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Planning a trip of 8 days into Scotland and wanted to know if what we've planned is realistic or not
JoanM
Member ✭✭
Hi all!
First of all, thank you for reading and answering.
We still have not booked any hotel.
My wife is celiac so gluten free meals are mandatory.
We will rent a car.
We like:
- Castles.
- Beautiful roads.
- Short walks.
- Make gazillions of pictures!
Could you please take a look at our itinerary and give us your opinion? Is it realistic? Are we making a mistake going somewhere and should replace it for something else?
July 26
We will leave Barcelona and will arrive at Edinburgh airport at around 20:30, we will rent a car and go to the hotel to leave the luggage.
We would go eating something (late I know) and visit a little bit the downtown of Edinburgh by night.
July 27
We will keep visiting the city, Castle, royal mile, Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Rosslyn Chapel and real Mary Kings Close.
We will sleep at the same hotel in Edinburgh
July 28
We will leave early in the morning to the Stirling Castle, which we will visit, and go to Glencoe, see that wonder and sleep nearby.
July 29
We will wake up early (weren’t those holidays?) and drive to Eilean Donan castle, we will visit it and then drive to the Isle of Skye to the castle of Armadale, visit it and drive to Dunvegan castle, we will try to sleep nearby.
July 30
We will visit the Dunvegan castle, and drive through the coast road (duntulum, Culnacnoc…) we plan to get nice views of the shore and nature in the Isle of Skye. <- Is this a good idea?
We will drive to the castle of Urquhart; we will sleep nearby.
July 31
We will visit the Urquhart castle and visit the Loch Ness. Sleep there and relax a bit…
August 1
We will drive to Dunrobin castle, visit it and drive to the castle of Mey, we will visit it and sleep there.
August 2
Wake up early, drive to the Brodie castle (passing in front of the Cawdor castle to make a couple of pictures :P), visit the Brodie castle and drive to the Balvenie castle, visit it and sleep nearby.
August 3
Drive to Huntly castle, visit it and go to Fyvie castle visit it and then go to the Tolquhon castle, visit it and sleep nearby.
August 4
Our last day… :’(
We will leave early again… drive to Fraser castle, fast visit (outside only), drive to Dunnotar castle, complete visit and then drive to the Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh… make the visit and drive to the airport.
We will leave at 21:00 from the airport so we must be there at 19:00.
Best Answer
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fishypro
Member ✭✭✭
Hi @JoanM,First of all let me say Wow!, somebody likes their castles.The trip is certainly do-able but that is a lot of driving.When are you planning to make this trip? This year?Is there any chance of extending your holiday to Scotland to possibly 14 nights?You have missed out several excellent castles like Glamis Castle, Blair Castle, Scone Palace & Doune to name just a few. These are excellent to visit and everyone totally different to the next.If you are planning on making this trip in 2019 then you are probably too late to book accommodation on Skye or Glen Coe! For accommodation on Skye it is recommended that you book as early as possible. Many people book, 8 months to a year, in advance.Make sure that you book your accommodation in advance and DO NOT try to be spontaneous! You may not find any available accommodation.Hope that helps a little.fishyproBest regards
fishypro5
Answers
It's not possible to extend our holidays for 14 days... a pity because Scotland seems WONDERFUL and we are already sure we will want more.
fishypro
Just wanted to comment on your plans for this day:
July 27
We will keep visiting the city, Castle, royal mile, Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Rosslyn Chapel and real Mary Kings Close.
The central city of Edinburgh is all walkable and you'll be able to do all you've mentioned in one day - except for Rosslyn Chapel which isn't actually based in Edinburgh and you'd need to drive to. But the rest is doable! I'd suggest booking your slot for Mary Kings Close online ahead of time as it's one of our most popular attractions and gets booked up quickly.
Instagram
Great help!
I've found a guest house at Glencoe (half a miracle) and a hotel in Skye! (a complete miracle).
Now I'll keep finding good places to stay for the other places were we will sleep.
Thanks again!
PS: I'll post a new question... (You'll see it's super original).
And about your comment about the 27th Amanda, yes, we know it... In fact, we changed the date and will visit Rosslyn Chapel the last day... that way we will be on the car already and could be our last stop before the airport.
Again, thank you very much!
Your itinerary for the last few days looks pretty hectic. Have you considered slowing it down a little and concentrating for a few days in one area? Going from Drumnadrochit (Urquhart Castle) up to Dunrobin and the Castle of Mey and the next day heading all the way back down the East Coast towards Brodie Castle and Cawdor is a lot of driving to squeeze in over a couple of days. I worry that you'd spend most of your time driving and not enjoying yourselves as much as you could!
I'd suggest maybe taking a few days to explore Skye and maybe again basing yourself in Inverness to do shorter trips to Culloden, Cawdor and Brodie.