Scotland travel guide
Castles on sea cliffs, whisky in quiet glens and the Highlands just a morning's drive from Edinburgh and Glasgow. Here is how to plan your trip to Scotland.
Dunnottar Castle
The ruins of Dunnottar sit on a clifftop above the North Sea, a short coastal walk from Stonehaven.
Travel to Scotland: castles, whisky and Highland wilderness
Picture a narrow road through Glencoe. The mountainsides disappear into the mist, a deer stands by the roadside, and the only sounds are the wind and a burn somewhere below. A few hours later you are sitting in a pub in Edinburgh with live folk music and a dram in your glass. That shift between wilderness and city life is why Scotland stays with you.
The country has around 790 islands, more than 150 whisky distilleries and over a thousand castles. Best of all is how close everything is: Edinburgh and Glasgow are under an hour apart by train, and after a few days in the cities you can be deep in the Highlands by the same morning.
A fortress almost surrounded by sea
Dunnottar sits on a plateau joined to the mainland only by a narrow ridge of land. From the car park a steep path leads down and up to the gate, while the coastal path from Stonehaven takes around an hour each way.
Best places to visit in Scotland
The route below follows the map from south to north, the way most people travel: in via Edinburgh or Glasgow, then north towards the Highlands and the islands in the west.
Edinburgh: the capital of castles, festivals and the Royal Mile
Few European capitals make a stronger first impression. Edinburgh Castle towers on an extinct volcano above the cobbled streets of the Old Town, and in August the Fringe turns the whole city into the world's largest arts festival. Walk the Royal Mile down to Holyrood Palace, climb Arthur's Seat for the view, and spend the evening in a pub in the Grassmarket. You will find the rest of the city in our Edinburgh travel guide.
Pipes and a castle on the esplanade
The esplanade in front of the castle is where the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo takes place every August. The rest of the year you can hear the street pipers for free on your way up to the entrance.
Glasgow: music, museums and everyday Scottish life
Less than an hour west of the capital is the city many Scots secretly prefer. Glasgow is rough around the edges where Edinburgh is polished, but the centre is dressed in magnificent Victorian sandstone, best seen from the top of Buchanan Street. The city has one of Britain's best live music scenes, free museums such as Kelvingrove and a strong architectural legacy from Charles Rennie Mackintosh, from the famous Willow Tea Rooms to the art school that bears his name.
Buchanan Street from above
Glasgow's busiest shopping street is pedestrianised all the way. Walk it from Buchanan Galleries in the north down to Argyle Street and you will have seen some of the city's finest facades in one go.
Loch Ness and Inverness: gateway to the Highlands
Heading north the landscape changes character, and Inverness is where most people base themselves. From here it is a short trip to Loch Ness, which on its own holds more water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined, and to the ruins of Urquhart Castle on its shore. Take a boat trip in search of Nessie by all means, but it is the dark water and the hills around it that stay in your memory.
Paddling in the Highlands
To experience the lochs from the water, several operators rent out canoes and kayaks on Loch Ness and the neighbouring waters. Calm mornings give mirror-like water before the wind picks up.
Isle of Skye: Scotland's most photographed island
West of Inverness lies the island at the top of most Scottish travel lists, and with good reason. The rock formations of the Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing look like scenery from another planet, the Fairy Pools tempt the brave into crystal-clear, ice-cold mountain water, and the harbour town of Portree gathers colourful houses around its fishing boats. Arrive early at the famous viewpoints, because Skye is no secret any more.
The Old Man of Storr in dramatic light
The path up to the pinnacles takes around an hour and a half return and is steep, but rewards you with views over Raasay and the mainland. Weather and light change fast here, as the picture shows.
Things to do in Scotland
The islands are only one side of the country. The rest lies along the roads inland: castle ruins on clifftops, distilleries in quiet glens and hill walks with views over half the Highlands.
Scottish castles: Stirling, Dunnottar and Eilean Donan
Well over a thousand castles are scattered across the country, so you need a plan. Stirling Castle, between Edinburgh and the Highlands, was the power base of the Scottish kings and gives a better insight into the history than most. For something wild and windswept, drive to Dunnottar south of Aberdeen, a ruin on a clifftop plateau with the sea on three sides. On the way to Skye you pass Eilean Donan, the castle on its own little island that you have seen on a thousand postcards without knowing its name.
