As hexual said, don’t cram too much in at once. There’s thousands of threads all over the internet of people, particularly Americans, asking for holiday tips and giving their itinerary as something like 2 days in Edinburgh, a day in Fort William, a day in Skye, a brief look at Loch Lomond and maybe Glasgow squeezed in at the end. We’re a wee country, the distances don’t look far, but our roads are twisty and turny and take a deceptively long time to travel.

The beauty of Scotland is in its landscapes, its traditional feel, and communities. To fully appreciate that means taking your time.

Everyone and their dog visits Edinburgh, it’s busy and a tourist trap. It has an abundance of cheap tat gift shops and extortionate hotel prices. I wouldn’t recommend going there for your first visit.

Pick somewhere rural, somewhere you can stay in a remote cottage and explore our hills, coastlines, rivers, and lochs. Scotland has a thing called The Right to Roam meaning you don’t need to worry about trespassing when you explore. The Highlands, Cairngorms, Hebrides, Orkney, or Shetland would all fit the bill. And if alcohol is your thing, they’ll all have some kind of distillery nearby for a wee dram of the water of life.

Our weather also famously changes rapidly throughout the day. It may be raining in the morning, sunny at lunch time, windy in the afternoon, and foggy in the evening. So be prepared and remember there’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing, get yourself a sexy raincoat and live a little.

Aye. Don’t cram as much of it as you can into such a short time frame. Pick an area and fully enjoy it. Come back again and try somewhere else.

Additionally, the NC500 route provides a neat way to get a taster of some of Scotland’s most magical scenery.

Make it happen. She’s beautiful.

Nowt like creeping around fascinating rocks and pointing cameras at them, everyone else wondering what the frig we’re looking at