Rick Steves Best of Scotland

THE BEST OF SCOTLAND

Map: Top Destinations in Scotland

THE BEST OF EDINBURGH

THE BEST OF GLASGOW

THE BEST OF ST. ANDREWS

THE BEST OF OBAN & THE INNER HEBRIDES

THE BEST OF THE ISLE OF SKYE

THE BEST OF INVERNESS & LOCH NESS

THE BEST OF THE REST

TRAVEL SMART

Designing Your Itinerary

Trip Costs

Before You Go

Travel Strategies on the Road

One of the three countries that make up the island of Great Britain, Scotland is the most feisty and colorful, from its laid-back people and poetic heritage to its rugged landscape.

Scotland encompasses about a third of Britain’s geographical area (30,400 square miles), but has less than a tenth of its population (about 5.4 million).

The southern part of Scotland, called the Lowlands, is relatively flat and urbanized. The northern area—the Highlands—has a hilly terrain dotted with lochs (lakes) and fringed by sea lochs (inlets) and islands.

Scotland’s iconic symbols—bagpipes, moody glens, whisky distilleries, golf links, kilts, and yes, even haggis (organ-meat sausage)—seem at first like touristic clichés, but they’re an authentic part of the cultural heritage of this engaging country.

The proud Scots are enjoying some recent political autonomy from England. The Scottish parliament, though limited in power, convened in Edinburgh in 1999 for the first time in nearly 300 years. The Scots appreciate the refreshing breeze of increased self-governance, and the question of independence is likely to remain a pivotal issue for years to come.

Whether you’re toasting with beer, whisky, or Scotland’s favorite soft drink, Irn-Bru, enjoy meeting the Scottish people. It’s easy to fall in love with the irrepressible spirit and striking scenery of this faraway land.

THE BEST OF SCOTLAND

This book focuses on Scotland’s top destinations, from its lively cities and Highland towns to its sleepy islands. The top cities in the Lowlands are vibrant Edinburgh, up-and-coming Glasgow, and medieval-but-youthful St. Andrews. The Highlands offer a rural, craggy contrast, with port-town Oban (island excursions), pleasant Inverness (near Loch Ness and a historic battlefield), and the inviting Isle of Skye.

Beyond the major destinations, I also cover the Best of the Rest—great destinations that don’t quite make my top cut, but are worth seeing if you have more time or specific interests: Stirling, Glencoe, Fort William, Pitlochry, and Balmoral Castle.

To help you link the top sights, I’ve designed a two-week itinerary (see here) with tips for tailoring it to your interests.

TRAVEL SMART

Approach Scotland like a veteran traveler, even if it’s your first trip. Design your itinerary, get a handle on your budget, make advance arrangements, and follow my travel strategies on the road.

For my best advice on sightseeing, accommodations, restaurants, and transportation, see the Practicalities chapter.

Designing Your Itinerary

Decide when to go. Scotland is most crowded between mid-May and mid-September. In most of Scotland, July and August offer the best weather and busiest schedule of tourist fun—and consequently jam-packed B&Bs and restaurants. Edinburgh is especially swamped throughout August, the city’s festival season. Any town is busy during its Highland Games.

Travel from April to mid-May and mid-September to mid-October is easier. Those times tend to have fewer tourists, a full range of sights, and better room availability (and prices). In the off-season, castles and historic sites may be closed, but cities welcome visitors any time of year.

Whenever you go, your B&B host will warn you to prepare for “four seasons in one day,” though the weather is rarely extreme. Bring a jacket, dress in layers, and take full advantage of bright spells.

Choose your top destinations. My recommended itinerary (on here) gives you an idea of how much you can reasonably see in 14 days, but it’s easy to adapt it to fit your interests and time frame.

If you enjoy all that big cities have to offer, you could easily spend a week in Edinburgh, even outside of festival time. For nightlife, Edinburgh and Glasgow are tops.

Historians find much to study in Scotland. Royalists tour Scotland’s many castles (Edinburgh’s Castle and Palace of Holyroodhouse, Stirling, Balmoral, Dunvegan, and more), while clansmen gather at Glencoe’s Weeping Glen, the Culloden Battlefield, and the Isle of Skye. Architects are drawn to Glasgow, and engineers are intrigued by the Caledonian Canal and Falkirk Wheel.

Hikers love to go a ’wandering in the Highlands, particularly around Glencoe and the Isle of Skye. Golfers head to St. Andrews, of course. Photographers want to go everywhere.

For countryside fun in summer, be sure to see if any Highland Games coincide with your visit (check www.shga.co.uk). These quintessentially Scottish competitions—day-long events held in various towns throughout summer—celebrate Highland dancing, footraces, and feats of strength. They’re well worth a day of your trip.

Draft a rough itinerary. Figure out how many destinations you can comfortably fit in the time you have. Don’t overdo it—few travelers wish they’d hurried more. Allow enough days per stop: Figure on at least two days for most destinations and more for Edinburgh.

Staying in a home base—like Oban or Inverness—and making day trips can be more time-efficient than changing locations and hotels. Minimize one-night stands, especially consecutive ones; it can be worth taking a late-afternoon drive or train ride to get settled into a town for two nights.

Connect the dots. Link your destinations into a logical route. If your plans extend beyond Scotland, determine which cities in Europe you’ll fly into and out of—for instance, into Edinburgh and out of Amsterdam. Begin your search for transatlantic flights at Kayak.com.

Decide if you’ll travel by car, take public transportation, or use a combination. A car is particularly helpful for exploring the Highlands but is useless in Edinburgh and Glasgow (pick up your car as you leave Glasgow and drop it when you return to Edinburgh). Some travelers rent a car on site for a day or two (the Isle of Skye is a good candidate for this) and use public transportation for the rest of their trip.

If relying on public transportation, you’ll likely use a mix of trains and buses. Trains are faster and more expensive than buses (which don’t run as often on Sundays). In the mountainous Highlands, buses are often your only option. If you have limited time, consider taking minibus tours of the Highlands, offered from Inverness, Glasgow, and even Edinburgh. But with more time, everything is workable by public transportation.

Allot sufficient time for transportation in your itinerary. Whether you travel by train, bus, or car, it’ll take a half-day to get between most destinations. To determine approximate travel times between your destinations, study the driving map on here or check Google Maps; visit NationalRail.co.uk for train schedules or Traveline.info (a route-planning site that includes train and bus options). If traveling beyond Scotland, check Skyscanner.com for intra-European flights.

Plan your days. Fine-tune your itinerary; write out a day-by-day plan of where you’ll be and what you want to see. To help you make the most of your time, I’ve suggested day plans for each major destination. But take sight closures into account: Avoid visiting a town on the one day a week that your must-see sights are closed. Check if any holidays or festivals fall during your trip—these attract crowds and can close sights (for the latest, check Scotland’s tourist website, www.visitscotland.com).

Give yourself some slack. Every trip, and every traveler, needs downtime for doing laundry, picnic shopping, relaxing, people-watching, and so on. Pace yourself. Assume you will return.

Ready, set...You’ve designed the perfect itinerary for the trip of a lifetime.

Trip Costs

Run a reality check on your dream trip. You’ll have major transportation costs in addition to daily expenses.

Flight: A round-trip flight from the US to Edinburgh costs about $900-1,500, depending on where you fly from and when.

Car Rental: Allow roughly $250 per week, not including tolls, gas, parking, and insurance. Rentals are cheapest if arranged from the US.

Public Transportation: For a two-week trip, allow about $250 per person for trains and buses. To reduce train costs, you can get discounted advance-purchase tickets online, though you’ll be locked into the travel time you choose.