Stirling Castle on its crag
Scottish kings and queens ruled from here, and from the walls you look straight across to the Wallace Monument on the hill behind. The castle is less than an hour's drive from both Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Whisky tours in Scotland: distilleries in Speyside and on Islay
More than 150 working distilleries make Scotland the home of whisky, and a visit is worthwhile even if you don't drink spirits. They are most concentrated in Speyside between Inverness and Aberdeen, where the Malt Whisky Trail links names such as Glenfiddich and The Macallan. If you like smoke and peat, the island of Islay is the place of pilgrimage. Tours usually start at around £20 and mostly end with tastings straight from the cask.
The warehouse where the whisky matures
Scotch single malt must mature for at least three years in oak casks, but most bottles are far older. The year you see on the casks tells you when the whisky was filled.
The Highlands and the North Coast 500: hill walks and Scotland's finest road trip
The walking is why many people come back year after year. Ben Nevis near Fort William is Britain's highest mountain at 1,345 metres, a long but technically easy day walk in good weather. To see as much as possible from the car window, the North Coast 500 is the answer: a loop of just over 830 kilometres from Inverness along the far north coast, with white beaches that look like the Caribbean until you dip a toe in the water.
Scottish food and drink: haggis, seafood and whisky
Whisky is not the only thing the Scots put on the table. The cooking lives on excellent produce, and you notice it from the first meal. Start with the national dish. Haggis is a spiced pudding of lamb offal, oats and onion cooked in a casing, and it tastes far better than it sounds: warm, rounded and slightly nutty, served with neeps and tatties. Try it in a pub with a dram and you will understand why the Scots celebrate it with its own night in January.
The sea provides the rest. Scottish oysters, scallops and salmon are counted among Europe's finest produce, and the soup Cullen skink, made with smoked haddock, warms you up after a day in the rain. Finish with cranachan: whipped cream, raspberries, oats and a splash of whisky. Day to day the Scots stick to fish and chips and the bright orange Irn-Bru, fondly known as the country's other national drink.
Scottish seafood at its finest
The same produce that sizzles on the grill in harbour pubs also ends up on the plates of the country's most ambitious kitchens. This is North Sea turbot with chanterelles, served at Lalique at Glenturret.
When is the best time to visit Scotland?
Scotland is at its best in May, June and September, with long light evenings, pleasant temperatures and fewer of the midges that plague the Highlands in high summer. August belongs to the Edinburgh festivals, so book accommodation early if you are aiming for that month. Winter, in return, is quiet, good value and surprisingly beautiful, with snow-capped mountains and a fire in the pub.
Getting there is easier than many think. The east coast train from London to Edinburgh takes around four and a half hours, the Caledonian Sleeper night train carries you all the way into the Highlands while you sleep, and direct trains from Manchester head north in under four hours. Edinburgh and Glasgow also have international airports with flights from across Europe. Spend a few days in England first, and the train journey north is worth the ticket on its own.
The train is half the experience
Alongside the regular network there are many heritage railways, such as the Caledonian Railway in Angus, where old carriages roll slowly through the countryside. Perfect for a relaxed day out.
Getting around Scotland
Once you arrive, a hire car gives you the most freedom as soon as you leave the cities. In the Highlands the single-track roads have passing places: whoever is closest to one pulls in and lets oncoming traffic pass. Expect big-city prices in Edinburgh and more pleasant prices in the countryside, where the pub is often both the cheapest and the best place to eat. Pack a rain jacket, ignore the forecast and leave plenty of time between stops. Scotland is at its most beautiful when the clouds hang low over the glens, and the best moments rarely come where you planned them.
Frequently asked questions about travelling in Scotland
What is the best time of year to visit Scotland?
May, June and September are the best months for most visitors. You get long daylight hours, mild temperatures and fewer midges than in July and August. August is festival month in Edinburgh, so it is lively but busy, while winter is quiet and atmospheric with snow on the mountains.
How many days do you need in Scotland?
A week is a good minimum for a first trip. That gives you two or three days in Edinburgh and Glasgow and time to reach Loch Ness, Inverness or the Isle of Skye. With ten days to two weeks you can add the North Coast 500, the whisky regions of Speyside or Islay, and more islands.
Do you need a car to explore Scotland?
Not in the cities, where trains, buses and walking work well. To explore the Highlands and the islands at your own pace, a hire car is the easiest option. Drive on the left and use the passing places on single-track roads. Trains and coaches reach the main towns, and many day tours leave from Edinburgh and Inverness.
What food should you try in Scotland?
Try haggis with neeps and tatties, Cullen skink made with smoked haddock, Scottish salmon, oysters and scallops, and cranachan for dessert. A dram of single malt whisky, ideally on a distillery tour, belongs on the list too, as does a bottle of Irn-Bru with your fish and chips.