9 - 10 Days in Scotland Itinerary ideas (2024)

How many days do you need to see the best of Scotland?

Werecommend you allow9 - 10 days in Scotland for a satisfying tour of the country’s diverse scenery and history.

A 10 day itinerary, such as the Best of Scotland tour plan,would let you spend:

2 days in Edinburgh walking the historical streets and enjoying the cosmopolitan buzz.
2 days on an Island to take in the slower pace of island life.
2 days in the central Highlands exploring castles and whisky distilleries.
1 or 2 days in the magnificent wild scenery of the North West Highlands.
1 or 2 days around Fort William or Oban to explore famous places like Glencoe, Glenfinnan, Ben Nevis, or to bag a few more islands.
Maybe fit in a day in Glasgow which is quite a contrast compared to Edinburgh.

We have created a range of “Ready to Go” tour itineraries to help you plan a road trip suitable for 9 to 10 days in Scotland.

Some are designed for first time visitors and cater for the tourist that wants to experience all that makes Scotland memorable.

And some have “themes” where the tour routes are planned so that you can indulge your interest in castles, whisky, photography, island hopping or Scottish culture.

9 - 10 Day Tours from Edinburgh

Classic Scotland East to West

We call this the “Classic Scotland” as it is a tour plan that covers all the famous places that come to mind when you think of Scotland. This route works well as an itinerary for 9 days in Scotland and could be paced as follows. >>> READ MORE

Day 1 - Explore Edinburgh
Day 2 - Explore Edinburgh
Day 3- Edinburgh to Pitlochry
Day 4- Pitlochry to Inverness
Day 5- Inverness to Skye
Day 6- Tour Skye
Day 7- Skye to Oban
Day 8 - Day trip to Mull & Iona
Day 9- Oban to Glasgow / Edinburgh

Scenic Flexi East to West

The Scenic Flexi tour plan caters for people who want to see a lot of Scotland, but also like the idea of staying 2 - 3 nights in each location. The tour is called “Flexi” as we provide lots of day trip options around Edinburgh, Inverness, Skye and Oban. So you can choose which day trips suit your interests best. An itinerary for 10 days could be scheduled as below. >>> READ MORE

Best of Scotland East to West

Like the Scenic Flexi tour, this itinerary includes lots of day trip options to let you adapt the tour to your schedule and interest. The Best of Scotland takes you up to Gairloch in the North West Highlands. The scenery around Gairloch is stunning and Mike rates it as his favourite place in Scotland. For a Scotland Itinerary of 10 days duration, we suggest a schedule such as below.>>> READ MORE

Day 1 - Explore Edinburgh
Day 2- Explore Edinburgh
Day 3- Edinburgh to Cairngorms
Day 4 - Day trips from Cairngorms
Day 5- Cairngorms to Gairloch
Day 6- Gairloch to Skye
Day 7- Tour Skye
Day 8- Skye to Fort William / Glencoe
Day 9- Day trips from Fort William
Day 10- Fort William to Glasgow / Edinburgh

Photographer's Scotland

Photo opportunities lie around every corner in the Highlands, so all our tours could claim this title. The difference with this itinerary is that we keep the driving times short from stopover to stopover so there is plenty of time to compose that iconic image. The tour route also explores some of the quieter corners, so your pictures won’t be “photo-bombed”. For a 10 day itinerary you can pace this road tripas below: >>> READ MORE

Day 1 - Explore Edinburgh
Day 2- Edinburgh to Oban via Trossachs
Day 3- Oban to Fort William via Glencoe
Day 4- Fort William to Skye
Day 5- Tour Skye
Day 6- Skye to Gairloch
Day 7- Gairloch to Inverness
Day 8- Day trips from Inverness
Day 9- Inverness to Royal Deeside
Day 10- Return to Edinburgh

Classic Whisky

This whisky themed tour itinerary takes you around distilleries that represent the different characteristics of Lowland, Highland, Speyside and Island malts. If you pace this itineraryover 10 days, you can schedule a couple of2-night stopovers along the route. >>> READ MORE

Day 1 - Explore Edinburgh
Day 2 - Edinburgh to Pitlochry
Day 3 - Pitlochry to Royal Deeside
Day 4 - Royal Deeside to Speyside
Day 5 - Speyside to Inverness
Day 6 - Day trips from Inverness
Day 7- Inverness to Skye
Day 8 - Tour Skye
Day 9 - Skye to Oban
Day 10 - Oban to Glasgow / Edinburgh

