Hello,
I'm planning on traveling to Scotland from NY on May 2nd, and return on May 11th. what itinerary do you suggest, and what hotels are good and clean? Any advices on cheap places, and things I should be aware of? I'm traveling with my wife. Thanks.
Clean hotels all over the place, more than you can shake a stick at... a "good" hotel is usually 3-4 stars as it is in the US. You may find it cheaper however to stay in a B&B (Bed & Breakfast) as you can usually find a 3-4 star B&B for around £30-40 pppn and less in rural areas.
B&Bs are nicer IMO as you will meet friendly, helpful Scots who will cook you a nice full English breakfast and usually make you feel very at home. They can also give you tips about the surrounding area only a local would know - as apposed to a porter from the Czech Republic who probably knows very little about anything. B&Bs are not generally as "flash" or modern as hotels, but standards are quite high - I've standing two or three dozen around the UK and I've never once found one to be unclean... though some can be a little quirky which adds to the whole experience.
You will want to think about hiring a car to make the most of your time as the spectacular scenery is really only accessible by car. Weather can be changeable at this time of year (actually at any time of year!) so make sure you bring a waterproof jacket and/or wind breaker.
"who will cook you a nice full English breakfast"
You mean a full Scottish Breakfast??? ;-)
As #1 says you will need to have a car for part of it.
In 9 days, you will want at least 2 in Edinburgh, 1 in Glasgow, 1 in Stirling and then the rest travelling North up the A9, west through the Great Glen and then south towards Loch Lomond.
You would be pushing it to make it to Skye for a worthwhile length of time IMO.
"You mean a full Scottish Breakfast??? ;-)"
Oops LOL. Well yeh, haha depends on the B&B as well of course, few I've stayed at have done a "proper" Full English/Scottish with Black Pudding etc normally it's just beans, eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns and mushrooms... I usually give the BP a wide berth anyway! ; ) Good way to start a full days sightseeing though, I'm usually not hungry until late afternoon after a full breakfast... nice to start the day with hard arteries!
Skye is worth the visit but you need a couple of days if you include travel, you can also take in Eilean Donoan along the way. One of the prettiest Castles in Scotland IMO... also made famous thanks to a couple of movies (Bond & Highlander).
If you are flying in on the 2nd and out on the 11th you can probably remove 2 days from the trip as these will be spent packing/unpacking, transfering to/from the airport, checking in/out and passing through immigration/security.
Scotland or Peru & Chile.
Bit of a difference.!
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1766145&tstart=0
No comparison. Forget Scotland, go to South America. <:-)
My husband and I are going to Scotland in June and we are planning to use public transportation. This site has been very helpful in planning:
http://travelinescotland.com/welcome.do
Jane