Two Weeks in Scotland: Itinerary
Mountains, lochs, endless beaches, and lovely people. By the time we finished our first week in Scotland, I felt so comfortable that I nearly forgot we were traveling on our daily trips to Tesco or the nearest CoOp.
Below is an outline of our activities, accommodations, and what we wish we did differently. We traveled during the end of July and beginning of August of 2018. We spent 15 days in Scotland, and it was so beautiful that we are already longing for a return trip.
This post is long, so use the table of contents if you want to skip to a specific destination.
(To see how much we spent, check out our Scotland budget post).
Table of Contents
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Day 1: Arrival in Edinburgh and traveling to Oban
Part 1: Edinburgh Airport to Glasgow vis bus
I read or watched somewhere, that it's much better to get over jet lag in the countryside instead of the city. So, ever since then, we try to save the city for the end of our travels and after we land, head out of the city.
Edinburgh was by far the easiest airport to navigate. In fact, if you are planning a trip that includes England and Scotland, I would highly recommend starting and ending in Edinburgh. We flew Norweigan Air and Quickly went through passport check, picked up our luggage, and immediately found help at an information center so we could purchase for City Link bus tickets to Glasgow (where we would hop on a train to Oban on the West Coast). They cost £12 each and the bus leaves from right outside the doors of the airport. The WiFi on the bus was great, and it was much easier than taking a train into the center of Edinburgh and then transferring.
After our arrival in Glasgow, we had a bit of time to grab food. The Queen Street station was under construction and did not offer much, so we journeyed down the block and found a Starbucks with outdoor seating. (I know, going to a Starbucks as your first stop in a new country is a bit lame, but it was a great spot and the easiest place to grab a small meal.) A street performer was nearby, a bagpiper was a block a way, and it was the perfect spot to sit and relax.
Part 2: Glasgow to Oban via train
We picked up our tickets for ScotRail from an automated machine and were on our way to Oban.
We arrived in Oban before 4pm and found our way to Sandvilla B&B. Then we ventured back out for dinner and were pleasantly surprised to find a vegan restaurant for an early dinner and some fish and chips for J's real dinner.
To avoid any stress, we stopped by the West Coast Tours building (conveniently located near the harbor, bus stops, and train station) to pick up our tickets for the tour the next morning. Each of us was given a ticket for each leg of the trip, every bus and ferry ride.
Day 2: Three Isles Tour from Oban
We enjoyed a lovely breakfast at Sandvilla (included with room) and then went downtown to look for snacks at Costa coffee before heading to the ferry building. We found Costa all over Scotland, and if you are someone who enjoys the complex choices that Starbucks offers, this will likely be your best bet in smaller Scottish towns.
The Three Isles Tour allowed us to simply board the CalMac ferry on our own. The "tour" did not officially begin until our bus ride on Mull. (P.S. If you do a tour of Mull, I would hop up to the second level of the double decker bus. We visited on a rainy day and in summer all we could really see was overgrown plants for most of the drive).
After we crossed the isle, we transferred to a smaller boat to begin the trip out to Staffa where Fingal's Cave and puffins awaited. You only get about an hour on Staffa, so we walked very briskly to see the puffins and snap some photos before walking very quickly to Fingal's cave. We had about 5 minutes to spare when all was said and done.
Finally, we hopped back on the boat and headed over to Iona, our last isle of the day.
Our first stop was to eat when we arrived at Iona; there was a lovely cafeteria-style restaurant, Marty's Bay Restaurant. I would recommend eating here. The line was long, but moved quickly. They had mussels available from the next island over for 10 and a selection of scones, fish and chips, etc. Also, be sure to use the restroom here. (The public bathrooms near the docks are shabby and likely will be backed up by the end of a busy day of boat tours.)
Most people long to visit the abbey here, but we chose to spend more of our time outside (with more time, we would have done both.) We took a walk through the abbey's graveyard, some nearby ruins and followed the road past the abbey all the way down.
We walked quickly to the white sand beach (it took us about 20 minutes, even though guidebooks like Rick Steve's report 40 minutes). You will walk through a gated area onto someone's working croft and see some sheep and cows along the way.
The water is so clear and blue that it looks like the Caribbean for a minute, until you get in and it is freezing!
The short video below captures a good portion of our Three Isles Tour and the first part of our roadtrip.
https://youtu.be/pIzI2-AjMaU
Day 3: Oban to Isle of Skye via Fort William & Glenfinnian
This was a busy travel day for us. We got up early, had breakfast at Sandvilla, paid for our room (in cash) and then we walked down to the center of town to catch the bus to Fort William (on a Monday, the 918 bus departed at 9:50am).
