It is one of the most hauntingly beautiful places in the world, the history is fascinating and the whisky is delicious. But don’t eat the macaroni pies.
J.K. Rowling
Cost
This was also not the most cost friendly visit … and I had planned to spend more here because it was actually a vacation. Stuff is just more expensive in the UK.
| Dwelling | $738 |
| Food | $521.50 |
| Entertainment | $360 |
| Transportation | $403 |
| Total | $2022.50 ($144 / day) |
Days
July 20 2019 – August 3 2019
14 Days
dwelled
Varied between airbnbs and hotels since I covered quite a bit of ground here. Majority of it were bnbs.
ate
Quite a bit of seafood, starch, and potatoes 🙂
Kebab House 
Ramen Bar 
Kimchi Cult 
Kimchi Cult 
Anchorage Bistro 
Anchorage Bistro 
Glenfiddich 
Random Afternoon Tea 
Aldente 
Aldente 
Safari Lounge 
Safari Lounge 
Lobster Shack 
Lobster Shack 
Polenti 
Polenti 
Gon 
Happy Bean Cafe
did
Edinburgh
Leaving London for Edinburgh was a great decision. It was less hectic with significantly lesser crowds. People also in general were much nicer, and the cars would occasionally even give the right of way to pedestrians … unlike London where cars rule the roads. Food was also fantastic. Great historically preserved and dense city. The view from atop a short hike to Arthur’s seat was excellent.
North Berwick
This little town by the waterfront was recommend by a tour guide and it was well worth the day trip. Less people, nice little beach, great seafood … what else could you want 😉
Inverness / Highlands / Islay
Speyside and Highland whiskeys are some of the best in the world imo. Tbh, it was why I chose Scotland to begin with. We visited: Glen Moray, Glenfiddich, Dalwhinnie, Oban, Laguvalin, ‘Laddie’, Kilchoman, Ardenhoe, and Bunnahabain. Every single one was excellent and well worth a visit to check out their distilling process and history.
The ferries to Islay were also fantastic, probably the best boat I’ve ever been on :).
Random Castles
We stopped at a bunch of castles all over our drive. Highly recommended!
Dublin
Overall, I didn’t like Dublin that much … reminded me a bit of London. Crowded, expensive, and quite touristy. Food however was fantastic. Also learned quite a bit about North Ireland, EU, and the opinions around Brexit.
Transport
Best way to get around is just renting a car if you want to see Scotland properly. Some trains and buses, but having a car gives you much more flexibility that makes it totally worth it. (Driving on the left side with stick was alot of fun ;))
Also screw European airlines … most of them are low budget with random charges!! I thought US based airlines sucked, Europeans take it to a whole other level.
Recs.
Get away from the big cities! That’s the real UK 😉
Distilleries, small cafes, walk and drive around to see all types of different architecture styles.
Go towards cliffs and nature.
