Customer Reviews

Frommer's Scotland's Best-Loved Driving Tours, Fifth Edition

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you want to wander around Scotland and have an idea of what you want to see but can't figure the best way to get there--this is the book for you. I found it extremely helpful in driving my son and brother all over Scotland. We were able to see most all of the sites we desired and a few that were complete and wonderful surprises. The only reason we couldn't see everything was because of lack of time.

I am the "Queen of Lost While Driving," and even I could find my way with this guide. It tells you what landmarks to look for, snipets of the history of where you are on the road, and the traditions of the people in the area in which you are driving.

It gives you a practical guide of information in the back and a timetable for each driving tour. The wonderful thing about this book is that you may follow their time plan or invent your own. Every time we strayed from the outlined tour for an impromptu journey, it was very easy to get back on course. In addition, it's much easier and less bulky than having a huge open road map in the front seat of one of those dinky cars they drive over there.

Again, if you want to travel in Scotland with relative freedom and confidence, take along "Scotland's Best-Loved Driving Tours."

This was one of my best purchases for our month-long Britain adventure so far. There are 25 different driving itineraries, each complete with maps, estimated times and miles, and sights to see along the way. The color photos helped us narrow down our choices to a reasonable number of drives. They show the terrain and some of the sights on each tour, so you can pick several different ones that offer unique views and places to see.

If you are planning on renting a car and driving in Scotland, I would suggest combining this book with a full Scotland or Britain guidebook like "Let's Go." You will need full listings of places to stay, admission costs to castles and sights, and historical information about the area. Combine these two guides with a good road atlas (like AAA Britain atlas), and you'll have all of the information you need for the perfect trip.

This book is going to be of little use to someone who is going to Scotland for a week to 10 days for their first visit. It seems that the original audience for this book is the AA, Automobile Assn (in the US, AAA) members looking for vacations or day trips. Although the book gives 25 great routes to take for scenery, it does not spend very much space telling you about what it is you are seeing when you get there, assuming you already know the history of the castle and so forth.
This book could be very helpful if you were going to be in country for a couple of weeks or months, then coupled with more informative, detail oriented guides, this could lead you to some wonderful vistas. Depends on how much time you have, and what you have seen already in Scotland. If you have been there before, a leisurely driving trip could be just the thing.

This could be the only travel book you need for visiting Scotland. The maps are very clear, and the size is convenient. While the maps are the core of the book, the additional material on museums, monuments, etc. is helpful. There's also a clear map of the transportation system.

For all the hours we spent in the car, this book definitely came in handy. With full-color photos and maps, history and tips on scenic side trips, this guide was the best for our driving tour. The itineraries were well thought out and were a great guide and resource.

This review is for the 6th edition, 2005 printing.

Excellent guide to seeing Scotland with a sports car or a recreational vehicle (RV; a home on wheels). You will enjoy some great driving tours and routes through this historical region of United Kingdom.

Frommers has recently come out with more "Best-Loved Driving Tours" series ... guides that are not very inexpensive, but are very well researched and quite comprehensive. One will have plenty of driving tours and routes to chose from, whether you like arts and museums, scenic roads and breathtaking views, urban towns and shopping, or just want to experience a regione's culture and life.

Unlike the other Frommer guides that are fatter and heavier, this little book gives you not too many specifics on lodging or eating. It is geared strictly for the person behind the wheel and her or his passengers.

I have had a great experience using this guide and will recommend it to anyone who can afford it. Also, you might want to check to see if your library carries it and check it out for the duration of your visit abroad.

When I backpacked 4 months through Europe I had a copy of the Lonely Planet for Europe (a thick and heavy book) because it covered more cities and esoteric towns, a ripped chapters of all the international youth hostals Europe of the countries I visited, and as primary guide for nominal cities and capitals I used Frommers (ripped the book and kept only chapters of countries planning to visit - so I can keep the weight down).

If you're taking an independent tour of Scotland by car, this is the only guide you'll need. It has everything: road maps with explicit directions, stops along the way, history, shopping hints, hints for travelers with young children, places to stay. The list goes on and boggles the mind.

This book doesn't treat you like a complete idiot--just someone who has never been to Scotland and could use a guide. It was my constant companion when my brother and I took my son to visit our ancestral homeland. It was so easy to find where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see. It gave us sample itineraries and expected travel times, something that comes in handy if you're on a time-limited holiday and want to get somewhere fast.

I've given this book to two of my friends who are traveling to Scotland this year, and I intend to buy the newly up-dated version for my summer jaunt to the Highlands.

fabulous. doesn't take the place of a travel guide- recommend rough guide. really really great layout, pics, maps. Wish they included driving times in these things- second closest is mileage charts between all main towns on each tour.

I really wasn't very impressed with the outline. I would recommend Scoland the Best and then the Eyewitness guide as a must if traveling to Scotland. It was not very specific, and the tours for the most part were too long. Most were 2 days, and we were in different places every other night which really didn't allow us to do what the tours suggest.

Most of the trips were little loop trips that began and ended in various locations around Scotland. What I really needed was one loop route around Scotland for one week that included my desired destination cities: Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Perth, Aberdeen, Inverness, Drumnadrochit (Loch Ness) and Glasgow. So what I had to do on my own was to cobble together pieces of various stops out of the book to fit my planned itinerary and choice of hotel stops. Since I bought the Historic Scotland Pass I also tended to visit those sites more than others in the guide. These factors made this book more of a resource picking places to visit along the way than anything else. A future edition would benefit by including about three good circle routes around Scotland (beginning at one of the two major airport cities: Glasgow or Edinburgh) to help plan a one or a two week long vacation.