Scotland road trips: stunning landscapes & best routes

Because of its stunning scenery, remote locations and lengthy and colourful history , Scotland has some of the best road trips in the UK.

And the best way to prepare for a Scotland road trip? Have a proper guide to the country, so that your experience isn’t different from your expectations and that you see all the best places.

Luckily, we’re experts on # vanlife holidays in Scotland – read on for our definitive guide.

Must-see places on a Scotland road trip

Scotland is so scenic that every single county of it has enough must-sees to last an entire trip. The country has two national parks (Cairngorms and Loch Lomond & the Trossachs), glens, lochs and mountains, dozens of national nature reserves , hundreds of castles , over 790 islands and 6,190 miles of coast.

Then there are the Scottish cities, from capital Edinburgh to biggest city Glasgow and including Dundee, Aberdeen, Perth, Inverness, Ayr and St Andrews – and areas famous for their produce or retail, like book town Wigtown or Scotland's only designated Food Town Castle Douglas.

Your must-see destinations will depend on your own tastes, but here are Camplify’s top ten Scottish highlights :

• Edinburgh

• Glasgow

• Isle of Skye

• Oban

• Loch Lomond

• Cairngorms National Park and the Scottish Highlands

• Inverness

• Glencoe

• Loch Ness

• Fort William

Best road trip around Scotland

The most famous road trip in Scotland is probably the 516-mile North Coast 500 (NC500), starting from and ending at Inverness Castle (full details below).

Also around Scotland’s shoreline, the South West Coastal 300 covers over 300 miles of peaceful road through south Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway, passing Kirkcudbright, Southerness and the stunning Sweetheart Abbey. Or explore Scotland’s rich history on the Highland Tourist Route from Aberdeen to Inverness, or head southwest for a two-day adventure on the 91-mile Galloway Tourist Route.

But these are only a tiny selection of what’s available to see and do in this wild and rugged country. Here are the Scottish road trips, plus itineraries, we recommend.

Best road trip around north Scotland

If you want to explore Scotland’s coastline and only have time for one road trip, make it this. Running on a loop around the northern coast via beautiful highlights like Ullapool, Caithness and John o' Groats, the North Coast 500 is acclaimed as possibly the best road trip in the world.

Take one week to do it in leisurely style and to stop off for food , family or heritage experiences along the way (get the NC 500 map) :

• Day 1 – explore Inverness before driving on to Dornach for a walk on Dornach Beach.

• Day 2 – Dornoch to John O’Groats

• Day 3 – John O’Groats to Thurso

• Day 4 – Thurso to Durness

• Day 5 – Durness to Scourie

• Day 6 – Scourie to Ullapool

• Day 7 – Ullapool to Inverness (or take an extra day and drive to Inverness via Applecross)

Best road trips in west and northwest Scotland

Also, much recommended are road trips around Scotland’s west and northwest, using Glasgow as a starting point to reach popular destinations like the Isle of Skye, Ben Nevis, Fort William, the Argyll coast and Loch Lomond, the biggest inland stretch of water in Britain.

These routes pass Scottish islands, lochs, mountains and castles , includes a ferry ride from Oban to Mull or a boat trip around Oban harbour, and call in at Glen Coe and its iconic scenery used in films such as Braveheart and Skyfall. Pick what you’d like to see and opt for either one of these two itineraries:

West and northwest Scotland road trip

This 521-mile road trip (see the ininerary) is ideal to enjoy over 5 days.

• Day 1 – Glasgow to Loch Lomond, then Loch Fyne and Inverarary

• Day 2 – Inverarary to the Mull of Kintyre and Oban

• Day 3 – ferry trip from Oban to the island of Mull and the Tobermory whisky distillery

• Day 4 – Oban to Glen Coe, Glencoe village and the Glencoe Visitor Centre

• Day 5 – Glencoe to the Isle of Skye (driveable via the A87 across the Skye Bridge). Stay on the Isle of Skye on the final night before making the approx. five-hour journey back to Glasgow the following day.

West Scotland road trip and the Argyll Coastal Route

We recommend a 7-day road trip to enjoy every detail of this 354-mile itinerary (see the map)

• Day 1 – Glasgow to Loch Lomond, Tarbet, Arrochar and Loch Fyne

• Day 2 – Loch Fyne to Inverarary; Inveraray to Auchindrain and the walk from Auchindrain to the village of Furnace

• Day 3 – Auchindrain to Oban; wildlife watching trips from Oban harbour and Easdale island; Oban sightseeing: Oban Distillery and Oban Chocolate Factory

• Day 4 – Oban to Ballachulish, detour to Glen Coe, and on to Fort William

• Day 5 – adventure sports day in Fort William, or drive to the Glenfinnan Viaduct

• Day 6 – Ben Nevis climbing day

• Day 7 – return to Glasgow

For both itineraries, arrive the day before your planned trip to have plenty of time to explore Glasgow and its many museums, galleries and family-friendly attractions.

