Last Updated on August 5, 2024
This May, we made our Scottish highland countryside road trip dreams come true with a four day trip to Scotland for my birthday. Last year November, the UK changed some entry rules and regulations with a few countries, including Peru. So JC could finally travel to the UK without a visa (he has a Peruvian passport). With this great news, we jumped on the opportunity and booked flights to Edinburgh and out of Glasgow. We had 4 full days to make our way from Edinburgh to Glasgow by car. With so many awe inspiring locations in Scotland to see, it was very difficult to narrow down our list. In the end, we made an ambitious but doable itinerary that includes most of the musts for a first-time visit to Scotland. Read below for how to plan a Scotland road trip, including our 4-day itinerary.
Our 4-day Scotland Itinerary:
Arrival Day: Fly into Edinburgh airport. Pick up rental car. Eat dinner and stay the night in Edinburgh at the No 11 Boutique Hotel & Brasserie.
Day 1: Spend the day in Edinburgh. Do a Harry Potter walking tour. Eat an Indian lunch at Dishoom. Have a typical Scottish dinner at The Scran and Scallie. Drive one hour outside of Edinburgh and stay at The Forge Bed & Breakfast.
Day 2: Wake up, eat breakfast and get ready to start your Highlands road trip! Drive 3 hours to Fort Augustus to see the southern most tip of Loch Ness. Eat a quick lunch at Monster Fish & Chips Co. before hitting the road again. Drive one hour to Eilean Donan Castle. After touring the castle, cross the bridge to Isle of Skye and stay the night at Katie’s Cabin.
Day 3: Spend the day on Isle of Skye. Hike Old Man of Storr and The Fairy Pools. Stay a second night at Katie’s cabin.
Day 4: Leave Isle of Skye and drive two hours to the Glenfinnan Viaduct to watch the Jacobite train(aka the Hogwarts Express) go by. Drive three hours to Glasgow. Eat dinner at Ox and Finch. Stay the night at the Z Hotel Glasgow.
Departure Day: Drive to the Glasgow airport, drop off the rental car and fly home (or to your next destination! We flew onwards to Paris to visit Disneyland).
Read more: How to Plan a Trip to Disneyland Paris with a Toddler
How to plan a Scotland Road Trip – Fly into Edinburgh
Pick up your rental car – but remember to drive on the left side of the road!
We flew into Edinburgh and picked up our rental car from Green Motion Rental Cars. We found the deal on VIP Cars. It cost 326 GBP for 5 days and limited mileage (500 miles) with drop-off at the Glasgow airport. Our planned itinerary was already close to 500 miles, so we knew it was going to be close. The sales agent at the counter tried to convince us to get an automatic car and navigation. In the end we stuck with the manual transmission and used my phone to navigate, which had reception the entire trip. But in case you are nervous about driving, better to get the automatic car. Remember to drive on the left hand side of the road! The rental car agent gave JC a bracelet to remind him while driving.
Do all the Harry Potter things while in Edinburgh
I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I knew that if we were making a trip to Edinburgh, we had to do a Harry Potter tour. Luckily, I found one on Airbnb Experiences. It was a 2 hour walking tour that started at the famous Royal Mile. We started the tour looking out to The Balmoral hotel, where J.K. Rowling famously wrote the seventh Harry Potter book, the Deathly Hallows. You can stay in the ”J.K. Rowling suite” for 2600 GBP a night. We continued, passing such sights as Victoria Street, the real life Diagon Alley. Our tour guide showed us the cafes where J.K. Rowling famously wrote the series, such as the Elephant House. We walked to Greyfriars Kirkyard, where Thomas Riddell’s grave lies. The tour ended with J.K. Rowling’s golden handprints, just off the Royal Mile. On Victoria Street, we stopped in the official Harry Potter shop Museum Context, where you can take a photo with the Sorting Hat, as well as buy lots of Harry Potter merchandise. If you are a Harry Potter fan, you are going to love Edinburgh!
Stay at No 11 Boutique Hotel in Edinburgh
We stayed at the No 11 Boutique Hotel & Brasserie while in Edinburgh. The hotel is located around 20 minutes walking away from Edinburgh downtown. While we weren’t right in the thick of downtown, it was an easy and pleasant walk. It was also nice to be on a quiet street and there was street parking in front of the hotel (but you do have to pay for it). The hotel itself is a really beautiful townhouse. It has a restaurant onsite, which we ate at the first night. The food is delicious! The rooms are small, and there is no elevator (but someone brought our bags up the stairs). The breakfast was also really delicious: we had a beautiful spread of poached eggs, yogurt, oats and mimosas. I would 100% stay there again.
Where to eat in Edinburgh
Besides our delicious meals at the No 11 Brasserie, we ate at Dishoom and The Scran & Scallie while in Edinburgh. We love Dishoom and have eaten there multiple times in London. We were extremely pleased to find that they are also in Edinburgh. If you love Indian food, you need to pay them a visit. We ate at The Scan & Scallie for my birthday dinner. It is a modern Scottish restaurant and serves typical Scottish dishes with a twist. I had the fish pie and JC had the steak pie. Everything was really delicious. If you are looking for a special place for dinner that is still casual and unpretentious and serves local food, I would give it a try.