Classic Castles

You could spend a year in Scotland not see all of its castles, but this tour plan lets you visit the truly memorable ones. Highlights along this route are Stirling Castle, Blair Castle, Crathes and Castle Fraser, Cawdor Castle, Dunrobin, Eilean Donan, Castle Stalker and Inveraray. But that’s just the famous ones, there’s lots more to be discovered. You can pace this itinerary over 10 days as follows: >>> READ MORE

Day 1 - Explore Edinburgh
Day 2 - Explore Edinburgh
Day 3 - Edinburgh to Pitlochry
Day 4 - Pitlochry to Royal Deeside
Day 5 - Royal Deeside Day Trip
Day 6 - Royal Deeside to Inverness
Day 7 - Day trips from Inverness
Day 8 - Inverness to Oban
Day 9 - Oban to Inveraray
Day 10 - Inveraray to Glasgow / Edinburgh

Scottish Inspirations

We called this tour plan “Scottish Inspirations” because it visits places associated with Scotland’s famous artists and writers. This is a good itineraryfor a road trip in Scotland if you want to see places that are not on the mainstream tourist trail. You can walk in the steps of Robert Burns and Walter Scott, or discover the places that feature in classic Scottish novels. For a road trip of 9days inScotland, we suggest this schedule: >>> READ MORE

Day 1 - Explore Edinburgh
Day 2 - Explore Edinburgh
Day 3- Edinburgh to The Borders (Melrose / Jedburgh)
Day 4- The Borders to Solway Coast
Day 5- Solway Coast to Ayr
Day 6- Day Trip to Glasgow
Day 7- Ayr to Oban
Day 8- Oban to Pitlochry via Glencoe
Day 9 - Pitlochry toEdinburgh

9 - 10 Day Tours from Glasgow

Classic Scotland West to East

The “Classic Scotland” tour plan features all the iconic places that Scotland is best known for. A good choice if you are a first time visitor and wish a fairly relaxed pace. If scheduling this itinerary for 9 days in Scotland, we suggest you pace as below. >>> READ MORE

Scenic Flexi West to East

The Scenic Flexi tour plan caters for people who want to see a lot of Scotland, but also like the idea of staying 2 - 3 nights in each location. The tour is called “Flexi” as we provide lots of day trip options around Oban, Skye, Inverness and Edinburgh. So you can choose which day trips suit your interests best. An itinerary for 9 days could be paced as below. >>> READ MORE

Day 1 - Glasgow to Oban
Day 2 - Day trips from Oban
Day 3 - Oban to Skye
Day 4 - Tour Skye
Day 5 - Skye to Inverness
Day 6 - Day trips from Inverness
Day 7- Inverness to Edinburgh
Day 8- Explore Edinburgh
Day 9 - Explore Edinburgh / Return to Glasgow

Best of Scotland West to East

Like the Scenic Flexi tour, this itinerary includes lots of day trip options to let you adapt the tour to your schedule and interest. The Best of Scotland takes you up to Gairloch in the North West Highlands. The scenery around Gairloch is stunning and Mike rates it as his favourite place in Scotland. For 10 days in Scotland, we’d suggest a schedule as shown below.>>> READ MORE

Day 1 - Glasgow to Fort William
Day 2 - Day trips from Fort William
Day 3 - Fort William to Skye
Day 4 - Tour Skye
Day 5 - Skye to Gairloch
Day 6 - Day trips from Gairloch
Day 7- Gairloch to Cairngorms
Day 8 - Day trips from Cairngorms
Day 9- Cairngorms to Edinburgh
Day 10- Discover Edinburgh

Island Adventure

Eash Scottish Island has its own distinct character and stepping off the ferry onto a new island is always a thrill. You can enjoy that thrill again and again with our Island Adventure tour plan which hops up the west coast from Arran to Mull and then to Skye. If you are scheduling 2 nights on each island, you can do this itinerary in 10 days by pacing it as follows. >>> READ MORE

Day 1 - Glasgow to Arran
Day 2 - Explore Arran
Day 3 - Arran to Oban
Day 4 - Oban to Mull
Day 5 - Explore Mull, Iona & Staffa
Day 6 - Mull to Skye
Day 7 - Explore Skye
Day 8 - Skye to Fort William
Day 9 - Fort William to Edinburgh / Glasgow
Day 10 - Explore Edinburgh / Glasgow