West Coast Motors offers many buses in the area. The bus only has one morning departure and one evening departure, so do make sure you are on time.
The ride to Fort William was comfortable and scenic. We chose to transfer at Fort William because there is a train station here and car rentals as well.
Car Rental
We rented from Easy Drive. Once we arrived in Fort William, we had lunch at a grocery store near the train station and then caught a cab to our rental car place (just a couple miles down the road). While you can arrange for pick-up at the train station, we were a bit confused about this, and in the end it was not expensive to go to their office.
Drive to Glenfinnian
All Harry Potter fans, and fans of amazing scenery in general need to plan a stop at this beautiful location. It was early afternoon by the time we arrived, and everything was busy. We were lucky enough to find and pay for parking at the visitor center which has a gift shop, bathrooms, and a lovely explanation of the history of the Jacobite Rebellion and the Bonnie Prince Charlie.
We parked and hiked out beyond the crowds, over the hills, for a clear view of the train tracks. It was quite a lovely walk once you get past the initial mud.
P.S. This are is all part of the National Trust for Scotland, and if you are visiting Scotland for long enough, it may make sense to become a member. I think it would have saved us money and we would have tried a few things that we skipped if we had joined.
Day 3 continued: Glenfinnian to Mallaig to Armadale
We continued our drive down to Mallaig in order to take the Cal Mac ferry to Armadale on the Isle of Skye. We were not sure of our arrival time, so we waited until we arrived to get tickets at the ferry office. Ferries run regularly, so it was early to get tickets for the next departure.
We picked up some groceries at the Mallaig coop while we waited to board the ferry so that we did not have to stop again once we arrived on Skye, and ate a lovely meal on the ferry ride over. I had soup and bread for 3.80 and J has the curry for 8.
Armadale to Shulista Croft Wigwams on Isle of Skye
Once we arrived in Armadale, we had one more stretch of our journey.
We drove another 1 hour and 45 minutes through the beautiful Isle of Skye out to Shulista Croft Wigwams where we stayed for 2 nights. This is a family-owned, working sheep farm in an amazing location. The family was lovely and the accommodations were comfy and warm.
Since we had spent most of the day sitting, we chose to go for a little hike in the area. We may or may not have gotten a bit off the trail and we may or may not have been stuck in downpour as the sun began to go down, but we saw some amazing sites, including some adorable Heilan Coo.
Day 4: The Quiraing Hike, Trotternish
We woke up in our wigwam cabin, had some breakfast and then headed out for a morning of hiking.
While it took us a bit to find the small road up to this hike (apparently I should have brought a road map with us in addition to our guide books), this was, without a doubt, the highlight of our time on Skye.
This is a 7km hike, so we packed some snacks and water bottles. We knew that we would stop a few times in order to take pictures, so we did not want to be unprepared.
The parking lot was full by the time we arrived, but we found a spot on a pull off. Justin had a burger from the food truck who so wisely parked at the busy trail head, and then we were off. This is a helpful website that outlines the roundtrip hike.
The video below captures some great parts of our hike. We cannot recommend this enough. It was windy, and sometimes muddy, but amazing and unforgettable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGB77Et3qqk
Day 4 continued:
After our hike, we drove down A855 to the waterfront near the town of Staffin to rinse off our feet.
Then we had a lovely late lunch at the Skye Pie Cafe, which, I'm sad to say has since closed.
We spent the rest of the day driving and exploring. We attempted to locate the Fairy Glen, but mostly failed. Our guidebooks only got us so far with driving directions, but we enjoyed the day overall.
Day 5: Isle of Skye to Eilean Donan
We left Shulista farms and started our drive back towards the mainland.
Our stops along the way included a quick hike near the Old Man of Storr and breakfast in Portree. The cafe that everyone recommended had the worst coffee we had in Scotland (and it took us another week to realize that we should just switch to tea).
The main attraction for today was Eilean Donan castle. It is one place where the pictures and the actual experience are just as wonderful. When we arrived, there was a bagpiper playing outside, which made the mood even lovelier. This ended up being the only castle we paid to see during our visit.
The tickets were 7.50 each; parking was free, but crowded. The views were beautiful from both outside and inside the castle. We spent a good amount of time wandering around and exploring and ended up having lunch at the cafe here. There was ample seating and good selection; kids meals were 4.50. The site has 2 restrooms.
