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Travel itinerary overview

First of all, we think that nine days are not enough to see all the major attractions in Scotland. Nevertheless, if you plan accordingly and if you are lucky with the weather, you can definitely make the most out of your nine day trip. We began our itinerary with the capital city, Edinburgh, stayed for two day here, and after renting a car, we went to Inverness, for one night. From there, we headed to the beautiful Isle of Skye, probably the most gorgeous island from Scotland. We stayed three nights in the Isle of Skye and then went for other two nights in Fort Williams and Glencoe. In the last day of our trip, we visited Glasgow and went back to Edinburgh, for our return flight.

Our itinerary requires a little bit of driving and good stamina, as it involves a few hikes and quite a lot of walking. Don’t panic, there are many ways of creating your own road trip itinerary, based on your preferences. We mainly used the following resources for planning our road trip itinerary: Secret Scotland and Visit Scotland.

Travel itinerary in-depth

Day 1 – Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and the home of more than half of million of people. There are plenty of attractions in this beautiful ancient city, to satisfy all tastes – you can spend an entire day just exploring the magnificent views of the city or just enjoy some fine Scottish whiskey and a fancy dinner. The public transport in Edinburgh is very good and you can pay by card in all the public buses.

Our day starts with the quiet and beautiful riverside charm of Dean Village. Although not a hidden treasure anymore, Dean Village is a residential area along the Water of Leith, just five minutes from the famous Princess Street. The Water of Leith Walkway is a nice scenic spot, away from the busy city center – a lot of cyclists and locals enjoy this quiet and underrated place from Edinburgh.

Today is a really busy day, therefore we have no time to spare – the next attraction is the Royal Botanic Garden. It is a free entry attraction and a stunning place to visit – gorgeous gardens, nice beautiful ponds, a lot of benches and open grass area, where you can enjoy the views and have a nice picnic. Here, we stayed for around two hours, enjoying the botanical wonders and the the beautiful photo spots. Like most of the attractions in Scotland, there is an opportunity to make a five pound donation,before you leave, to support the preservation of this amazing place.

It is time to visit one of the most important landmark of the city – ‘Edinburgh’s Acropolis – Calton Hill . The hill itself is included in the city’s UNESCO World Heritage and is the location of several historical monuments, like the National Monument(inspired by the Parthenon in Athens) or Nelson Monument. From here, you can easily pinpoint other major attractions from the city: Edinburgh Castle, Arthur’s Seat, Holyrood Palace and of course the North Sea. Being in the central Edinburgh and only a five to ten minute walk to top of it, Calton Hill is a perfect choice for a beautiful sunset.

At this point you are probably feeling a little bit tired – the good news is that the Old Town is relatively close to the Calton Hill. Now is the best time to either enjoy a traditional meal at The Haggis or go for a ramen, at one of the many Maki & Ramen restaurants. You cannot go to Scotland without enjoying some local whiskey – the Royal Mile Whiskies shop is located in the Old Town and if you are a whisky enthusiast, this is the place for you.

It is perfectly fine if,at this point, you call it a day – you’ve achieved a lot and you should be proud of it. However, we kept going – the weather was beautiful, we were feeling good and we were eagerly looking forward to catch a beautiful sunset, at the Arthur’s Seat. An ancient volcano, Arthur’s Seat sits at 251 above sea level and is an excellent place for great views of the city. There are multiple ways to reach the top of the hill, however we do recommend the main walkway, also know as the “green route”. Be aware that at top can be really windy, therefore do not forget your windproof jacket. On your way down you can take alternatives scenic routes, eventually leading back to the starting point of the walk.

Day 2 – Edinburgh

Rest assured, your second day in Edinburgh is going to be a less stressful one, from physical point of view. It is time to enjoy the main attractions from the city center of Edinburgh – first in our list is the world heritage attraction of Edinburgh castle. One of the oldest castle from Europe, the Edinburgh castle is probably the most famous icon of Scotland. Although, from our point of view, it is not the most beautiful castle from Scotland, this amazing place requires booking way ahead your trip – there are a lot of tourists and not so many tickets available per day.

