Headed for a bucket list trip of a lifetime to Scotland and Ireland in April. Looking for any tips and advice for those that have been. I have not planned much for Ireland as we will be with a large group and do not have the itinerary yet but we will be based out of Dublin for about 5 days and will have free time for day trips. The wife and I decided to tack on about 5 days on the front end and go to Scotland. Right now, the plan is to fly into Edinburgh and rent a car and make our way to Sterling, Glencoe/Fort Williams, Isle of Sky, and then back to Edinburgh for two final days. ChatGPT, Youtube, and Facebook has given me plenty of advice which can be a bit overwhelming, as we cannot possibly fit everything into this trip that we would like. But any do's and dont's and mostly tips on the logistics like driving, weather, gas stations, parking, tipping, reservations, etc that most people don't think to ask or do until it is too late. Cheers!

For car rentals in Scotland, rent from Arnold Clark and gas pump colors are reversed - green is petrol and black is diesel. Download google maps offline if you won't have cellular data.

Most parking will take cards, but I have run into several lots that require payment in cash or through an app.

I've never been to Ireland, but here are a few things about Scotland.

There isn't much that you won't figure out pretty quick while there. Always good to have some cash on you, but card is accepted pretty much everywhere. Edinburgh is a tourist city, so don't hesitate to ask questions there. You will find a lot of 'locals' are from other countries there, so they are very helpful.

In fact, I never had any issues asking anyone questions. Everyone is extremely helpful all over the country.

Almost every town has their own brewery (or multiple). If you like beer, always ask at a pub what's local because there are a lot of really good ones that you won't find anywhere else in the world.

Driving can be an adventure. Especially on single lane/narrow roads. There are little cutouts off to the side for passing. First car to reach it takes the cutout while the other car drives by. It's a test of slowing/speeding up so you time it right.

Kyle of Lochalsh and the areas around Inverness are two of the prettiest places I've ever seen in my life. Don't waste the mornings sleeping. Sunrises there are incredible.

Oh, and the entire country is like constantly being near the coast. It will rain. It's only a matter of when and how long. Always be prepared.

Not to pour cold water on your plan, but a lot of people seem to want to combine Scotland and Ireland when it's really not a natural fit like people seem to think. If it was me, and I have five extra days to add to a tour of Ireland, I'd spend more time in Ireland because you aren't going to see everything there in five days, and you will only get teased by trying to do a five day Scotland excursion first.

Still, if you are committed to doing that, then the general cross section you've identified makes sense. It's been a while, but when I went to Scotland, we picked up a car at EDI and then drove to Stirling (and Castle Doune, which is nearby, and a must if you are a Monty Python fan) before spending a couple of night in Inveraray. Then drove through Glencoe on our way to Skye (via the ferry at Mallaig). Five days is not much time to cover the ground you are looking to cover, and I sure wouldn't attempt to make that drive on arrival if that is the first thing you do after your transatlantic flight (we did it arriving by train from London, where we had spent a week).

If you haven't driven on the left before, EDI is a good place to pick up your car and start with Stirling as your first destination. To me, the trick to making the switch is the keep the car as close to the centerline as possible as you will have a hard time judging distance to your left (and might take out some vehicle mirrors if you aren't careful; was riding shotgun when a friend did that, twice in one day). But, as noted above, driving in Scotland isn't quick, and some of the most scenic areas require you to drive on single track roads, which have an etiquette all their own (watch some vides on that topic before you attempt this).

You only need a couple of days to see Dublin, but day trips could extend that for seeing the Wicklow mountains, the Powerscourt Estate to the south, Newgrange site (Druid structure) on north side, a day in Galway by train.

Otherwise I would take a couple of nights up in Northern Ireland. The drive along the Antrim Coast is fantastic for dramatic scenery and has some great sites on your way: Titanic museum in Belfast, Mount Stewart House near Belfast, and Giants Causeway are tops.

My S&Rs for Dublin:

-Take a day trip to Howth. About a 30 minute train ride.

-Red Torch Ginger. Excellent Thai cuisine, esp. the Tom kha.

-Delaney's Smithfield. Excellent proper Irish pub.

-Bewley's. On Grafton St. Excellent pastries, especially chocolate croissants.

- Guiness tour is very good, particularly th private one.

-Stay anyone on/near Stephens Green. Will be centrally located to most of the sights.

Rent from the airport in Edinburgh, not downtown.....not nearly as stressful driving off the lot on the wrong side of the road without all the pedestrians

Good luck with only 5 days. 1st rule - 100 miles in Scotland is NOT 90 minutes like it is here. More like 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Rent the smallest car that will carry you and your bags. You will thank me for this.

Get an automatic transmission. You want as little distractions as possible while adapting to driving in the UK

Avoid driving at night while you're in the Highlands. Lots of wildlife on the move after the sun goes down.

I think Stirling and Glencoe would be a good enough side trip for three days. You could also go and spend some time in St Andrews as an alternative, depending how much you're into golf.

The drive from Fort William to Portree is pretty exhausting. Even if you only go as far as Eilan Donan castle it's still extremely rural and a tiring version of driving, especially if you don't have experience driving on the left.

All the driving instructions advice may sound intimidating and rightfully so. When we we're over there a few years ago wife and I rented a car in York. I was standing in line with a lady who was returning her car and I told her I was a little nervous about driving in the wrong side of the road. She told me the most confusing thing for her were the roundabouts. I said hopefully I want see any of those and she responded you will see hundreds of them - she was right!

Also, if renting a car in Ireland, remember that your credit card likely will not insure it like it does everywhere else. When I went in 2019, my card did, when I went back in 2023, it had dropped Ireland coverage. The reason for that is Americans are the cause of much of the rental car damage.

In 2019, I had a Skoda, basically the previous generation VW Passat. In some areas with 2 lanes, I was hitting the lane bumps on both sides of the road at the same time. This was on the Ring of Kerry, so there was a decent amount of traffic. BTW, that was a wide section of road, much of the road is just wide enough for one vehicle.

Ring of Kerry is also de facto one way as the tour buses / coaches all go one way and they're tough to pass.

Thanks for all the advice, keep it coming. Glad I am planning well in advance. Gives us time to make decisions.

I've been to both over the last 18 months. Both are special places. Enjoy it.

Weather may still be pretty crappy in April. Spent a couple nights in the highlands in May 2019 and it was beautiful but the locals said it was basically the first sunny days they'd seen that year