Road trips are such an exciting way to experience a new place. You not only have a ton of freedom with the open road, but it actually feels different to be driving from place to place. This Scotland road trip was no exception.

The trip was actually a Christmas present to my husband. He had always wanted to go to Scotland and his love for golfing and whiskey made it the perfect combination for this road trip. Plus, the flights were only $400 a person roundtrip, so I couldn’t pass it up.

To be honest, this is actually one of my favorite trips. I am not a golfer, and I hate whiskey, but there is so much culture and history in Scotland that it’s hard not to love. However—that is not to say our trip was perfect. We actually came across a few hiccups (one almost left us stranded in the Scottish Highlands) that definitely could have been avoided had we planned things a little better.

I’ve outlined our entire trip below, including what to do and what NOT to do, so hopefully, you can avoid these mistakes to steer clear of unnecessary stress on your Scotland road trip!

Day 1: Glasgow Airport to the Isle of Skye

We took a redeye from NYC to Glasgow and arrived at about 7 am and went straight to the Hertz car rental counter. The original car they gave us didn’t have GPS so they “upgraded” us to a Mercedes E class. We had a 5-hour car ride to get to our accommodation on the Isle of Skye. 

The scenic ride was beautiful. We were about 2-hours into our drive in the middle of the Scottish Highlands when our tire blew on the edge of the road. There we were, on the side of the road, in the middle of sheep pastures without a spare tire. Luckily, we were able to call Hertz who got a tow-truck to take us to the nearest town, 30 minutes away.

The whole debacle derailed us about 4 hours but we were back on the road after we bought a new tire (buy car rental insurance if you are ever going on a road trip!!) Because of this, our schedule was a little off but we were still able to stop at Eilean Donan Castle. A few hours later we finally arrived at The Cowshed Boutique Bunkhouse in Uig, Isle of Skye. The views were absolutely amazing and we were able to get some much-needed rest in the cozy pod.

What to see along this route:

• Stop for lunch in Fort William
• See the Jacobite Steam Train tracks (the “Harry Potter” train), we unfortunately were unable to stop for this due to our tire mishap
• See the Eilean Donan Castle

Things to do on the Isle of Skye:

• Have lunch in Portree
• Whiskey tasting at the Talisker Distillery
• Drive along the A855 to catch glimpses of highland cattle and sheep. It is a single road so you have to pull off for oncoming traffic but is well worth the detour!

Day 2: Isle of Skye to Inverness

In the morning we drove around the tip of the Isle of Skye. The landscape along the winding, single-lane road was incredibly beautiful and isolated. It does take a few hours to drive along A855, but the amount of wildlife and rugged terrain along the route was the epitome of the Scottish Highlands.

We stopped for brunch in Portree at Cafe Arriba. It is a very eclectic eatery that has an amazing  Scottish breakfast—both a traditional version and a vegetarian version! After walking the streets for a while and buying some snacks for the road, we were back on route.

PORTREE:
Portree is the largest town on the Isle of Skye. With colorful buildings lining the harbor and plenty of great restaurants to choose from, this quaint town is a must-see if you are visiting the Isle of Skye.

The drive from Portree to Inverness was about 2.5-hours. Still very narrow roads but nothing like in the Isle of Skye! When we arrived in Inverness, we checked in to our Bed & Breakfast then drove out to Loch Ness. After about 10-minutes of driving, we came up upon the vast lake. The lake was far larger than I ever could have imagined and was incredibly peaceful (not a hint of a monster in sight). We drove a bit farther and found a spot to walk down to the water. I’m not one for lake activities but there are plenty of tour operators to take you on a cruise around this fabled body of water.

When we arrived back in Inverness, we were able to walk into town from our B&B. We strolled through the cobblestone streets of the downtown area and marveled at the architecture.

INVERNESS:
Although Inverness is a relatively small city, almost a quarter of the Scottish Highland population inhabit it.  The Inverness castle (now the courthouse) is a focal point of the city which sits atop a cliff overlooking the River Ness.

What to see along this route:

• Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls
• Quiraing and the Old Man of Storr
• Portree harbor
• Loch Ness

Day 3: Inverness to Aberdeen

On day 3, we left Inverness to set off to the distilleries. The distilleries we visited are along the Malt Whiskey Trail and are in the middle of the countryside—far from the next city and set amongst acres of rolling hills. After a 50 mile drive, we arrived at our first stop: The Glenlivet distillery.

SPEYSIDE:
The world’s largest concentration of malt whiskey distilleries is in Strathspey, a small region in northeastern Scotland. The whiskey distilled in this region are called Speyside Single Malts. There are numerous distilleries as well as the Speyside Cooperage, which produces and repairs oak casks.

The Glenlivet Distillery

The facility itself had been recently renovated and was truly an experience. The hour-long tour was extremely informative and we were able to try a taste of 100-year-old scotch straight from the barrel (something I did not necessarily enjoy but tried to appreciate). We had lunch at Glenlivet because we had heard there was no food available at our next stop: The Macallan distillery.

The Macallan Distillery

I found that the lack of food at the Macallan distillery to be surprising, given that Macallan is one of the most well-known brands of Scotch. However, upon pulling up to the massive campus that was The Macallan distillery, we quickly realized that they were in the process of reconstructing the entire facility.

