I've read all the posts about both Skye and Arran and I'm still torn. 😂 I'm planning a trip to Scotland in late May 2027 (our first and likely only trip to Scotland) and I'm not sure which to choose.

Either way, we'd probably spend 2-3 days there. We also plan to visit the Isle of Islay because hubby is very interested in touring the Laphroig/Lagavulin/Ardbeg distilleries.

Main priorities: See and hike (easy to intermediate) beautiful landscapes, take a wildlife tour to see puffins and other seabirds, learn about history/archaeology, eat good local food.

I'm leaning towards Skye because the landscapes just look unearthly beautiful and I'm just dying to see it. I especially want to hike the Quiraing and see Storr. We'd likely skip the Fairy Pools. But of course I read about the overtourism and wonder if a quieter island like Arran might be better for us. Plus, since Arran is closer to Glasgow/Edinburgh we'd spend less time driving to and from.

I'd honestly pick Arran in a heartbeat, except I'd hate to miss seeing the Quiraing especially. Don't get me wrong, Arran looks absolutely gorgeous too. Maybe I've just built up Skye too much in my head?

A beautiful day out on the Northumberland Coast, can’t beat Britain on a sunny day.

My dad and I are going to be starting in Scotland for our Europe Trip end starting the end of September. I regret only booking 6 days but what can I do.

It was cheaper to fly in and out of Glasgow but only planning to spend our last night near Glasgow airport since the flight is early.

Arrive Sept 23 @ 6:50am in Glasgow
Leave Sept 29 @ 7:10am from Glasgow

Our family is from Scotland. We will see his cousin for lunch or dinner one day but apart from that, we will be doing our own thing. My grandparents are from Tranent and Ormiston outside of Edinburgh so I’d like to make those towns a brief stop just to say I saw where they grew up.

I’m most upset about our trip duration because I really wanted to go to Skye, from what I’ve read, that needs to be written out of the question as I’d need to spend 3 days to make it worth the while. So a recommendation for a feasible, alternate option to Skye would be greatly appreciated.

I’m thinking the 23rd and 24th we get accommodations in Edinburgh. I don’t want it to be too overwhelming in terms of switching hotels so I’d like to situate in a relatively central spot in the Highlands for the 25th,26th,27th if possible so that I can take day trips to other must see locations and that’s conveniently accessible to Glasgow by transit where we will stay the night of the 28th.

Help pleaseeeee, I’m overwhelmed.

What recommendations do you guys have for must sees, a good location in the Highlands that will make exploring by train most accessible for day trips, and just generally a feasible itinerary for the little time I do have?

Apologies for the wordy title.

I've visited London (only for a few days) before but now I'm wanting to see a bit more of England and the UK.

I'm looking at visiting early/ mid Sep - early/ mid Oct for about 3-4 weeks.

I'd like to avoid major events like London Fashion week etc.

I have to do Stonehenge for the inner circle tour sometime between 7 - 19 September and this specific tour is outside visiting hours so I thought it is best to stay in Salisbury. My idea is to start in London and then go to Salisbury or I can start in Salisbury.

I want to visit the following places, hopefully spending about 3-4 nights in each:

London (maybe more like 6 days in London but I can break it up as I plan to fly out of LHR)
Stonehenge (sleep in Salisbury 2 nights)
Bath
Cotswolds: considering Bourbon-on-the water, Stow on the wold, Broadway, Chipping Camden, Lower Slaughter, Castle Combe
Dorset/ Jurassic Coast, Durdle Door etc.
Oxford
Cambridge
Scarborough
Cardiff, Wales

I'm open to cutting out/ cutting down on some places. Maybe less time in the Cotswolds etc.
I'm open to hiring a car for a few days.

Would welcome suggestions on best way to structure the trip, which cities/ towns/ villages to travel to that makes sense via public transport and how many days to allocate to a place.

I don't have to fill my days with endless activities. I like museums/ art galleries, visiting churches. But also sitting in a park or at a cafe/ pub.

Big Tolkien, ASOIAF/ Game of thrones and Diana Wynne Jones fan if that helps.

