Scotland roadtrip honeymoon

ryngo

Hello guys.

I'm looking some advice on a honeymoon travel itinerary.

My Fiance & I are planning on arriving in Glasgow on August 4th, spending a night there then hiring a car. We need to be at Perth on Sunday 10th for a friends wedding, then we'll head to Edinburgh for a couple of days.

So we're looking for a rough plan between Glasgow and Perth. We'd like to tour up the west coast and visit Skye but otherwise we are looking any advice or recommendations from anyone who knows the area or has done a similar trip.

Thanks.
Ryan

zagubov

ryngo wrote: »

Hello guys.

I'm looking some advice on a honeymoon travel itinerary.

My Fiance & I are planning on arriving in Glasgow on August 4th, spending a night there then hiring a car. We need to be at Perth on Sunday 10th for a friends wedding, then we'll head to Edinburgh for a couple of days.

So we're looking for a rough plan between Glasgow and Perth. We'd like to tour up the west coast and visit Skye but otherwise we are looking any advice or recommendations from anyone who knows the area or has done a similar trip.

Thanks.
Ryan

For our honeymoon we drove to Scotland and stayed in Gleneagles for a couple of nights then drove to Inverness and then Oban and spent a couple of nights at Band B's in each, then back to Glasgow. Each stage involved about half a day's driving.

Having said that I'd lived in Glasgow and Dundee for years; the castle at Stirling's worth a visit and the scenery in central Scotland's stunning. Be prepared to be eaten alive by midges if you explore the forests though. St Andrews is worth a visit too.

fivetide

What's your budget?


Gleneagles is amazing but comes at a price.


You big issue on the west coast at that time of year is going to be midges. Pack the repellent if you head up to Skye.


Alternatively, Stirling is lovely as are some of the border areas. Tentsmuir Sands are great for a walk too but as I say, budget could be an issue. Duck Bay at Loch Lomond is also lovely with a good restaurant.


In the central belt, along with Stirling Castle there is the Falkirk Wheel, Doune Castle and Linlithgow Palace. If you do those, along with Edinburgh Castle it might be worth signing up for Historic Scotland as you'll get the cost back in saved entry fees and it still lets you into English Heritage at a 10% discount (free if you renew it)


Enjoy the big day!

cazziebo

ooh - you've put us in the overseas forum and we haven't even had the referendum yet :rotfl:

If you are picking up a car at Glasgow airport, you could then head straight up the West Coast by heading for the Erskine Bridge and then going up the A82.

Depending on what time your flight is, you could spend the first night in Lodge on Loch Lomond, from there head up to the West Highlands. If you're on an early flight you might be up for a longer drive and wait until Glencoe, Ballachullish or Onich for a stop.

You could then take the Corran ferry over to Ardnamurchan and go to the most westerly point in the British Isles at Ardamurchan Point (could even hop to Tobermory on Mull for a few hours). Spend a night there or in Salen or Glenuig.

From there drive up to Lochailort and on to the Road to the Isles. You'll see the Glenfinnan viaduct from the Harry Potter movies - you might even see the steam train. Stop over at a B&B in Arisaig or Morar - the sands of Morar are gorgeous.

Get the ferry from Mallaig to Skye - spend one or two nights in Skye and then over the bridge to Kyle of Lochalsh - quick photo of Eilean Donan Castle .

About 90 minutes to Inverness. Stay in Inverness or round about (or go a bit further south Boat of Garten or Aviemore which is livelier) and then you are only 90 minutes or so from Perth.

But there are loads of ways you could do it...

Loanranger

I'll second the comment about the midges! Absolute blighters and they really can pack a punch. They are a problem all up the west coast of Scotland yet none of the travel guides seem to mention them. I wonder why! I found out about them the hard way about 25 years ago.

Loanranger

Forgot to add, as you get further away from civilisation, you come across single track roads. They need not be a problem but be aware that you have to learn the ropes with the passing places and not hold up the locals by dawdling too much.
I love the west coast and Skye in particular.

zagubov

You'll find a lot of the scenery's temperate rainforest, like the pacific northwest if you've been to the US. You'll also find that names on the map that look as though they might be towns can just be a few houses. The highlands are very empty. If you've been to Yorkshire, you'll know that I mean- it's like cities abruptly changing into empty countryside.

You can visit one of the places in this amazing set of photos.

