Report on my Trip to Scotland

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Just a reminder that the Castle units 1-9 have LOTS of stairs....I say Take IT!
and bring warm clothing

[tennisWalt Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tennisWalt]

With a car there is more than enough to see!

Ok so I got Kilconquhar on hold last night as hubby said he wanted to go to scotland... now hes waffling on me... not sure thats the "right" place to stay... says it looks too far out of the way!! UGHHH I have tried to assure him that it got great reviews (thank you walt for sharing)-- So now my question would be if we rent a car is there enough to see and do within driving distance???

By the way they gave us a 3 bedroom (in exchange for our 1 bedroom) and we only needed a one bedroom! for the first week in Oct.. which also has him nervous could be too cold??? hmmm

This is our first exchange so I guess hes just nervous!

Hi Dancingfish,

You will want a car if you really want to see the area. But there is enough to see for several weeks. See some pictures!

http://photobucket.com/albums/e83/te...20Kilconquhar/

Walt

[Dancingfish Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dancingfish]

Planning advice please

With 8 months to go I thought maybe I should start to investigate our vacation!
Walt ( and others) Did you plan your tours in advance? Did you use RCI tours, The resorts tours or book on your own? I know we will need a car-- but in Edinburgh (through RCI) There are a number of walking tours and even a double decker bus that will take you to all the sites (you can hop on and off all day) which seems like a deal that way you don't need to navigate or find parking!

Also is one day enough in Edinburgh or should I plan for 2?
I found this deal on the RCI site for $39 a person:

FREE entry to 32 of the city's most exciting attractions
FREE return airport transfer and unlimited bus travel for transport around the city and the surrounding area
25 Exclusive OFFERS from some of Edinburgh's best retailers, restaurants, festival and leisure providers
Includes the Edinburgh Pass 100-page color guidebook, listing all participating Attractions and Exclusive Offers. Also includes useful visitor information, area maps and bus routes. (Valued at £3.50)

Also I was thinking of extending our vacation by a few days (wish I could do more but we already have an Alaskan vacation in June and for some reason my boss thinks I need to work a few days this year lol) Any suggestions on where to visit? England or another part of scotland?
Thanks!

[alexb1 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close alexb1]

edinburgh has lots to offer 1day is not enough

[Dancingfish Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dancingfish]

ok my trip is one month away! OCTOBER!!!still looking for information. I recieved a packet from Kilconquhar that shows they have tours everyday-- maybe we could get by without a car? and use the bus and the tours they have lined up???

Anyone wanna jump in?

[alexb1 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close alexb1]

i would suggest you will be able to see a lot more places with a car

[tennisWalt Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tennisWalt]

We Took the Tour to Edinburgh from Kilconquhar.

ok my trip is one month away! OCTOBER!!!still looking for information. I recieved a packet from Kilconquhar that shows they have tours everyday-- maybe we could get by without a car? and use the bus and the tours they have lined up???

Anyone wanna jump in?

You never want to drive and park in any large city in Europe.

But I also think that you will enjoy having a car more than using the bus and tours to see the area.

Walt

[Dancingfish Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dancingfish]

I realize that we could see more with a car, but with the exchange rate doing sooo poorly we are trying to cut back on expenses. I guess I am trying to find out if anyone has any experience with the tours that the Castle holds. Are these worth the money? Are they big tour buses or smaller Vans?

[tennisWalt Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tennisWalt]

Ours Was A Small Van!

I realize that we could see more with a car, but with the exchange rate doing sooo poorly we are trying to cut back on expenses. I guess I am trying to find out if anyone has any experience with the tours that the Castle holds. Are these worth the money? Are they big tour buses or smaller Vans?

I would also think that the tours will cost you more in the long run. some of our best days were going to the smaller villages that you will never get to on a Tour Bus or Van.

What tours are available to you?

Walt

[TimeshareVon Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close TimeshareVon]

We did a week in Scotland back in November 06 and drove it all, ourselves . . . including a day in Edinburgh. Driving in the UK for the first time was a bit of a learning experience for my hubby, but he did fabulously well in spite of the stress of driving on the opposite side of the road. Parking at Edinburgh Castle was problematic as the upper parking lot by the entrance was closed, forcing folks out into the street parking which was metered. We found something at the bottom of the hill behind the castle, so it wasn't too terribly bad for us.

