It’s all starting to come together now. Over the last two weeks I’ve provided information and recommendations on the right time to go to Scotland and where to spend that time. Today I’m just going to talk about time – as in how much is ideal for your trip to Scotland.
While Scotland is on the small side in terms of land mass, the country is incredibly dense with vistas, historical landmarks, and vibrant villages. It’s important to accept the fact that you cannot see it all in one trip or even ten. Attempts to cram everything into your trip will be frustrating and unfulfilling.
First, let’s look at some common trip lengths. Then I’ll provide my recommendation on the ideal trip length! Read more...
Welcome back! Last week we looked at the best time to visit Scotland, taking into account weather, cultural events, and tourism’s high and low seasons. Now it’s time to consider where, in this incredibly varied country, you should spend your hard-earned vacation.
I won’t sugarcoat it; you won’t be able to see it all. Not in one trip at least. Planning your destinations in Scotland is at once a horrible war of attrition and some of the most fun I’ve ever had trip planning. Difficult decisions are ahead. Prepare yourself.
The amount of time you have for the trip dictates how much you can see, and I’ll cover these trade-offs in more depth next Monday. Read more...
You want to go to Scotland.
At least, that’s the premise for this four part series on planning a trip to Scotland. I’ve planned trips to Scotland on four previous occasions – including one trip that involved my parents, wife, and two siblings – and I’m in the process of simultaneously planning four more trips this year.
After a destination has been chosen, I see the process of trip planning as four simple questions:
1. When should I go?
2. Where (within the destination) should I go?
3. How much time do I want/need?
4. How much will it cost me? Read more...
Have you ever found yourself returning again and again to a place, perhaps reenacting a scene or activity? Do you wonder why, or have you extinguished that curious flame with a half-thought and flimsy reason? It’s fun. It’s pretty. It’s cheap. What does it say about you that you return there? Is it pathological or just unfinished business?
There is a place in this world, for everyone, that will command daily thoughts, tug at hidden bonds, and pull across the oceans and ages.
If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. It’s there.
Recently, I finally admitted to myself that Scotland is that place for me. Read more...
An amber splash burns in the bottom of a Glencairn glass. Fiddles, pipes, and guitars send a reel swirling around the pub’s patrons. Shredded coastline and dramatic mountain ranges bedeck the highlands. Ancient battlefields echo with the struggles of ages past.
What do these images all have in common? They’re all things I love about my next destination: Scotland. I leave for Edinburgh on March 1 and return three weeks later. And after this trip I will be returning to Scotland for subsequent trips and focusing Traveling Savage on Scotland for the foreseeable future. Read more...
A hunter, oft-stubbled and bleary-eyed, driven by an insatiable hunger for exploration and experience - and perhaps a chance to thin the herd of caffeinated and alcoholic beverages. From the highlands and islands to Edinburgh, Glasgow, and the Borders, I explore Scotland with a pen in hand and a fire in the belly (which could be partly from the whisky). 