How to plan a Scotland Road Trip – Continue North to the Highlands
Try to spot Nessie at Loch Ness
We spent our second night about one hour north of Edinburgh at a bed & breakfast in order to get a good head start on our long drive across the Highlands. We proceeded to drive 3 hours to Fort Augustus, which is the southern most tip of Loch Ness. Loch Ness is famous for the Loch Ness monster: Nessie. At souvenir shops you can buy Nessie merchandise at one of the many shops. There are also restaurants and ice cream shops. We ate lunch at Monster Fish & Chips Co. before heading onwards to Eilean Donan Castle. We really enjoyed our time at Fort Augustus and would recommend making a stop there for a few hours on your journey north.
Stop at Eilean Donan Castle on your way to Isle of Skye
About one hour drive from Fort Augustus is Eilean Donan Castle. If you want to admire the castle from afar, you do not need to pay entrance. Simply park your car in the lot (not for free) and walk on over. However, if you would like to cross the bridge separating the castle from the mainland and take a closer look, you need to buy entrance tickets. You can only buy tickets upon arrival at Eilean Donan for the day of your visit. The castle is very beautiful, but small, so you do not need much time to walk around and take photos. But it is worth paying the fee.
Continue to Isle of Skye
From Eilean Donan Castle, we continued for a short while to the Isle of Skye. There is no need to take a ferry to get to the isle. We stayed in a tiny home in Breakish called Katie’s Cabin. We absolutely LOVED the tiny home. It was our first time staying in a tiny home and we felt that it had everything we needed. There was also enough space for us and our almost 3-year old daughter. The hosts provided us with everything to cook, as well as complimentary breakfast and games. We also had Netflix and took the opportunity to watch some Harry Potter! There is also a guest book, which was fun to read; guests wrote recommendations of their favorite restaurants and attractions on the island. We referred to the guests’ recommendations when planning our itinerary on the Isle of Skye!
Take in the natural wonders of Isle of Skye
Look for Highland Coos
The next morning we woke up and planned our full day on the Isle of Skye. There are so many things to see in Skye, but with only 24 hours, we had to narrow our list down. First off, we wanted to see Highland Coos. We checked that off the bucket list at Hector’s Highland Coos. Our daughter absolutely loved seeing the cows. So cute!
Head to Old Man of Storr
From there, we continued to Old Man of Storr, stopping along the way at Bride’s Veil Falls to admire the waterfalls. At the Old Man of Storr parking lot, we left the car and continued our journey up. Now, a warning to those with kids — your kids need to walk or be carried! You cannot expect to use a stroller! It is meant to be a 2 hour hike. We got about half way there, which was difficult, as I had to essentially carry my daughter the whole time. My advice would be to bring a carrier for your smaller child or one of those child hiking backpacks for your larger child. Nevertheless, even without doing the entire hike, we still had a beautiful view of the rocks from afar. There are also sheep wandering around, which are fun for the kids to see.
Continue to the Fairy Pools
From Old Man of Storr, we drove about 1 hour to the Fairy Pools. We brought Isabella in the stroller, but even though it was relatively flat terrain, it was still difficult to push the stroller in the dirt and rocks. There are many fairy pools on the walk and you can even swim in them if the weather is good. We saw a couple doing a photoshoot down in one of the pools. There are many pools and waterfalls along the way and it is a pretty easy walk, especially compared to the Old Man of Storr. I would recommend it especially with kids (just don’t bring your stroller!)
How to plan a Scotland Road Trip – Drive to the Glenfinnan Viaduct
Catch a glimpse of the real life Hogwarts Express!
As you know, we are big Harry Potter fans. Consequently, we had to take the opportunity to see the real life Hogwarts Express! You can actually ride aboard the Jacobite steam train. However, we were only interested in seeing it cross the Glennfinnan Viaduct as featured in the Harry Potter films. I would recommend checking the time tables and getting there well ahead of time, as the train is very popular. It was hard to find a parking space even one hour ahead of time. You can see the train cross the viaduct in two places. We parked in the visitor center and did a short hike to this viewpoint. However, I would recommend to instead take this trail to get a really close up view of the train going by.
How to plan a Scotland Road Trip – Finish in Glasgow
End your Scottish road trip in Glasgow
We finished our trip driving from the Glennfinnan Viaduct to Glasgow. It is a 3 hour drive. We passed Loch Lomand on our way to Glasgow, but we didn’t have time to stop. Once we reached Glasgow we checked into the Z Hotel Glasgow and then went for dinner at Ox and Finch. Dinner was fantastic! Easily the best meal we had the entire trip! It is tapas style and they have a lot of vegetarian and vegan options. The whipped feta with banana chili and honey was to die for! Definitely a must when in Glasgow. Be sure to book in advance.
And that ends our four day road trip in Scotland. For sure we will be making a return trip to this incredible country. Any recommendations or musts for Scotland, please leave them in the comments below!