Our general opinion is that we prefer to avoid tours via tour groups on motor coaches and vans. It has more to do with biological comfort and wanting to stop and do what you need to when you have to. If there is absolutely no other way to experience something (like the Arctic Circle on the "Haul" Road), then I've been known to go with the flow of a tour offering.

Being totally dependent on tour operators and public transportation can wind up being as expensive as renting a car. With that being said, our two weeks in the UK last fall cost us $450 (USD) for the rental car and just about as much for the gasoline for the two weeks. Some may say that $900 is terribly expensive, and they'd be right . . . it was! But for three of us, had we taken tours to the major sites we got to experience exploring on our own, I'm confident it would have been more than $300 per person for the two weeks. There is no getting around it . . . vacationing in the UK is especially expensive, especially with the poor exchange rate on our USD's.

Have a wonderful time . . . and enjoy everything that you do. We still talk fondly of our time there, even the few stressful driving moments

p.s. I should have added that I love to take photos on vacation, and often a photo op occurs when you least expect it while driving off the beaten path. On a tour bus or as part of a tour group, you completely lose that spontaneity of stopping when and where you want to take photos.

[Dancingfish Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dancingfish]

Sunday- East Neuk of Fife Coastal tour--
Coastal harbors and St Andrews
Monday- Tour of Edinburg-- Arthers seat, holyrood Palace and Edinburgh Castle-- then you can explore on your own and call them to pick you up or they will continue to tour
Tuesday- Stirling and Loch Lomand-- Wallace Monument, Stirling Castle, Scottish Wool Center and Loch Lomand
Wednesday- Glencoe and LochNess -- Crieff, Glencoe, LochLinnhe, Fort William, Great Glen, Fort Augustus, Loch NEss, Pitlochary
Thursday- Glamis Castle and PErthshire-- Caithness Glass, Whiskey tour in Edradour, Glamis Castle

All of these are 8-5 or 7pm tours with the exception on the Sunday tour. And range from 27pounds to 37 pounds

I guess my next question would be is there anywhere to rent a car other than the airport... will there be a rental place near Kilconquhar if we only wanted a car for a few days?

[TimeshareVon Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close TimeshareVon]

Dancingfish . . .

Those look like very ambitious tour itineraries. I'm just not sure you can get that much packed into a day and be happy. We spent nearly a full day at Edinburgh Castle, and while we wanted to do Holyrood Palace, we simply didn't have time. The Stirling day also seems to be stretching what is possible.

I suppose if you are looking for good overviews on the sights and history of Scotland, they will be sufficient. When you say the tours are 8-5, is that from pick-up to return times?

One positive in using tours is that typically they do include the admission fees to the sites. Be sure you know whether or not they are included in the price quoted.

[Dancingfish Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dancingfish]

The tours are provided by the timeshare and yes they are start and stop times. While we certainly wouldn't want to do one everyday it does give one options. I was hoping someone on this board would have stayed there and could offer more insight!

[tennisWalt Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tennisWalt]

Edinburgh Castle Tour

The tours are provided by the timeshare and yes they are start and stop times. While we certainly wouldn't want to do one everyday it does give one options. I was hoping someone on this board would have stayed there and could offer more insight!

We stayed at Kilconquhar Castle and took the Edinburgh Castle tour. But we drove the car to the other sights. If you are asking me would I rent a car again or would I take the Tours only. I would rent a car and see Scotland at my own pace.

Walt

[Laurie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Laurie]

We stayed at Kilconquhar Castle and took the Edinburgh Castle tour. But we drove the car to the other sights. If you are asking me would I rent a car again or would I take the Tours only. I would rent a car and see Scotland at my own pace. Walt

I concur! We stayed at Kilconquhar, and took the Glen Coe / Loch Ness tour, and drove to the other sites. Tho we enjoyed the tour day and the guide, if we did the trip again, we'd skip the tour and drive there ourselves. Honestly, we didn't spend enough time in the best places en route, and our stops were at so-so places that allow the tour buses. I'd spend more time walking the East Neuk coastal path. Also note that sometimes the Kilconquhar tours don't happen, if/when there aren't the minimum number of participants.