ethanz said:Any major city at rush hour sounds like a nightmare.
Fixt. ;D
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ethanz said:Any major city at rush hour sounds like a nightmare.
Hillsilly said:But at least you can cross the country in a day.
I've only visited Scotland once. We stayed in a townhouse in Drymen for a week and went on various day trips. The place I enjoyed visiting most was Glencoe. We had a fun cruise on Loch Lomond. Did some walking around Queen Elizabeth Forest Park. Visited Sterling Castle and Loch Ness. And drank lots of Irn Bru. Glasgow was ok for shopping, but not overtly touristy - I don't know if I'd go there if I had limited time. I also hear conflicting things about Edinburgh, but most older tourists enjoy going there. We gave it a miss and focused on more outdoors related activities.
scotia said:Depending when in May you are in Scotland, sunset in Edinburgh is some time between about 9 pm and 9.45 pm, and sunrise is sometime between about 5.15 am and 4.30 am, so you have a lot of daylight if you are willing to minimise sleep.
ethanz said:First time driving in UK. I've driven in Europe before. I only know Automatic, so I paid extra for it already. I was planning on using my iPhone for GPS. London at rush hour sounds like a nightmare.
lion rock said:I drove about 1190 miles in Scotland on a rental automatic car. True, it's different arrangement than American vehicles. Everytime I signaled for a lane change, the windshield wipers came on. Took a long time to get used to the left hand/right hand controls. When I came back to the US., the same thing happened. Lane difference wasn't too bad, just think that I was always driving on the fast (left) lane. Though, exiting a parking lot was more exciting, muscle memory took over, nearly always going to the right lane for turning into the traffic.
I did pay for full insurance with the rental car, BUT, after 14 miles (yes, they use imperial distance measurement and celsius temperature scale) and parked in an Edinburgh neighborhood overnight, I discovered the front passenger tire was flat. The car rental insurance DID NOT cover it (wind shield is not covered), so another 120 pounds to replace with the SAME brand of tire. Do be careful of that, talk to the rental agency first.
Some people speed there, but I think most of the locals drive within the speed limits, it was mostly tourists who sped. We were staying overnight near Skye and heard of a motorcycle accident whose drive was not expected to live. A German tourist. Shame.
Do enjoy your visit to Scotland. Oh, if time allows, go to Farne Islands to shoot puffins, they roost in there in May.
-r
AlanF said:Insurance in Scotland doesn't cover wind shields and tires but a good insurance policy will cover windscreens and tyres.
lion rock said:Ahh, nuance (nuisance) of English! I'm still wondering where is the pronunciation of the letter "r" in FebRuary?!
Haha.
-r
AlanF said:Insurance in Scotland doesn't cover wind shields and tires but a good insurance policy will cover windscreens and tyres.
AlanF said:Where r?
Seriously, I take out a yearly "collision waver" insurance for driving a hired car in Europe. It costs £39.99, which is usually much cheaper than the cost of the additional insurance for a single trip of one week.
ethanz said:I had a great time in Scotland. When I rented the car I told the rental lady about my situation and she said "Oh you have all the insurance, go ahead and crash it if you want" so great
Even with no sleep I did not have any problems driving on the wrong side of the road. Only got honked at a few times, but no crashes.
Here was my schedule:
12pm left car rental at Glasgow airport
1pm ended up near University of glasgow trying to get Pounds and food. (travel companions were getting very restless)
Saw the beautiful courtyard at Uni of Glasgow and ate at the campus cafeteria.
2pm started driving to Lock Ard near Aberfoyle. Beautiful countryside, very narrow roads. Eventually made it, the Loch was ok.
3:45pm started driving to Edinburgh
Went to Stirling castle parking lot...
5pm checked into Edinburgh hotel
6pm were too late to Edinburgh castle...
walked down Royal mile
Went into St Giles cathedral, great place.
Ate dinner at some Italian place
Went to Calton Hill? for beautiful sunset pictures
11pm went back to hotel and died
Maybe I'll post some pictures soon