Scottish Highlands road trip

Home to Loch Ness, Loch Lomond, Cairngorms National Park, Balmoral Castle, the Hebrides, the Moray coast and many more spectacular and well-known locations, the Scottish Highlands is one of our favourite UK destinations for a scenic road trip.

The Highlands and Islands region is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Europe: if you want a remote Scottish road trip well off the beaten track, this is the area to go for.

Take the 116-mile Highland Tourist Route for an epic five-day adventure including a day in Cairngorms National Park and passing Culloden, the Glenlivet Distillery and several castles.

• Day 1 – Aberdeen sightseeing

• Day 2 – Aberdeen to Pitfichie Forest and the walking trail around Cairn William or mountain biking on the Granite Top trail; drive on to Alford

• Day 3 – sightseeing in Alford; drive to Cairngorms National Park

• Day 4 – explore Cairngorms National Park

• Day 5 – Cairngorms National Park to Inverness

Round Scotland road trip (three weeks)

If you have time, a round Scotland road trip is the best way to see the country from your hire caravan or van. Start from and finish in Edinburgh on this three-week trip around the very best of scenic and historic Scotland.

• Day 1 – Edinburgh sightseeing

• Day 2 – Edinburgh to Dundee

• Day 3 – Dundee to Aberdeen

• Day 4 – Aberdeen to Inverness via the Deeside Tourist Route through the Cairngorms National Park

• Day 5 – Inverness to Kirkwall

• Day 6 – explore Orkney; ferry to the Isle of Hoy

• Day 7 – Orkney to Ullapool

• Day 8 – explore the Outer Hebrides via ferry to the Isle of Lewis

• Day 8 – ferry to the Isle of Skye from Mallaig

• Day 9 – Mallaig to Fort William via Loch Ness

• Days 10 and 11 – adventure sports in Fort William

• Day 12 – Fort William to Oban via Glen Coe

• Day 13 – Oban sightseeing; Oban ferry trip to the Isle of Mull

• Day 14 – Oban to Inveraray, then on to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park

• Days 15 and 16 – explore Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

• Day 17 – Loch Lomond and the Trossachs to Kilmarnock

• Day 18 – Kilmarnock to Ayr

• Day 19 – Ayr to Glasgow

• Day 20 – explore Glasgow

• Day 21 – Glasgow to Edinburgh

Planning your Scottish road trip and itinerary

Try these suggestions for road trips in Scotland by length of time rather than overall destination – they’re all easy to plan and cover plenty of magnificent destinations.

2-day road trip Scotland

You can still see plenty even if you only have a couple of days to sightsee in Scotland. Hire a campervan in Edinburgh, spend one day in the capital and a second day in Glasgow , overnighting at a caravan park between the two; or take a couple of days around the coast of Aberdeenshire or Ayr.VisitScotland has five stunning trips to try for weekend breaks:

• Glasgow to Oban

• Aberdeenshire Coastal Trail

• Isle of Skye

• Edinburgh to Dunbar and North Berwick

• Inverness to Moray Speyside

4-day road trip Scotland

Four days is plenty of time to see a great deal of Scotland, whether you want to cover as many miles as possible or focus on exploring part of the country with the intention of seeing the rest on future trips.

For a see-all tour of Scotland, arrange your campervan hire near Edinburgh and start your trip with a day in Scotland’s capital, driving on to an Edinburgh campsite for your first night. On Day 2, drive in the direction of Stirling and access the West Highland Way , the beautiful 96-mile road that remains Scotland’s most popular driving route and passes Loch Lomond, the Glencoe valley , Rannoch Moor and Glen Nevis. Finish the route in Fort William.

On Day 3, drive seven miles inland from Fort William to Ben Nevis and then on to Glenfinnan and the Glenfinnan Viaduct, before an afternoon at Loch Ness and onwards to Urquhart Castle and Inverness. The final day is for a drive through Cairngorms National Park and onto Pitlochy, then to Glasgow via Stirling. If you have time after returning your hire van, an extra day in Glasgow is highly recommended.