Day 5 continued: Loch Ness and Fort Augustus
Our drive continued until we arrived at our campsite, Inver Coille, near the shores of Loch Ness. This site had nice full bathrooms with showers and regular toilets, and was convenient to the highway. We were only 4 miles from Fort Augustus and Urquart Castle was nearby, too. Though the campsite was not particularly quiet or private, it was an affordable and easy place to stay for one night. (If you're not keen on bringing a tent, this site also offers glamping.)
For the afternoon, we drove north a little bit to check out the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition, which was entertaining (for adults and children alike). There are multiple rooms and short films that explore the legend of Nessie and the significance of Loch Ness. For another 8 a person, it was a nice way to kill some time between meals.
We ended the day down in Fort Augustus by the canal. We paid 2 for parking. We watched the boats move through the canal, and ended up having dinner on the shorts of Loch Ness. We walked into a nicer restaurant, The Boathouse, without reservations, and they kindly accommodated us (I think because it was so early).
We ended the night with some ice cream, and before driving back to our campsite, Justin took a dip in very chilly Loch Ness, while I watched from the shore with my hoodie on.
Day 6: Loch Ness, Culloden, Aviemore and reindeer
We woke up early and drove north towards Inverness and stopped at Culloden battlefield before it opened. We walked around outside, looking at the stones honoring the different clans, and the memorial cairn. It felt right to be able to walk around in silence, without distraction or tour groups.
After our outside exploration, we decided to skip the formal inside tour. Thanks for my new obsession with Outlander, I had researched Culloden a great deal. If you want to visit the inside and explore the history more, the cost is 11. This is part of the National Trust for Scotland, so again, membership may be in your best interest if you are visiting a lot of historical places. PreviousNext
Our next stop was Aviemore, which we chose since it is known as a center of outdoor activities, and because there are reindeer and whisky.
We drove into the town, parked on the street, grabbed some Costa coffee, and had some handpies and pastries at a small bakery. I was proud of us, because we managed to fit a lot into this day without feeling rushed and without booking anything in advance.
Aviemore Stop #1
We started with a gondola ride up the Cairngorm Mountain Funicular. (14 each round trip) The ride up was nice enough and the top was ok to explore, but it did not keep us entertained for long because you cannot go outside to hike. We learned once we were at the top, that you have to hike up if you want to explore the outside and continue to move up the mountain. So, that was disappointing for us. We took the gondola to save time, but we did not know about the limitations when we started. If you have the time and the weather is good, I would do the walk up.
I can imagine this area is spectacular in the winter, too (and it's a skiier's paradise then)!
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Aviemore Stop #2: Reindeer
We drove back down the mountain, into the forest and found our campsite for the night. We stayed at Glenmore campsite, which I also highly recommend simply for its location and nearby amenities. We booked online in advance, and like other sites, just drove in a plopped our tent down in a convenient location. If you're used to camping in national parks in the US, expect less privacy and closer proximity to your neighbors, but it was still a great experience and definitely fit the budget.
Across from the campsite is the Glenmore Forest Park Visitor Centre and we were able to purchase tickets to see the Cairngorm Reindeer Herd. We were told to meet at a specific parking lot and then walked up. While this may seem like something for kids, I have to tell you, that as adults, we loved this short visit with the reindeer. The hike up was fairly easy and the guide was a well-informed college student on summer break.
Just look at these cuties!
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Aviemore Stop #3
We popped into town to go to the CoOp for our dinner (since we did not bring any cooking gear) and then drove back towards our campsite. We stopped at Loch Morlich and watched some of the paddleboarders out on the water before having dinner back at camp. If you love the woods, hiking, and the water, I imagine that this is the perfect place to spend a week in the summer with your family. It's quiet and peaceful in the woods, the loch offers water sports and a sandy beach, and the town is nearby enough that you can hit a restaurant, coffee shop, or bakery any time you want. There's also a restaurant across from the campsite if you're not in the mood for cooking, what else could you want?
Day 7: Canyoning in Aviemore
This was one our favorite days on the trip. We had originally signed up for white water rafting, but the rivers were too low from the dry summer, so instead G2 Outdoor offered us canyoning instead.
We met at G2 headquarters and were driven to our destination.
We hiked up a bit to start and then jumped in the water.
