travel

The original post: /r/travel by /u/hastyyyy on 2024-11-14 18:40:35.

Hi,

My soon-to-be wife and I are planning to fly over to Edinburgh for our honeymoon next month and explore most parts of the country (excluding the east side): Edinburgh, Glasgow, Fort William Skye Island and Inverness on a clock-wise road trip.

I think I've got most of details down but would really appreciate other people's opinions to spot any bad planning or misjudgement on my part. Here's what I've been planning:

1. Edinburgh (starting the day after we land) (spending 2 days. 3 nights in total)
   1. On the day we land, we arrive around noon so not much can be done
   2. Explore the city in the following two days
   3. On the 3rd day, take the train to visit Stirling Castle
   4. Could possibly pass through Doune Castle afterwards but not sure if there's good public transportation or if there's enough time due to ~7h of daylight (is it worth visiting after the sun has set?)
   5. Take the train to Glasgow
2. Glasgow (1 night, 1 day)
3. Fort William (likely 2 days, 2 nights due to the amount of daylight vs the amount of sights to see)
   1. Rent a car when leaving Glasgow (looking at Sixt): probably a SUV with automatic gear box and not sure whether I can / should ask for winter tyres? Tbh I'm a bit concerned about driving since it's on the other side of the road and I'm not used to the potential winter conditions / icy roads
   2. Loch Lomond
   3. Wee White House
   4. The Meeting of Three Waters
   5. Three Sisters Viewpoint
   6. Signal Rock
   7. Glencoe
   8. Glencoe Lochan Trail
   9. Ben Nevis
   10. Also wanted to visit Glenfinnan (to see the Jacobite Express line) but not sure if I should fit it elsewhere / other day
4. Skye Island (2 nights, 2 days) (not sure of the best order to visit these spots in)
   1. Fairy Pools
   2. The Fairy Glen
   3. The Storr
   4. Lealt Falls
   5. Kilt Rock
   6. The Quiraing
   7. Stay in Portree
5. Inverness (2 nights, 2 days)
   1. Visit the Eilean Donan Castle on the way from Skye
   2. Loch Ness
   3. Urquhart Castle
   4. Stay in Inverness
6. Return to Edinburgh
   1. Do the trip through Cairngorms National Park
   2. Stay for the night and return next day

I'm mostly worried about:

• With only around 7 hours of daylight (from ~8:30 am to ~3:30 pm), will we have enough time to see everything listed?
• Is it too dangerous / difficult to drive at this time of the year?
• Are any of the places I've listed not recommended at this time of the year?

Would also appreciate some input on:

• What would you add to the list?
• What would you remove from the list?
• What activities would you recommend in Fort William, Portree, and Inverness for evenings when it’s dark?
• Which of the listed places could still be visited after daylight is gone?

Thanks!