7-day road trip Scotland

There are loads of ways to have a week’s road trip in Scotland. One easy itinerary is to take the four-day road trip above and make a few modifications to become an awesome 7-day Scotland road trip (see the route):

• Day 1: Edinburgh sightseeing

• Day 2: Edinburgh to Stirling; sightseeing in Stirling; drive to Loch Lomond

• Day 3: explore Loch Lomond and the Glencoe valley

• Day 4: finish the West Highland Way at Fort William

• Day 5: Glenfinnan, Loch Ness and on to Inverness

• Day 6: explore the Cairngorms National Park

• Day 7: Pitlochry to Glasgow

Another option is to explore Scotland by theme, such as thisScottish films and TV locations itinerary to see locations from Harry Potter , The Da Vinci Code and more.

This trip starts on the Machars peninsula in Scotland’s southwest (south of Wigtown) with locations from cult film The Wicker Man, then moves to Glasgow for settings from World War Z, The Angel's Share and Cloud Atlas.

Day 3 is Rosslyn Chapel and Edinburgh; Day 4 goes on to St Andrews and Balmoral Castle; and Day 5 visits Dunnottar Castle, Loch Ness and Inverness.

Round the trip off with a penultimate day at Fort William and the Glenfinnan Viaduct, which features in the Harry Potter films, then finish on the James Bond Skyfall route at Glencoe.

10-day Scotland road trip

This ten-day itinerary builds on the seven-day programmes above; as with those, add or remove a day or two to suit your own needs.

Start in Edinburgh and drive to Glasgow, allowing a day each in both cities. This trip takes in famous Scottish highlights like the Cairngorms National Park, Ben Nevis, Loch Ness, Fort William and ancient castles. It breaks down like this (get the map):

• Day 1: Edinburgh

• Day 2: north to Cairngorms National Park and Inverness, with an optional detour to Culloden

• Day 3: Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle

• Day 4: Isle of Skye

• Day 5: Glenfinnan and Fort William

• Day 6: Fort William day, or climb Ben Nevis

• Day 7: Glencoe

• Day 8: Stirling Castle; optional Glengoyne Distillery tour

• Day 9: Stirling; drive to Glasgow

• Day 10: Glasgow

Two-week road trip Scotland

The ultimate trip! Of course take longer if you can: we recommend extra days in both national parks, Dumfries & Galloway, Fort William and Dundee.

Spend 14 days (597 miles aprox.) seeing the very best of Scotland (see the route):

Day 1: Edinburgh

Day 2: Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway; Melrose Abbey

Day 3: Glasgow

Day 4: Falkirk

Day 5: Stirling

Day 6: Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park

Day 7: Fort William

Day 8: Glenfinnan

Day 9: Loch Ness

Day 10: Sutherland and Dunrobin Castle

Day 11: Cairngorms National Park

Day 12: Aberdeen; Balmoral Castle

Day 13: Perth

Day 14: Dundee and Fife

What to take on a road trip to Scotland

As you’ll be campervanning and caravanning rather than hiking or backpacking, you can take plenty of extra clothes and warm weather gear as well as lighter outfits for city sightseeing days or going out.

One essential anywhere in Scotland is a decent raincoat or waterproof jacket : the country gets about 250 days of rain a year so you’ll need to be prepared. Make sure these are in your travelling wardrobe :

• Lightweight, warm and waterproof trousers

• Layers, e.g. long-sleeved breathable top and warm jumper

• Several pairs of thick socks for hiking/sightseeing trips

• Waterproof hiking or walking boots

• Hat

• Gloves

• Raincoat/waterproof jacket (two if possible to allow each to air properly between wears)

Those who’ve visited Scotland before also stress the need for insect repellent against the dreaded “midgies” or Highland midge, if travelling from late spring to late summer.

These biting insects congregate around highland and lowland marshes and fens, and are most prevalent in west Scotland and in dark or sheltered areas like forests and woodland. Protect yourself against them by:

• wearing light clothing (midges are attracted to darker colours)

• using an insect repellent

• lighting citronella candles if barbecuing/sitting outside in the evening

• packing soothing/antihistamine cream to treat bites.

Remember also to look out for ticks! The most effective way to remain tick-free and prevent Lyme’s Disease is to check your body for ticks every evening if you’ve been hill walking or walking in undergrowth. Add a tick remover tool or a set of pointed tweezers to your first-aid kit.

Plan your trip today

Once you’ve planned your Scottish road trip, it’s time to hire your vehicle! Campervans, motorhomes and caravans are an ideal way to see the best of Scotland exactly how you want to, stopping whenever you like and having the freedom to veer off course if you want. With Camplify you can rent a van in Scotland directly from a private owner.

No matter what your current location or budget is , at Camplify UK you can find a vast range of private van hires to choose across the UK. just take a look at our search page and specify what type of van you want or need.

Why Camplify

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By hiring at Camplify, you are also helping local families who share their van on our platform and supporting many local companies across the UK in addition to ours. So we are very grateful to you.

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