Four or Five Day PreCruise in Scotland???

[cruisinnorth]

Hi All,

 

We are on he Grand Princess departing Southampton, Nov. 3, 2012. We would like to do a four or five day precruise in Scotland. We would like suggestions on what to see, where to stay, perhaps not specifically but in what areas. Also we would like information on how to get from Scotland to Southampton to catch the ship. We have never been to Scotland or London other than a short stay in Heathrow. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Susan & Dave

[LilMissK]

Hi,

You could do a couple of days up in the north of scotland? Stay in Inverness, see round about (Loch Ness, Culloden battlefield, Cawdor Castle), and then to Edinburgh for a couple of nights, then a night in Glasgow. While you're in glasgow you could do a day trip to Loch Lomond, or you could stay a night somewhere round Loch Lomond?

Weather might not be the best in November though, lol

[Cruzer Two]

Hi All,

 

We are on he Grand Princess departing Southampton, Nov. 3, 2012. We would like to do a four or five day precruise in Scotland. We would like suggestions on what to see, where to stay, perhaps not specifically but in what areas. Also we would like information on how to get from Scotland to Southampton to catch the ship. We have never been to Scotland or London other than a short stay in Heathrow. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Susan & Dave

 

Susan & Dave,

 

I guess the first question should be, “Do you plan on renting a car and driving yourself or will you be traveling around Scotland by train”? This will dictate the logistics of your trip. You might find that either of these options will require too much time spent getting from one location to the next and very little time is left for sightseeing.

 

Are you opposed to spending the entire time before you cruise sightseeing in London? Click on http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1438360 to see my five-day, post cruise itinerary of London. This will allow ample time to see the major sights of London.

 

If you’ve got you mind set on Scotland, I would suggest a 5-day packaged tour similar to some of the offering available at http://www.goscotlandtours.com/tour-list.asp?View=Search_Departure . The beauty of northern Scotland is the natural scenery, so a packaged tour might provide an opportunity to see much more than would be possible by other means.

 

Another alternative would be a tour of Edinburgh and the northern part of England http://www.goscotlandtours.com/rabbies/scotland-tours/england-yorkshire-tour.html . Similar offerings are available from a number of different companies. Do a Google search of Scotland Tours for other options.

 

Another option would be to fly into Edinburgh for a couple of days of sightseeing on your own and then take the train to London for balance of your pre-cruise vacation.

 

Just my thoughts, I hope this helps.

Ron aka CruzerTwo

[C U Onboard]

Q1 Can we assume that since your cruise is transatlantic you have a one way air ticket and you intend to fly directly to Scotland and stay on for 4 or 5 days before going to join the ship in Southampton?

Q2 If so, have you decided which airport are you flying into?

Q3 Would you prefer to travel to Southampton by car, bus, train or plane?

This info will give us something to build on ;)

[tartanexile81]

I would suggest hire a car then use Inverness as a base for a couple of days then drive down to Perth or Pitlochry for the second half. You'll have fantastic drive through the Cairngorms. From Inverness, you can tour out as lilMissK suggests then see some beautiful lochs in the Trossachs (Loch Tay, Loch Rannoch in Perthshire from Perth / Pitlochry- every bit as lovely (if not better!) than Loch Lomond. Don't try to drive too much in the time you have available.

 

As far as travelling to Southampton, the best way would be to take the train from Edinburgh Waverley (an hour or so from Perth) to London Kings Cross (hourly service). The view from the train through the border country between Scotland / England is fantastic- Lindisfarne (Holy island) and the Berwickshire and Northumbia Coast. Takes just over 4 hours. Once in London, you be best to take a cab from outside Kings X to Waterloo then pick up a fast train to Southampton. You can also fly from from Edinburgh to Southampton.

 

Never mind what other posters are saying about London. You will LOVE Scotland and there's so much more to the UK than just London.

[scottbee]

Hi All,

 

We are on he Grand Princess departing Southampton, Nov. 3, 2012. We would like to do a four or five day precruise in Scotland. We would like suggestions on what to see, where to stay, perhaps not specifically but in what areas. Also we would like information on how to get from Scotland to Southampton to catch the ship. We have never been to Scotland or London other than a short stay in Heathrow. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Susan & Dave

Check your airline, you may be able to fly into GLA/Glasgow instead of London, which will cut your travel time to get to Scotland in the 1st place.

 

Getting back to Southampton; FlyBE operate flights from numerous Scottish airports (Edinborough, Glasgow and Inverness) to Southampton's airport, a mere 7 miles from the cruise terminal. Just be careful with luggage allowances.

[cruisinnorth]

Q1 Can we assume that since your cruise is transatlantic you have a one way air ticket and you intend to fly directly to Scotland and stay on for 4 or 5 days before going to join the ship in Southampton?

Q2 If so, have you decided which airport are you flying into?

Q3 Would you prefer to travel to Southampton by car, bus, train or plane?

This info will give us something to build on ;)

 

Hi All,

 

Thanks for the information thus far. To answer the above questions we are hoping to fly into Scotland directly and work our way to Southampton. What our final plans turn out to be will dictate which airport we will fly into, but we will be flying into Scotland. I think we would prefer to use the train to get to Southampton.

