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April Accomadations
Starflight
Member ✭✭
Hello to all, I hope someone can help me. We are going to visit Scotland the last two weeks of April. Do I need to make reservations at hotels or can my husband and I just stop for the night and find a place without reservations since it is the off season. Thank you.
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Comments
Hope that helps with your plans!
fishypro
Where about are you thinking of going?
fishypro
fishypro
You can take the car on the ferry to Mull, i would recommend it if you want to see the whole island, where are you trying to reach Iona from, Mull or Oban?
Hope this helps!
The drive from Melrose to Oban will take around 4 hours, and that is without any stops so you would be spending a while in the car although there are plenty of things to explore along the way! Here are some route options with suggestions on breaking your journey:
Option 1: From Melrose travel to Stirling and spend some time exploring Stirling Castle or the Wallace Monument. Stirling is a wonderful city and there are plenty of places to enjoy a nice lunch. Continue north through Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, where you could take a break (around 30 minutes) to explore the spectacular Bracklinn Falls in Callander. As you travel northwards the scenery is stunning through more mountainous region of the National Park passing along the banks Loch Lubnaig and through the heart of Glen Ogle and Glen Dochart. At Tyndrum the road continues to Oban through some beautiful regions, passing by the ruins of Kilchurn Castle at the top of Loch Awe.
Option 2: From Melrose, travel west to Loch Lomond where you can take a break in the town of Balloch. Enjoy a stroll around the beautiful grounds of Balloch Castle Country Park, take a boat trip on the Loch or a visit to Loch Lomond Shores with lots of shores cafes and attractions. Continue north along the western shore of Loch Lomond and stop at the beautiful conservation of Luss where the view over Loch Lomond is amazing. At the village of Tarbet there are two options for travelling to Oban; either continue on the A82 along the northern shore of Loch Lomond (if you have time it's worthwhile stopping at the wooden pyramid - An Ceann Mor - at Inveruglas, The Drovers Inn at Inverarnan and Falls of Falloch before reaching Tyndrum). The second route leaves the A82 at Tarbet and continues onto the A83 in the direction of Inveraray. This route takes you by the Rest and be Thankful - a scenic pass through the glen. If you have time, stop at Ardkinglas Woodland Gardens which has some of the most amazing and tallest trees in Scotland, and if you like seafood the original Loch Fyne Oyster Bar lies at the top of Loch Fyne. Yummy!
You will be visiting some of the most beautiful, and popular, regions of Scotland so my advice would be to book your accommodation in advance so you can enjoy your time in Scotland without worrying about having to find accommodation that evening. You might find this section of our website of use to you in finding accommodation in the areas that you will be visiting.
The Isle of Mull is amazing and you can reach the Isle of Iona by public transport although you do need to plan your day in accordance with the ferry and bus times. Taking a car across does give you more flexibility about where you can visit, and there are also various tours of Mull and Iona that you can join from Oban. Also, check out this thread about A day in the Inner Hebrides by @eilidh__cameron
I hope you have a great holiday!
If you are travelling with your car, some ferries do need to be booked in advance, for example the crossing from Oban to Craignure (on Mull) does need to be booked. You can book your ferry on the Caledonian MacBrayne website, which also shows availability on the date you would like to travel. You can also book your ferry at any of our VisitScotland iCentres and you can find our locations here.
In 2018, Easter falls at the end of March/beginning of April and is typically a popular time for a Spring holiday with lots going on all across Scotland. If your holiday falls within the first couple of weeks of April I would definitely recommend making advance reservations where possible. I'm sure you will have a fantastic holiday!