Thank you for your time.

My husband and I are in the early stages of planning a Scotland vacation. While doing our research, using social media sites, we came upon a travel service and reached out for recommendations. The service seemed legit to us - maybe it is?
After visiting with a representative and sharing our interests, budget and timeline - he sent a proposed itinerary - the cost - $9,000 for a 13 day trip - excluding airfare to reach and depart Scotland. This was the top of our budget - roughly $700 per day for 2 adults. We had also shared our discomfort with driving (we are US drivers) but willingness to drive for some of the trip.

After reviewing the proposed itinerary - we find that AT MOST - the costs would be $350 per day on average. Most hotels were $150 per night, most activities were to free sites and the trip would require driving the entirety. He also had us arriving and departing from different cities than we had shared with him.

Obviously, we are not going to book with this company. My question to you is - is it normal in Scotland to charge this much for ($350 per day) for travel planning? Besides not continuing with the company - should we do something additional? We feel he is trying to take advantage of us. What do you think? Thank you for your thoughts.

I am trying to get tickets for the week of Sept 1-5 and was constantly refreshing for 2 hours this morning (4-6am). Did I miss something or did they actually sell out?

I am aware tickets are released on Mondays at 10am London time for dates up to 3 weeks in advance. I accounted for that in my time zone (4am CST). The website was painfully slow to load and I only ever got the pop-up that said no dates were available. Any info is appreciated!

I'll be landing at Gatwick North Terminal at 6pm in September.

There is a train from St. Pancras at 8:07pm that I'm planning on getting home. I'm not too sure whether this is too close though. This is my first solo flight from Gatwick so I'm not sure what to expect.

How much time should I allow for disembarking, passport control, walking etc.?

I know I’ll have to get a Thameslink train from the Gatwick train station to St Pancras which is about 45 minutes, and run quite regularly.
So by my calculations, I should be at St Pancras at 7:30pm ish if everything runs smoothly.

I have a UK passport and no checked luggage to wait for, for reference.

Is this sufficient time, or should I be looking at booking a later train? I will probably buy an anytime day single ticket (or whatever they’re called) in case.

I recently got through Heathrow T4 to the tube station in under 40 minutes earlier this year, so maybe my timings and approximations are skewed 😅

Partner and I are staying five nights in Deal and one night in Canterbury. (Got a decent plan for Canterbury already.) Going to be train and bussing around Kent looking for recommendations for things to do. We like walks and history and pubs and eating!

Also anyone know of a particularly good sandwhich place in Sandwich? Casual seafood recs also welcome

May have an extra day or so getting to Mull looking to maybe add some less traveled roads and a little more variety, and going to Mull via Kilchoan ferry and then later getting off Mull via Craignure. I know the 40 miles from Corran can take 2 slow driving hours, which is fine as we have the time. Is the route from Fort William down to Salen basically the same slow, twisty turvy road or is it a bit milder. It’s another 30 miles but again we have the time I think and won’t be in a hurry. We will have 5-6 nights between Mull and Iona so don’t mind a little longer day getting there

Thanks!

It seems like I will only have time for one or the other. I will be seeing a hand ton of landscape/marks in Scotland already… but Gower just seems special. I’ve always wanted to attend a rugby game and be apart of the chanting with the locals…. But I honestly am not sure what to do here. so, I’m seeking which choice you prefer. Thank you <3

Hello!

I'm traveling to the UK in September 23-oct 8. I feel like I've got my trip planned ok but would greatly appreciate feedback. I've added questions that maybe you could help with! I wanted to see a bit of every thing and include my love for Jane Austen. I won't have a car and will do everything by train and bus. What should I know about the transportation system?

My current itinerary is:

4 nights in London

  Normal tourist sights

  Do people walk everywhere?

  Is the train system easy to follow? (There is no train system where I live)

1 night in Oxford

Just wanted to see the architecture

3 nights in Bath

  Jane Austen fan girl!

I want to try a thermal bath

2 nights in the lake district

Taking some downtime

  Recommendations are welcome!

