How The Hell Do I Get There!!??

[Pleater]

If you are hiring a vehicle you might be able to include a sat nav in the deal.

A couple of visitors I had said that the cost to download Britain's information was higher in the US than in the UK, so they had planned to download to their personal Tom Tom when they arrived, but that the Tom Tom telephone helpline was obstructive and they never got the download.

I have found our sat nav very helpful finding places both driving and walking, just putting in the post code and the house number or finding the nearest car park or petrol station can save a lot of time - and I can read maps and charts and navigate.

I use the Enterprise car hire firm, and their website seems clear enough even for me to use to select which branch to use dates, type and size of vehicle and see what it will cost. I usually call into the office as it is just at the end of the street in order to make the actual booking, and it is always busy, so I take that as a good sign. I have no experience of any other office, but you can use the website to get an idea of the costs involved.

With the size of vehicle - it is more the engine capacity than the actual size of car. We have a Nissan Micra with a 1.4litre engine, and that is fine for travel on motorways, we went to Yorkshire in it no problem. Our son has the same model in a cheaper form, a 1.2litre engine, and it is slightly underpowered for my liking. It copes on the motorways, is slightly more economical, but for serious travelling it would get a bit wearing.

I was used to driving a Nissan X trail so that might colour my opinion, but I suspect that most cars in the US are more like the X trail than the Micra. Filling up the X trail got really alarming though, when the cost of petrol was really high.

Fuel costs here are going to be a shock after the US, so do your conversions carefully - I do know of one lady who planned to tour all of Britain in a large car, until she discovered that her assumption that a litre was about the same as a gallon was entirely wrong. Her tour was drastically reduced the first time she filled the tank and discovered it cost her over 50 pounds.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Jock Scot]

Talking of sat nav there are a few places in the highlands that do not register on it. None of our houses in our little hamlet exist, apparently!We always have to meet our guests at the Commando monument, many miles away from where they need to be.We have heard the "oh don't worry we have the latest sat nav we will find you" -----not yet they have'nt!

[M. A. C. Newsome]

When my wife and I took our Scotland trip (grandted that was nine years ago), we booked our car rental through Blue Wheels.
http://www.bluewheels.com/

I was able to tell them exactly what kind of car I wanted (I wanted a small, fuel efficient car, and I wanted an automatic), where and when I needed to pick it up, and where and when I needed to drop it off. They handled all the arrangements for me. All it took was a couple of emails to them and within 24 hours everything was settled. And they didn't charge me a dime for their service (they get their money from the rental agencies).

As for places to stay, remember that Scotland is the birthplace of the B&B. The only hotel reservations we made for our trip were for our first night after flying in (we figured we'd be too exhausted to try to find a place) and for our last night before flying out (wanted to make sure we had a place to stay near the airport). Other than that, wherever we happened to find ourselves in the evening we just knocked on the door of a local B&B. They are everywhere.

Granted, we were there in the off season, but only once in ten days were we told at the door, "Sorry, we are full," but even in that case, they were able to simply direct us to the B&B across the street, where room was available.

Obviously, if you are traveling during peak tourist season you might want to think more seriously about booking your reservations in advance. But our experience in the off-season was no trouble at all. Plus, it seemed that all but the smallest villages had some kind of visitor info center with directories of places to stay in the area and usually very helpful staff.

[Jack Daw]

When we traveled by hired car for three weeks back in 2003, we chose to go early in the tourism season; being specifically, the first 3 weeks in May. This way, we were able to pick bed & breakfasts in the Highlands as we went and didn't have to make reservations except at the airport hotel right before returning. They were easy to find by visiting the local Visitor's Information Centres marked by the little "i" on my road maps.

If this still does not appeal to you, then go with a tour guide company. We did that in 2008. I was impressed by the tour guide's knowledge as he was a history professor and knew more than pamphlet info on his own country.

[ForresterModern]

I would recommend flying into either Glasgow or Edinburgh directly, if the main interest of your trip is Scotland and not the whole of Great Britain. They are only an hour apart so starting in one, circling the country and ending in the other is easy, and the trip back to the first city short, so you can fly round trip out of the same airport. Rent a car--for two people go NO smaller than midsize (everything else is a roller skate with a steering wheel). When you visit the big cities pick a decent hotel that has parking and plan on walking most of those two cities. Use the car out in the country to get around, as you will miss a lot of the charming parts of the country otherwise---the trains just don't go there, and the hassle of having to get off a train and tramp around with or store your luggage is not worth the effort. Just lock it in the rental car, as the country outside the big cities is extremely safe. Make your rough plans for your tour of the country with daily expectations, but leave enough extra time for unanticipated stops and side trips. I would not make advance reservations except in the big cities, unless you are going in high season. Instead get a book of bed and breakfasts and other hotels along the route you will be travelling, and by mid day you should know how far you are going to get so you can call ahead and finalize accomodations for that night. Alternatively, pick a few places to stop for a few nights each, and make day trips out and back to the same hotel for the night. Then move on to the next. If you do this then do make reservations in advance---bed and breakfast and old castle/chateau hotels are wonderful---mostly family owned and run and very homey. Plan on some castle stops, distillery tours, shopping, hiking, just walking around towns to see the life of Scotland outside the big cities. And mostly, don't rush---take your time, see what you can but see it well, breathe it in. If you miss something, it gives you an excuse to come back again sometime in the future. Eat at the local pubs and restaurants in the small towns along the way----don't fear, the food will be good and the prices reasonable, or these places would not survive in the small towns they are in relying on locals business if they were not good. Let your bed and breakfast hosts help you plan your outings---routes, what to see, when to go to certain places, what needs advance reservations, who to talk to.

[Pleater]

Talking of sat nav there are a few places in the highlands that do not register on it. None of our houses in our little hamlet exist, apparently!We always have to meet our guests at the Commando monument, many miles away from where they need to be.We have heard the "oh don't worry we have the latest sat nav we will find you" -----not yet they have'nt!

Woow!!

What is the map reference of this hamlet?

Assuming it is ON the map, of course - not got a name that rhymes with 'something soon' has it?

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Jock Scot]

Woow!!

What is the map reference of this hamlet?

Assuming it is ON the map, of course - not got a name that rhymes with 'something soon' has it?

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

It seems that many people who rely on electronics to rule their life are unable to read a map. It never ceases to amaze me how the modern generation have lost this skill so quickly. Actually we rather like the status quo and rather like not being in the electronic world, so we ask our guests not to inform "big brother" and put us on the satilite map. Put it this way, the culprit will never shoot, or, fish here again if they do!

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Anne has raised a good point. In the UK petrol is vastly more expensive than in the USA. I would advise you to use one credit card just for petrol, just in case. (It costs me about $45 to fill up in Virginia, and about $115 to tank up the same car in Great Britain...you are warned.)

[Jack Daw]

It seems that many people who rely on electronics to rule their life are unable to read a map. It never ceases to amaze me how the modern generation have lost this skill so quickly. Actually we rather like the status quo and rather like not being in the electronic world, so we ask our guests not to inform "big brother" and put us on the satilite map. Put it this way, the culprit will never shoot, or, fish here again if they do!

To me, it's not the reading of the map that is difficult as much as the folding of the map.

[Jock Scot]

To me, it's not the reading of the map that is difficult as much as the folding of the map.

Aha!So that is the problem!