The tour at Macallan was long. I think the fact that it was in such deep construction made it a little less exciting but also I was getting antsy after 2-hours of listening to our tour guide. One of the most interesting things I learned, however, was that Americans are more focused on the “number” bottles. We tried the Amber and it was surprisingly good (even for a non-whiskey drinker). We decided to buy the bottle not only because of its unique taste but also because it’s not even sold in the U.S. (likely because it doesn’t have a “number” associated with it and they think Americans will be less likely to purchase it).

Note: the updates to the Macallan distillery have been completed and I’m sure the experience will be much more promising!

Speyside Whiskey Distilleries to visit:

• The Glenlivet
• Macallan
• Cardhu
• Glenfarclas
• Glenfiddich

Aberdeen

Post whiskey tasting, we drove on to Aberdeen. Aberdeen is a coastal college town with beautiful architecture. We had dinner at a cute restaurant called Revolution. We realized later that it is a UK restaurant chain but they had a lot of healthy options on the menu as well as tasty drinks.

Day 4: Aberdeen to Edinburgh

On Day 4 we set off for St. Andrews. My husband is an avid golfer and had signed up for a lesson at St. Andrews Golf Course. Since this wasn’t a “golfing trip” (and reservations for the Old Course need to be made months in advance and require a maximum handicap), we thought the lesson would be a suitable and time-efficient alternative to 18-holes.

Edinburgh

After St Andrews, we were on to Edinburgh. This is also where our Scotland road trip *technically* came to an end (we were taking a train to Glasgow next). In Edinburgh, we stayed at the cutest Airbnb ever. It was along a row of small houses in Leith—a bit of a walk from New Town, but very affordable.

The architectural landscape of Edinburgh was straight out of a book. It’s no wonder the city was a major source of inspiration to J.K. Rowling while writing Harry Potter!

We found our way up to the Scotch Whisky Experience near the Edinburgh Castle. Don’t get me wrong, this place is very touristy—but my husband wanted to do a whiskey tasting and we needed dinner. It turned out to be a pretty good experience for us. He tried a variety of whiskeys and I got to have some vegetarian haggis!

Day 5: Edinburgh

During our full-day in Edinburgh, we wanted to explore as much of the city as possible by foot. It’s hard to tell by looking at a map but Edinburgh is an especially hilly city (wear comfortable shoes!)

Princes Street divides the Old Town, to the south, and the New Town, to the north. It sounds exactly as it looks too: Old Town has old buildings and castles along curvy roads while New Town has more modern architecture on straight streets. Both sides are worth exploring and offer two very different experiences of the city.

Things to do in Edinburgh:

• Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile
• Hike up Arthur’s Seat
• Greyfriars Kirkyard 
• Grassmarket and Candlemaker Row in Old Town
• Georgian House

Day 6: Edinburgh to Glasgow

If I’m being honest, I was sad to leave Edinburgh for Glasgow. From prior research, Edinburgh seemed to be the beautiful historical city compared to industrious Glasgow. I couldn’t be more wrong! Yes, Glasgow doesn’t have as much picturesque appeal as Edinburgh but definitely has the culture.

We stayed at the Millennium Hotel Glasgow in the center of the city in George Square.  It was easy to explore the city center on foot and we covered a ton of ground on the first day. We went to Browns for afternoon tea which was a perfect stop for a delicious break.

It’s a good idea to make reservations in Glasgow as well. A lot of restaurants were jam-packed for both lunch and dinner.

Day 7: Glasgow

Our last day in Scotland was surprisingly also the first day it rained while we were there. We ended up getting tickets for the Glasgow Hop-On Hop-Off bus tour because we wanted to go to a few places that were a bit farther out and felt this would be a good way to cover more ground.

We made our way over to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. It has free entry and also kept us dry during intermittent downpours. The museum houses art from all over the world and also focuses on the development of Glasgow from medieval times to today. We spent time in the West End after Kelvingrove and stopped for lunch and ice cream. The homes in this area are beautiful and there are tons of local shops and restaurants to pop into.

Back in the city center, we wandered around more of the shopping district. Princes Square is a renovated shopping square that houses numerous retailers and restaurants. We had dinner at Iberica (best cheese!) and enjoyed the last night of our Scotland (road) trip.

Restaurants & Cafes to try in Glasgow

• Iberica Glasgow
• The Restaurant Bar and Grill
• Number 16
• Tantrum Doughnuts

Here are some of my top DO’s and DON’Ts of a Scotland Road Trip!

DON’T start your road trip the day you arrive
If you do, make sure it is a short distance to the next destination. We wish we would have stayed in Glasgow the first day to get acclimated before starting our road trip.

DO rent a small car
I can’t stress this highly enough. The roads in Scotland are EXTREMELY narrow. You will be SO grateful to have a smaller car that can be easily driven on the roads there!

DO pack snacks
Some routes, like to-and-from the Isle of Skye, are very remote. Pack plenty of snacks because there are not a lot of places to stop for food. In the Isle of Skye, Portree is definitely a must-see!

DO eat locally!
Cheese plates were my go-to on this trip from the fresh, local farms. Also try shortbread, haggis (traditional or vegetarian!), and Scotch pie

DON’T drink and drive!
This goes without saying but having a Designated Driver for your trips to the distilleries is essential. Driving under the influence is not tolerated in Scotland and taken very seriously.

DO bring hiking shoes
There are so many hiking trails in the highlands that will be much easier to explore with hiking shoes.

DO get car rental insurance!
The roads in Scotland are very unforgiving. You will be able to drive with [more] ease knowing that you won’t have to pay out of pocket if anything goes wrong.