Planning our first trip to Scotland - Need your help!

[Nervous Jock]

Okay, guys! Gather the tourist info I'm really looking forward to your answers!!!

Scott and I are planning our first trip to Scotland in 2011. (I know it's a long time from now, but in order to do it right, we have to have a lot of advance planning and saving!)
1. When is the best time to go (although we would have loved being there for the Gathering, and other than Games and Festivals, we don't generally like huge crowds.)
2. What are your top five items on your must see and/or do list?
3. What's on your "don't bother, huge waste of time/money" list?
4. Where are the best places to eat and stay and why?
5. Any further advice?

I'll dip in and out of this one.

Get a historic Scotland card I think you can get them for 2 weeks or a month. If you go to Edinburgh castle and a few other places it will save you a bomb.

Places to go:

Edinburgh Castle
Fort George up by Inverness
Boat trip from south Queensferry to incolm. It goes under the bridge and out ot the abbey.
East Fortune airfield if you're into that kind of thing.

[tulloch]

I have heard that the best month to visit Scotland is February - it can only rain 28 days!

[Bruno]

I have heard that the best month to visit Scotland is February - it can only rain 28 days!

If only it would rain here it would be better than snow lol.

[MacKay71 Wife]

Wow! Thanks for the tips so far, guys!! I am actually printing some of these off so I can put them in my folder and not lose them!!

Great ideas and great places to start researching. The only place Scott has insisted that we visit is the far North Highlands in the, obviously , MacKay ancestral lands. Other than that, we're wide open for suggestions.

One question so far, several have mentioned trains and rental cars. Is it generally easy to get a rental car in the bigger cities and towns? Perhaps a combination of rail and road would be best for us? (We do love to get off the beaten path!)

Keep 'em coomin', y'all!!

[Jock Scot]

Wow! Thanks for the tips so far, guys!! I am actually printing some of these off so I can put them in my folder and not lose them!!

Great ideas and great places to start researching. The only place Scott has insisted that we visit is the far North Highlands in the, obviously , MacKay ancestral lands. Other than that, we're wide open for suggestions.

One question so far, several have mentioned trains and rental cars. Is it generally easy to get a rental car in the bigger cities and towns? Perhaps a combination of rail and road would be best for us? (We do love to get off the beaten path!)

Keep 'em coomin', y'all!!

If you are off up to Strath Naver, then a car is the ONLY option. The North and North Western Highlands are very beautiful. A tip for when you are up there, make sure you have plenty of fuel in the tank, When the gauge says half full then FILL UP AT THE FIRST GARAGE YOU SEE!

[Bruno]

If you are off up to Strath Naver, then a car is the ONLY option. The North and North Western Highlands are very beautiful. A tip for when you are up there, make sure you have plenty of fuel in the tank, When the gauge says half full then FILL UP AT THE FIRST GARAGE YOU SEE!

Get a petrol can they are cheap and fill it. Some petrol stations are very far and wide. Some small ones shut at strange hours etc. I once had to go about 30 miles to get petrol because of that happening, about 3 pm ?? must have gone fishing or something still a pain.

[Darkislander]

I have heard that the best month to visit Scotland is February - it can only rain 28 days!

Yeah, but one month rolls into the next. I must say that any time I visit other places in Scotland I have yet to come across crowds. Nothing would compare to London where people constantly bump into you, they'd probably even walk over you if you were lying there.

[Pleater]

One thing that can be a shock is the cost of fuel here - I think that average prices in the US are less than half what we pay - and it is going up.

Just as I was typing that, the news is that petrol goes up 2p per litre from midnight.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[MacKay71 Wife]

Y'all have no idea how much we appreciate all this info!!! This is fabulous and makes us wish we could leave tomorrow!!!
Our target date is May or August/September. I am allergic to sustained cold. I know, sounds like a joke, but I'm serious! Also, for all of June and most of July, I work summer camp at a Boy Scout camp. So, from what we're hearing from y'all, those seem to be the best times to shoot for.
We are very definitely listening to your advice about getting out of the cities as that is what we enjoy anyway. Even when we go to "touristy" places, we try to get as much local flavor as possible. We are around crowds of people so much in our everyday lives (Delta Airlines, scout camp, my large family, our kids and their assorted friends, etc., etc., etc.,) we try NOT to do too many crowds on our rare breaks!! Don't get me wrong, we love all the kids, but.........

Potentially silly question about B&B's in Scotland, but I find it better to ask than get surprised later. I know some of this would probably depend on the individual place, but generally, what kind of privacy and toilet facilities are there? And, I have heard that the rental cars are relatively small compared to most American cars. (I drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee.) Is this true?

[MacKay71 Wife]

Oh, and, DUH about the pictures!!!

Scott is a great photographer, so you can look forward to some fabulous pics - sorry you're gonna have to wait!!!!