If you haven’t already gathered, we are BIG fans of Scotland. Overall as a country, it just feels so underrated – before, during, and after our recent trip, numerous people asked us, “why Scotland?!” and I think that needs to change! So here I am again to sell Scotland. If you’ve never thought about visiting this magical, ethereal, ancient land, please let this post encourage you to do so!
Leading up to our trip, I spent countless hours researching our itinerary, planning, booking, double checking, all the things! There were some trickier aspects of planning this trip (figuring out if we could manage a manual transmission on the “other” side of the road and finding restaurant ideas in the highlands to name a few!), so I knew I especially had to get our itinerary up here for others planning a trip to Scotland.
I want to preface this itinerary by mentioning that we would have absolutely LOVED to stay longer in Scotland, but it just wasn’t in the cards to take more time off work. If you have the chance to do a 12-13 day roadtrip, that would have allowed us way more flexibility and time to explore. We also went in January which is a cold and dark time in Scotland, but if you’re a fan of that weather like us, it actually couldn’t be a more relaxing time to be there. We’re very “sun up to sundown” travelers, so being forced to sit by the fire and read as soon as the sun went down around 4:45 was actually amazing.
Day 1 // Edinburgh
Stay: The Balmoral or the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh
Eat: The Queen’s Arms (book in advance) or Bonnie & Wild Food Hall
Do: Walk the Royal Mile or Prince’s Street Gardens
We landed in Edinburgh after a very long travel day, and as soon as we caught the bus from the airport to the Princes Street stop, we checked in at The Balmoral. This was our second time staying here (first was on our one night stay in Scotland on our honeymoon), and it was just as magical as the first. J.K. Rowling finished the Harry Potter series at this hotel (for $$$$, you can actually stay in the suite she stayed in for that!), but it’s an amazing hotel in its own right. It’s very centrally located, and there’s a ton of amenities on site including a full spa, two amazing restaurants plus The Palm Court where they serve a stunning afternoon tea service, a Scotch tasting bar which stocks the largest public collection of Scotch in the world.
Day 2 // Edinburgh
Eat: The Milkman Coffee Shop, Mary’s Milk Bar, SCOTCH Tasting Bar or The Ivy or Dishoom
Do: Tour Edinburgh Castle and hunt down the best views in the city
Rise and shine! This is the perfect day to explore Edinburgh. Maybe you’d like to take a tour of Edinburgh Castle (worth it for the amazing views of the city alone), or just walk the royal mile and the Grassmarket neighborhood.
One of our favorite views in the city was from the Vennel Viewpoint. Such a unique angle of the castle, and this is a great stop while you’re in Grassmarket.
Day 3 // Edinburgh
Do: Hike Sir Arthur’s Seat or Explore Dean Village or Afternoon Tea
If you’re feeling adventurous, today’s a great day to hike Sir Arthur’s Seat or wander of to Dean Village! If you’re feeling fancy, you absolutely have to book an afternoon tea at least once while in the UK. We did ours at the Balmoral’s Palm Court since we were staying there, but I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the many options in the city.
Day 4 // Edinburgh > Cairngorms
Stay: The Fife Arms (if you can) or more affordable options here
Eat: The Flying Stag
Do: We mainly wanted to come to the Cairngorms on this trip to check out the Fife Arms (check out my full fife arms review here). This hotel is quickly making a name for itself as the destination hotel in Scotland, and from the moment we stepped in we could immediately see why. It is a splurge to stay here, but if you have time to even stop and explore their rooms, eat at the Flying Stag, or grab a drink at their bar, it’s more than worth it, take my word for it!
Otherwise, hiking is one of the most popular things to do in the Cairngorms – we would love to go back when we have more time to do that!
Day 5 // Cairngorms > Glencoe
Stay: Kinghouse Hotel
Eat: Red Shed Pizza, Clachaig Inn, Kingshouse Hotel
Do: The drive between the Cairngorms and Glencoe is beautiful! Every drive we needed to take in Scotland flew by because the scenery is just so idyllic. We settled in at our hotel mainly this night because it was nearly night by the time we arrived, but the scenery from this hotel alone is enough to occupy your time.
Day 6 // Glencoe
Eat: Red Shed Pizza, Clachaig Inn, Kingshouse Hotel
Do: Walk the Glencoe Lochan Trail , Drive the James Bond Skyfall Road, Visit the Glenfinnan Viaduct
Make sure to check out my full Glencoe guide here!
Day 7 // Glencoe > Glasgow
Stay: Voco Grand Central
Eat: Ubiquitous Chip + Any on this list!
Do: Kelvingrove Art Museum and walk around University of Edinburgh
We were only in Glasgow for a very short time, but honestly you don’t need a huge amount of time here to really see what the city has to offer. We even could have spent more time, but we’re really just obsessed with Edinburgh so we wanted to get back over there haha
We also dropped off our rental car this day and just used ubers before getting on the train the next morning to Edinburgh – officially concluding the roadtrip aspect of this trip!
Day 8 // Edinburgh
Stay: We had a very early flight the next day, so we just stayed at an airport hotel!
Eat: Bonnie + Wild (we’re obsessed with this place)
Do: Rare Birds Bookshop and Topping & Company Bookstore, Tartan Blanket Co, Stroll Stockbridge Neighborhood
We took a train from Glasgow to Edinburgh, which honestly ended up being incredibly fun! Coming from the US where train travel is just way less convenient and common, it feels like such an adventure to hop on a train. This day, we just did everything we saw on our previous days in Edinburgh but didn’t have time for!
Day 9 // Fly home
The dreaded last day of a trip! I swear I am never more miserable than the flight home from an amazing vacation, does anyone else feel the same?
Anyways, if you enjoyed this Scotland Roadtrip Itinerary, make sure to follow me on Instagram for more live looks at all our travels and daily life.
