Blog

This post on tips for traveling to Scotland aims to help you organize your next trip. Always based on our own experience, we transfer all our learning and all the information acquired trying to update it to help you.

Scotland is one of those amazing nations in the world. With its own personality and a captivating history, this small autonomy from the United Kingdom will make you fall in love.

Based on our trips to Scotland, you can read our complete guide to travel to scotland where you will find all the information you need from our own experience.

Follow us!

If you like what we share here, follow us live on our channels Instagram y Youtube, we will be even closer to you for whatever you need.

1 Be clear about basic information about Scotland, one of the first tips for traveling to Scotland

• Country: Scotland is one of the constituent nations of the United Kingdom, currently outside the European Union today. It has its own Parliament, but it depends on the United Kingdom.
• Capital: Edinburgh
• Population: 5,5 million inhabitants
• Most populated city: Glasgow
• Phone code: +44
• Scottish symbols of differentiated identity: The unicorn, the thistle, the bagpipes, the tartans (checkered fabrics), the kilt (Scottish skirt) and the clans.
• Official Scottish Tourism Website: https://www.visitscotland.com/es-es/

2 In the suitcase: Bring raincoats, Goretex hiking boots and waterproof pants and forget about the umbrellas!

Scotland's weather is rain-sun-rain-sun and so changeable and unpredictable all day. Of the 10 days we stayed, it rained 9. Of the 9, only 1 was heavy rain.

Based on our experience, I recommend you to wear raincoats, one of those that are made into a small package and that you can put in your backpack or fasten around your waist. Without a doubt, it was the most used part of the trip.

The goretex mountain boots were also the protagonists of the trip and we did not need to use spare shoes thanks to them.

Finally, the waterproof pants, which are sold at a very good price at the Decathlon, were also very good for us, especially for the day of intense rain, although the latter, due to the use we gave it, you can do without.

What I do not recommend you to take are umbrellas, the air when it rains makes them useless in Scotland, and in part they limit your mobility.

By the way, if you are traveling with children and want to know more specific advice, have a map and 20 essential plans with children in Scotland, I leave you this article that we wrote:

20 essential plans for Scotland with children + route + map + 9 tips with children

3 If you forget your raincoats or waterproof clothing, discover a chain of mountain clothing stores that saved our lives!

Anna was wearing Decathlon Goretex hiking boots but Arnau was wearing only sneakers that seemed to be waterproof. Only on the first day did Arnau end up with wet shoes and we had to use a few spare seconds that also got wet.

Good luck with The Mountain Warehouse, a chain of mountain clothing stores that I already knew when I lived in the North of England. Here we found some great goretex hiking boots that solved the whole trip for us and at a good price.

 

4 Before going, watch the Harry Potter saga, Brave and some tale of the Loch Ness monster

There is nothing better than soaking up what we will later see live and direct. Children love to have a little knowledge and then recognize in their own experience what they have learned. The travel experience becomes more intense, I assure you.

To introduce our children to Scottish culture and history we watched Brave set in Scotland, read stories and watched videos about Scotland on Youtube made for children. The story of the Loch Ness monster cannot be missing, within these.

The daddies also watched Braveheart and Outlander, without them, and then we told them a little history about Scotland.

Finally, we saw the Harry Potter saga shot in many places in Scotland that we later visited.

5 Passports and queues at the airport with children

With the Brexit of the United Kingdom and from 2022 to enter Scotland we will need to carry the valid passports of all family members.

Therefore remember in time to make or renew passports.

For children both to do it for the first time, and to renew the passport, both parents or guardians will need to go with your child, take a photograph and bring the family book, in addition to bringing the amount in cash of what it costs .

Also, if you renew it you must bring the last expired passport, don't forget it!

At the airport if you go without children to avoid queues there are automatic machines that scan you. If you go with children you have to go to the physical manual ticket offices and there is usually a queue, go ahead of time.

6 European Health Insurance Card still valid in the UK, but also better travel insurance if you want more security

Although Great Britain has left the European Union, it has maintained certain aspects such as the use of the European health card as before.

However, you can take the European health card and they will treat you in the emergency room of any hospital. Although here, you should know some important things. Public health in Great Britain is not like in Spain, it is minimal. Therefore, if you have to use the European health card, we know from friends that you are going to have to make a significant co-payment, depending on what you go for and that part of that co-payment will not be returned to you by the Spanish health system when you return, and what they return to you they will do it at 2 years old as we know from experience.

To avoid a bad drink, we with the children contracted travel insurance with Iati, which for the price of 10 days, the 4 of us, was worth being calm. Luckily we didn't have to use it, but on other occasions we did, we know that with a simple call everything is very easy with Iati.

