Steves Rick - Rick Steves Scotland

Isle of Skye

SCOTLAND

Scotland is a little land that packs a big punch. From the yin-and-yang cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow to the rugged Highlands and remote islands, this fiercely proud country specializes in showing off its dramatic scenery and unique culture. Scotlands famous clichswhisky distilleries, moody glens, golf links, bagpipes, kilts, and yes, haggisoffer glimpses of a deeply engaging cultural feast.

This book breaks Scotland into its top big-city, small-town, and rural destinations. It gives you all the information and opinions necessary to wring the maximum value out of your limited time and money in each of these locations. If you plan a month or less for Scotland and have a normal appetite for information, this book is all you need. If youre a travel-info fiend, this book sorts through all the superlatives and provides a handy rack upon which to hang your supplemental information.

Experiencing Scottish culture, people, and natural wonders economically and hassle-free has been my goal for more than three decades of traveling, tour guiding, and travel writing. With this book, I pass on to you the lessons Ive learned, updated for your trip.

While including the predictable biggies (such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, and the Isle of Skye), this book also mixes in a healthy dose of Back Door intimacy (windswept moors, evocative glens, and small-town Highland Games). It is selective. Scotland has 790 islands, but I recommend just my favorites: Skye, Mull, Iona, Staffa, and Orkney.

The best is, of course, only my opinion. But after spending much of my life researching Europe, Ive developed a sixth sense for what travelers enjoy. The places featured in this book will knock your spots off.

Use this legend to help you navigate the maps in this book.

Rick Steves Scotland is a personal tour guide in your pocket. This book is organized by destinations. Each is a mini vacation on its own, filled with exciting sights, strollable neighborhoods, homey and affordable places to stay, and memorable places to eat. Within the destination chapters, youll find these sections:

Planning Your Time suggests a schedule for how to best use your limited time.

Orientation has specifics on public transportation, helpful hints, local tour options, easy-to-read maps, and tourist information.

Sights describes the top attractions and includes their cost and hours.

Self-Guided Walks take you through interesting neighborhoods, pointing out sights and fun stops.

Sleeping describes my favorite hotels, from good-value deals to cushy splurges.

Eating serves up a buffet of options, from inexpensive pubs to fancy restaurants.

Connections outlines your options for traveling to destinations by train, bus, and plane, plus route tips for drivers.

The Scotland: Past and Present chapter gives a quick overview of Scottish history and culture.

Practicalities is a travelers tool kit, with my best tips about money, sightseeing, sleeping, eating, staying connected, and transportation (trains, buses, ferries, car rentals, driving, and flights). Here youll also find definitions of typically Scottish terms.

The appendix has the nuts-and-bolts: useful phone numbers and websites, a holiday and festival list, recommended books and films, a climate chart, a handy packing checklist, and a fun British-Yankee dictionary.

Key to This Book

Updates

This book is updated regularly, but things change. For the latest, visit www.ricksteves.com/update.

Abbreviations and Times

I use the following symbols and abbreviations in this book:

Sights are rated:

Tourist information offices are abbreviated as TI, and bathrooms are WCs. To categorize accommodations, I use a Sleep Code (described on ).

Like Europe, this book uses the 24-hour clock for schedules. Its the same through 12:00 noon, then keeps going: 13:00, 14:00, and so on. For anything over 12, subtract 12 and add p.m. (14:00 is 2:00 p.m.).

When giving opening times, I include both peak season and off-season hours if they differ. So, if a museum is listed as May-Oct daily 9:00-16:00, it should be open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. from the first day of May until the last day of October (but expect exceptions).

A symbol indicates that a free, downloadable self-guided Rick Steves audio tour is available.

For transit or tour departures, I first list the frequency, then the duration. So, a train connection listed as 2/hour, 1.5 hours departs twice each hour, and the journey lasts an hour and a half.

Browse through this book, choose your favorite destinations, and link them up. Then have a brilliant trip! Traveling like a temporary local, youll get the absolute most out of every mile, minute, and dollar. And, as you visit places I know and love, Im happy that youll be meeting some of my favorite Scottish people.