We love road-tripping around Scotland. Even though it’s a small country,
there’s so much to see! In this video, we’re going to share with you
five tips to ensure that you have a smooth road trip around Scotland!
Now, these tips are specific to the UK, and more specifically,
Scotland, so we won’t be sharing standard road trip tips like ensuring your car is
in good working order. Let’s dive in!
Some areas of Scotland might not have data, so before you set off on your road trip,
download offline maps from the Google Maps app of where you’ll be travelling.
This means that even if you don't have data, you’ll still know where you’re going and won’t get lost.
Next up is to allow yourself extra time to drive to
your destination. You'll want
extra time to stretch your legs, stop for some food,
and take photos of the scenery - because you *will* want to stop to take photos!
We usually recommend adding 1-2 hours to the estimated driving time provided by Google Maps.
This is also especially useful if you have to take
any ferries during your road trip since you’ll want to arrive nice and early.
If you’re from a country that drives on the right side of the road, familiarise yourself
with driving on the left side of the road! It shouldn’t be too difficult to get used
to - your brain should automatically mirror all of the rules. The only thing that I personally found difficult to adjust
to was that I tended to drift too close to the middle of the road because I was used to
sitting in the left side of the car, but with practice and awareness, that was easily adjusted.
The other thing to add to this tip is to make sure you understand how to use single track roads! They are
quite common in rural areas and they are indeed roads that have a single lane with passing places.
So if a car is coming towards you and the passing place is on your right side,
stay on the road and let the other car go into the passing place. And if the passing place is on your
left side, then *you* should go into the passing place. There can also be times where you don’t
see a car until it’s right in front of you and one of you has to reverse into a passing place,
so just use common sense. Whoever is closest to the last passing place should be the one
reversing, although some exceptions may be made if you’re driving on a hill.
Also, if you’re driving on a single track
road and it looks like a local is behind you, let them pass. You can usually spot
the locals by how fast they drive - they’ll usually be tailgating you!
And one more thing to note is that passing places are not parking places!
Even if the view is outstanding and you want to stop and get photos,
don't stop in passing places!
Scotland was not built with road trippers in mind.
There are no service areas dotted every few kilometres for your convenience.
So if you happen to come across a toilet, use it, even if you don’t have to go at that moment!
You can typically find toilets in grocery shops and at some tourist attractions.
Quieter attractions will usually have a sign asking for a donation if you use the toilet in order to keep it open,
so do donate if you use them.
And last but not least, bring midge repellent! Midges are little flying bugs that resemble fruit
flies that can come in swarms in northwest Scotland between May and September. They
bite any part of your skin that’s exposed, creating itchy welts. So if you’ll be in Scotland in
any part of the year where there can be midges,
be sure to bring your midge repellent!
We just want to close off by saying that the most important thing to remember
when taking a road trip in Scotland is to enjoy the drive! Don’t try to rush to your
destination - Scotland is a beautiful country where the drive *is* part of the journey.
We hope you enjoyed this video! Please give it a like, subscribe to our channel, and comment below
on what your favourite part about road tripping around Scotland is! And we’ll see you in the next video!