1st time to Scotland, help!

[slunderville]

Hi there! Hope you all can be as much help to me as the other posts I've read tonight. A friend and I are traveling to Scotland next April hopefully for a whole month. Coming about the 21st. Basic plan: we're marking a map with the places we'd like to see, plan on getting a car and traveling around. We'd rather not make reservations before we get there so that if we like a place we can just stay longer or leave earlier if we don't. We've heard about vouchers for B & B's and Inns but have also been told that at that time of year we should be able to find plenty of places to stay. Also, Inns would be better for meeting people don't you think? And we thought we'd get a membership to Historic Scotland and maybe the NTL. And to make things more difficult we need to do this as cheap as we can. If the places we stay serve breakfast how much a day do you think it will cost us for food?

I know this sounds very unorganized but if we start in Glasgow (landing there) and make a basic route around the country? I think we're just as interested in meeting people as we are with seeing everything.

Thanks for reading this! It's my first time posting anything new.

[aNonnyMoose]

B&B costs approximately £30 per person per night. Allow another £30 pp per day for lunch and evening meals. Remember petrol (gas) costs nearly £4.50 per gallon here. Figure out the mileage on your route, check what your car does in mpg and vector that in. Additional costs - entry to places you want to see, souvenirs, side-trips... Add it all up in pounds and multiply by 2, which will give you an approximate dollar exchange. Then add at least 10% for unforeseen eventualities...

Hope that doesn't put you off!

[Babz]

"And we thought we'd get a membership to Historic Scotland and maybe the NTL. "

I do hope you meant the National Trust For Scotland(NTS)...NTL is a TV company etc !!

It could be a good idea to find places that do deals for 3 nights @ charge of 2, you can then plan visiting
places nearby, saves living out of your car also !!

I have not heard of the vouchers you mentioned !!

It does depend on how much you eat as to cost of meals !!

[kathyv]

Are you going from the States? If you are then it's a good idea to arrange your car through a travel agent, they can get really good deals that aren't available in the place of pick up and spend the money on the CDW, Collision Damage Waiver, if you happen to scratch the car you'll be glad of the coverage, or if someone else scratches it or dents you. It may seem like a lot but can save in the long run. When you negotiate a round about, give yourself a couple of laps around to figure out which exit to take, besides it's more fun that way!

B&B's are a better place to stay than an Inn, you will meet folks at a B&B, and they serve breakfast, included in the price, they can also tell you where a good local place is for dinners etc, saves you going to the more expensive tourist places!

Babz's suggestion of home basing and day tripping from there for a time before moving on is a very good idea, it will save wear and tear on you as well, you will be more worn out changing locations daily than you will if you give yourself time in each place, you will likely see more that way because I guarantee that one site will lead to others, that you wouldn't have planned on, don't cut the unplanned site or event out just to keep to a schedule, you will really miss out.

You will get the best exchange rates using plastic, and you can pull cash from ATMs with fewer fees if you pull larger amounts out, but I use my card for most things and have just a little cash for tips and small purchases. Debit works like credit, both are well accepted, Visa or MC either one, just have the cash in your debit account, you don't want to get caught 6,000 miles from home overdrawn!

Do you have a travel book? I like the DK Eyewitness books, they give fees for entry into places, times places are open, approx. costs of hotels etc and restaurant prices and info. They also have contact numbers, good maps and factual info for where you may want to go. Their Scotland book is particularly good.

[slunderville]

Thanks! I did mean National Trust for Scotland, I apologize it was late and my brain was locking up. And we maybe will join Historic Scotland too. Besides getting us into places they are both doing a lot of good. I cringe every time I see someone in the US has torn down an old building with lots of architecture. And I know ours are babies compared to yours.

Your tips are very wise and we are now considering basing ourselves in a location and touring around them and then moving on to another area. We've decided to not do the upper Highland area this trip, yep already determined I want to come back, but we would like a few days into England to visit a friend (only a few hours in) and to see N Ireland with a friend who's flying over with us (she was born there).

So with what I've gathered we should be able to keep our room and food around $100-125 a day. I knew gas was higher but most conveniently kept forgetting to convert when I looked at the prices. ha ha Considering the vehicles we both drive over here only give us about 20 miles per gallon anything higher than that will thrill us.

Are you all living in Scotland? Where are your favorite places to go? Any of you by any chance Elvis Presley fans? I can hear Fi (friend traveling with me) groan at that question, everyone thinks I'm pathetic when it comes to Elvis.

[slunderville]

Forgot, yes we are coming from Arizona and we do plan on getting the rental car ahead of time. Will remember that about the 3 for 2. And we're also looking into self-catering places.

Some travel agencies I've seen offer vouchers for stays at B & B's or hotels, you pay so much per voucher and they give you a booklet with all the members listed where you can stay. It has it's pros and cons. Pro being that you can put it on a credit card so if you get them ahead of time you may have your lodging paid for before you leave and cons is it limits where you can stay. I've talked with a lady who got them for her parents trip and they thought it was a wonderful way to go.

We do want to splurge and stay at a castle for a couple nights though not one of the fancy spa types I see advertised, been checking into the ones Historic Scotland offers. hmmmm maybe a membership gives you a discount? have to check into that.

[keyhole kate]

Originally Posted by slunderville

Considering the vehicles we both drive over here only give us about 20 miles per gallon ......

Geez, slunderville, what the heck are you driving!?
I get almost twice that with my car...

...sorry for going off topic...