want to take my fiance since he wasn't with me on the first trip).

For Edinburgh, you definitely don't need a car. The other areas I'm not too sure about.

You could do what I did - spend a week in Scotland and a week in Ireland. The schedule was pretty packed but it was an amazing trip!