Scottish Highlands: Getting there & around

There are direct air services from London and other European cities to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness, Kirkwall and Sumburgh, and from North America to Glasgow or Edinburgh. From Europe it's often cheaper to fly to London, and then catch a train or bus north.

If you're on a budget, long-distance buses are usually the cheapest method of getting to Scotland. A train from London can get you to Edinburgh in four hours, Glasgow in five, and there are plenty of discount fares available. Scotland has ferry links to Larne, near Belfast, and to Belfast itself. In summer there is also a weekly ferry between Aberdeen, the Shetlands and Norway, and a twice-weekly ferry from Aberdeen to the Faroes.

For those with their own transport, main roads are busy and quick - Edinburgh is 600km (373mi) from London and it will take you about eight hours to drive if you get a good run and don't get caught up in one of the numerous motorway jams.

Although there are carriers operating domestic flights within Scotland, it's hardly worth the price unless there's absolutely no other way to get to the islands. Most of the islands are linked to the mainland by ferries. As well as a comprehensive bus network, various hop-on-hop-off bus services operate circuits around the Highlands. The Western and Northern Isles and Skye also have relatively good bus services. Train routes through the Highlands are stunning but limited, and more expensive than buses.

Roads are generally good and far less busy than those in England. On back roads you may have only one lane and petrol stations (selling pricey fuel) may be few and far between. Ferries to the islands are regular, though pricey particularly if you're taking a car. In more remote islands it may prove cheaper to fly there and hire a car on arrival, though booking car rental in advanced is advised as many operators have a limited number of vehicles.