Driving in Scotland: What No One Tells You

If you’re planning a vacation to Scotland, you most likely planned on driving at some point. It makes sense, a major appeal are the possibilities for amazing road trip in Scotland . It’s all about finding remote locations for a connection with nature and taking in those breathtaking views. 

Only problem, to get to those jaw-dropping views you’ll need to drive there, which in my opinion is harder than it sounds! I find there’s a huge lack of discussion about driving in Scotland. With small roads, high speed limits, and an abundance of blind corners, the driving conditions in Scotland are less than ideal. 

I want to open your eyes to the fact that driving in Scotland might not be for you, and there are alternatives to renting a car. 

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

Why Drive In Scotland On Your Vacation?

Without a doubt, the easiest way to get anywhere in Scotland is to rent a car. The main draw to a Scottish vacation are the road trips to see the small towns and remote areas. I won’t lie, without a car, those are nearly impossible to get to.

There aren’t any trains or buses that will take you there (at least not directly anyway). The other problem is that even if there is a bus or train, there may not be enough in that small town to fill up an entire day with (like North Berwick).

You need a car for a true Scottish road trip to hop from town to town seeing the different attractions along the way. Like a road trip through the Scottish Borders or to St. Andrews.

So trains and buses are primarily out of the question to visit most of Scotland. That leaves you with organized tours and renting a car.

An organized tour is definitely a great option (like these through Viator), but I understand if you don’t like them. If you’re like us, and love your freedom when planning, then organized tours are out of the question.

That’s why, for most people, you’ll end up renting a car and planning your own road trip through Scotland. But! Before you do, here’s the low down on driving in Scotland. 

You can decide for yourself if it’s actually worth it. Scotland might be the trip that you just might have to go on an organized tour. After our experiences driving there, if we ever make our way back there, that’s definitely what we’d do!

My Driving Experience Scotland

We had the opportunity to live in Edinburgh for a month (if you haven’t already visited, you should, it’s beautiful and you don’t need a car to go anywhere!).

During our month in Scotland, we wanted to explore more than just Edinburgh. I’ll admit, coming from Brussels, Scotland was a bit of a shock for us on how day trips worked. In Belgium, everything was super accessible by bus or train, day trips there were a no brainer!

In Scotland, we started off without any problems by going on a day trip to Glasgow by bus. The bus left often, and Glasgow is a large enough city with enough to do for the entire day.

Our second day trip, on the other hand, is when we ran into some problems. We went to North Berwick, a small seaside town that was the most recommend “easy” day trip from Edinburgh. It’s “easy” because it’s only a 30-minute train from the city.

But, what they don’t tell you is that there isn’t that much to do there, unless you visit the castle that’s just outside the city, Tantallon Castle. If you did take the train there, you might run into some issues getting to Tantallon Castle. It’s either a 45 minute walk (along the highway or a non-complete beach route) or catch the bus that comes once every 2 hours! It was a struggle, to say the least, read more about our adventures here!

From then on, it was renting cars and driving everywhere…

Finally, Let’s Dive in… Why Is Driving In Scotland So Bad?

For starters, you’re on the wrong side of the road… but I’m sorry to report that driving on the wrong side of the road is the least of your concerns.

It’s confusing at the beginning but you will get used to it. The hardest part is when you’re turning to know which lane you should turn into. To help you out, you’ll notice there are blue arrows set up pointing to where you should go – so when in doubt – look for those!

It’s also a lot easier to pick it up after watching someone. I recommend taking a few taxis or Ubers at the start of your trip before actually driving yourself.

The problems with driving in Scotland boils down to 3 main issues: the size of the lanes, the speed limit, and the blind corners.

Too Many One-Lane Two-Way Roads

Scotland in my mind is no longer famous for tartan scarves or shortbread cookies (see my Scotland souvenirs tips and ideas!). No, Scotland is now forever known for its terrifying amount of one-lane two-way roads.

Yes, you read that right. Scotland has an abundance of roads that are too narrow for one car, yet are supposed to accommodate two…

What really baffles me is that it’s not like they have no space! There’s more than enough land to make them wider. Can someone explain the logic here to me?

Seriously, I understand if you don’t have space to widen the road, but you’re driving through the wilderness, even an extra inch on either side would’ve made the world of difference… 

The curb also isn’t well kept. The concrete abruptly stops with a jagged edge, and then there’s a drop to the side of the road. If you drive off that, you might pop a tire, loose control, who knows!