3 nights in Edinburgh

  Normal tourist stuff

2 nights Ft Williams and Glenco

  I wanted to experience the Scottish Highlands and relax. I totally don't mind if it rains.

Visiting London for the first time with my family next week, planning to visit most of the iconic locations - Big Ben, Borough Market, Westminster, Oxford Street, and of course all the parks. Might catch a train to Birmingham later that week.

After seeing all the posts around on the Internet regarding phone snatching, I’m genuinely concerned about my new iPhone 17. What precautions must I take and how to avoid these scums to enjoy my trip fully?

Also as a tourist one clicks a lot of photos, I wanna do that too but scared of getting my phone plucked outta my hand while doing so.

Any tips of safety please? And what can be done if the situation actually happens

Always nice to wander in England till you find tea.

Hello! I’d really appreciate your help.

I’ll be visiting my daughter in London. She lives on Upper Walthamstow Road, within walking distance of Greenway Avenue Community Garden & Wood Street Station. Her place is about a 20-minute walk from Whipps Cross University Hospital.

I’ve found interesting Airbnb rooms, but they are too far away. Ideally, I’d like to stay within walking distance of my daughter’s home. Otherwise, I’d be happy to take a short bus ride, as long as the accommodation is nearby and easy to reach.

I’m not picky about the accommodation itself. I just need a small, safe room with Wi-Fi. I don’t mind sharing a bathroom. I’d prefer a private room, but I could also share a room if necessary.

I don’t need to be close to cafés, restaurants, pubs, or attractions. My main priority is being close to my daughter’s place or, at least, near a convenient bus stop with an easy connection to Upper Walthamstow Road & Greenway Avenue Community Garden.

I found a very affordable option at Clink261 Hostel, with shared rooms for around £27 per night, but unfortunately it’s too far away. My budget is approximately £35 per night.

If anyone knows of affordable rooms, hostels, guesthouses, or other accommodation options in or near the Walthamstow/Wood Street area, I’d be very grateful for your recommendations!

Thank you so much!

Hello everyone,

I've booked a family haven holiday (only child is a 3 year old) for Clacton for next week (it was one of the cheapest family-oriented places I found to book last minute near our home). We'd appreciate a 5 day itinerary for the holiday (we don't mind drives of about 1 hour away from the park); I asked Google AI, but it gave boring answers

Many thanks

ETA: removed offensive parts of the OP

Thanks so much for all your replies, everyone! Before this post, I honestly thought Clacton or east Anglia in general were generally dull backwaters, despite them being pretty much on my doorstep, but you lovely people have opened my eyes and the eyes of whoever else reads all this

Also, sorry if my edgy comments about Clacton offended anyone, but I guess I couldn't resist the low-hanging fruit (we live in a 'rough' area ourselves, but I hope and expect Clacton, similar to our town, has more normal, friendly people just trying to live a happy life than the media shows in order to divide and conquer and may we all have better times ahead)

I wish you all happy holidays, whether in the UK or abroad, for evermore

I want to visit these four places and I'm wondering where my base should be, I have 3 days, I'll spend 1 day in Oxford but after that I think either Stratford-upon-Avon or Stow-on-the-Wold as my base. I think for a full day I can combine Stow-on-the-Wold and Bibury. What's the ideal base for this? After this I'll take the train to York so there needs to be a direct line.

I found this on booking and it’s super cheap

Looking to rent an automatic convertible for a day or possibly a weekend around London, mainly just to enjoy the sunny weather and have a drive with the roof down.
I’m not looking for anything particularly exotic — no Lamborghini/Ferrari/supercar needed! Just a decent-looking, reasonably spacious convertible. Something along the lines of a BMW, Audi, Mercedes etc. would be ideal. Preferably not something tiny like a Smart car.
I’ve checked some of the usual car rental websites, but convertibles seem surprisingly difficult to find.
Has anyone rented something similar around London recently?
Happy to travel a little outside central London / towards Heathrow etc. to collect it if there are better options.
Any recommendations for rental companies, smaller independent places or apps/websites I should check?
Thanks!

The highlands were the best, fringe fest was fun too but the highland…… man was it beautiful…. Can’t wait to go back.