Edinburgh Base: 5 Days of Scotland Trips
Edinburgh Base: 5 Days of Scotland Trips
Five days based in Edinburgh takes the 4-day spine , Stirling, the Highlands and Loch Ness, Glasgow, Rosslyn Chapel and the Forth Bridges, and adds St Andrews, a bus ride of roughly 1h45 each way. It’s enough time to treat every trip as a full, unhurried day. Stretch to 6 days to add Glenkinchie Distillery.
Book these before you go
- Book the Highlands and Loch Ness day tour : about GBP 69, pickup around 7:45am, the only fixed departure time across these five days.
- Check Old Town and New Town rates : stay near Waverley Station, since most of these trips leave from there.
- Book a Stirling Castle tour : a guided option if you’d rather not go self-paced.
| Day | Focus | Travel time from Edinburgh |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Arrival, Stirling Castle | 40 to 50 min train each way |
| Day 2 | The Highlands and Loch Ness | 3.5 to 4 hrs each way (about 12 hrs round trip) |
| Day 3 | Glasgow | 44 to 50 min train each way |
| Day 4 | Rosslyn Chapel, then the Forth Bridges | 45 to 60 min bus, then 20 min train plus a 15 min walk |
| Day 5 | St Andrews | Roughly 1h45 by bus, usually one change |
Day 1: Arrival and Stirling Castle
Morning: drop bags at an Old Town or New Town base, both a short walk from Waverley Station, where every trip on this itinerary starts. Take a ScotRail train to Stirling, 40 to 50 minutes each way, roughly every 30 minutes through the day.
Afternoon: Stirling Castle is run by the same body as Edinburgh Castle and costs less to enter, roughly GBP 17.50-20 adult, though it skips the Crown Jewels that Edinburgh’s version has. The Wallace Monument and the Bannockburn battlefield site sit close by if you have another hour to spare.
Evening: back in Edinburgh by early evening for dinner in the Old Town or Grassmarket.
Day 2: The Highlands and Loch Ness
Morning: an early pickup, typically around 7:45am, starts the standard coach day tour through Glencoe toward Fort Augustus and Loch Ness itself.
Afternoon: a 50-minute cruise on the loch is the usual highlight, with lunch around Fort Augustus. Once the roughly 3.5 to 4 hour drive each way is subtracted, expect only an hour or two actually at the water. This is a scenery day built around the journey through Glencoe, not a long stay at the loch.
Evening: return to Edinburgh around 8pm, roughly 12 hours door to door. Keep dinner simple, it’s a long day by the time you’re back.
Day 3: Glasgow
Morning: a direct train to Glasgow runs 44 to 50 minutes, very frequent, no need to book a specific service in advance.
Afternoon: Kelvingrove Art Gallery, the Riverside Museum and the Burrell Collection are all free entry, enough to fill a full day without spending on tickets. Glasgow’s Victorian, mercantile character is a genuine contrast to Edinburgh’s medieval Old Town, not a lesser version of it.
Evening: catch an evening train back, or stay for dinner in Glasgow’s West End before heading to Waverley.
Day 4: Rosslyn Chapel and the Forth Bridges
Morning: Rosslyn Chapel is a 45 to 60 minute ride on Lothian Bus 37 from the city centre. It’s famous through The Da Vinci Code, but manage your expectations, it’s a small, single-room chapel, and most visits including the included talk run 45 to 75 minutes.
Afternoon: head back toward the city and out to South Queensferry, roughly 20 minutes by train to Dalmeny plus a 15-minute walk. See all three Forth bridges from the shore for free, the 1890 rail cantilever bridge (a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015), the 1964 road bridge, and the 2017 Queensferry Crossing, or add the 90-minute Maid of the Forth cruise for about GBP 18.
Evening: back in Edinburgh for dinner, a lighter day than the two before it.
Day 5: St Andrews
Morning: the bus to St Andrews runs roughly 1h45 to 2 hours, usually with one change; settle in for the ride rather than expecting a quick hop.
Afternoon: the Old Course draws the golf pilgrims, but the free-to-view ruined cathedral and castle, plus a real university town centre around them, make this worthwhile even without an interest in golf.
Evening: an early bus back leaves time for dinner in Edinburgh; a later one means grabbing food in St Andrews itself.
Is the Highlands and Loch Ness day worth losing a whole day to?
Yes, if you go in expecting a scenery day rather than time at the water. The genuine trade-off is roughly 7.5 to 8 hours of driving against an hour or two actually beside the loch, with Glencoe’s scenery as the real payoff along the way. Anyone who wants more time at Loch Ness itself should plan an overnight in Inverness or Fort William instead.
Is St Andrews worth a 1h45 bus each way?
Yes, if golf or a coastal reset matters to you, less so if you’re chasing another castle. It’s a real university town with its own centre, not just a golf pilgrimage stop, so non-golfers still get a few good hours here. Golf pilgrims should plan the whole day around the Old Course and skip rushing it.
Five days spreads these five trips across genuinely full days each. Book the Loch Ness tour first, the rest can move around your train and bus times.