To think a budget-break in Scotland at half term is a pipe dream?

[HavinAThink]

I grew up in the north-east, so we holidayed in Scotland just as often as we ventured South. Now I live in London, with two DCs, aged 11 and 14, who have been to various other European countries, but never to Scotland. We'd love to take them to Fort William, Ben Nevis, Loch Ness at half term.

The driving option looks like a nightmare, even if we stayed over with relatives in the north-east along the way. The overnight train is fully booked. We have found some flights we could stretch to, but then we'd need car hire, hotels etc, and at first browse they're not looking particularly budget-friendly.

Am I kidding myself that this will be do-able on a 3-figure budget? There must be some of you out there who make the trip regularly - please send me your recommendations and tips!

Air bnb, train and car hire.

When is half term for you? If it's soon you might be better delaying and be able to get cheaper flights or train tickets by booking in advance. Easyjet flights are out til next March.

You could look at the railway passes www.scotrail.co.uk/tickets/combined-tickets-travel-passes

Fort William is pretty mobbed a lot of the time, airbnb might be an option?

Opposite way but recently drove from near Inverness down to Portsmouth. It honestly was not that bad! We started out early at around 5am but would have been even better overnight for dc. Can both of you drive?
Even if you do it in two halves it's cheap enough to get your head down in a travelogue etc. Or even being a tent and camp :)

Check Haven. I got a week for three for under £200

Why not drive?

We drove from London all the way a lot. Leave at 7pm, get kids to bed in car. Stay near Manchester (3 hours). Manchester to Dumbarton (3 hours) next day with stop at Gretna Green and an afternoon at Loch Lomond. Both Manchester and Dumbarton have premier inns with the £35 rooms or you could stay in Glasgow. Then up to the Highlands. Easy. I have flown and you end up going into Inverness and then driving across which is 2 hours anyway. We've had hit and miss car hires hence driving now.

I personally prefer Mull and the area around Torridon or Ullapool to Fort William and Glencoe.

There's no Haven anywhere near Fort William though

We have driven from London to Inverness. It's not that that bad! Just set off early before the traffic.

You could camp up there to keep costs down.

If you don't mind an excessively early start, you can do London-Fort William by train in one day - catch the 05.30 Virgin West Coast from Euston to Glasgow Central, then the 12.21 very scenic West Highland Line from Glasgow Queen Street to Ft William - arrives just after 16.00.

Or catch a later train from Euston, stay overnight in Glasgow, and catch the 08.21 from Glasgow Queen Street to Fort William, arriving just after 12 noon. Booking essential for both journeys; railcard cuts cost of fares.

The Euston -Fort William 'Caledonian Sleeper' is often fully booked. However, the Euston to Glasgow ditto is a bigger train and may still have some spaces. Discounted family tickets are often available. It leaves Euston at 23.53 and gets to Glasgow around 7.20, which gives you plenty of time to get from Glasgow Central to Glasgow Queen Street to catch the 8.21 to Fort William (and to buy a cup of coffee and a sandwich for breakfast). Again, booking compulsory for the sleeper and essential for the Fort William train.

There's quite a few caravan parks in Scotland, that you can get cheap holidays with thanks to the Sun newspaper. We have booked again this year for Seton Sands. It's quite close to Edinburgh and the bus stops right outside, which means no driving and a couple of pints with dinner for hubby.

3 figures will be a challenge unless you drive, but with DC that age I don't see why you can't drive all the way? London to Fort William is probably 12 hours - long but not insane especially if you've got two drivers. If you can break for free with relatives then no problem at all!

There isn't half term in Scotland so that should help with prices surely.
Train London to Edinburgh is fast, then could have a night there before catching another train (or a hired car) further north.

Split the journey. We regularly go to North Scotland from Manchester in a one-er. From London I would split it at Lancaster if going to the West Coast. Avoid M60 around Manchester and Glasgow at rush hour it will add hours to your journey times.

There’s no half term in Scotland between now and the summer break so that should work in your favour. Look at youth hostels they have family rooms. It’s not in your agenda but the one in Oban is great. We used to live in London in your situation I would just drive, as a pp said leave in the evening and the drive is fine. Arran is also great would recommend there instead of further north. Or try Edinburgh and then Stirling and the Trossachs.

Apart from the long weekend at the end of May. Not sure if scottish tourists outnumber rUK and European ones in Fort William

There’s no half term in Scotland between now and the summer break so that should work in your favour.

Fife get two days in June. Not sure if other regions do too so it's worth checking.

I drive from Mk.. either up st 5.00am and off or around 7pm and overnight in Shap. There is a Best Western there which is pretty cheap.. or the hotel at Teebay services is very reasonable and it’s lovely.
Air bnb or the travelodge in fort William.

I live at the West coast, about an hour drive from Fort William. My work is right next to a Scottish heritage site, so I get a good idea about tourist numbers from the car park. Scottish school holidays don't have a noticeable impact on tourist numbers but I can always tell if there are school holidays in England and during summer I can tell by the number plates on German cars in which state the holidays have started. There is no late bank holiday here, the dc will be at school.
I would make sure to book accommodation before leaving home. Last year was incredibly busy and on some local FB pages some people who run businesses here say their early bookings indicate this year is going to be even more so.

You will need a car while you are in those areas.
Scotland is not like London. Public transport is sparse.
It is also expensive.
I am Scottish and I live in Scotland.

We live just north of London and regularly drive to Scotland. We usually go via the a1 which has tended to give a smoother journey. Leave early - we’ve often left at 5am but thenbeen in aviemore around mid afternoon

Aviemore is a great destination btw. loads to do. and do visit here
www.landmarkpark.co.uk/

Kids can saw logs, see wild red squirrels, do a treetop walk.

We stayed here- a two minute walk to landmark. Not cheap but stunning. www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g652387-d8518480-Reviews-Fairwinds_Chalets-Carrbridge_Aviemore_Aviemore_and_the_Cairngorms_Scottish_Highlands_S.html

I did that drive regularly as a child much younger than your DCs - is there no way you could make them grit their teeth for it? We used to leave incredibly early in the morning so we (kids) would fall back asleep in the car and by the time we woke up again we would be half way there.

Check our airbnb and bed and breakfasts for accommodation - you should be able to get a room for around £60 per night. You can also camp almost anywhere in Scotland for free or in campsites quite cheaply, so worth checking out if you have or can borrow camping equipment.

A final thing - the places you've mentioned are quite popular and likely to be busy - there are lots of west coast gems that are better and less crowded. Mallaig is a stunning fishing village, the Glenfinnan viaduct is the one from Harry Potter, the Applecross peninsula is wild and stunning, the Bealach na Bà is one of the highest roads in Scotland and has some of the best views anywhere. It might be worth having a look as these places are (imo) better and less expensive!

I travelled all round the highlands staying in Scottish Youth Hostels, they have family rooms. Mainly families with the odd walker and really good value. Hired a car and got cash back via quidco ended up being one of our best holidays.

I once looked at driving to a Scotland and touring round staying in B&Bs for a week. Then went to Cuba for 2 weeks as it was cheaper.