Great Scot(land)! A 6 day Roadtrip Itinerary

Kilts, haggis, and Nessie, oh my!

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Scotland has been a country high on my "must visit" list for quite some time. Between the enchanting castles, lush greenery, and sparkling lochs, it feels.. well.. magical! No wonder it's where JK Rowling got a lot of her inspiration for Harry Potter.

When my sister and I were brainstorming on where to go on our adult spring break (because, let's be honest, we adults need a break more than the youths), we easily agreed that this was the year to finally check out Scotland. Here is our itinerary:

Day 1: Edinburgh

• Fly into Edinburgh Airport in the afternoon

• Pick up your rental car from airport

• Drive to the hotel and drop off car

  • We stayed at Ibis Edinburgh Centre South Bridge Royal Mile, which wasn't anything overly fancy, but was affordable, clean, a great location and excellent included breakfast

  • Parking is VERY difficult in Edinburgh, but at our hotel we were able to pull into a loading spot in front of the hotel to unload our bags, then they gave us directions to a parking garage and provided a discount as a guest of the hotel. The parking garage is about a 10 min walk from the hotel

Explore Edinburgh

• The Royal Mile is a famous street that runs right through downtown. Stop off at any shops and a pub for lunch/a pint (3 min walk from hotel)

• Victoria Street is a colorful street said to have inspired Diagon Alley from Harry Potter (6 min walk)

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• Grassmarket is a lively area with restaurants/pubs (4 min walk)

• Vennel Steps is a great viewpoint of the Edinburgh Castle (3 min walk)

• Touch Greyfriar Bobby's nose for good luck. He is a statue of a pup who was loyal to his master even after death always guarding his grave (6 min walk)

• Greyfriar's Kirkyard Cemetery is a beautiful cemetery that has Thomas Riddell's Grave for Harry Potter fans (1min walk)

• Walk back to the hotel (8 min walk)

Day 2: Hiking and the Highlands

• Eat breakfast at the hotel

• Head out of town, stopping at the Kelpies (45 min drive)

  • Quick stop to see the giant horse statues and use the restroom. There is a coffee shop there as well 

• Drive to Trossachs National Park to hike Ben A'an (55 min drive)

  • 2.4 mile out and back trail, takes about 2hr, spectacular view of Loch Katrine

  • Read more about our hiking experience here

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• Go to the town of Callander (park at Station Road Car Park, where there is a free public toilet too) to grab a quick toastie or fish& chips for lunch (15 min drive)

• Stop off at Buachaille Etive Mor Viewpoint (1 hr 27min drive)

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• Stop off at Three Sisters of Glen Coe (aka Bidean nam Bian) viewpoint (8min drive)

• Glenfinnan Viaduct (55 min drive)

  • Made famous by the Harry Potter train and flying car scene

  • There is a loop trail that is 2.6 miles here, but we just parked and walked up to the viaduct and a little up the hill to get a better view, then turned around

• Check into the Lime Tree Hotel in Fort Williams (25 min drive)

  • Cute, charming B&B with a made to order delicious breakfast included, parking included

  • Lots of restaurants within walking distance. We went to Black Isle Bar Fort Williams for pizza

Day 3: Isle of Skye

• Eat breakfast at the hotel

• Eilean Donan Castle (1hr29min drive)

  • It's the entrance to the Isle of Skye

  • It doesn't open until 10am, so we just saw it from the outside

• Pull off for Highland Cows

  • Okay, so there's not an exact address, but you'll see the cows right before Sligachan and a little pull off where to park. There is a box for donations and you can pet them. Noone was there when we were

• Sligachan (47min drive)

  • 0.5 mile out and back trail to Sligachan waterfall and bridge

• Portree (15 min drive)

  • Grab a quick sandwich at one of the cafes to fuel your hike

• Old Man of Storr Hike (15 min drive)

  • 2.4 miles out and back trail, takes about 2 hr, challenging, but worth it ** one of my highlights

  • Read more about our hiking experience here

• Lealt Falls (7 min drive)

  • Viewpoint of waterfall and keep walking for the ocean views. Lots of sheep present when we were there

• The Brother's Point (aka Rubha nam Brathairean) (10 min drive)

  • Viewpoint/walk. Use GPS to find the general location, but still kind of difficult to actually find. Park on the side of the road then walk. You have to go through a gate (looks like someone's yard..) and continue to walk straight then you'll see a sign, you can go down the path towards the water or just take in the view from higher up. It does get muddy

• Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls (4 min drive)

  • 0.2 miles roundtrip

• The Quiraing walk/viewpoint (11 min drive)

  • Beautiful landscape and greenery. Looks like something out of the Lord of the Rings

• Stay at Uig Hotel (22 min drive)

  • Clean, cute, really the only place in town, restaurant on site, made to order delicious breakfast included, parking included

Day 4: Castles, Cows, and Inverness

• Eat breakfast at hotel

• Fairy Glen hike (6 min drive)

  • Scenic 1 mile roundtrip hike

• Dunvegan Castle and Gardens (23 min drive)

  • Opens at 10am, check time of year before going. It was still closed when we were there in mid march

• Neist Point (35 min drive)

  • Lighthouse walk, 1.7 mile out and back trail, takes about an hour

• Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness (3 hr drive)

  • There is a fee to get in. Includes a little museum, gift shop, film in a theater, and you can walk around the castle. Don't forget to look out for Nessie!

• Drumbuie Farm for Scottish Highland Cows and Tea (7 min drive)

  • Open 10-4, experience petting and feeding highland cows, or enjoy a tea and the highland cows

  • Touristy, but fun

• Inverness (28 min drive)

  • Explore the Victorian market

  • Highlander bar for a pint, dinner, and traditional live Scottish music

• Stay at The Royal Highland Hotel

  • Parking is kind of difficult here. We were lucky to get one of the few spots in front of the hotel. If not, you have to park in a parking deck off site.

  • The hotel had a titanic like staircase and felt like old royalty, but also felt a little haunted. Nothing happened to us, but gave off that vibe because it is older. It was clean and had an included continental, smaller breakfast

Day 5: Edinburgh Round 2

• Eat breakfast at the hotel

• Drive back to Edinburgh with a quick stop at Dean's Village (2hr56min drive)

  • There isn't any parking we could find, but if you're lucky you can quickly pull up, get out of your car, and see the views

• Park your car in Edinburgh and explore by foot

  • We parked at the same parking deck we did for our hotel on night one. It is pricey to park, but we couldn't find any other parking in the city

• Walk down Princes Street and find a spot for lunch (20 min walk)

• Edinburgh Castle (10 min walk)

  • We got flex tickets for this specific day, so we wouldn't have to actually pick a time, but if you want a guided tour you can purchase it here

  • Honestly, I get it's a must see in Edinburgh, but I wasn't a fan of the castle. It was more of a history museum than anything.

• Either continue to walk around Edinburgh and grab a pint, or go to Calton Hill (15 min walk)

  • We didn't get the chance to go up the hill, but I read it's amazing and provides 360 degree views of the city!

• Stay at Hampton by Hilton Edinburgh Airport hotel (22 min drive)

  • Clean, updated, nice, parking you have to pay extra, good included breakfast, restaurant on site

Day 6: Travel Day

• Return the rental car

• Fly back home