If you plan to hire travel insurance in this link you will get a 5% discount at the end:

7 Roaming on your mobile

Roaming has also continued with Brexit as before. Your mobile will work with the same rates and conditions as if it were a country in the European Union.

So, you should not worry about the use of your mobile, it will be like going to France, at most the data will limit you a little depending on which company you have.

8 Spanish driving license valid in Great Britain and vehicle insurance with a green card

Another of the tips for traveling to Scotland is not to worry about your license or insurance, points maintained after Brexit. The validity of the driving license of European countries is maintained as valid to drive in Great Britain.

Thus, you should not worry if you are going to drive in Great Britain your driving license, it will be valid the same as in Spain.

Your car, motorhome or camper insurance will be equally valid in the United Kingdom as it is in Spain, although you must bear in mind that since it is outside the European Union, you must carry the green card.

9 Currency and currency exchange, discover how to save a little on your trip

The pound sterling is a different currency to the euro and that causes some inconvenience to the traveler.

Currency exchanges must always be looked at with a magnifying glass. Due to the associated commissions, they are a source of great income for banks.

The first recommendation in this regard to save is that whenever you pay or withdraw money there you choose the pound sterling as the payment method (it will give you a choice between euro or pound), in this way it will always work out better for you.

10 Cards with 0 commissions for currency exchange, discover how to save a little on your trip part 2

The second recommendation on money and currency exchange is that before traveling to the United Kingdom and Scotland you take a good look at the conditions of your card in 3 aspects:

• The commissions that apply to you for withdrawing money from ATMs.
• The commissions that apply to the currency exchange in card payment transactions.
• The currency exchange Euros - Pound sterling at how much they have it on the same day.

Looking at these three things well you can save a lot of money at the end of the trip.

To get the best change, I recommend 2 cards that after much comparison are the best for currency exchange and worldwide:

• The smart account card of Evo Banco, formerly Nova Caixa Galicia. A card with absolutely 0 commissions and worldwide in money withdrawals and currency exchange. It's what we carry. Since I left for Erasmus in the United Kingdom when I was 20 years old, I have had it and used it and once after another I verified that they did not charge me a single euro in commissions and that the currency exchange rate is the same as the official internet rate.
• The Revolut card, which some of our close friends use and have always recommended to us, although we have not tried it yet. A card that is easily activated in minutes from the internet and that supports unlimited top-ups. The bad thing that we see is that you can only withdraw 200 euros per month at ATMs maximum without commission.

11 In summer sunscreen and mosquito repellent, for other times it is not necessary

Many people told us to bring mosquito repellents, but instead, when we went in October, we didn't find a single one.

Of course, for all the friends who warned us, if you go in summer, do not forget sun cream or anti-mosquito products. Scotland is full of lakes and water from the rains and with the heat they appear.

12 They do not let minors pass in many Pubs

Be careful with the pubs. They are ideal places to go with children to eat typical and homemade food in Scotland, but some are forbidden to minors.

13 Explorer Pass and buy some advance tickets, planning a bit for the schedules

If once you review the plans that I propose below, you decide to visit two castles that I am telling you about, or more, it is worth getting the family Explorer Pass.

The Explorer Pass has been changing in recent years, before there were 14 and 7 days, and now, depending on the time of year, they sell it for more or less days or they don't sell it at all.

So go directly to the official website of Historic Environment of Scotland and see what options you have depending on when you go: https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/travel-trade/explorer-pass/

We traveled in October, they only sold the 7 consecutive days and there was no family option, it cost 35 pounds for adults and 21 for children from 5 to 15, children under 5 tickets are free in the public historical places of Scotland.

The truth is that in the end, we amortized it, but just barely. This is because many places we visited, which are very emblematic, were private and were not among the 70 places that enter with the Explorer Pass. So if you doubt, perhaps for what you can save you will not need it.

14 Motorhome or bed and breakfast, a whole family adventure!

Scotland with motorhome rental

Without a doubt, for us, visiting Scotland in a rental motorhome with children was a great experience. An adventure that the children loved and made it much easier for us by carrying the house on our backs. That it was raining, everyone inside, that the sun was coming out, outside.

So without a doubt I recommend renting a motorhome in Scotland that you can do like we do on the platform Yescapa between individuals. Where we save 600 euros to another professional motorhome.

TIP: If you don't have a motorhome or camper but want to rent one and try this type of trip, remember that the cheapest way and with the best experiences is to rent between individuals for a AirB&B type platform but for motorhomes and campers.

