Europe · Touring guide
Highlands, islands and cities that reward a proper route rather than a rushed loop.
Is it right for you?
A strong fit for
Touring, scenery and a shorter-haul adventure feel.
We would think twice for
Anyone who cannot make peace with weather and midges, because the Highlands deliver all four seasons before lunch, and the summer midge is a small, committed adversary.
What we would want you to know
Driving distances in the Highlands take longer than the map suggests.
We’ve been here
Scotland is part of our own travels, and it taught us to plan for four seasons in a day. Every Highland route we build has an indoor fallback for each stop, and a spare hour or two for the lay-bys and viewpoints nobody manages to drive past.
The route
Nights 1 and 2
Explore the castle and the Royal Mile, climb Arthur's Seat for the view, and spend an evening in the Georgian streets of the New Town.
Night 3
Drive west past the Kelpies and Stirling, then cross the emptiness of Rannoch Moor into the glen for a first Highland evening.
Nights 4 to 6
Stop at Glenfinnan, take the ferry from Mallaig to Skye, then spend three days on the Storr, the coast and the villages, starting early each day.
Nights 7 and 8
Leave over the Skye Bridge past Eilean Donan Castle, follow Loch Ness to Urquhart, and give a day to Culloden and the dolphins at Chanonry Point.
Day 9
Head south through whisky country for a distillery tour and a forest walk near Aviemore, then take the main road back to Edinburgh.
An idea to react to, not a fixed package. We shape the real thing around your dates, your pace and what the flights are doing that season.
Map and stops
The castle, the Royal Mile and the Georgian New Town, all walkable if you do not mind hills and steps. Two nights makes a good start to a Highland route. In August the festivals fill every bed and rates soar, which is wonderful if you want the Fringe and frustrating if you do not.
A glen of sheer mountain walls rising straight from the road, with a small village at its foot beside Loch Leven. It makes a natural first Highland stop after the drive across Rannoch Moor. Rooms are scarce, the weather is wild, and midges are fierce on still summer evenings.
Ridges, sea cliffs and waterfalls, reached by bridge or by ferry from Mallaig. Portree is the main base with the most restaurants; elsewhere you are in small villages. Skye is more popular than its roads can handle in summer, so three nights booked early is the way to do it.
The Highland capital sits on the River Ness at the top of the Great Glen, a practical base for Loch Ness, Culloden and the Moray Firth dolphins, with more hotels than anywhere else in the north. The city itself is pleasant rather than beautiful; the draw is what lies around it.
Pinewoods, rivers and the Cairngorm mountains around Aviemore, with whisky country along the Spey to the north. Aviemore is the busy hub with the most facilities, while villages such as Grantown-on-Spey are quieter. It is drier than the west, but colder in winter.
A harbour town whose ferry terminal is the gateway to Mull, Iona and the Hebrides, with seafood stalls by the pier. It is a base for island days rather than somewhere to linger, and summer ferries need booking ahead, particularly with a car.
Weather and seasons
Scotland's calendar is set by daylight and midges. Late spring is often the driest spell in the west, the glens are fresh and the midges have barely stirred, while June brings near-endless evenings and Edinburgh highs of around 18°C. From late June to August the midges are at their worst on still, damp evenings in the west, and Skye's car parks fill by mid-morning. September calms down and the heather turns the moors purple. August in Edinburgh belongs to the festivals, when rooms are scarce and dear. Winter days are short and chilly, around 8°C in the capital, but the cities are cosy and the snow-capped hills beautiful on clear days.
Worth timing a trip around
Suppers across the country honour the poet Robert Burns with haggis, whisky and verse, and many hotels host their own.
Towns and villages stage games with caber tossing, pipe bands and Highland dancing. The Braemar Gathering, in early September, traditionally draws members of the royal family.
The Fringe, the International Festival and the Military Tattoo turn the city into one enormous stage. Book rooms very early, or stay outside the city and come in by train.
New Year is celebrated with a street party and fireworks over the castle. The central party area needs tickets, and the weather can still decide the night.
| Month | High | Low | Sea | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | 1°C | 7°C | 64 mm |
| February | 9°C | 2°C | 6°C | 50 mm |
| March | 10°C | 3°C | 6°C | 49 mm |
| April | 12°C | 4°C | 7°C | 30 mm |
| May | 16°C | 8°C | 10°C | 33 mm |
| June | 18°C | 10°C | 12°C | 59 mm |
| July | 20°C | 12°C | 14°C | 71 mm |
| August | 19°C | 12°C | 14°C | 59 mm |
| September | 17°C | 10°C | 13°C | 53 mm |
| October | 14°C | 7°C | 12°C | 72 mm |
| November | 10°C | 3°C | 10°C | 54 mm |
| December | 8°C | 2°C | 8°C | 66 mm |
Temperatures are 2015 to 2024 averages from NOAA records for Edinburgh: Royal Botanic Garde, 2 km away at 26 m. Rainfall is from the same station and shows the typical (median) month, so one freak storm does not skew it. Sea temperatures: NOAA OISST, 1991 to 2020.
