Anyone ever been or have any tips on what to do? My gf is going around May 18th for 3 weeks for job training in Banchory (near Aberdeen). I think she will be working mostly during the day (M-F), but will have free time on nights/weekends. Also, this will be her first trip outside of the US, so any tips on international travel would be great as well!

4/30/2012 2:02:38 PM

Whatever you do, do not piss this dude named William Wallace.

/chitchat.

4/30/2012 2:19:36 PM

I've only been to Edinburgh, but its a wonderful city. The castle is great, and they have some wicked scary ghost walks that end at the Greyfriar's cemetery. Its a great city to walk around and explore, I'd highly recommend it!

4/30/2012 2:30:15 PM

take a trip to the orkney isles if you can. that was interesting

4/30/2012 3:53:48 PM

I am a mad man in love with Scotland, though I've only spent about 3 weeks there total. I might be attending grad school there (still not decided, but accepted) in Edinburgh. I will say this: Make day trips, a lot of them. There's a lot of great small places you can do in brief trips and you'll definitely enjoy the experience. I haven't actually been to Aberdeen. It's definitely a little more secluded compared to say Edinburgh, but I'm pretty sure you'll still be able to make trips.

If she can do a long weekend in Edinburgh, I say do it. I've been to a lot of European cities, and it's one of my favorites. It has this amazing blend of old and new (I mean, literally with old town and new town), historic and modern, and it's not a nightmare huge city to get around in. The bus system is easy and doesn't cost a lot (they have no metro or light rail--yet), and there's plenty to do and see. Sadly she won't be there during Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which is crazy fun, but still more than enough to entertain her I'm sure.

St. Andrews is worth a day trip. You go and see the cathedral, the castle, Old Course, go see some shops, go to a tiny pub, then get back on your bus. There's a small village outside of Edinburgh called Queensferry which is worth it as well. Queensferry is where the Firth of Forth bridge is (kind of an engineering marvel in a lot of ways, also just cool). It's a cool place to visit--just a cool little waterside community, very quiet. There's an inn here called Hawke's Inn where Robert Louis Stevenson spent time writing (if you're into that sort of thing), and right outside the inn you can take a ferry to Incholm Abbey, which is a must-see if you're in the area.

If she can do more than one weekend trip, I'd say she should try to do the highlands, or at least part of them. I know she'll be staying outside of Aberdeen, but if she can get over to Fort William, which is the town near Ben Nevis (the tallest mountain in the UK). This area is stunning, and Fort William is a quaint little town. However, I went there so I could take a trip over to the Isle of Skye, which is by far one of the most amazing places you can go in Scotland period. And if she goes to Isle of Skye, go to the village of Portree--very cool little port town.

Drink lots of whisky, bring some harder to find stuff home (Cadenheads bottles from Edinburgh, for one or a dozen), buy me a bottle of The Botanist dry Islay gin from Bruichladdich, and I don't know--drink some more. Have some haggis and black pudding. Eat lots of fried things, pastries, pies, et cetera.

4/30/2012 5:26:50 PM

^All of that. Definitely.

Just south of Aberdeen, she can visit Dunnottar Castle. It's in Stonehaven (about 30 minutes away). It's a fantastic castle ruin that is perched on a cliff on the North Sea. All the people of Scotland are fantastic, and she should have a fabulous time. I was there this time last year, and I would go back in a second.

5/1/2012 6:14:28 PM

I went to Glasgow for a few days because I was flying home from there and enjoyed it. Thomas Cook Airlines runs lower-priced charter flights to/from across the pond so you might want to check out airfare. The people were very friendly (significantly friendlier then the English), although very hard to understand after a few drinks. The music scene in Glasgow was really hopping, both with local talent and big names playing smaller venues. Use Megabus to get around the island when possible, much cheaper than the trains.

5/3/2012 12:36:52 AM

Thanks for the info everyone, I think she is going to explore as much as she can outside of work since she doesn't know when she will get that chance again (unless she gets called back for more work).

Any tips for international travel? Like my gf, I haven't been outside the country, so I can't give her good advice outside of Google. I know she is going to purchase an adapter plug & laptop (for skype video/chat in place of international calls). She also has a Sony DSLR camera, so I have been trying to get her to purchase a better lens for pictures. Her parents are worried about her not having the proper shots for travel, even though she is going to well-developed country. Is that something she should be concerned with?

5/4/2012 10:03:12 AM

It's Scotland, not Burma.

5/4/2012 10:13:47 AM

I've been to Scotland twice and done road trips both times. Great way to see the country side. First time we did Edinburgh -> Glasgow then up into the highlands. HIGHLY SUGGEST staying on the Isle of Skyee here: http://www.ben-tianavaig.co.uk/

Some GREAT hikes. If you go make sure you hike the Storr:



We then went up through the highlands and up to inverness than back down through the Cairngorms I believe.

Second time we started in London and went up through York and then to Edinburgh and back to the Isle of Skyee. That's when we got stuck in a blizzard. Don't rent a Kia with 90 HP and try to drive through a blizzard.

5/4/2012 10:33:48 AM

Quote :

"I know she is going to purchase an adapter plug & laptop (for skype video/chat in place of international calls)."

I presume that she is planning to buy the laptop regardless of this trip? If not, this is probably not the most cost effective means of making phone calls back home. It would be far cheaper to buy a local sim card with decent international rates. Besides, we are only talking about 3 weeks here. How much time on the phone will she really need to be spending?

Quote :

"Her parents are worried about her not having the proper shots for travel, even though she is going to well-developed country. "

The CDC doesn't recommend any vaccines for travel to Scotland outside of the routine ones that most people should already have (plus Hep B). Vaccinations should be the least of her worries.

5/4/2012 10:55:19 AM

Quote :

"I presume that she is planning to buy the laptop regardless of this trip? If not, this is probably not the most cost effective means of making phone calls back home. It would be far cheaper to buy a local sim card with decent international rates. Besides, we are only talking about 3 weeks here. How much time on the phone will she really need to be spending?"

Her plans to purchase a new laptop were well in advance of her being notified she had to travel to Scotland due to getting plenty of tax refund money. This just expedites the process a bit.

Thanks for the vaccine info.

5/4/2012 11:00:25 AM

Visit Doune Castle, they have loaner coconuts on site.

5/4/2012 11:00:43 AM

They still haven't figured out the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow.

5/4/2012 12:07:19 PM

What do you mean? African or European?

5/6/2012 1:06:22 AM

as a matter of fact, they have.

http://style.org/unladenswallow/?none

5/6/2012 9:21:49 AM

We are planning a trip here over the week of fourth of july. Any more suggestions 5 years later?

[Edited on March 18, 2017 at 8:55 PM. Reason : .]

3/18/2017 8:55:03 PM

Don't mention the Revolutionary War.

3/18/2017 9:08:44 PM