Scotland trip - 1000km in 5 days

I just came back from an awesome trip to Scotland and want to share with you some places that you must not miss when you go for vacation there!

Arrival

We arrived at Edinburgh airport at night and took the night bus to our hostel which we booked in advance. The next day we picked up our rental car at Hertz to start our round trip:

First stop: Loch Ness

After 3,5 hours driving we stopped at the famous Loch Ness (Dores).

Even though we didn't see Nessie we had a very pleasent stay at the lake and we went for a walk in a forest.

Second stop: Isle of Skye

This isle is the absolutely most impressing area of Scotland! You can see there any kind of landscape which exists in the whole country: mountains, valleys, lakes, cliffs, beaches, waterfalls, rivers and large green areas! We stayed there for one night at a nice B&B of a very kind old lady in Kyleakin.

Loch Coruisk

On the first day we drove by car to Elgol where we started a boat trip to Loch Coruisk, a lake on Isle of Skye which cannot be reached by car.

On the way we saw some seals chilling on some rocks in the sea:

The boatman told us that you also could see dolphins here but sadly we didn't see any. When we arrived at the shore we had one hour for us to discover Loch Coruisk and the landskape around it.

The whole boat trip took us ca. 2,5 hours and we paid £ 22,5 per person and it is worth every penny!

Old man of Storr

On the second day we decided to go hiking to one of the most popular sights at Skye. The hiking tour was the most fascinating part of our Scotland trip! The landscape cannot be described in words.. it was stunningly beautiful!!

**Tip:** When you arrived at the boulder of *Old man of Storr* go a bit further on the hiking trail, around the next mountain, maybe 30-45 minutes and you will have the best view on the Highlands:

Third stop: Fort William

Actually we wanted to visit Fort William/Glencoe as next stop but we didn't find an accomodation so we continued driving towards Glasgow. Between Loch Lomond and Glencoe we got free rooms at The Tyndrum Inn where we had a very pleasent stay.

Fourth stop: Glasgow

We parked our car in the city centre and explored Glasgow on foot. It is a nice city but after the outstading impressions at Skye we were not too impressed ;)

Fifth and last stop: Edinburgh

After we spent some hours in Glasgow we travelled back to Edinburgh and returned our car at the car rental. Because the weather was really good we walked through the amazing streets of Edinburgh, listened to many many street musicians and visited some shops.

On our last day we had to leave our hostel until 10 a.m. and because our flight was in the evening we locked our luggage at the Edinburgh Bus Station (£ 8) and discovered the city a bit more. We took part at a really amusing walking tour (adult themed) with tour guide, Justin, who told us a bit about Edinburgh's history in a very entertaining way :D

Summary

The 5 days for the round trip were a bit short time to discover everything but you could still get many impressions of Scotland's beautiful Highlands and cities. I definitely recommend to visit ***Isle of Skye*** and to plan a stay for 3-7 days there, depending on whether you like hiking you should stay longer :) We had a lot of luck with the weather, it didn't rain at all, but you should always take a rain jacket with you because the weather can change very spontaneously. If you are flexible I also recommend to search for Bed & Breakfast on-site, most hotels are quite expensive and for the B&B's we paied £ 35 per person on average. I hope I could give some impressions and could help if you're also planning a trip to Scotland :) Feel free to ask if you have any questions!