Aviemore

[olivethegreat]

Thinking of travelling from London to Aviemore next Easter , by sleeper train. Just me and DD.

From what I can work out, we would need to go to Inverness then to the airport to hire a car - which would cost about £300 for 5 days.

This makes it an expensive uk holiday - self catering with activities I think it would come in at £1500 (just me and dd). That's for 5 nights self catering.

I'm guessing we do need a car. But I'm wondering if it's worth the cost . We're not beach people, we like walks and activities. Sleeper train quite fun too.

It does look gorgeous but £1500 for self catering and driving everywhere is making me question it a bit. I'm not mad keen on car hire either as I worry about getting a tiny scratch and then being charged £££££

Wondered what people thought about this holiday and if it will be glorious and entirely worth it? It would be our only holiday next year. I can't think of anywhere else I want to go and I don't want to go abroad while testing is required.

Have you looked at flying instead of train? You can fly easyjet from Gatwick to Aberdeen for less than £100 return. Might make it a bit cheaper. Also maybe train to Glasgow and pick the car up there and drive to aviemore stopping on the way?

Just pay the extra for the higher insurance coverage on the car and you’ll be fine. It’s usually on another £30 or so for peace of mind.

I wouldn't bother with the sleeper train, you end up waiting up until quite late to board at London then most people I know don't sleep well on it anyway. I'm sure there's hire car depots closer to the station at Inverness without going out to the airport. I would look at cheaper Advance tickets to Edinburgh, maybe have a couple of nights there on the way up then hire a car to get to Aviemore (hiring from the airport saves you having to negotiate driving in the city), or fly and then drive.

Yes flying is an option but I think once I've factored in the cost of booking luggage and parking it comes in the same. And sleeper is a bit of a different experience and we end up getting a bit more time .

We went to Edinburgh for about £1k but although self catering we ate out so it wasn't far short of same cost actually. We'd probably self cater more at aviemore as accommodation I'm looking at is nicer and has views etc.

I'm trying to think of a holiday strategy for the teen years as we had wanted to go Europe city breaks. She likes Segways etc and there seems a lot of that sort of thing around Aviemore. I like scenery !

We did it by public transport one year. The train ride up from Edinburgh is spectacular in itself. It just depends how fussy you are. You can get a bus from the town to the ski-lifts, and you can hop on the train for one or two stops to go somewhere different. There are plenty of pretty walks straight out of Aviemore, but obviously you'd need a car if you're all about conquering summits and distilleries.

On that's helpful about sleeper train. We wouldn't gain extra time really if we hadn't slept. Is it a bit rubbish? I'm just remembering the sleeper I went on in Canada across the mountains ...

Maybe will look at flying to Glasgow and driving from there, possibly spending a couple of days in the city?

Definitely not about conquering summits. But would like to see the lochs and mountains . DD would enjoy Segway and quad biking .

Is Glasgow & Loch Lomond a good alternative p'haps? We like history .

They have fairly regular trains from aviemore to Carrbridge which has Landmark park.
You can have a nice walk around the woods in Carrbridge as well and there is a playground and a pub with decent food.
Aviemore has taxis too.
I don't drive and I've enjoyed visits there.

The advantage of driving is being able to get to the Highland folk museum or Highland wildlife centre. There might be buses though.

If you like history, the Highland folk museum is fab, assuming it's open.

Yes wildlife centre was on my list. I drive but it's not my preferred activity ....

There is car hire in Aviemore, website here. I think taking the sleeper would be such a great thing to do!

There is lots you can do with a teen - segways, quad biking, zip lines, go karting, water sports, there might still be skiing at Easter but that will also depend on COVID too….

There are also decent days out from Aviemore - lots of castles, distilleries etc that can be combined into an interesting route.

It’s never going to measure up to a Euro city break but if you can definitely have a great time doing all manner of outdoorsy stuff.

Aviemore is a tourist resort town so there are loads of activities. I'm sure most of them would include a ride in a land rover if you needed to get somewhere (e.g. kayaking, climbing etc) or they'll start straight from the office. You might actually be better there without a car than in Glasgow.

The car hire place in Aviemore have been spectacularly unhelpful so I wouldn't use them now. Was looking at enterprise athe airport who seem to have good reviews.

I'm a bit worried about not having a car and it being bad weather. We don't mind walking in rain but waiting for a bus in rain is a bit miserable !

Thank you this is all very helpful

Just seen there's a bus to the wildlife park. I might investigate public transport options...

Oh that’s a shame re the car hire.

There are buses between Aviemore /Newtonmore that will stop at the wildlife park and the highland folk museum. You’ll also be able to get a bus to Carrbridge for Landmark. Finally, there’s a bus that runs up the ski road to Cairngorm that you can use to get to Loch Morlich, the Reindeer Centre and Cairngorm Mountain. There’s a steam train that goes to Boat of Garten then you can walk back from there to Aviemore.
Mainline train to Inverness. You could manage without a car but it will take a bit of planning. There are also plenty of taxis.

I love Aviemore but I’ve only ever done it with a car!

Personally I think you’d be mad not to hire a car. Aviemore is fabulous but attractions are far walking wise) apart and if you are only going for 5 days, a lot of that would be waiting for public transport.

Sleeper is huge fun - not for all I understand - but would be such and adventures.

Things I recommend are (in no particular order)

• loch morlich (water sports)
• Loch an Eilein (lovely to walk around)
• funicular up cairngorm
• dog sledding centre
• landmark centre (Carrbridge)
• strathspey railway
• Culloden battlefield (outside Inverness so around 40min from aviemore)
• highland wildlife park
• zip trek adventure park

Glasgow and Loch Lomond very different - and definitely plan at some point - but you could have an absolutely magical time in aviemore (with a car)

And how could I forget - reindeer trekking! You walk around 20min up to see and feed the reindeer. Done it twice and would do it in a heartbeat again!

@Yellow85 thanks for the Aberdeen tip I've just looked and flights are a little cheaper and also much better times.

Ooh thanks @Scautish I have lots
Of those things listed but not the dog sledding! Is that still possible in April?

I'm a bad sleeper. I may not be a good fit for the train....

@olivethegreat Fab. Also Aberdeen is a much quieter airport so it’s be a a skoosh to get through. Not much there though.

Funicular hasn’t run for years (don’t get me started on that one!) and is unlikely to be fixed by Easter.

Oh and no dog sledding either - that shut last year I think?

I would get the day train, the views are fab. Where are you staying, the Highland Lodges are quite a way from the train station but there are plenty of hotels and caravan parks there now.

I live not far from Aviemore and go there frequently as we do water sports. It’s not that big a place but if you do water sports it’s all on the lochs heading to Rothiemurchus depending on we’re you stay in Aviemore depends it this is walkable. Aviemore has lots of activities and most of which are outdoors so prepare for the Scottish weather and midges.

If you plan to go to Inverness you can easily get a bus or train. Highland Folk museum is great but maybe difficult to get to without a car. Car hire companies do deliver though so may drop one in Aviemore. Have you thought about flying to Edinburgh or Glasgow then hiring a car from the airport and dropping it there? It’s more hassle but maybe cheaper plus you could potentially plan to do Highland Folk museum on the way back to to the airport as it’s further south than Aviemore.

Aviemore can be quite pricey for accommodation so it might be an idea to look to other areas within 30 minutes of Aviemore as they are normally cheaper. What in particular is it you want to do in Aviemore? Or is it just you would like a few days there?