Visiting Scotland

[Timeras]

Some friends of mine and I are planning to have a short (about a week) vacation in Scotland.
The plan is to take a flight to Edinburgh, spend maybe two days there and then rent a car to go around the country for a few days.

We'll be going in april and we are considering using the easter days to get a little more time. Would that be a good idea or is the country "asleep" during these days?

Any overrated tourist attractions we should avoid or underrated places we should visit?

[Ninja_Prawn]

Some friends of mine and I are planning to have a short (about a week) vacation in Scotland.
The plan is to take a flight to Edinburgh, spend maybe two days there and then rent a car to go around the country for a few days.

We'll be going in april and we are considering using the easter days to get a little more time. Would that be a good idea or is the country "asleep" during these days?

Any overrated tourist attractions we should avoid or underrated places we should visit?

You're panning to drive around the Scottish countryside... wouldn't that be better if the country was asleep?

But seriously, Edinburgh is awesome. I'm planning to move there permanently in the next couple of months as it goes. The castle is a must-see... I've been a couple of times and still feel like I could spend a day there. Oh, another thing I really enjoyed in Edinburgh was this ghost walk we did one night. It finished up in these old underground vaults, which was really atmospheric.

[Fishyninja]

You're panning to drive around the Scottish countryside... wouldn't that be better if the country was asleep?

But seriously, Edinburgh is awesome. I'm planning to move there permanently in the next couple of months as it goes. The castle is a must-see... I've been a couple of times and still feel like I could spend a day there. Oh, another thing I really enjoyed in Edinburgh was this ghost walk we did one night. It finished up in these old underground vaults, which was really atmospheric.

Edinburgh is amazing I go there for work quite a lot. The castle is stunning, great pubs, great food.
Moving away from Edinburgh, Glasgow is a fun place and it is completely different to Edinburgh.

Also if you have chance I'd suggest heading out to Oban to visit the distilleries, from their the Isle of Islay aint to far (more distilleries) there is an amazing nature reserve on Mull and further on from that if you get to Iona you could take a boat of to Fingals cave.

[lylsyly]

Scotland is a truly amazing place. Cairngorms National Park is truly beautiful, and if you can get to Skara Brae, then go for it, how often do you get to see a 5000 year old housing complex (and quite possibly, the site mentioned in an ancient text).

Disclaimer: It was 1970 when I was there, so …

[gotourneed]

Edinburgh is amazing I go there for work quite a lot. The castle is stunning, great pubs, great food.
Moving away from Edinburgh, Glasgow is a fun place and it is completely different to Edinburgh.

Also if you have chance I'd suggest heading out to Oban to visit the distilleries, from their the Isle of Islay aint to far (more distilleries) there is an amazing nature reserve on Mull and further on from that if you get to Iona you could take a boat of to Fingals cave.

Oh, very attractive, I will make a plan to go there soon.

[Aedilred]

Depending where you're from, you might find Scotland more difficult to drive around than you expect. There are only a handful of motorways and big A-roads linking the larger towns and cities, and for an American even these would probably appear pretty piddling. Everything else is going to be winding single-carriageway stuff, so before you get too ambitious with your driving plans, make sure you know what you're letting yourself in for.

Really I think the best bits about Scotland are the the wilder parts in the Highlands and the Isles, but that's probably really something you need to visit on foot, and if you're only there for a couple of days a hiking excursion probably isn't feasible. The best parts are also a fair way from Edinburgh, so not that easily accessible. If it does turn out to be possible, then I'd recommend Glencoe and some of the areas around Inverness. If you get a decent road map, there are probably driving tours of parts of the highlands which are worth doing, though.

More practically, Edinburgh itself is supposed to have lots of lovely things to see, and I've heard good things about Stirling Castle, which is not a million miles away, though I haven't been to either. St. Andrews is also close enough and is an attractive university town in the Oxbridge mould. There is also Glasgow, relatively accessible from Edinburgh and a slightly larger city with some of the features you'd expect. I've been to Glasgow once and could understand literally about one word in ten, was staying in a pretty crappy area of the city and found it not to my liking, but I gather that my experience was somewhat atypical (apart from the not understanding the accent thing: that is pretty much universal).

[Ninja_Prawn]

Really I think the best bits about Scotland are the the wilder parts in the Highlands and the Isles,

I agree. When I finished secondary school, I rented a cottage with a bunch of friends to the literal middle of nowhere in Perthshire for 10 days. We were a two-hour walk from the nearest human being! It was really beautiful. You have to take your time with things like that though, you couldn't do it in two days.

[Timeras]

Thank you for your suggestions. I will keep them in mind when planning with my friends.

What about the other question? Are interesting places closed or inaccessible during the easter days?

[factotum]

Good Friday and Easter Monday are both bank holidays across the UK as a whole, but that means a lot less these days than it did a few years ago. Time was when everything apart from common tourist destinations *would* be shut on bank holidays, but that doesn't happen now.

[Timeras]

Thank you.

[AliceLost]

Yeah, this has already been touched on, but it's a common mistake of people from North America to look at the size of Scotland and assume that it's easy to see quickly, because it's so small. But like most European countries, it's a lot more densely packed than Canada or the US, with a lot more things of interest in a very small area. I'd say your best bet would be to pick one or two things that you're interested in seeing, and focus on them. If you try and do too much, you'll probably end up wrung out, and missing the experience because you're caught up in trying to make it all work.

That said, what kind of attractions appeal to you and your friends? Are you looking for cultural/historical experiences? I echo the sentiment that you have to see Edinburgh Castle, and there are a lot of different monuments, museums and galleries that could interest you. Are you looking for natural beauty? Because if you just want to drive around and soak in the countryside, or even better plan a walking trip for a day, there's lots of that. Are you interested in more modern or particular cultural interests? There's plenty of specific sites you can visit if you're interested. But I'd absolutely recommend just picking one or two things and focusing on them.

[Gnomvid]

Apart from the much mentioned Edinburgh castle, I would also advise a trip up Carlton hill and even up the Nelson Memorial on the top of the hill as the view from there is quite nice (costs 2 or 4 quid though don't recall exactly), and the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh is also quite nice to stroll around.
Another pretty much must see is Stirling Castle overlooking Bannockburn (doesn't look like much but the battle was quite important) and if feeling like another hike up a hill check out the Wallace monument also in Stirling.
Other than that there's history and little gems all over Scotland.

If you wish to do some shopping then Glasgow has more choice on offer.

[Timeras]

what kind of attractions appeal to you and your friends? Are you looking for cultural/historical experiences? I echo the sentiment that you have to see Edinburgh Castle, and there are a lot of different monuments, museums and galleries that could interest you. Are you looking for natural beauty? Because if you just want to drive around and soak in the countryside, or even better plan a walking trip for a day, there's lots of that. Are you interested in more modern or particular cultural interests? There's plenty of specific sites you can visit if you're interested. But I'd absolutely recommend just picking one or two things and focusing on them.

The castle is definitely on the list. As is the old town of Edinburgh.

Otherwise it is supposed to be a mix of countryside, historical places and probably a distillery.

And we're not from America.

[Aedilred]

The castle is definitely on the list. As is the old town of Edinburgh.

Otherwise it is supposed to be a mix of countryside, historical places and probably a distillery.

And we're not from America.

Where are you from, if you don't mind my asking? Not only out of curiosity, but knowing what you're used to/have in abundance near you might help people to advise you on the best things to see.

[Timeras]

Where are you from, if you don't mind my asking?

I don't mind at all. We're from northern Germany.