By the way, to travel by motorhome in Scotland you must be clear about one premise. Staying overnight is mostly prohibited in almost all public and private car parks, so you must have the chip that you should plan the trip well beforehand and go to motorhome areas and campsites, especially to sleep in Scotland with a motorhome. You can read all about the regulations and our experience in Scotland in a motorhome here.

Bed & Breakfast + rental car

The second option, which will cost you more or less the same price and which children also love, is to go to a Bed & Breakfast and rent a car there. Go riding the roadtrip every day, or every two, in a different Bed & Breakfast. Another adventure, where every day discover small Scottish cottages with impressive breakfasts, your children will surely love it.

From here you can see a lot of Bed & Breakfast in Scotland and book them comfortably.

 

15 Plan and organize your trip to Scotland, if you don't have time trust someone who knows the field

Before starting a trip, the preparation and planning phase of it is very important. To do this, we must first evaluate the way in which we will travel (freely by car and hotels, by motorhome or camper or on an organized trip), then choose the best option to reach the chosen destination, do all the paperwork we need to to be able to access the destination and finally decide what we want to visit and do to book in advance.

And if you want to save time planning your trip and you want to leave it in the hands of someone who knows the terrain well, hire our service:

16 Knowing the positive of Scotland but also the negative

To plan your trip to Scotland well and enjoy the trip, an article that I recommend you read is the one we did about the positive things and the bad things about Scotland that we experienced on our trip.

The good and bad things about Scotland

17 Know and evaluate well all the options to get to Scotland

You may not know that we can get to Scotland by road and ferry or that it can be cheaper by Eurotunnel than by plane. Therefore, we advise you to read this post we made:

How to get to Scotland: 5 alternatives to consider

18 Patience with driving on the left, it's not that difficult

Throughout Great Britain you must drive on the left. This at first is of great concern to many travelers. In fact, it was our great fear upon arrival.

The reality is that the first day costs a bit and there must be 4 eyes and two mouths repeating left left at all times while driving.

This would be our basic recommendation: repeat yourself left-left continuously, mainly at roundabouts, in double lanes and at junctions. Of all the tips for traveling to Scotland on 4 wheels, this is the most important.

Remember:

• Take the roundabouts to the left and take the leftmost lane to exit at the first exit but inside. There they do the roundabouts very well.
• On dual carriageway lanes, remember to drive on the one furthest to the left, go ahead on the right.
• At crossroads, be careful, always look right to left, the other way around here, and take the correct lane. There the one on your left has preference, the opposite of here.

19 Secondary roads with only 1 lane with passing places

Something that someone who has been to Scotland usually tells you is “be careful with the roads, they are very narrow”. And it is true that many rural back roads are so narrow that they are only one lane to drive both ways. But it is also true that they are quite flat roads and above all full of "passing places", sidings that facilitate circulation at all times.

On the other hand, it must be said that if we are responsible and follow the main roads without leaving them with our motorhomes, everything is easier and for everyone.

The main roads are very good, they are wide and they do not have any difficulty.

Therefore, a piece of advice: we must plan our routes well before going, so that the GPS does not take you to rural tourism more than you want.

20 Roundabouts do well there

Something associated with the good education behind the wheel of the British, is that the roundabouts are perfectly made there. So be careful, if you do it to the Spanish of many. Outermost lane only to leave imminently, the rest on the inside lane. And remember, left, always left.

21 Sheep, Goats, Deer and Wildlife on the Road

On many roads, especially outside the main ones, you will come across animals. We have seen goats, deer and sheep on many roads. Respect speed limits and don't run to avoid accidents.

22 No tolls

As a rule of thumb, on your journey through Scotland all you'll see are toll-free roads and two-lane dual carriageways with no tolls.

23 You always pay for parking, sometimes even in the supermarket!

In the car parks you will find that 80% is paid. The good thing is that the payments are usually 2-5 euros all day.

When we say that 80% are paid, we mean that you even have to pay to park in the parking lots of some supermarkets, which also give you the option of staying overnight, paying a little more if you go by motorhome or camper.

In the United Kingdom, if something is surprising, it is that you pay to park practically everywhere, even in a small parking lot in the middle of the forest. Prepare to pay for parking.

To pay for parking, most can be done by card or by an app, which in the end is what was most practical for us as a method of payment.

To the first parking meter download the Ring Go app, It is the most practical way to pay for car parks and is used throughout Scotland and the United Kingdom.

24 Higher food and restaurant prices

The food prices They are higher in everything than in Spain and that adds up in the end that with the change in style you get a little dizzy and you have to be careful with cards and commissions.

In the restaurants, there are no menus and the prices of coffee or beers are much higher than in Spain. The prices of the dishes are around €15 normally, on this side, if you only eat a dish and dessert, it's fairly reasonable. Although if you want to save on restaurants, order soups and have English breakfasts.

