SCOTLAND

Description: Come to Scotland for both city and country. Eat, drink & be merry in Edinburgh for the first half of your trip, then relax, rest and be one with nature as you explore some of the most breath-taking natural landscapes in Europe.

Trip Vibes: Adventure, Nature, Relaxation, Cultural, Educational, Nightlife

Destinations: Edinburgh, Cairngorm National Park, Inverness, Torridon, Isle of Skye, Oban & Glasgow

Day 1

Location: Edinburgh

Accommodation: Wilde Aparthotels By Staycity Grassmarket

1. Arrive by train from London (5hrs).

2. Tour Edinburgh Castle.

3. Walk the Royal Mile & explore the Grassmarket — stopping at pubs along they way.

4. Pretend you are a Hogwart's student, buying your books for the start of term, and window shopping in Diagon Alley, aka West Bow / Victoria Street.

5. For a cheap takeaway dinner, dumplings from @Dumplings of China is delish. Bring your dumplings, store-bought brews and coats (because even in Summer, it's cold!) for an evening picnic with the locals on Grannies Green.

Day 2

1. Breakfast @Hula Juice Bar & Healthy Eatery.

2. Urban hike to Carlton Hill for amazing views of the city.

3. Take the 34 bus to the Tea at the Royal Deck Tearoom (Sit on the top level, in the front row, for the most fun way to get around Edinburgh. If you haven't sat on the top level, in the front row of a bus in the UK, you are missing out).

4. Then tour the The Royal Yacht Britannia — the royal family's impressive yacht, which was decommissioned in the late 90s. If you love the Crown and want to learn about this period of history, this is the way to do it.

5. Dinner at 11 Brasserie, a cozy hotel restaurant and bar.

6. Wee dram (or two or three?) at The Three Sisters pub.

Day 3

1. Walk to Cairngorm coffee for avocado toast or an almond croissant.

2. Continue walking to Dean village, and go back in time to a well-preserved 18th century village just outside of Edinburgh.

3. On your walk back to town, make a stop @St. Mary's Cathedral and admire this massive gothic cathedral.

4. From the hotel, take the 35 bus to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

5. Have a classic UK lunch with delish sandos, tea & soup @the Cafe.

6. Trek up to Arthur's Seat for more beautiful views of the city.

7. Bus + Tram to the airport to pick up rental car and continue journey to Cairngorm National Park.

Day 4

Location: Cairngorm National Park to Inverness (3.5hr drive time, with stops)

Accommodation: Dalmunzie Castle Hotel, Lochardil House Hotel

1. Start off your morning with a hike around the property.

2. Indulge in some eggs benedict from the hotel restaurant.

3. Head off on your roadtrip adventure — first stop at Balmoral Castle where the queen vacations during the summer (check dates before going, you can't see it while she is there!).

4. There are plenty of trails within the park to hike, or just drive through and enjoy the scenery.

5. Next, stop at the infamous Loch Ness, hike along the beach and enjoy spectacular views (bring a blanket and some games, play while you wait to spot Nessy).

6. Spend the evening sipping cocktails from the bar at the Lochardil House Hotel, just outside of Inverness.

7. The hotel normally serves dinner (non-covid times) but you can do a lovely riverside walk to downtown Inverness for plenty of dinner options (or order pizza hut on Deliveroo lolll).

Day 5

Location: Northern route from Inverness to the Isle of Skye (5+ hrs of driving, but worth every minute)

Accommodation: You don't want to know

1. Start out your morning with a bowl of the MOST DELISH porridge ever. Lochardil offers full english breakfasts and an impressive menu, but the porridge is amazing — stick-to-your-ribs quality.

2. Head west towards the Highlands, making a stop at Castle Leod, the Seat of the Clan Mackenzie that dates back to the 1200s.

3. Drive ~1hrs to the town to the town of Torridon. The drive offers stunning scenery and panoramic views of the hilly landscape.

4. Torridon is a tiny seaside town with maaaybe 7 buildings. It's worth the stop to take in the scenery and experience a cute Highlands town.

5. Eat a delicious salad at Wee Whistle Cafe. Lunch here is worth the detour.

6. From Torridon, head south through more amazing landscape and stop frequently along winding roads for cliffside views of at least 3 different Lochs.

7. Just over an hour later, you'll reach the most famous castle in Scotland — Eilean Donan. Take at least an hour here to explore the grounds, take pictures and use the restrooms/get some refreshments from the cafe. Pay for an extra hour of parking though, if you're interested in the history and want to tour the inside of the castle.

8. The final hour of this drive is another spectacular one. Head north west, driving over the bridge to Skye and up the east side of the Isle, towards Portree.

Day 6

Location: Northern loop around the Isle of Skye (~1.5hr drive time, but plan to be out all day)

Accommodation: I can't recommend it

1. Coffee and a sausage, egg and cheese muffin from Relish. Delish.

2. Drive north just about 10 minutes until you reach the parking lot at the Storr Trail where you will enter the unofficial set of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (lollll JK, but kinda not).

3. Hike to the top — it's about a 40 minute walk up a fairly steep hill, but if you only have time for one activity on Skye, this would be it. Plan to spend about 3 hours on the hike up, wandering around and taking pictures at the top, and slowly heading down.

4. Proceed on to Mealtfalls. Admire gorgeous coastal waterfall and surrounding cliffs.

5. Stop at The Telford Tea Room for a delightful takeaway picnic with homemade soup, sandwiches & sweet treats that have clearly come out of this woman's oven 5 minutes before you rolled up.

6. Drive a few miles further down to An Corran Beach to enjoy your picnic whilst enjoying views of the sea.

7. Proceed around northern tip of the island, stopping at the Duntulm Viewpoint to walk around, see ruins of Duntulm Castle, and count sheep balancing on cliff's edge.

8. Finally, pit stop at the The Fairy Glen, just outside of the town of Uig, to explore meandering hillsides and more interesting rock formations.

9. Back in Portree, enjoy a nice dinner at The Granary.

NOTE: If you have travelled to Western Scotland during the months of May and October — BRING MUCH BUGSPRAY... because, midges.

Day 7

Location: Skye to Oban (5hrs driving, including ferry ride)

Accommodation: The Scot

1. From Portree, drive ~30 minutes south west and stop at the Fairy Pools.

2. Wonder along the trail of endless pools of crystal-clear water — walk for as long as you can stand the midges, it's pretty magical.

3. Head back down south towards the Armadale Ferry (purchase tickets in advance here).

4. While waiting for Ferry transport, grab homemade soup from The Shed.

5. The Mallaig-Armadale ferry takes about 30 minutes but cuts out ~1.5 hours of driving, plus offers amazing views from the water.

6. Back on land, drive another 1.5hrs to the Glenfinnan Viaduct, the famous overground rail line featured in the Harry Potter movies. It's beautiful and worth a quick stop.

7. Another 1.5hrs of driving will put you into Oban by evening. Eat at Eeusk and make reservations for your tour of the Oban distillery for tomorrow.

Day 8

Location: Oban to London (3hrs driving, with stops, then 5hr train)

1. Tour the Oban distillery and taste yer Whiskey straight from the cask.

2. Soak up the buzz with delicious seafood from the Oban Seafood Hut.

3. Once sober, take off for Glasgow to catch your train ride home. The drive is ~2.5hrs, but plan to stop several times around Loch Lomond.