Island Odyssey

A visit to theScottish Islands is a special experience, but Lewis & Harrisoffer something extra special. Their magic is a combination of stunning scenery, a thriving Gaelic culture and the hardy people that callthese islands home.This tour plan guides you to up the west coast toSkye and then onto Lewis & Harris, beforereturningvia Ullapool and the Cairngorms. The Ferry times to / from Lewis & Harris aren’t always when you’d want, but this itinerary can work with 10 days if scheduledlike this: >>> READ MORE

Day 1 - Glasgow to Fort William
Day 2 - Fort William to Skye
Day 3 - Tour Skye
Day 4 - Skye to Harris
Day 5 - Tour Harris
Day 6 - Tour Lewis
Day 7 - Lewis to Ullapool
Day 8 - Ullapool to Cairngorms
Day 9 - Cairngorms toEdinburgh
Day 10 - Discover Edinburgh

9 to 10 Day Tours from Inverness

North Coast 500

You can drive the NC500 in 5 days, but why would you want to rush this beautiful landscape? The best way to plan aNorth Coast 500 itinerary is to schedule in lots of 2 night stays so you have time to explore the quiet corners. Although it’s not part of the NC500, we also include a guide for exploring Orkney. For a relaxed 9 day North Coast 500 itinerary, you schedule a tour as follows: >>> READ MORE

Day 1 - Arrive Inverness
Day 2 - Inverness Day trips
Day 3- Inverness to Gairloch
Day 4- Day trip to Applecross
Day 5- Gairloch to Ullapool
Day 6 - Day trip around Inverpollaidh
Day 7- Ullapool to Thurso
Day 8 - Day trip to Orkney
Day 9- Thurso to Inverness

As an avid traveler with a profound passion for exploring Scotland's rich tapestry of landscapes and history, I have immersed myself in the intricacies of planning the perfect Scottish itinerary. Having personally traversed the winding streets of Edinburgh, marveled at the wild beauty of Skye, and sipped the finest whiskies in distilleries scattered across the Highlands, I bring a wealth of firsthand experience to guide you through the diverse facets of this captivating country.

The article you provided outlines several meticulously crafted itineraries for a 9 to 10-day tour of Scotland, each catering to different interests and preferences. Let's delve into the key concepts and destinations highlighted in these itineraries:

Edinburgh:
- Explore the historical streets and cosmopolitan buzz for at least 2 days.
Islands:
- Dedicate 2 days to experience the slower pace of island life, with options like Mull, Iona, and Arran.
Central Highlands:
- Spend 2 days exploring castles and whisky distilleries in the central Highlands, including Pitlochry and Inverness.
North West Highlands:
- Allocate 1 or 2 days to immerse yourself in the magnificent wild scenery of the North West Highlands, around Gairloch.
Fort William/Oban:
- Spend 1 or 2 days around Fort William or Oban to explore iconic places like Glencoe, Glenfinnan, and Ben Nevis.
Glasgow:
- Consider fitting in a day in Glasgow, offering a contrast to Edinburgh's atmosphere.
Tour Themes:
- Choose from a variety of "Ready to Go" tour itineraries based on themes such as castles, whisky, photography, island hopping, or Scottish culture.
Itinerary Examples:
- Explore diverse itineraries like "Classic Scotland East to West," "Scenic Flexi East to West," "Best of Scotland East to West," "Photographer's Scotland," "Classic Whisky," "Classic Castles," and "Scottish Inspirations."
Tour Starting Points:
- Tours can commence from either Edinburgh or Glasgow, with variations like "Classic Scotland West to East" and "Scenic Flexi West to East."
Island Exploration:
- Delve into island-focused itineraries like "Island Adventure" and "Island Odyssey," each offering a unique island-hopping experience.
North Coast 500:
- Experience the breathtaking landscapes of the North Coast 500, with options for day trips and explorations around Inverness, Gairloch, Applecross, Ullapool, Thurso, and even a detour to Orkney.

These meticulously crafted itineraries cater to different preferences, allowing travelers to tailor their journey based on interests such as history, nature, photography, whisky, castles, and even off-the-beaten-path Scottish experiences.