The Edinburgh Castle is the largest castle from Scotland, resting atop an ancient, dormant volcano – amazing pictures of the castle can also be taken from the Princess Street or from the Princess Street gardens. There are several highlights that you can discover in your visit to the castle: the stone of destiny, the Great Hall, the National war museum and many others. Because we visited the castle on a Sunday, we could not attend the One o’clock gun attraction – every day at 1pm, except on Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day the gun is fired, since the year 1861. The origin of this tradition lies in the days when sailing ships required to reset their chronometers.

After the visit of the castle, if you are not familiar with optical illusions, then Camera Obscura , just nearby the exit of the castle, is a nice attraction for you or for your kids. Although we are not very eager to visit museums, we could not skip The National Museum of Scotland , a free attraction, suited for both adults and children. We initially thought that we are going to spend an hour at maximum, at the museum, but, to our surprise, we think that we spend at least two and a half hours. Pro tip: make sure to have some coins, in order to enjoy a nice F1, race simulator.

After eating again at one of the Maki & Ramen restaurants, we visited the Palace of Holyroodhouse – the Queen’s official residence in Scotland. Unfortunately for us, several areas of the palace were closed – nevertheless it was a really enjoyable experience. Personally, we liked a lot the palace gardens – you can hear the chorus of song birds and you have an obstructed view of the Arhur’s Seat. If you have time, there are other attractions for you – the Dynamic earth or the Scottish Parliament Building. If not, you can always enjoy some cocktails and call it a day – Panda&Sons is a nice cocktail bar,nearby the Princess St.

Day 3 – From Edinburgh to Inverness

It is time to leave the beautiful capital of Scotland and go to Inverness, a beautiful city in the Scottish Highlands. From this point on you are going to need a car – as a side note,despite the fact that we booked a car from a well known rental car company, we were very unhappy with our choice – do better than us. There are a few official services on the A9 and it usually takes around 3h 30 min by car, from Edinburgh to Inverness.

Although the weather was not looking very good due to constant raining, we could not postpone our visit, to probably the most beautiful castle from Scotland – Dunrobin Castle. It is the historic home of the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland since Middle Ages and with 189 rooms, it is the largest castle, in the northern Highlands. Nevertheless,the castle was used as a naval hospital during the First World War and as a boys’ boarding school from 1965 to 1972. We enjoyed a lot our self guided tour through the rooms of the castle, but what we liked the most, were the beautiful gardens and the castle itself, as viewed from the gardens. It does resemble a lot with the french castles, especially due to its towering conical spires. Unfortunately, we did not attend the falconry displays, a show that demonstrates and explains the hunting methods of owls,hawks and falcons.

After this amazing stop, we headed back towards the Inverness and after the check in we went to the Dores Beach. You might not have heard about this location, but it is a beautiful and relaxing place, at the start of the Loch Ness. Sadly, it can be difficult to find parking, especially in high season. We did not catch a glimpse of Nessie, but we definitely enjoyed the walk along the shoreline and the stone skipping. It has been a long day and finally, we went back to Inverness for a drink and well deserved local burger.

Day 4 – From Inverness to Isle of Skye

It goes without saying, that you cannot visit the Highlands, without stopping by the amazing historical site Culloden. Here, you should not miss the fantastic tour, that describes the battlefield experience and facts from the last bloody battle of Jacobite Rising. Culloden is one of the most important battle, if not the most significant for the Scottish people, that definitely changed their lives forever. We liked the fact that the battle is described from both the Scottish and English side – we recommend you to have a look at the tv series Outlander, for a good related history show. Before going to Isle of Skye, there is one more place for you to visit – the Urquhart castle – however, be aware that it is a popular place for Loch Ness as well, therefore tickets should be bought beforehand or you won’t be allowed to park your cark and get the tickets from there.

We had an amazing experience in Inverness, but it was the time to go to the Isle of Skye – probably the highlight of our trip. After a short detour to the Eilean Donan, a 13th century castle, we checked in to our accommodation. We do not usually recommend accommodations, but our stay in Taigh Pa, was like home – our host was very friendly and we received great tips and ideas for our itinerary in the Isle of Skye.

According to some legends, fairies inhabit(ed) the Isle of Skye, therefore we could not start our trip here, without visiting a place, where we might encounter these mythical creatures – the Fairy Glen . First of all, parking is very limited and during the high season you should probably leave the car in Ulg and just walk to the Glen. At the Fairy Glen, paths are sometimes indistinct, but the goal here is to explore. Eventually you are going to reach a rock formation, resembling a castle ruin – the Castle Ewen. Although you might see some spirals and tossed coins over there, be aware that this is not encouraged by the locals and we should try to keep the Glen in its natural state.