| Month | High | Low | Sea | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | 1°C | 8°C | 213 mm |
| February | 8°C | 2°C | 8°C | 170 mm |
| March | 9°C | 2°C | 8°C | 118 mm |
| April | 12°C | 3°C | 8°C | 91 mm |
| May | 16°C | 7°C | 10°C | 98 mm |
| June | 18°C | 9°C | 12°C | 99 mm |
| July | 19°C | 11°C | 13°C | 129 mm |
| August | 18°C | 10°C | 14°C | 146 mm |
| September | 17°C | 9°C | 14°C | 171 mm |
| October | 13°C | 6°C | 13°C | 228 mm |
| November | 10°C | 4°C | 11°C | 207 mm |
| December | 8°C | 2°C | 10°C | 293 mm |
Temperatures are 2015 to 2024 averages from NOAA records for Tulloch Bridge, 25 km away at 249 m, adjusted for the 249 m difference in altitude. Rainfall is from the GPCC rain-gauge analysis (Deutscher Wetterdienst) for 2010 to 2019 and shows the typical (median) month, so one freak storm does not skew it. Sea temperatures: NOAA OISST, 1991 to 2020.
Things to do
The fortress on its volcanic rock holds the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish crown jewels. Book a timed ticket online, and be there at one o'clock for the gun fired from the ramparts every day except Sunday.
An extinct volcano rising from Holyrood Park in the middle of the city. The climb is short but steep and the top is very windy, so go early for the light and the quiet.
Two giant steel horse heads beside the canal at Falkirk, free to see and lit up at night. An easy stop on the road from Edinburgh to the Highlands.
The curving railway viaduct at the head of Loch Shiel, famous from the Harry Potter films. Steam trains cross it in summer, so check the timetable and arrive early, because the car park fills.
A pinnacle of rock on a ridge above Skye's east coast, reached by a steep, well-made path. Start early or late in the day, when the car park has space and the light is kinder.
A ruined castle on the shore of Loch Ness with wide views along the water. Coaches arrive by mid-morning, so go at opening time or late in the afternoon.
The moor where the last Jacobite rising ended in 1746. The visitor centre tells both sides of the story before you walk out among the flags marking the two front lines.
Bottlenose dolphins chase salmon in the narrow channel off this shingle spit near Inverness. Arrive about an hour after low tide, when the rising water often brings them close to the shore.
The glens along the River Spey are thick with distilleries, many offering tours and tastings. Book ahead in summer, and ask for a driver's dram to take away if you are behind the wheel.
Food and drink
The national dish of spiced lamb, oats and onion, served with mashed swede and potato and often a whisky sauce. Vegetarian haggis is widely available.
A thick, warming soup of smoked haddock, potato and onion from the Moray coast, just the thing after a wet walk.
Haddock hot-smoked in pairs over hardwood fires in the Angus fishing town, sold warm and eaten with your fingers.
Langoustines, scallops and mussels landed in harbours such as Oban and on Skye, often at their best simply cooked by the quayside.
Scottish raspberries folded into whipped cream with toasted oats, honey and a splash of whisky, at its best in late summer.
A crumbly, very sweet cousin of fudge made from sugar, butter and condensed milk, sold in slabs in every village shop.
Money
Scotland's costs cluster into a short season: from May to September the good small hotels on Skye and in the glens fill early and price with confidence, and Edinburgh in August charges festival rates. Distilleries, castles and ferries are modest, and the hills cost nothing to roam. What stretches the budget is distance: outside the rail corridors a car is essential, and fuel in remote areas costs more than at home.
Flights and transfers
From the north of England the train to Edinburgh is quick and the drive north is part of the holiday. Flights from Leeds Bradford and Manchester serve Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness for shorter hops. The Caledonian Sleeper from London is a trip in itself.
Practical details
Same time as the UK
Pound sterling (£); Scottish banks print their own notes, which some shops in England refuse
English, with Gaelic on signs in the Highlands and islands
Type G, 230V
On the left
Safe to drink, and soft and good-tasting in the Highlands
Around 10 percent in restaurants if service is not included; not expected at the bar
Questions we get asked
Roughly late May to September, at its worst in July and August on still, damp evenings in the west. Breezy coasts and sunny afternoons are far better, and Edinburgh and the east are much less affected. Pack a repellent that works on midges, and a head net if you plan to camp or fish.
Pull into a passing place when you see an oncoming car, or wait opposite one if it is on your right, and let faster traffic behind you overtake. Never park in a passing place. It is slow but courteous driving, and it is why Highland journeys take longer than the map suggests.
For the scenery, yes, but it deserves at least five or six days, and in summer the single-track sections are busy with campervans. May and September are calmer. We usually fold its best stretches into a slower route rather than treating it as a lap to complete.
It is tight. Three nights gives you a day each for the north, the south and a spare for bad weather, which on Skye is a real consideration. Book early, because the island's accommodation is small and sells out months ahead for summer.
Only if the festivals are part of the point. In August the city is thrilling, packed and expensive, with hotel rates at their yearly peak. If you want the castle and the old town in comfort, come in late spring or after the festivals end.
Sometimes, on clear, dark nights between autumn and spring, and mostly in the far north and on the islands away from street lights. It is never guaranteed. Sign up for an aurora alert service and treat any display as a bonus rather than the reason to travel.
Photographs
Also worth a look
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