Scotland - please help!

[PinkPondQueen]

Been wanting to do a road trip to Scotland for years but keep being put off as I literally have zero idea where to even start! Have finally decided to go for it next year and have downloaded a guidebook to my kindle but in the meantime I would love to see what others think about it.

We want to do whalewatching and swim off beautiful beaches, eat amazing food and see some impressive mountains. Where do we head to?!

We have 2 elderly cats and don't like to leave them for any longer than 5 nights which also includes the drive up from the south - which we're happy to do in 1 day there and 1 day back. So we won't be able to head too far up into the far north. Is it worth getting out to any of the islands or should we stick to the mainland?

Any ideas very gratefully received and thanks in advance!

Commenting so I can see people’s suggestions! Always wanted to do a Scotland road trip but clueless where to start in the planning x

Arran might be a good bet, in terms of accessibility. Not sure about seals and whales, but the island is like Scotland in miniature with a distinct split between highlands and lowlands.

We have done several road trips to Scotland from the South coast. It's a lot further north than you realise so 5 nights won't get you that far! We had to work our way north and then back south again.

Loch Lomond and Loch Ness are beautiful and picturesque. We absolutely loved it here. This might be a good starting point.

Last year we went to Skye and the Outer Hebrides and it was absolutely stunning but we had to drive quite far north for the ferry.

Scotland is beautiful. We're going back this year too!

Aberdeen has Harbour dolphins, Troon has seals in the Harbour especially when fishing boat comes in. Mull if you're lucky has whales and eagles, then to fionnphort for amazing white beaches, across to iona for abbey, Celtics crosses, lovely food. Boat trip to Staffan in May for puffins and pass seal island. Rosthey for seals (can't remember the name of that beach) coll has loads of massive seals that follow you when you're walk on the beach (quite eery). Arran seals, whale or dolphin if you're lucky, holy isle boat from arran has wild goats and ponies (ponies though keep a distance). We saw basking sharks very close to the rock pools at culzean . You'll need more time though. Good luck .

Fidden Beach on Fionnphort is stunning. Take car as far as you can then a pleasant walk.

Thanks all of you this is exactly the information I was hoping for! Keep it coming please! Yeah more time would be great but we can always go back in the future. I'm done with the costs of flights & hire cars atm so it's the perfect time to scratch a bit of the beautiful Scotland surface 🥰

Another vote for Arran, its fantastic
http://www.donthibernate.co.uk/summer-trip-to-the-west-coast-of-scotland/

If you’ve allowing 1 day travelling look up Dumfries and Galloway in the SW of Scotland. There are fabulous empty beaches benefitting from the Gulf Stream, large hills - The Southern Uplands and loads of historic houses and castles.
Not as dramatic as other parts, but a well kept secret.

Visit the west coast and the Inner Hebrides - Islay, Jura, Lismore, Seil and Easdale, to name just a few of the islands. How far north you can go in Scotland in one day's drive depends on your starting point in England 😀

Fortrose bay has wild dolphins xx

We always went up the A9 via Aviemore and stayed in Inverness, visiting Skye, Black Isle etc from there.

This is fantastic information thank you all so much! Getting an itinerary together & have found some lovely Airbnb's... now all I need to worry about is the weather... and midges 😂😂😂

This thread makes great reading for someone who has lived here a LONG time !!!

I hope you have a fantastic time when you come op

And buy Smidge, its brilliant for the midges

Another vote for dumfries and Galloway.
great beaches, dark skies for star gazing and whale watching off Stranraer peninsula. Southern uplands aren’t mountains but are good and you could always drive through the Lake District on your way.

We recently went to Luss on Loch Lomond- absolutely beautiful- lots of other lochs nearby for walks etc.

A few years ago we also stayed on Loch Ness in a village called Drumnadrochit- drove all the way round the loch and also spent a day driving to Skye- never seen such amazing scenery- it's just stunning up there!

Look up Taymouth Marina....... it has a spa and outdoor hot box xx

I would say start of gently. I live in south Scotland which is just stunning and I think what you're looking for is further north. We love Oban which is 'only' 150 miles from us. It takes about 6 hours. A Scottish road mile is sooooo much longer than a normal mile. The views are stunning but when google says 4 hours, add 2hrs to that!
The Cairngorms as another example is 135 miles from us. Takes about 4.5-5hrs. Worth it though!

A big YY to PPs stressing the sheer distance/time - we go to Skye/Highlands (from the midlands) quite often and the journey time always catches me out: it's a lot of driving, and we usually break it with a night in the Borders. Caledonian Sleeper to Fort William + hire car was probably the most enjoyable combo for me.

Thank you all so much it is so appreciated. Why does Scotland have to be so damn big & even after much research people are mentioning places i've never even heard of 😫 my very provisional itinerary is this. I would love some views on it please thank you all x

Day 1 - Drive to Oban to get ferry to Mull, driving onto Tobermory for 1 night
Day 2 - Whalewatching at 9.30am before driving onto Fionnphort for 2 nights
Day 3 - Fidden Beach or Iona
Day 4 - Drive back for ferry to Oban and onto Glen Coe for 1 night.
Day 5 - Drive onto Lake District for 1 night

We're going up to the southern end of Loch Lomond this year taking my parents and mil - all in their 80s. It's great to read about all these places. I just need to find places near where we are staying that are easily accessible for them. I will definitely be looking at some of the coastal ideas for them.

There's almost nowhere in Scotland I haven't driven to and I like driving but even I wouldn't plan so much difficult driving in 5/6 days.

1. There are whales in Scottish waters but they are very very rare. Don't set your hopes on this.

1. Amazing food in very rural locations in Scotland is almost an oxymoron. There's the three chimneys in Skye or the peat inn in Fife. Mostly top restaurants are around Edinburgh.

1. Monroes are Scottish mountains over 3000ft. The furthest south is Ben Lomond which overlooks Loch Lomond on its northern bank.

Within your timeframe I'd suggest you do the loop via Loch Lomond/Arrochar (mountains and boats trips on Loch Lomond and Loch Long) then up to Crainlarich and back to Stirling/the motorway via Callendar.

This will minimise driving on difficult/dangerous roads but lots of lovely views. There are good restaurants on this route too.

If you haven't already booked your car on the Mull ferry for this summer forget it!

Agree with this. Dolphins in Luce Bay, eagles in the Moffat Hills. Forests, hills and empty beaches.

"Whalewatching at 9.30am"
Are you serious? Most likely you will just see the sea, LOL.

Please heed what people say about driving in Scotland. The route you have proposed uses mostly A roads, most of which are single-carriageway, narrow, bendy, hilly - oh, and full of tourists enjoying the views, and haulage vehicles. It'll be slow going, which is fine is you want to take in the scenery, but can be stressful if you have a ferry to catch.
Dumfries & Galloway or the Borders (ie the area south of Edinburgh) is a good shout for this first, fairly short, trip. We want you to enjoy it after all!

@heartofglass23 oh dear have I been stupidly sucked in by the 'best whale watching in the world is in Scotland' garb on the net? Are whale sightings really so rare? Any experiences here?

Without the whales I'd be tempted to just go back to Galway which offers the great food/beaches/mountains that we like 😬