Scotland Travel Guide

Scotland is my home away from home. Known for its beautiful scenery, castles, whisky, haggis, and oh so much more! Whether you visit one of the bigger cities, small charming towns, the highlands, islands, or borders, you won’t be disappointed. I’ve made Scotland my home after travelling around the world, and I couldn’t be happier!

Scotland Essentials

Accommodation

Scotland offers a wide range of accommodation from hostel beds to B&Bs, hotels, and self catering holiday homes bookable through sites like Airbnb. We recommend booking in advance, especially in the Highlands and Islands through the peak season. Expect to pay £100-200 per night averagely.

Food & Drink

Scotland has a huge range of dining options, from traditional pubs and local cafes, to fine dining, and lots more in between. Be sure to try local specialities like haggis, neeps, and tatties, and a full Scottish breakfast too! We have a whole website dedicated to Scottish food that you can see here – Scottish Scran.

Best time to visit

You can visit all year round, but the main tourist season runs from late March to early October and some businesses are seasonal, which means they close over the winter months. The best weather is often in April and May, but you never know what you’re going to get when it comes to Scottish weather!

Transport

There are bus and rail links across the whole country, and beyond to England. Buses are usually a cheaper option than trains unless you book further in advance. There are also ferries servicing the islands. It’s advisable to book in the summer months, especially if you want to take a car on the ferry.

Our Home on the Isle of Skye

We recently moved from the central belt and now call the Isle of Skye home! We’re getting to know our new home and can’t wait to share more about it with you all.

Sign up to our monthly newsletter for updates about our life on Skye, and subscribe to our YouTube channel, Adventures on Skye, to see more about it!

Adventures on Skye Youtube Channel

You can also join our Isle of Skye Travel Tips Facebook Group to ask your own questions about travelling here.

Facebook Group

26 Tips for Visiting the Isle of Skye From a Local

Top 13 Things to Do on the Isle of Skye

Unusual things to do on the Isle of Skye

How to Find Unique Things to Do in the Isle of Skye

Why We Moved to the Isle of Skye

Where Do You Want to Go?

When planning your adventure in Scotland, deciding where to go is a big deal! There’s so much to see, it can be difficult to know where to start. Breaking down the country into different areas and exploring what each place has to offer isn’t as simple as you might think. There are numerous ways to approach it! Whether you’re interested in major cities and regions or prefer posts about the countryside, towns, and cities, there’s a lot to consider.

Edinburgh: Scotland’s capital city with the UNESCO World Heritage Old Town & New Town areas.

Glasgow: The biggest city in Scotland, known for its arts and music scene.

Inverness: Capital of the Highlands and ideal as a base for exploring the region.

Aberdeen: Known as the “Granite City” thanks to its glittering grey stone buildings. Located on the east coast and ideal for exploring the rest of Aberdeenshire, including the Cairngorm National Park.

The Highlands: Traditionally encompassing the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, including many mountain ranges and the islands off the west coast of Scotland.

The Lowlands: Referring to the parts of Scotland that are not part of the Highlands. However, this is usually further divided into two areas. The Central Belt, where most people in Scotland live, encompasses Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire, Falkirk, Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife. Below that is the Southern Uplands, mostly made up of the Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway.

Western Isles: Islands stretching the length of the west coast, which are sometimes divided into the Inner and Outer Hebrides. Known for their beautiful sweeping coastlines and scenery.

Orkney & Shetland: Two unique island groups off the north of mainland Scotland. Shetland has strong Viking roots, and Orkney is the location of many neolithic sites.

Scotland Regions

To really help with your planning, we wanted to break things down into smaller areas, since we know how many amazing things there are to do across Scotland. You can click on the Scottish Regions below to take you to information about each, including what you can expect there and the best things to do, plus any blog posts we’ve written too!