25 Free camping allowed but with buts

free camping is legally allowed in Scotland in public and unfenced places, although each municipality regulates it and we will find many camping prohibited. Thus, you can only camp in public places (you should know that most of the land, wherever it is, is private) and if there are no signs forbidding camping.

There are many natural parks that prohibit camping and the law also prohibits camping on the side of the road. In addition, you will see the signs in most car parks.

In Scotland, as almost everywhere else, camping in a motorhome or camper is considered overhang the perimeter of the vehicle, that is, removing tables, chairs, awning, cooking outside, etc... interpreted by most of the authorities and town halls in the most restrictive way, which is as spend the night

26 Seeing the hairy cows is like looking for Wally in Scotland

The Scottish hairy cows or the Highlands cow, a native breed of the area, are a great attraction for the little ones. The best thing is that they are the fewest to see in the Scottish fields, so seeing them will be like a game throughout the trip. A look for Wally of hairy cows.

Here I leave you some clues of where to see them, where we saw them:

• At the Highland Folk Museum
• At Romesdal Croft and at other points on the road on the Isle of Skye
• In a small restaurant near Arduaine Garden
• Trossachs Woolen Mill, a souvenir cafe in Callander

27 Eat like a Scotsman

Don't end your Scottish experience without first having breakfast like a Scot, the typical plate of eggs with bacon or the porridge, based on milk, oats, seeds and fruit.

To eat, do not miss the fish & chips (also know as fish supper), The stovie (typical stew), the meatloaf or, for the most daring, the haggis (a sausage prepared with sheep viscera and that tastes like an onion blood sausage).

28 Don't skip tea time in Scotland

When you've been in Scotland for a few days, you'll talk about afternoon tea and it is that the habit of taking this afternoon snack, between 3 and 5 in the afternoon, spread rapidly among the aristocracy and the upper class of the United Kingdom. And if you prefer, you can replace the tea with a hot chocolate with Marshmallows, cheesecake, carrotcake or brownie.  

29 Staying overnight in a motorhome or camper in Scotland is not easy

La Free overnight stays are a sensitive issue in Scotland, in principle there is no general legislation that prohibits it in the United Kingdom or Scotland. The reality is that each municipality has the power to regulate it and since the motorhome boom due to Covid in Scotland they have regulated it a lot. Such is the regulation, that there are few parking lots without the “NO OVERNIGHT” sign, we are prohibited from staying overnight.

That is why in many places you will see no camping and overnight signs with notices of hefty fines.

We honestly hoped it would be easier to spend the night in Scotland, but reality surprised us. Between the fact that there is little public parking, less free public parking (everything is paid there) and that in most of them there is a sign forbidding overnight, it was often difficult for us to spend the night freely, having to go to a private campsite or parking/motorhome area .

The owner of the motorhomes we rented explained to us that due to Covid there was a very big boom and that since 2021, above all, everything has been regulated a lot, prohibiting overnight stays in most municipal parking lots or places of interest.

30 Take advantage of these discounts to plan your trip at a lower cost

Travel insurance

If you want security, we advise you to take out travel insurance for any unforeseen event on your route, with this discount code that we leave you here Hiring it from our link will not cost you more, but less, and you will also help us maintain this blog.

5% discount travel insurance

 

Campervan hire in Scotland

Our trip started by flying from Barcelona to Glasgow and from there we picked up the rental motorhome that we booked through Yescapa to a private individual, which saved us €600 compared to what a rental company there was asking us for. Yescapa is an AirB&B type platform but for motorhomes of which we have been very happy with everything. The motorhome was 10, its owner super attentive and the platform agile and very easy to use. I leave here the link to their offers and by the way you will help us to maintain this blog without extra cost for you.

Offers from  Yescapa

 

Revolut card to pay as little as possible with currency exchange

A card that is easily activated in minutes from the Internet and that admits unlimited top-ups so you can pay at the currency exchange with 0 commissions and the best currency exchange. The only bad thing that we see is that you can only withdraw 200 euros a month at maximum without commission, otherwise one of the best cards without commissions to travel around the world.

Free Revolut Card

Bed & Breakfast offers and charming hotels in Scotland

Discover on this page a selection of bed and breakfasts and hotels in Scotland, where you will get the best offers and by the way booking with this link you will help us to continue writing in this blog.

Booking Offers

Offers for the purchase of activities and tickets to places of interest in Scotland

Discover on this page dozens of activities and tickets to places of interest in Scotland, where you will get the best offers and by the way booking with this link you will help us to continue writing in this blog.

Offers of activities and tickets in Scotland