Red_dog_Sam

As part of our honeymoon we hired a car at Glasgow airport and started out with a drive to Ballachulish Hotel - very picturesque hotel with views over the loch and were offered any bottle off the wine list with dinner as it was our honeymoon! Stopped off to visit Loch Lomond on the way up and the drive through Glencoe was stunning. Also visited Inverary Castle and took ferry to Isle of Mull / Duarts Castle from Oban. Also did a boat trip on Loch Ness from Fort Augustus and a jaunt to Fort William and to the top of Ben Nevis.
My tip for driving in the highlands is to fill up with petrol when you can.

michele-p

what a lovely sounding honeymoon. We did a roadtrip in Scotland a few years back.

We spent the first night at the B+B of the car business, it was beautiful, and as a treat I hired the Porshe 911 for my other half as it's his dream car http://www.caledonianclassics.co.uk/index.htm
and this is their B+B: http://www.visitscotland.com/info/accommodation/kennels-cottage-p199751

We also stayed here on Skye http://www.skyehotel.co.uk/, which was a really beautiful hotel, amazing views over to the mainland, and ideal for a honeymoon. If you do go to Skye, try to use the old turntable ferry route: http://www.skyeferry.co.uk/ which takes you across the most amazing road to get there, and when we got to the ferry, we saw so many sea otters.

I am also a great fan of Loch Goil, I used to holiday there as a child, the route in from Lock Lomond over Rest and Be Thankful is beautiful. There is a large holiday village there now, I've not been since they started out with only 10 or so lodges though: https://www.argyllholidays.com/parks/drimsynie-estate-holiday-village

Another great place to visit is Inverary, the castle is like something out of a fairytale.

I much prefer the west of Scotland to the East, scenery wise it's more spectacular.

Wherever you go have a great time.

ryngo

Wow... thanks for all the replies. They're really helpful & there's some top tips in there.

Sorry about the wrong forum, I hadn't realised there was a UK holidays forum.

So this is what we are thinking at the minute. 2 nights in Glasgow, 2 nights in Oban, 2 nights in Skye, 1 night in Dunkeld, 1 night in Edinburgh. 5 days car hire.

4th - Arrive in Glasgow from Belfast, overnight stay in Glasgow.
5th - Another night in Glasgow.
6th - Hire car, drive to Oban, overnight stay in Oban,,
7th - Overnight stay in Oban.
8th - Head to skye. Overnight stay in Skye.
9th - Overnight stay in Skye.
10th - Head to Perth, friends wedding & overnight stay in Dunkeld.
11th - Head to Edinburgh. Overnight stay in Edinburgh.
12th - Head back to London in afternoon or get sleeper back to London that night.

I've visited Scotland many times over the years but never toured the west coast, whereas I've been East and Central a few times. My fiance is Polish and has never been to Scotland so she is happy to take my lead.

In terms of budget we haven't really got a total in mind. We're probably somewhere in the middle, not shoestring budget but not an extravagant one either. We use airbnb regularly and are looking at a place in Glasgow for the two nights, but a good recommendation for Oban would be great. The Skye Hotel looks good, but it is just a bit too expensive for us, we probably wouldn't want to spend more than £100 per night, so again any recommendations would be great.

Does that all sound ok? We'll be looking to pack in as much sightseeing as we can whilst still trying to relax. I'm mainly worried about going from Skye to Perth without a stopover in between and if 2 nights in Oban is worth doing or if there's somewhere more else those 2 nights would be better spent?

We've both experienced midges & mossies so we'll come prepared but it wouldn't put us off.

BritAbroad

Skye to Perth is easy, there was a time I used to do that pretty much every weekend. Just make sure you have plenty of petrol before turning off the main road at Spean Bridge to head for Dalwhinnie - it's a long way before you'll see another petrol station. From the Skye Bridge to Perth will take 3-3.5 hours, depending on traffic.

On Skye, make sure to do two things:
1. Go to Elgol - and if you've got time go across to Loch Coruisk on the boat - I'd look at booking this in advance as August is likely to be busy.

2. Drive up to the Quiraing - get out and take a walk along the Trotternish ridge. It's spectacular and an easy walk if you've got sensible footwear.

Loads to see in Glasgow. West end area around the university is nice, and Glasgow has a great number of museums historic buildings, churches etc. Edinburgh is a nice city too, but to be honest it is hell on earth in August while the festival is on. The castle is great, but Stirling Castle is better.