Unfortunately we did not see any fairies at the Fairy Glen, so we headed to another beautiful place, the Old Man of Storr . It is probably the most iconic and popular walk on the whole Isle of Skye. Although the walk is suitable in most weather conditions, if it rains or is wet, it can be a little bit tricky not to lose your balance. There are plenty of spots to admire the large pinnacle of rock, but we think that the best view, is somehow to the right of it, as you can catch in the some picture both the Old Man Storr and the Loch Leathan. You are advised to head up-close to The Old Man of Storr as well and explore the scenery from there as well. We spend here more than two hours and after watching a beautiful sunset, it was the time to call it a day.

Day 5 – Isle of Skye

We enjoy hiking, therefore it felt natural, that we should hike one of the most magnificent mountain, from Scotland – Blà Bheinn. For this hike, there are two things that you should be aware of – the weather and the midges. If it rains, we strongly advice you not to hike the summit, not only because the ascent to top requires scrambling, but also because it is not easy to find a good path towards it. This hike is a hard one, even on summer, due to fact that after you’ve crossed the halfway point it gets really steep and you have to be very,very careful – our rule of thumb, when hiking, is that you should always take the path that is not exposed, regardless if it is longer or harder. Therefore, when you are going to reach a big boulder, you are going to see a lot of people, that are either climbing up or down, on the left side or on the right side, of it. Not going to lie, we panicked for a moment, because it was a tough call to make – fortunately for us, a kind german hiker, told us that we should avoid the left sheer cliff as it can be very dangerous and  follow the right hand side. Although it requires a long scramble, it is much more direct and you are safer – nevertheless, do ask other hikers that are climbing down, because they might give you good tips.

The view from the summit is insanely beautiful, with panoramic views of the ocean on one side and the Black Cuillins on the other side. You will have network coverage as well, therefore don’t hesitate to video call your family, to share the experience with them.  However the bloody midges might ruin your experience if you are not prepared – buy some midge repellent or some midge protection clothing. Allow around six hours to complete this hike both ways – you should worry about parking only if you are in high season, otherwise you should be fine.

The Elgol Beach is just twenty minutes driving, from the Blà Bheinn car park and we think it’s really a hit-or-miss attraction – personally, we did not like it, but feel free to check other reviews and decide for yourself. The Sligachan Old Bridge is an old bridge with scenic views of the mountain and a beautiful statute of two mountaineers who explored the path in The Cuillin mountains. It is definitely a good stop to relax for a little bit and enjoy a picnic.

A favourite spot among photographers that try to catch the best sunsets, is the Neist Point Lighthouse. This really cute lighthouse is only a 10-15 minutes lovely walk, from the car parking. Mind the sheep – there were hundreds of sheep, waiting to have photos with them. Although you cannot visit the lighthouse, there are beautiful panoramic views, throughout the whole area(be prepared as it can be very windy, especially if you have a drone). The road to lighthouse is not the best and also lower your expectations for the free parking – it can be frustrating, especially if you are there in high season and come for the sunset.

Day 6 – Isle of Skye

Although today is a busy day as well, it is worth mentioning that it is a very enjoyable one. Another great attraction not to be missed, especially for photographers is The Quiraing Walk. Definitely not a difficult walk/hike and the best part is that you get to enjoy stunning views for the entire loop. Like the most hikes in Scotland, it is best to wear waterproof shoes and do expect to go off trail in some places, to avoid mud pits. In our opinion the upper trail is probably not worth it if you have other things you wanna do that day or you got tired of slippery mud – ideally you should go counter clockwise. An important thing is the parking in here: most likely you won’t do the entire loop in three hours, so you need to make sure that you paid for the right number of hours – a lot of fines were given that day.

Every popular attraction in Scotland can be really busy, especially in the afternoon, therefore it was no surprise for us, when there were a lot of people at the Kilt Rock & Mealt Falls Viewpoint. It was a little bit too much for us and we went to a better alternative – The Brother’s Point viewpoint. This hidden gem is not far from Old Man of Storr and it is indeed somehow difficult to find the start of the trail. After you park, go to the opposite side of the road and down the path, left towards a gate and after following some  signs, you are going to be more than fine. Because the ground was very wet, we did not go to the highest point of this penisula, but nevertheless the sea was very beautiful.

