Your Complete Guide to Exploring Scotland in 4 Days

Scotland is a beautiful country filled with amazing history, architecture, people, and food. Visiting it was not just a check off the bucket list but a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to visit and learn about Scottish history (especially after visiting London earlier last year). While planning this girls trip with my friends, we made sure to leave an extra day in Scotland because there was way too much to see. Keep reading to find out what we did in Scotland and all the places YOU need to visit!

DAY 1: TRAIN RIDE + EDINBURGH’S CHRISTMAS MARKET

Story time: We obviously woke up early to catch out train to Scotland and got all our stuff together but underestimated the traffic in London. Fun fact: Trains actually leave on the dot in the UK so if you’re late, you’re screwed. We miraculously made it to the station with a couple minutes to spare and SPRINTED to the platform. We made it to the security check and scanned our tickets and the train was within eyesight. Then, we hurried up the platform to a random compartment and lugged all our suitcases in.

One of our friends, Pallavi, was on the platform and we were taking her suitcase in. All of a sudden the doors started closing and I somehow got this superhuman strength – combined with the fear of leaving her behind. I pushed the doors back and said “NOT TODAY” (seriously felt like Arya from GoT) and I pulled her in. The doors shut. We all started laughing and feeling relieved only to realize there was a button that would open the doors if needed. LOL – it was a fight or flight response, what can I say. 

EDINBURGH’S CHRISTMAS MARKET

Our train ride was about 4.5 hours from London and we slept and talked the whole time. Trains in Europe are so smooth and very fast. Once we finally made it to Edinburgh, we glimpsed a Christmas market. The Edinburgh Christmas market was very large and had different carnival rides and of course yummy food. There were even street vendors selling unique things such as leather bound notebooks or one of a kind ornaments. I bought a cute ornamanet for my family and they personalized it with each of our names! I highly recommend visiting any part of Europe during Christmas because it feels like you entered a Netflix Christmas special.

DAY 2: GLASGOW

We woke up bright and early and headed to the train station. It was about a ~45 minutes train ride to Glasgow with amazing scenic views. We signed up for a free walking tour and honestly it was one of the best decisions we made. We walked around and ate brunch at this amazing little coffee shop, Spitfire Espresso. Their eggs were heavenly and so perfectly puffed – I can’t even explain. After, we met our tour guide who was one of the most enthusiastic people we had ever met. I mean being patriotic is one thing but this dude was the biggest fan of Glasgow or in his words, “Mother Glasgow.” We walked all around the city (by the way it was freezing and rainy) but we had so much fun! 

GLASGOW HAS BEEN VOTED THE FRIENDLIEST CITY IN THE WORLD MANY TIMES.

As someone who loves history and random facts, I learned so much about how important Glasgow was during World War 2. It was used as a shipping port! I also learned that there was a famous hotel which had a special room where an envoy from the US came to inform Winston Churchill that the US would be joining Great Britain and the Allies Powers in WW2. How ICONIC and monumental is that moment?? And, it happened in Glasgow! Another fun fact about Glasgow is that it is the only place to not have Coca Cola as it’s number 1 selling soda. Instead, their most popular soda is Iron Brew. People love it because of how sugary it is. I tasted it and can confirm that it is really good. 

Glasgow Fun Facts:

• Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city with a population of around 600,000!
• The tour guide claimed the Indian Chicken Tikka Masala originated in Glasgow but I don’t really know if I believe that.
• There is a bit of rivalry between Edinburgh and Glasgow
• Everyone in Glasgow is SO NICE – no wonder it was voted the most friendliest city so many times!
• Glasgow has so many museums and a majority of them are FREE

DISHOOM

Later that day, we headed back to Edinburgh because we made reservations for Dishoom, one of the most famous Indian restaurants in the UK. Seriously, they won’t let you in unless you have a reservation. I ate some of the best Indian food I’ve ever had there (and I’ve had a lot of Indian food). My favorite dessert was the steaming hot Gulab Jamun with vanilla ice cream. I burned my mouth but man was it worth it. Highly recommend checking it out in London or Edinburgh. Make a reservation in advance!

DAY 3: LOCH NESS TOUR (LOCH NESS, GLENCOE, SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS)

This day we woke up bright and early and headed to meet our tour guide for the Loch Ness Tour. This is a must do in Scotland. After all, the Loch Ness Monster tale originated in Scotland. We boarded our little tour bus and started our journey to the Loch Ness, located closer to the northern part of Scotland. We made many stops along the way while our amazing tour guide told us stories and tales about Scotland. If I sat down and wrote out all of them, this blog post would be too long to read! Every stop we made was a beautiful one. The scenery was stunning – I can’t even tell you. I’ve never seen anything like it before. The mountains were majestic and each of the lochs (lakes) were stunning. 

Waterfalls on the way to the Scottish Highlands

Three Sisters of Glencoe Mountains

Loch Ness

It was very rainy, foggy, and cold but we still managed to have fun. We made it up to the Loch Ness but sad to report – I did not see Nessie.

 

DAY 4: EDINBURGH CASTLE + ROYAL MILE

This was our last full day in Edinburgh so we decided to take it slow and make the most of it. This was also the only day the weather agreed with us. Scotland in fog and rain is still pretty but Scotland when the sun is out is BEAUTIFUL. We met up with one of our good friends who is doing her masters in St. Andrews and we went to eat at a brunch place called Hula Juice Bar & Cafe. We went up the Royal Mile to the Edinburgh Castle and soaked up the sun and the amazing views. I could have stayed up there looking out at Edinburgh forever. It doesn’t take long to fall in love with a country as beautiful as Scotland. 

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS BECAME QUEEN OF SCOTLAND WHEN SHE WAS JUST AN INFANT.

 

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Edinburgh Castle holds so much history about the Scottish Royal Family. Our Loch Ness tour guide taught us some history but we learned so much more by exploring the castle grounds. Mary Queen of Scots (her life is so tragically interesting!) gave birth to her son in this castle. He of course went on to become the monarch of the UK when it was formed. He was King James IV of Scotland and King James I of England. HOW. COOL. Sorry, I’m such a history nut. Anyways, after that we went to a little French cafe and had our afternoon tea as all UK residents do. We then walked to the Holyrood Palace, the Queen’s official residence in Scotland. We were only able to see it from the outside because it was closed to the public. 

Other things to do in Scotland:

• Visit the Royal Yacht Britannia

We ran out of daylight or we would have gone to see this!

• Visit St. Andrews
• Visit the Isle of Skye
  • A stunning scenic destination where you can hike / enjoy nature (On my bucket list for my next visit to Scotland)
• Stirling Castle
  • A castle which reminds people of Edinburgh Castle and was the location for many bloody battles in Scotland

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Scotland was an amazing time and I can’t believe I got to visit. If you ever go to Scotland, you absolutely need to go to Edinburgh Castle and Loch Ness. People tend to skip out on the Highlands but I think they have so much history as well.  And, make sure you eat at Dishoom! Let me know if you found this helpful / if you have any more recommendations! Safe travels!