only 3 days in scotland - where to visit??

[diamend1026]

we will have just about 3 full days in scotland.
We've never been and want to get the most out of our short time there.
we'll be starting out in Edinburgh in the evening and need to end up in London to fly home. We don't plan to rent a car, but to use trains/buses, unless a car is needed.
Are there any suggestions for itineraries for us?

[dhammer53]

Have you tried www.fodors.com and www.frommers.com and www.lonelyplanet.com

These sites all have overviews that you'll be interested in.

Report back after your trip, as I've never been to Scotland.

[Host Bonjour]

Hi,

Do the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, visit the you can start at The Palace of Holyrood House and work your way up to the Palace, once home to Mary, Queen of Scots, at the opposite end of the Royal Mile in the "Old Town" section of Edinburgh. Simply a lovely, wonderful day.

The next day you can enjoy the new section, start with a walk down Princes Street, look over upon the very scenic Charlotte Square, or visit one of many wonderful museums located in the "New Section" of Edinburgh. There's the National Gallery of Scotland, Scottish National Portrait Gallery or the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. These museums attract AMAZING exhibitions. I was sorry to miss one as there was an exhibit I yearned to see but didn't have enough time in my itinerary!!

Finally, take a day trip into the HIGHLANDS! I DID NOT go towards Loch Ness; Instead I took a tour that went towards Loch Lomond, which is full of history and legend. We got to see the legendary Stirling Castle, location of William Wallace's glorious battle victory. I had the most wonderful day seeing beautiful sites on a small, little tour and we had the very best driver. She had us singing Scottish songs by the time we were headed back to Edinburgh! It was indeed a grand day.

So that should be enough to fill your three days in Edinburgh and I believe you will fall in love with Scotland and make you want to go back for more to this lovely, mystical and most happy & beautiful country.

Enjoy!

[soliteyah]

Hi there,

Host Bonjour had some good suggestions about Edinburgh -- it's a gorgeous city and well worth at least a day or two. You can easily make day trips to Stirling (great castle there), Loch Lomond or St. Andrews (pretty historic town) by local bus. (I studied abroad in Scotland and got around everywhere via public transportation.) Here's the main bus company in Scotland: http://www.citylink.co.uk/.

You can take a train or a plane to London. Train company: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/. Discount airlines you may want to look into: http://www.ryanair.com, http://www.easyjet.com, http://www.bmibaby.com.

I wrote a trip report about my time in Scotland that you may find useful: A Year in Scotland. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hope that helps!

[kdcx2003]

I have done some suggestions on http://www.globosapiens.net/app_glob...dcx/&b=/davidx that might help - forget the northern and islands ones with such a short time.

It depends on where you put the balance between scenery and interesting cities. I should be tempted to do the train trip to Mallaig, return by bus as far as Crianlarich then get a train to Glasgow and return to London from there.

[anders]

Have you tried www.fodors.com and www.frommers.com and www.lonelyplanet.com

These sites all have overviews that you'll be interested in.

Report back after your trip, as I've never been to Scotland.

Agree man, there is the best info

[melliset]

I would say that Edinburgh and Glasgow are among the best places to visit at Scotland.

[Host Bonjour]

I still would not pass up a day trip into the Highlands - a most wonderful expedition indeed and shows the true, mythical, magical earthly beauty of Scotland, not to mention a wealth of its history comes to light, as it did for me standing at Stirling Castle and Loch Lomond among other places during the course of my Highlands tour. The cities are nice, Edinburgh slightly nicer than Glasgow, and Edinburgh is the gateway right up into the Highlands. In my opinion, NOT to be missed at all and had I more time, I'd have spent much more time in the Highlands, along the coasts and onto the islands off the coast - but I guess that will be what my return visit to Scotland will be! Scottish country is SO DREAMY!!
And I just loved Edinburgh so much, it was a great fit for me.

But it is a large country with something for everyone!