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Date Posted: 07:57:10 12/18/06 Mon
Author: Green Dragon
Subject: Scotland trip advice - goes long inside...
In reply to: Pauline Purdum 's message, "Outlander Tour 2007" on 07:00:16 10/30/06 Mon

Pauline:

I read your post on the LOL boards, about going with your sister to Scotland in 2007. Good for you! It's a wonderful place, with delightful people. I am emailing you directly because it takes a while to show up on the boards.

While I can't specifically help with the Tour information (you'd have to contact Judy L for that) I can give you some budget ideas for your trip.

First, I'd go shoulder season - avoid July and August, as the place is filled with tourists (especially August in Edinburgh - it's festival month). I would recommend May or June - the flowers are in bloom and the days are very long, for more sightseeing! We are planning our next trip there in June 2008 for exactly that reason.

Second, airfare. I just went to Ireland this summer, and found fares (Miami to London) on Virgin Air for $488 including taxes. This was a one-day sale on Travelocity - so you really need to check the sites every day. It was in February for June travel, and I got really lucky. Check the discount sites every day - Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline, Qixo, Mobissimo, Cfares. Get a feel of what the fare normally is, and then pick a price below this that you will feel comfortable with. For example, summer travel round trip from the east coast will run about $1100 on the discount sites. If I found a fare for $700 I would grab it. Priceline will often have wonderful bargains, but you don't know your routing until you buy. Check out www.biddingfortravel.com for some hints and tricks.

For transportation, I would recommend a car to get you to places you want to go. If you are doing an escorted tour this is not an issue, but if not you want the flexibility of getting lost and finding the neatest little castles tucked into the hills :) Automatic transmission cars are twice as expensive to rent as manual, but much less bother. Remember they are called Highlands for a reason - hills! Manual is tough to deal with when you are also learning to drive on the left side of the road, and going up a 45 degree angle road at a stop sign. You won't need a car in Edinburgh at all, rent it as you leave if you start there.

For lodging, it's a give and take between comfort and budget. The most budget of course is camping, but I imagine that's not appealing to a couple of ladies in their 60s It's not appealing to me in my 30s!! Youth hostels are no longer for the youth - we stayed in one in Inverness when we went to Scotland in 2000. You can request private rooms, which I would recommend - they cost about £10 a night per person. Next up on the ladder (and my personal recommendation) is Bed and Breakfasts. B&Bs usually charge per person, but they include a HUGE breakfast (you can skip lunch) and provide a homey touch. They usually run about £30-£40 per person a night, and some are in old manor houses and even castles.

For sightseeing, I'd get a Historic Scotland membership: http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/member.htm It runs about £36 per person, but gets you into most of the properties around the country for free. Trust me, it will be worth it! Add up the admissions to all the places you are likely to go, and if it adds up to more, get the cards.

Food: prices are high in the UK because the dollar is weak right now. Combat this by eating pub lunches or dinners, and buying stuff from grocery stores and having picnics. Splurge once in a while on a nice meal to make you feel posh :) The seafood in Scotland is absolutely wonderful!

Don't forget to meet the people - just start talking to them, they'll be happy to chat. The people are one of the best parts of Scotland, and a national treasure. If you can get away from the touristy areas, even better. Stop at a pub each evening and chat with the locals - have a pint and some good music. Pubs are sort of communal living rooms in the UK and Ireland, and if you go to the same place twice, you are a regular :)

I've traveled to Scotland once, England three times, and Ireland three times (Wales once). If anything I've written on my website helps you, all the better. I wish you a wonderful, memorable trip! This is my travel website, with trip reports and pictures on each trip:

http://www.greendragonartist.com/BIhome.htm

Christy Nicholas, aka
Green Dragon, Artist
www.GreenDragonArtist.com
GreenDragon@bellsouth.net
 
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness…” Samuel Langhorne Clemens / Mark Twain

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