Check out the video below which captures some highlights of our time in the water (thanks to our guide, we found helmets with GoPro clips already installed).https://youtu.be/74dmHagIsQQPreviousNext
Day 8: Aviemore to Shetlands via Inverness
This is the part of our trip that most people would skip, so feel free to ignore this and move down to day 12.
When we heard about the Shetland Islands, we thought that it would be amazing to visit the edge of the UK and go places that most people skip (unless they are on a cruise ship and pop by Lerwick)So, we woke up early in Aviemore, dropped off our rental car, and took a short flight on a small plane from Inverness to Sumburgh. There we picked up another rental car and began our journey through this collection of islands. Right near the airport is Jarlshof, a prehistoric and Norse settlement. This was one of the attractions that drew up here. We popped into the small office, purchased our tickets and audio tour, and then we were off exploring . We were there early in the morning and only saw 5 other people at the site. Pictures of the settlement are below. PreviousNext
We continued our drive through the island to Lerwick. For those of you from the US, Lerwick reminded me of Portland, Maine. A nice little seaside town that encourages you to take a walk, grab a cup of coffee or tea, and read a book.
We stayed in Lerwick for one night in order to do a few things: shower, hit the grocery store, and sleep inside. We know that camping for a couple nights is usually our limit, and we booked a lovely AirBnb to help us rejuvenate before we continued our journey.
Day 9: Eshaness
When we book our trips, we look for beautiful photos online and then plan for accommodation around them. The cliffs by Esha Ness were epic and beautiful. Like other hikes in Scotland, this does not have a clear path and it does meander through some farms.
It was so windy the day we hiked, that we could barely get our car door open. But, that should be expected for a peninsula sticking out into the Atlantic (with no other land masses nearby to the East).
Park at the Eshaness lighthouse and begin walking. Bring snacks and good shoes. We meandered down to the water and were able to spot a few seals playing. All in all, it was a lovely hike, despite the wind.
Day 9 continued:
For accommodations that night, we found another set of WigWams at the Braewick Cafe and Caravan Park. They also offer camping here, but we had a feeling that the wind might be brutal this close to the water, and opted for something with walls. It was worth the £48.
If you're going to Scotland, we highly recommend checking out Wigwam Holidays. There are affordable accommodations all over the country.
Day 10: Unst- the top of the UK
This was the 1 day that we did not plan in advance. For the first time ever in our travels, I did not book a place to sleep for us. We just woke up and decided what we would do.
We had read about Unst and it seemed pretty cool to go to the northernmost point of the UK, so that's what we did. (Unst is as far north as southern Greenland, but, no glaciers here.) We got up and left Eshaness early and took a couple ferries up to Unst. (You can book these in advance, but we found that it was just as easy to pay on board- just make sure you have cash with you.)
When we arrived on the island, we found a hostel and walked in. Luckily, there was room available and it was the perfect location. After securing our room, we went out to explore the island a bit more. We ended with cooking dinner at our hostel before bed.
Unst is a small island, so you can drive to the edges of it very quickly, which was nice. In our one day there, we were able to visit:
- Bobby's Bus Shelter, which is always decorated with unique themes.
- see a Viking long house (reconstructed) and boat (replica)
- hike at Hermaness National Nature Reserve- where there were lots of puffins! (See video clip below).
- explore a beach at sunset
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Day 11: Unst to Lerwick to Aberdeen via NorthLink Ferries: Travel Day
For our final day in the Shetland Islands, we woke up at our hostel, paid for showers with some change, and began our ferry journeys back to Lerwick. The good news: the ferries are free in this direction! Again, we did not reserve, we just jumped on and had no issues.
When we arrived in Lerwick, we still had a few hours before our overnight ferry to Aberdeen, so we had lunch in town, popped into a great book store, and went to the Shetland museum which was free and accepted donations.
We were able to return our rental car at the ferry terminal, which is one of the reasons we picked Avis for our rental car.
We got on the ferry as soon as we could and got settled into our cabin. We had booked this many months in advance, but I assume that there were options for last minute seating.
The ticket we purchased included dinner and breakfast on the boat and a couple of drink vouchers.
When we imagined this journey, we thought we would be able to step out onto the deck and see the starts over the North Sea. But, it was cold, and windy, and cloudy. So, we spent a lot of the night in our cabin enjoying a shower and catching up on some sleep. We both get sea sick easily, so we were not feeling good enough after dinner to enjoy some of the on board entertainment.
Our ferry departed Lerwick at 7:00pm and arrived in Aberdeen at 6:30 am. We did not have to disembark until 9:00am.
