Itinerary · 8 days · 36 places
8 Days in Scotland
Eight days from Edinburgh's Old Town via Glencoe to the Isle of Skye and back via Culloden to Inverness — three nights in the city, four in the Highlands, with the road through the mountains in between.
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Photo: Stuart Robinson · Pexels
The route on the map
The plan, day by day
Day 1Arrival in Edinburgh's Old Town
Arrival in Edinburgh
Hotel check-in
A base on the Grassmarket below the castle rock — narrow closes, pubs and the Old Town on your doorstep.
Greyfriars Kirkyard
Old graveyard behind the church, on whose headstones J. K. Rowling found names such as Thomas Riddell.
Princes Street Gardens
Strip of park in the drained loch bed below the castle, with views up to the rock face and the Scott Monument.
Calton Hill
Hill with the unfinished National Monument, from where you can see the Old Town, the New Town and the Firth of Forth all at once.
Evening: Grassmarket
Square below the castle rock, where old pubs such as The Last Drop and Biddy Mulligans stand open side by side in the evening.
Day 2Castle, Royal Mile & Arthur's Seat
Edinburgh Castle
Fortress on its basalt plug, with the Scottish Crown Jewels and the One O'Clock Gun.
St Giles' Cathedral
High kirk with a crown spire on the Royal Mile, and inside the tiny Thistle Chapel with carved knights' coats of arms.
The Real Mary King's Close
Guided tour through the buried closes beneath the City Chambers, where people lived in the 17th century.
Palace of Holyroodhouse
Royal residence at the bottom of the Royal Mile, with Mary, Queen of Scots' chambers and the ruined abbey church in the grounds.
Arthur's Seat
Extinct volcano in Holyrood Park; the climb via Salisbury Crags takes around 45 minutes and ends high above the whole city.
Evening: Cowgate
Gorge beneath the Old Town's bridges, where bars such as Bannermans and live music venues stay open late.
Day 3New Town, Stockbridge & Leith
Dean Village
Former milling village on the Water of Leith, whose sandstone houses with wheatsheaf carvings lie ten minutes' walk from Princes Street.
Stockbridge
Neighbourhood of independent shops, second-hand bookshops and the terraced row of Ann Street, with the river and its weirs in between.
The Georgian House
Townhouse on Charlotte Square furnished in period style, showing how a wealthy family lived in the New Town around 1800.
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Botanic garden with a Victorian palm house and a lawn from which the Old Town skyline looks like a painting.
Royal Yacht Britannia
The decommissioned royal yacht in the port of Leith, open to visitors from the bridge to the engine room.
Evening: The Shore, Leith
Waterfront along the old harbour basin, where pubs and restaurants line up in the former merchants' houses.
Day 4Via Loch Lomond to Glencoe
Onward to Glencoe
Hotel check-in
Glencoe Visitor Centre
Exhibition on the 1692 massacre and the geology of the glen, with a panoramic terrace facing the peaks of Aonach Eagach.
Three Sisters Viewpoint
Lay-by on the A82 opposite the three mountain spurs of Beinn Fhada, Gearr Aonach and Aonach Dubh, with waterfalls tumbling down them.
Glencoe Lochan
Small loch with a circular walk, laid out in the 19th century by a lord as a piece of home for his Canadian wife.
Evening: Loch Leven at Ballachulish
Shore of the sea loch below the Ballachulish Bridge, where the mountains are mirrored in the water on still evenings.
Day 5Over the bridge to Skye
Onward to Portree
Hotel check-in
Portree Harbour
Harbour with the famous row of brightly painted houses, where fishing boats and excursion boats tie up.
Scorrybreac Circuit
Coastal path over the cliffs north of the harbour, with views back to Portree and across to Raasay.
Braes Viewpoint
Viewpoint south of Portree where the crofters' land struggles began in 1882 — today just sheep, sea and the hills of Raasay.
Evening: Somerled Square
Portree's central square, where the pubs put on live music with fiddle and accordion in the evening.
Day 6Trotternish: Storr, Quiraing, Fairy Glen
Old Man of Storr
Detached rock pinnacle above the Sound of Raasay; the climb from the car park takes around 45 minutes each way.
Lealt Falls
Waterfall in a gorge by the roadside, with a platform above the bay and remains of the old diatomite railway.
Kilt Rock & Mealt Falls
Basalt cliff with vertical columns like the pleats of a kilt, beside which the Mealt burn plunges straight into the sea.
Quiraing
Landslipped ridge with towers and a hidden plateau; the walking trail starts at the pass between Staffin and Uig.
Fairy Glen
Landscape of small conical grassy hills and rock pinnacles near Uig, formed by landslides, not by fairies.
Evening: Bosville Terrace
Terrace high above Portree harbour, from where you can watch the last light fade over the bay.
Day 7From Skye to Inverness & Culloden
Onward to Inverness
Hotel check-in
Ness Islands
Wooded river islands in the middle of the city, linked by Victorian suspension bridges.
Inverness Castle Viewpoint
Terrace at the red sandstone castle above the river, with views of the cathedral and the rooftops of the old town.
Culloden Battlefield
Moorland where the Jacobite Rising ended in 40 minutes in 1746; red and blue flags mark the lines of the armies.
Evening: Ness Bridge
Bridge over the Ness, from which you can see the illuminated cathedral and the riverside pubs of Huntly Street.
Day 8Inverness in the morning, then departure
Inverness Victorian Market
Covered market hall of 1870 with kilt makers, a record shop and the new Food Hall beneath cast-iron girders.
Leakey's Bookshop
Second-hand bookshop in a deconsecrated church, where books are stacked up to the gallery and a wood-burning stove glows in the middle of the room.
Departure from Inverness
Make it your trip
Viatro AI opens this plan in the app — with map, travel times and opening hours. You change the days, pace and places yourself.