Because we did not see any fairies at the Fairy Glen, we thought that we should try our luck, at the Fairy Pools. The hike to the pools is quite easy and the views are breathtaking. There is a large car parking lot and it is nice that some of the money paid for the car parking, are donated to local projects. The water is crystal clear and if you don’t mind the cold water, you can go for a swim in the pools – not sure if the fairies are going to like it. The fairies successfully managed to avoid us again, so our final stop for the day was the Taliskey Bay Beach. The walk to beach is lovely and very windy – lots of sheep and a dramatic coastline at the end of it. It’s really worth visiting it, especially for the high waves and the waterfall, but bear in mind that there are very few car parking places on the road.

Time passed so fast while in the Isle of Skye and we felt that that three nights in here, are just not enough for this amazing place. We were sad that we did not allocate more days for it, therefore, a friendly advice: please book more days for the Isle of Skye even it means to skip other places from Scotland.

Day 7 – Fort William and Glencoe

Leaving the Isle of Skye was not easy, but there were still many things to do in Scotland. Our first stop, after a three hour driving, was the Glenfinnan Viaduct – we really wanted to have a great photo, of the famous Jacobite Steam Train. If high season, you must be at the visitor centre at least one hour before the train arrives(if not more), as it is going to be very difficult to find a parking space or a good spot for your photos. Regardless if you are or not a fan of the Harry Potter movies, the surrounding area has some spectacular views of the viaduct. Also,if you have some spare time, you can enjoy a good coffee at the visitor center and buy some Harry Potter souvenirs,from the gift shop.

If you are an avid hiker, then a good option after the viaduct is the Pap of Glencoe hike – it is a difficult trail, about three hours to complete + twenty minutes,the walk from the forest car parking to the start of the hike. Because the weather was not great(yes, it rains a lot in Scotland), we had to skip this hike and head next to Glen Etive. This beautiful glen in the Highlands of Scotland has a unique scenery – lots of places to stop next to the narrow road, with a lot of camping options and if you are lucky, several deer and no midges. It is worth mentioning that this mythical glen has been used as backdrop of movies like Thor: Dark World, Gladiator or Skyfall. Although the single road lane,through Glen Etive, can be a little bit frustrating, try to drive to the end of it and discover the enchanting landscape, around the Lock Etive. On our way back to the Fort William accommodation, we had two more stops, at The Meetings of Three Water and Three Sisters viewpoints.

Day 8 – Ben Nevis

We were quite surprised that the people do respect the queue , near the summit, where everyone is eager to take some well deserved photos. You may see a lot of rock-climbers, coming up from the Tower Ridge trail or other trails,to the summit – hats off to them as you need a lot of courage, to pass some dangerous sections. The return is made by the same route and it can be a little bit boring. However,once down, a celebration will be in order – you have conquered the highest mountain, from the United Kingdom.

If you still have some stamina left, then you should go to the Steal Falls. It is an easy two mile walk, through Glen Nevis, that leads you to the Britain’s second highest waterfall. If you want to be as close as possible to the waterfall, you must either cross a small river and get wet or cross the Glen Nevis Rope Bridge (yes, it’s a rope bridge) – neither option is easy, especially for children. Regardless if you cross the river or not, Steall Meadows is a stunning place to explore and enjoy a picnic with your family – it is a very popular camping place as well.

Day 9 – Glasgow and Edinburgh

Before we knew it, it was our last day in Scotland – it was such a lovely experience. On our way back to Glasgow/Edinburgh we stopped at the Kilchurn Castle Viewpoint (the castle was close during our visit) and at the Inveraray Castle. The former. The former one was under some repair, therefore closed to the public. The Inveraray Castle is an imposing castle with a beautiful garden – there is a wide variety of trees and flowers. If you have some free time, do try the carrot cake from the tea room.

We were a little bit in a hurry, as we wanted to spend at least a few hours in Glasgow, as well. However, when we arrived in Glasgow it felt totally different to other parts from Scotland. Not going to lie, but we did not like it at all – too much noise(people yelling on the streets, loud music etc). It was time to call it a day and go to Edinburgh,enjoy the old town one more time and go to the airport. Scotland is going to be forever in our hearts.

“Be happy while you’re living, For you’re a long time dead.” – Scottish Proverb