Day 12: Aberdeen to St. Andrews
The reason we chose to take the ferry from Lerwick is that we wanted to end our travels on the east coast of Scotland.
The ferry also allowed us to easily take a train (to Leuchars) and bus to St. Andrews.
While in St. Andrews we stayed at the university (you know, the one where Will and Kate met. :)) This was an affordable accommodation, walking distance to everything we wanted to see, and included a dining hall breakfast each day.
Our two days in St. Andrews included eating out at some lovely restaurants, walking West Sands beach, and the ruins, and land-yachting. If you love golf, then of course the old course would be a place to visit. We walked by and through it multiple times on our way to and from the beach.
To be honest, we enjoyed St. Andrews, and it was a nice town to meander around, but I think if we were doing this trip again, we probably would have added a couple days and nights in Edinburgh.
Restaurants:
- The only restaurant we can remember the name of is St. Andrew's Waffle Co., but there were good pubs and nice formal restaurants in town. For some, you definitely need to make reservations. We just opened Yelp and wandered the streets until we could find places that would take us without notice.
Historical Sites:
- St. Andrew's Cathedral
- St. Andrew's Castle (We recommend the audioguide for your visit, otherwise it's not as interesting.)
Fun on the beach:
- Landyachting with Blown Away
Day 14: St. Andrews to Edinburgh
After our dining hall breakfast, we walked down to the bus station and headed to Leuchars. There we got a train for Edinburgh. It was quite a busy one. Everyone was heading to town for the famous festival Fringe, just like we were. (This is one of the reasons why we saved Edinburgh for the end of our trip.)
We arrived around lunch time and dropped our bags at the AirBnB. If you are staying in Edinburgh, it is a very walkable city, so we recommend getting as close to downtown or the train station as possible.
Edinburgh Fringe is a festival full of shows- and they are incredibly affordable. The Royal Mile is partially closed down to traffic and the town is bustling. We saw three shows while we were there, and stayed up well past midnight each night. There was just so much going on that we did not want to miss it.
Our first 12 hours in Edinburgh looked like this:
- Walk around downtown, visit the Writer's Museum
- Whiskey tour for Justin via The Scotch Whisky Experience
- midday show: Shakespeare Improv for me
- Harry Potter Walking Tour courtesy of The Potter Trail
- Quick dinner at a sandwich shop
- Thrones! musical satire
Day 15: Highland Games in Inverkeithing and Edinburgh Fringe
Seeing a traditional highland games was high on our list, and we found one outside of the city. So, we woke and walked to the train station and headed out across the river to Inverkeithing.
We arrived just in time to see the bagpipe procession down the street, so we followed, as did the rest of the town. To be honest, we felt like we were invading a little bit since this was small town event, but we just tried to follow everyone else's lead.
We spent the morning at the games, eating snacks, and watching events.
If you're interested in viewing the games during your summer trip, check out Scotland Welcomes You for dates and times of games all over the country.
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Day 15, continued:
When we got back to Edinburgh, we stopped by the Fringe desk at the station and purchased tickets to see an afternoon show, this time related to Harry Potter (the story of a teenaged Voldemort who loves a Hufflepuff).
Afterwards, we walked around town, and rested a bit before our big night out at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
If you do ONE thing in Edinburgh in August, please attend the Military Tattoo. It is held at Edinburgh castle and was an amazing night of music and culture (see clip below). It well worth the money we spent.
Tip: We purchased our tickets 5 months in advance AND had them mailed to us in the states; this seemed like the best option. Be prepared to stand in a long line to get in, but again, so worth it. This was the best way to spend our last night in Scotland.
Day 16: Edinburgh- St. Mary's Close and Hiking Arthur's Seat
For our final morning, we packed our bags and went downtown.
We spent the last hours in the city completing a tour of St. Mary's Close and then looking down at the city from Arthur's Seat.
St. Mary's Close was a tour that someone told us about on the train to Edinburgh. It includes a tour of the old streets under Edinburgh, with a guide who tells stories along the way. While it's a bit cheesy at times, we honestly enjoyed it and would recommend to others. It's easy to purchase tickets in advance and it does not take much time. (If you are claustrophobic or have a fear of being underground, you may want to skip this tour.)
For our final view of the city (besides the bus ride to the airport) we hustled down to Holyrod park and then hiked up to Arthur's Seat. This offers lovely views of the city if you're willing to huff and puff a bit.
Lastly, we caught the bus to the airport and headed home.