Honeymoon in Scotland, trip suggestions

[John_Carrick]

Orkney and Shetland are especially far and expensive to get to. I've not been to the Shetland Isles but I do not regret my trip to some of the principal Orkney Islands - the naval history, the distinct culture, ancient sites, and the shear remoteness make it most interesting. I agree about leaving them to the second trip.
Skye is stunning and the entire journey there is enthralling from my way of viewing things. Spectacular lochs, and mountains and enchanting places. Don't miss Castle Eilean Dolan on the way to Skye. Book restaurants in Portree (on Skye) well in advance would be my other tip.
I hope you enjoy your visit, wear your kilt if you feel like it, don't be self conscious about it and expect to see that many others away from Edinburgh.

[NPG]

Orkney and Shetland are especially far and expensive to get to. I've not been to the Shetland Isles but I do not regret my trip to some of the principal Orkney Islands - the naval history, the distinct culture, ancient sites, and the shear remoteness make it most interesting. I agree about leaving them to the second trip.
Skye is stunning and the entire journey there is enthralling from my way of viewing things. Spectacular lochs, and mountains and enchanting places. Don't miss Castle Eilean Dolan on the way to Skye. Book restaurants in Portree (on Skye) well in advance would be my other tip.
I hope you enjoy your visit, wear your kilt if you feel like it, don't be self conscious about it and expect to see that many others away from Edinburgh.

John_Carrick,

Thank you for the feedback and thank you for reminding me about Eilean Donan that certainly is a place I don't want the family to miss.

[bdkilted]

If you are planning on seeing Dunnattor, I would suggest Bayside B&B (baysidebandb.co.uk) or davjabay@gmail.com. This is in the town of Stone Haven.
I'm pretty sure that is where we stayed. Our "room" was a two bedroom apartment right on the beach, only a block from downtown and two blocks from a grocery store. It is about 2 miles from Dunnattor.
No one has air conditioning there, so it was great to have some windows open and get the sea breeze and let the sound of the waves lull me to sleep.
My wife said she would try to find the name of the other B &Bs we used. Loved the one in Edinburgh just can't remember the name and the streets change names every couple of blocks so I decided street addresses were useless there.

[NPG]

If you are planning on seeing Dunnattor, I would suggest Bayside B&B (baysidebandb.co.uk) or davjabay@gmail.com. This is in the town of Stone Haven.
I'm pretty sure that is where we stayed. Our "room" was a two bedroom apartment right on the beach, only a block from downtown and two blocks from a grocery store. It is about 2 miles from Dunnattor.
No one has air conditioning there, so it was great to have some windows open and get the sea breeze and let the sound of the waves lull me to sleep.
My wife said she would try to find the name of the other B &Bs we used. Loved the one in Edinburgh just can't remember the name and the streets change names every couple of blocks so I decided street addresses were useless there.

Thank you for that, I will look into Bayside B&B.

[Jack Daw]

You can cover a lot of territory in 3 weeks! We did in 2003. But, I did not go so far north as Orkney. You weren't clear on what time of year you were going, but I would suggest you take light rain jackets and water-proof footwear. I did a lot of tromping about battlefields and other fields and my boots worked well to keep my feet dry. We stayed in B&Bs and, if you are traveling by "hired" car, I suggest you check into your B&B no later than 3:30pm to 4:00pm (unless you reserved in advance), then take time to explore the area.

Also, be careful about eating the "full Scottish breakfast" everyday; otherwise, you will find your trousers tighter by the end of the trip.

[NPG]

You can cover a lot of territory in 3 weeks! We did in 2003. But, I did not go so far north as Orkney. You weren't clear on what time of year you were going, but I would suggest you take light rain jackets and water-proof footwear. I did a lot of tromping about battlefields and other fields and my boots worked well to keep my feet dry. We stayed in B&Bs and, if you are traveling by "hired" car, I suggest you check into your B&B no later than 3:30pm to 4:00pm (unless you reserved in advance), then take time to explore the area.

Also, be careful about eating the "full Scottish breakfast" everyday; otherwise, you will find your trousers tighter by the end of the trip.

We haven't nailed down the dates, we want to go during the warmer weather, so probably next May or so. From what I'm getting it sounds like we better pack for most potential weather eventualities. I think I read that Scotland had both the warmest temperature and the coldest in the UK just the other day.

I'll look into B&B we were also looking at some of the vacation rentals recommended on tripadviser.com. I do love a full Scottish breakfast, but I don't think I could do it everyday, but I'm sure between those, the short bread and the seafood my waistband will be tighter at the end of it.

[ThistleDown]

I'm a bit late to this, but my wife and I love to travel. We have a home near Tomatin in Inverness-shire, but as often as we can we go elsewhere in Scotland for new experiences and exploring. These are some suggestions from our years and years of doing just that.

Look to spending as little time as possible in the cities. Find a TripAdvisor-recommended B&B in Edinburgh for three nights and perhaps in Glasgow, Stirling or Aberdeen for a few more. Then...

