Cheap season for Scotland?

[Kid Cossack]

Gents:

Talking yesterday with a good friend from the early college years, we ended up discussing trips worth taking, and Charlie (the avid flyfisherman) and I (the kilted fellow with an interest in single malts) somehow settled on . . . Scotland! (Yeah, there's a shock, right?)

So thinks I, I might as well ask what the cheap season for visiting Scotland was, at this website I know of. So here I am. I'm asking. What say ye all?

What's the "best" time to visit Scotland? What's the "cheapest" time to visit Scotland?

[McClef]

There are so many variables such as season of the year, the type of weather you would like to see, where in Scotland you want to go.

Obviously summer is a more popular time. Don't expect Edinburgh to be cheap in August because of the Festival and the Tattoo - accomodation prices can double (or worse) then. Once you have an idea of your itenary and dates there are many search engines you can use to find out availability and cost.

[Mike1]

What's the "best" time to visit Scotland?

The days that end in "Y" are the best days to visit. (As if there is a bad time, eh?)

What's the "cheapest" time to visit Scotland?

Peak travel season is peak travel season, no matter where you visit.

[Caradoc]

We had a lot of luck in early November. It's just after the "regular" tourist season ends in October, and prices are good for those places that remain open... The Big Red Bus doesn't run after October 31st in a number of locations, which means you're stuck with regular trains, buses, taxis, or renting a car.

[mang1974]

We went in May back in 1998. Weather was pretty good overall. We used a company called Home At First (http://www.homeatfirst.com/) that sets you up with a flat/apartment and a car.

[Pour1Malt]

prices fur B&B's gae oop in the summer season (June 1-Oct 1)

some B&B's arr closed frae Nov-March (Ferintosh is open a' year!)

some castles an other sichts arr closed in the winter (Oct 1-March 31)

The Edinburgh Festival (Fringe, Tattoo, an sae oan) is in August... it is Edinburgh a' it's best- but alsa a' it's busiest... book accomodation 12 month in advance....

Hogmanay/New Year many towns an villages arr a guid pairty... Edinburgh is the maist famous... book 12 months in advance... (an bae prepared fur the ootdoor pairty tae bae cancelled- it has twa years in a row noo... )

it rains in Scotland 12 months a year... the maist moderate weather is in the soothwest o' Scotland (it is the warm Gulf Stream keep things moderate...) the maist rain falls in the western he'lans...

it snaws in the higher areas Nov-March... the worst weather tends tae bae Dec-Feb...

Scotland is a wee country compared tae usa... but dinnae bae deceived...
Scotland has 790 islands an 6000 miles o' coastline (just the mainland- no countin' the island coasts) an 600 sq miles o' lochs.... Scotland has o'er 600 castles...an roon 100 distilleries... 540 golf courses... 100's o' neolithic standin' stanes an circles... an 100's o' Roman ruins...

there is literally thousands o' things tae see an dae in Scotland... dinnae think ya "HAVE TO" dae it a' in yin trip.... ya cannae see it a'!

the 'cheapest' time tae see Scotland is aff season (Oct 1- March 31)

the 'best' time... depends oan whit ya want tae see an dae... depends oan if storms arr cold temps wuid ruin yur trip... depends if ya want tae hire (rent) a car an drive yursel (an if ya want tae drive oan oan the other side o' skinny curvey, wet, snawy roads...)... depends if tons o' tourists roon ya wuid ruin yur trip....

dae ya want a Burns Supper? come end o' Jan... dae ya want golf? come summer arr autumn... dae ya want Hei'lan games? come summer... dae ya want Edinburgh Festival? come August.... dae ya want Hogmanay? come end Dec.. dae ya want castles? come spring, summer, autumn...dae ya want ta fish? hike? tour distilleries, camp oot, island hop?

see this fur whit tae dae roon Dumfries...

http://www.ferintosh.net/tourism.htm


if ya want less tourist an a 'feel' o sma' toon life... come in the aff season...

we get tourists in Dumfries 12 months a year....

slainte

[starbkjrus]

As someone who is booking a trip as I type here I can tell you the last two weeks of June are NOT the cheap season. Judging by the hotel rates in Edinburgh July, August and September are not either. $ 1.95 = 1 GPB doesn't help either.

It seems that most folks I know who go to Scotland seem to think there is nothing in the country outside Edinburgh and Loch Ness. (The knowledgeable denizens of this forum notwithstanding.) I'm certainly no expert but we're going to spend the majority of our trip in the south using Ferintosh as our base. (Robertson, I have my dates and will send you a reservation this afternoon.) There is much to do and see either in within driving distance from Dumfries and much of it will be cheaper than Edinburgh.

[Caradoc]

there is literally thousands o' things tae see an dae in Scotland... dinnae think ya "HAVE TO" dae it a' in yin trip.... ya cannae see it a'!

No kidding.

The other thing to keep in mind if you're traveling in Scotland in late October/early November (or even throughout the winter, on into spring) is that you're not going to have much daylight. I think we were getting maybe six hours of "daylight" when we were there - it was definitely getting "dark" by 4PMish.

Here's what we did:

Sunday morning, arrive Edinburgh, walk the Royal Mile, make tour arrangements.
Monday - take the tours we'd arranged (The Real Mary King's Close is a good tour!)
Tuesday - got married. Halloween parade right under our hotel room window, too...
Wednesday - drove from Edinburgh to Dumfries, had dinner with the proprietors of the Ferintosh Guest House, overnighted there.
Thursday - drove down to Sweetheart Abbey, got pictures, back to Dumfries for lunch, back down to Caerlaverock Castle in the afternoon, then drove to Glasgow.
Friday - day trip via train to Stirling. Walked a lot because the Big Red Bus had shut down for the winter.
Saturday - drove from Glasgow to Oban. Exciting drive. Not so much in a good way. Nice views of Loch Lomond on the way, though, when not interrupted by ongoing fish lorries. Bonfire Night in Oban. Fun!
Sunday - Oban. Dunstaffnage Castle. The Folly on the hill whose name escapes me... Someone's Tower, as I recall.
Monday - Oban. All over Oban. Took the ferry out to Mull and back.
Tuesday - Drove from Oban to Inverness.
Wednesday - Drove back from Inverness to Loch Ness, then back through Inverness down through Perth and Dundee to St. Andrews.
Thursday - wandered all over St. Andrews, then drove back down to Edinburgh to overnight before flying back to the States on Friday morning.

By the end of it all, we were exhausted. We're planning our next trip to be mostly in one city (likely Glasgow for the upcoming trip) and doing all of our traveling by train or bus on day trips from our base of operations.

[Pour1Malt]

...
Wednesday - drove from Edinburgh to Dumfries, had dinner with the proprietors of the Ferintosh Guest House, overnighted there.
....

an maist folk need a guid day tae recover frae that activity!

[MACKAY]

We had a lot of luck in early November. It's just after the "regular" tourist season ends in October, and prices are good for those places that remain open...

I too have found that late Oct - early Nov is a great time to visit. Most, if not all, 'tourist' are gone which makes time at museums or historical sites much more personal and enjoyable. I also find that the hotel prices are cheaper, but I personally prefer B&B accommodations. During that time of the year the prices get very reasonable at the B&Bs. Oh, and the Haggis hunting season is in full swing.

Now the bad part - a LOT of the tourist areas and attractions are either closed or have limited hours - the weather can be tricky (rain, fog, snow), especially up north. And if you are looking for the Heather to be in bloom you will be out of luck. But what the heck - you're in Scotland!

Brian