 

We do plan to rent a car so that we can have more freedom of movement once we arrive in Scotland.

 

We are going to tally all the suggestions on places to see and try to map them into some kind of efficient plan... we do know that five days are not enough to do justice to the area, so it is necessary to see the highlights. We tend not to be city people but rather see the sights of the country and how people live.

 

Again, thanks for all the help thus far, please keep the ideas coming, they are very appreciated.

 

Dave and Susan

[gaelsail]

Depending on whether you want to see the scenery from the train, the best train to get from Scotland to London is the overnight sleeper- it goes into Euston station and you have your luggage in your own cabin.

 

http://www.scotrail.co.uk/caledoniansleeper/index.html

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

While Scotland is a small country, you will find that there is just so much to see and do,

 

you are doing the right thing and doing your home work.

 

You could look at The West Coast of Scotland, drive to Skye etc

 

May be a drive to Aviemore

 

East Coast St Andrews and Edinburgh

 

 

Stirling for history

 

Glasgow for art , museums

 

here is a web site link for you

 

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/

 

yours Shogun

[tartanexile81]

Depending on whether you want to see the scenery from the train, the best train to get from Scotland to London is the overnight sleeper- it goes into Euston station and you have your luggage in your own cabin.

 

http://www.scotrail.co.uk/caledoniansleeper/index.html

 

... and miss out on views of the the Scottish borders, beautiful Northumbia, Durham Cathedral, York Minster and all places South? Also very expensive way to travel. Would rather get early evening train from Edinburgh

[gaelsail]

... and miss out on views of the the Scottish borders, beautiful Northumbia, Durham Cathedral, York Minster and all places South? Also very expensive way to travel. Would rather get early evening train from Edinburgh

I agree you miss out on the scenery, it depends on your agenda/what is important to you. I do both at different times depending on why I'm travelling.

 

The sleeper can often be cheaper than the day-fares, if you're really quick you can get a bargain berth on certain dates.

[thedoctoriscruising]

We are doing an Eastbound TA in may that ends up in harwich. We've been to London and now want to visit either Scotland or Ireland. We will dock in harwich early AM, and figure to travel that day to either placew and then spend 3 full days wherever. i am leaning toward Glasgow as I have relatives to search for there, but would LOVE some input from fellow travelers.

[jarand]

I've only been once, on the June 15 Princess cruise, but I LOVED the Inverness and Highlands area. It is the area I most wished for more time.

 

I'd also suggest looking into Bed and Breakfasts. We stayed in several post-cruise in England, and they were wonderful. Trip Advisor is a great place to start research.

[onlyleigh]

Jack Pryde’s Tours of Dunfermline

 

 

I just had to post an absolutely total rave review of Jack Pryde’s private tours of Dunfermline, Scotland. If you are looking for an alternative to the typical big city, Edinburgh, tour, Jack is the man for you. His tour is not the usual walk, stop and get a lecture. With Jack you feel as if you are having a tour guided by a family member who is very proud to show you his town. And, this town does have many interesting aspects to it. It dates from before the Norman Conquest and is filled with history. It is also the birthplace of Andrew Carnegie, the American steel magnate from the early 20th century. And, the very first Andrew Carnegie endowed library is here and still in operation. You also get to see the home where Carnegie was born and spent the early years of his life. And you get to see the magnificent Dunfermline Abbey dating back to before the Norman Conquest and the burial place of Robert the Bruce and six other Scottish kings, along with St. Margaret and hear about the very real 'Braveheart' (William Wallace) connection. Inside the Abbey are wonderful stained glass windows. The town is easy to navigate and has some historical pubs where you can get authentic Scottish pub fare. The townspeople are very warm, friendly and are happy to share their town and its landmarks with you when you visit. Jack will also drive you through some smaller villages in the area so that you get to see and visit places of historical importance that date back to the 1500s. Jack will customize your tour so you see those sites that are of interest to you. And, Jack can arrange for transport for those who are mobility impaired. This is not a big bus tour as Jack keeps his tours small and intimate and takes you to places those big buses cannot go. Jack is fully licensed, has been guiding tours for a quarter of a century and is very responsive to emails and inquiries. We spent a wonderful day with Jack and can truthfully say that this one of the best tours we have taken in all our years of traveling.

And, it is so reasonably priced compared to ship's tours that you can't miss with this one.

You can contact him at discoverdunfermline at live dot com dot uk.

[cruisinnorth]

Hi All,

Thank you for all the helpful ideas. At this point we feel we want to do the highlands north of Glasgow for five days then a train to Southampton, a night in Southampton, a taxi to the ship, then we will escape completely.

Thanks again for all the help!

Dave

[iancal]

Take a raincoat and an umbrella. You will need them.

[de_montsoreau]

Also, have a close look at the sites you want to see. November is far from any tourist season in Scotland and many of the historic sites will be closed or have very limited opening times.

http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/

 

Gives all the info on all the sites they take care of (which are lot) and also great value passes if you are inclined to see many historical sites.

 

Enjoy, Scotland is amazing!