Scotland has rugged nature, deserted beaches and three thousand ancient castles.
People go there for the green hills, steep mountains and rocks. Scotland is suitable for those who do not like hot summers and crowds of tourists. It is unlikely to get a rest on such a trip: it is a common thing to walk twenty kilometers in a day with height differences of up to 200 meters.
Scotland is an expensive country, but you can save money if you want to. Let us tell you how to do it
π Input data
When in season: from May to September.
Average temperature during the season: +16-20 Β°Π‘.
Currency: pounds sterling, 1 GBP.
Language: English.
β When to go
The best time to visit Scotland is from May to September. The summers are cool and it often rains.
August is festival time in Scotland. There is a huge number of tourists – accommodation is even more expensive at this time and may be in short supply.
In early spring there is often heavy rain and frost in the evenings. In the fall, you can appreciate the full palette of bright colors of Scottish nature, but you’ll pay for it with cold weather.
π° What to see in Scotland
The websites visitscotland.com and walkhighlands.co.uk are handy for planning trips around Scotland. There are detailed descriptions of most routes with maps, photos and recommendations for choosing the right footwear. All information is in English.
It’s also convenient to search for beautiful places on Instagram. There are accounts that publish the best photos of Scottish regions and cities, such as @visitscotland. As a rule, they include the names of locations.
Glenfinnan Viaduct. This is an iconic place for Harry Potter fans. The Hogwarts Express train runs along the viaduct from late May through October. In the morning, about a hundred people gather on the hill in front of the viaduct, and the train passes it exactly on schedule. At 10:50 it appears on the bridge, the driver reduces speed and lets off steam so that all those gathered can take the main photo.
Castles. There are three thousand ancient castles in Scotland. All of them are very different. For example, Huntingtower is small, ascetic and looks like Winterfell from “Game of Thrones”. Dunnottar stands on a cliff and is considered one of the most impregnable fortresses in Scotland. The seven-storey Cragivar, painted in soft pink, stands in a forest and resembles a castle from a Disney cartoon.
Some castles are free of charge, entry to the rest costs 4-10 GBP.
Loch Ness. You will hardly see the monster, but you will admire the mountain rivers, rocks and quiet castles in the vicinity of the famous lake. Tourists go boating on it and visit the museum of the Loch Ness monster. There, the yellow submarine on which scientists explored Loch Ness in the 20th century has been preserved.
The islands of Lewis and Harris are both visited for their wildlife. They are located in the same archipelago, but their landscapes are different: on Lewis there are plains, and on Harris there are more mountains. There are few tourists everywhere, sheep walk in the fields and wild deer run across the roads.
The most popular place on Harris is Luskentyre beach, which is like the Caribbean, but in the north: the water is turquoise and the sand is fine and white. The only difference is that it’s cold to swim.
There is a Blackhouse Village on Lewis in the village of Gerenan. These are 9 restored traditional houses with floor to floor windows, stonework and carts in the yards. There are two beaches 6km from the village where locals and tourists surf. There is also fishing, cycling and a trip to Callanish, Scotland’s Stonehenge.
Glencoe is a valley in the southwest of the North Scottish Highlands, in the Ben Nevis and Glencoe Nature Reserve. The valley has been called the wildest and most majestic place in Scotland, with noisy streams flowing off the cliffs and clouds looming over the mountains. You’ve probably seen Glencoe in movies. For example, some scenes from The Highlander and the Harry Potter movies were filmed there.
π· Money
You can travel around Scotland comfortably with a bank card. Most supermarkets and cafes have a paypass. Small cash will be needed for small expenses like a deposit for using a hairdryer in a hostel.
π Rent a car
Cars are looked for on car rental intermediary websites or from reputable rental companies. Sometimes it is cheaper to book directly with Hertz in Scotland.
“Hertz offers different rental rates for different countries. You can save extra money if you use discounts from partner companies. For example, Visa or Mastercard cardholders get a 10-20% discount. The list of partners can be found on the company’s website.
Another option to save money is to find a promo code. The codes 769985, 963966 and 194585 often work. They can give you a discount of 25 β¬.
Sometimes rental companies will upgrade your car for free with vouchers. You can find them on forums where rental companies are discussed. To get such an upgrade, show the printed voucher to a company employee.
A small crossover vehicle, such as an Opel Mokka or Renault Capture, is best for driving around Scotland. On the islands, the roads are often single lane, so you have to share the road with oncoming traffic.