...look to self-catering. Usually these are Saturday to Saturday, so plan around that and find your perfect centralised lodging points week-by-week. Choose the most important areas for each of your weeks, such as Caithness and Sutherland a week, Argyll and the West Highlands a week, Aberdeenshire/Angus a week, The Borders a week, the Western Isles a week, and so on. Travel between regions on Saturdays and settle into your new home around four in the afternoon.

Look to day-tripping from your adopted Scottish homes. Distances are not great; you can drive from one side of the country to the other in a day if you really have to. Find a perfect mix of relaxation and busy-ness each day and travel only as far afield as you wish on that day -- and remember that you have to come home, too.

Look to varied foods and meal-taking. Do your own big fry-up whenever you feel that need, and have a yoghurt out of your own refrigerator when you don't. Or have those fry-ups in your early B&Bs (check that they offer them). Have a meal in your local pub, or sit in your garden with your own creation from local produce. Visit the local grocer, butcher, fishmonger (or the big supers Tesco or Sainsburys or the Coop if you must) and pick up an inexpensive styrofoam cooler and freezer packs to carry your surpluses between your various 'homes'.

Concentrate on each other.

[NPG]

I'm a bit late to this, but my wife and I love to travel. We have a home near Tomatin in Inverness-shire, but as often as we can we go elsewhere in Scotland for new experiences and exploring. These are some suggestions from our years and years of doing just that.

Look to spending as little time as possible in the cities. Find a TripAdvisor-recommended B&B in Edinburgh for three nights and perhaps in Glasgow, Stirling or Aberdeen for a few more. Then...

...look to self-catering. Usually these are Saturday to Saturday, so plan around that and find your perfect centralised lodging points week-by-week. Choose the most important areas for each of your weeks, such as Caithness and Sutherland a week, Argyll and the West Highlands a week, Aberdeenshire/Angus a week, The Borders a week, the Western Isles a week, and so on. Travel between regions on Saturdays and settle into your new home around four in the afternoon.

Look to day-tripping from your adopted Scottish homes. Distances are not great; you can drive from one side of the country to the other in a day if you really have to. Find a perfect mix of relaxation and busy-ness each day and travel only as far afield as you wish on that day -- and remember that you have to come home, too.

Look to varied foods and meal-taking. Do your own big fry-up whenever you feel that need, and have a yoghurt out of your own refrigerator when you don't. Or have those fry-ups in your early B&Bs (check that they offer them). Have a meal in your local pub, or sit in your garden with your own creation from local produce. Visit the local grocer, butcher, fishmonger (or the big supers Tesco or Sainsburys or the Coop if you must) and pick up an inexpensive styrofoam cooler and freezer packs to carry your surpluses between your various 'homes'.

Concentrate on each other.

That is a great idea for the day-tripping. We were looking into self-catering since my fiancée is vegan and doing our own cooking is the easiest way for her to avoid foods that will make her ill. Having a "home base" would probably make things easier and centralize that trip by breaking it down into regions.

[Jack Daw]

We haven't nailed down the dates, we want to go during the warmer weather, so probably next May or so. From what I'm getting it sounds like we better pack for most potential weather eventualities. I think I read that Scotland had both the warmest temperature and the coldest in the UK just the other day.

I'll look into B&B we were also looking at some of the vacation rentals recommended on tripadviser.com. I do love a full Scottish breakfast, but I don't think I could do it everyday, but I'm sure between those, the short bread and the seafood my waistband will be tighter at the end of it.

I assume you are driving. The one drawback is you don't get to enjoy the view when driving through the mountains; otherwise, you will become airborne and enjoy it even less.

Give way (yield) to the right when entering LEFT into a roundabout (we have only 2 in Houston) and get into the correct lane so that it spits you out onto the desired road. In the Highlands you will be driving on a lot of single-lane roads, which have aneurisms called "lay-bys". You pull over to your LEFT to let on-coming traffic pass. My only concern when driving the single-lane roads was not seeing possible on-coming traffic when there was a "summit" (hill) in the road. Before I left, I printed off the Scottish (British?) road signs to get familiar with the differences. As a lefty, I found driving on the left quick to get used to.

[NPG]

I assume you are driving. The one drawback is you don't get to enjoy the view when driving through the mountains; otherwise, you will become airborne and enjoy it even less.

Give way (yield) to the right when entering LEFT into a roundabout (we have only 2 in Houston) and get into the correct lane so that it spits you out onto the desired road. In the Highlands you will be driving on a lot of single-lane roads, which have aneurisms called "lay-bys". You pull over to your LEFT to let on-coming traffic pass. My only concern when driving the single-lane roads was not seeing possible on-coming traffic when there was a "summit" (hill) in the road. Before I left, I printed off the Scottish (British?) road signs to get familiar with the differences. As a lefty, I found driving on the left quick to get used to.

That is a good idea about printing out the signs and getting familiar with the practices of driving across the pond. Initially I had not considered driving, but the more I hear from others the more I think this might be a good option as long as I do my homework.