Hiring a navigator costs 17 GBP per day. If you rent it for 5 days, you can buy a new navigator for the same money. It is better to download the offline maps application “Maps me” on your phone and download maps of Scotland in advance.
π§ Insurance
Two insurances are included in the price of booking a car in Scotland: Collision Damage Waiver with excess (CDW), and Theft Protection (TP).
Usually they are sold with a deductible – this is the cost of damages that the driver has to pay if he or she gets into an accident. The insurance company pays the rest. In Hertz, the deductible is 1000 GBP.
To avoid paying the full deductible for minor damage, you can buy additional insurance from a local company, such as Worldwideinsure. This should be done before you pick up the car from the hirer. On average, such insurance costs 30 GBP for 5 days.
If the driver has additional insurance and gets into an accident, he still has to pay the deductible amount to the rental company first. After that, the driver sends the checks to the insurance company and is reimbursed the full amount.
β½ Fuel
On average, fuel costs 1.3 GBP per liter.
Gasoline is about 8-10% more expensive on the smaller islands. If you go to Lewis and Harris, fill up a full tank before the ferry. In the rest of Scotland, prices are about the same and gas stations are common.
Most often, the hirer issues and accepts a car with a full tank. If you return an unrefueled car, the price per liter will increase 2-3 times. The cost will be deducted from the deposit.
“Hertz” is asking 3.9580 GBP per liter of diesel with an average price at gas stations of 1.3 GBP. To avoid overpaying, fill up near the car return point.
β΄οΈ Ferries
The islands of Lewis and Harris can be reached by ferry. From these islands you can reach the Isle of Skye by bridge or by ferry.
Caledonian MacBrayne ferries run between many of the islands in Scotland. Tickets are sold on their website.
The fare is made up of the cost of a passenger ticket and a car ticket. In August 2018, it cost 60.45 GBP to get from Allapool to Isle of Lewis : a passenger ticket cost 9.5 GBP and a car ticket cost 50.95 GBP. A ticket to Skye from the Isle of Harris costs around 37 GBP.
The ferry accommodates about one hundred vehicles. The loading and unloading process is easy and takes a maximum of 20 minutes: the ferry staff regulate the traffic.
π΄ Food
National dishes:
π Fish ‘n Chips – pieces of white fish in batter, deep-fried, with a portion of fries for 10-12 GBP.
π Haggis – chopped lamb giblets. In the classic version they are stuffed with sheep stomach, but sometimes the dish is served just as a cutlet. It costs from 9 GBP to 12 GBP.
π A traditional English breakfast is eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes, sausages, haggis, beans or baked mushrooms. The composition differs depending on the region. Such breakfast costs about 9 GBP.
Stores:
π There are Coop and Tesco supermarkets in Scotland.
π Sometimes you have to drive several dozen kilometers to the nearest cafe or restaurant. If traveling inland, it’s best to take lunch with you.
π In the UK there are many kinds of beans in different sauces for 1.5-2 Β£, tuna for 1.15-1.5 Β£, salmon for 3-4 GBP. All edible and delicious.
π Prepared salads cost 3-4 GBP, a mix of strawberries, melon and grapes costs 2 GBP. Lunch will cost 15-20 GBP on average.
π Supermarkets sell a lot of ready meals that you just need to heat up in the oven or microwave. Such meals usually cost 3-6 GBP.
π No matter how far away the Co-op is, when it opens at 7am there are always fresh and delicious croissants lying there for Β£0.8. In a coffee shop you’ll have to pay Β£2-2.5 for the same croissant.
π± Internet
An EE SIM card with 5 GB of internet, 500 minutes of calls and unlimited texts costs 15 GBP. In most tourist areas there is a reliable 4G connection, but sometimes there is no connection at all.
Back in the UK, there is a virtual operator called Giffgaff. It uses the O2 network in the United Kingdom. On its website you can order a SIM card with free worldwide delivery. The tariff plans of Giffgaff are more favorable than those of other mobile operators in the UK, for example, 8 GB costs 15 GBP.
If you don’t need to be always connected, free wifi in cafes, museums, shopping centers and sometimes at gas stations will be enough.
πͺ What to bring back from Scotland
Whisky, clothes with traditional checkered pattern, heather tea and oatmeal cookies are brought from Scotland. A scarf will cost 10-15 GBP, tea – 3 GBP, cookies – 2-10 GBP depending on the package and size. It is better to buy products in supermarkets: prices there are lower than in souvenir stores.