For safety reasons, it’s obviously terrifying. There were way too many times I felt like we were going to drive off the road (it’s also rarely a straight away where you can see what’s coming).

But, they also become a pain when someone starts driving directly behind you. There are specific spaces to let people pass, but it can be a while until you get to one.

Lack Of Speed Limits

Apparently Scotland does have feed limits, but we never saw any. We went by what our GPS told us… and then always subtracted 20 mph.

The highway is 70 mph (which is normal) but then the narrow winding side streets are somehow often 60 mph… that’s 100 km/h! That’s like a highway in Canada except now you’re on a one-lane (two-way) road with blind corners! What’s up with that Scotland!?

Yes, you can control your own speed but you can’t control anyone else’s. The oncoming traffic comes whipping around the corners, it’s absolutely petrifying! Then you have people constantly driving so close behind you (getting angry that you’re driving too slowly..).

* Watch out because there are speed traps if you’re driving on the main highways! It’s not a normal speed radar camera we have in North America. Instead of taking a photo if you’re going too fast in the moment, it measures how long it took you to drive from point A to point B. 

Beware Of The Blind Corners!

And then there are the blind corners – not much you can do about these, except avoid driving on winding roads. Blind corners were the worst through Loch Lomond (along the A82).

Oh, did I forget to mention that trucks also drive on these small one-lane two-way roads at the same speed as cars…? We almost died because of this… 

We were driving carefully, slowing down around all the bends when an enormous truck comes whipping around the corner… at full speed… in ‘BOTH’ lanes (because there isn’t enough room for him to make the turn in one)! There’s nothing you can do except slam on your breaks and hope for the best. This was the last time we rented a car in Scotland (thankfully it was nearing the end of our trip).

It’s not just truck drivers that end up going around the bend in the middle of both lanes either. Most cars drive the speed limit and so at that speed they have no choice but to go in the middle of both lanes to make the turn. 

As I said, you can control your own driving, but no one else’s.

Side Note: The Driver Also Wants To Take In The Scenery

Remember why you came to Scotland in the first place? It was for all the out of this world views! I will say this, the views are as amazing as you think they are. But, don’t forget, if you’re the one driving in Scotland, you won’t be able to enjoy them… or worse… you might even get distracted by them.

It’s very easy to become distracted when driving in Scotland which is bad considering that road conditions can change … very quickly.

FYI When Renting A Car… Driving In Scotland Tips

With all the driving conditions aside, there’s also the matter of actually renting a car in Scotland (I assume you didn’t pack your car with you!).

We rented our cars from Enterprise at Waverley Station (see booking rates here). The staff were very friendly and gave us the heads up that our insurance might be void. In the UK rental companies will sign you up for their collision damage waiver (CDW).

But! Most North American credit cards will no not insure you if you accept the CDW! It’s very important to read your policy beforehand!

If you’re booking the car while you’re still in North America, you shouldn’t have any problems. We were booking ours once we already made it to the UK, so they automatically added it. We had to print out our contract to manually decline it in writing.

Precautions You Can Take If you Still Want To Drive In Scotland

If you’re really against organized tours, there are extra precautions you can take for your road trip in Scotland.

Rent An Automatic Car For Your Road Trip In Scotland!

Even if you know how to drive standard, don’t. It’s going to be on the opposite side of the road and it’s unnecessary added stress to an already stressful drive in Scotland. Even if automatic is more expensive, it’s worth it. 

We actually noticed that unlike most European countries, the automatic was actually the same price as manual transmission.

Plan Your Route in Advance

Go beyond planning all your stops on your road trip in Scotland, double check the road you’re driving on. Make sure you’re driving on large, main highways. Most of the problems come on the smaller roads. It’s harder to do, but you can usually see on Google what’s a highway (usually larger, in yellow).

For example, driving to St. Andrews was really fine because it was all highway driving in Scotland.

The Smaller The Car, The Better!

Rent the SMALLEST car possible! We kept trying to rent the smaller cars, but they kept upgrading us to a Nissan Juke (like a small SUV). We didn’t realize this was actually a downgrade…

Because the roads are so narrow, you’ll just have that much more of an easier time trying to maneuver in a smaller car when driving in Scotland. Unless you’re a family with a lot of luggage, then take the larger car!

P.S. Need A Place To Stay? My Scotland Hotel Recommendations

I stayed at an Airbnb for a month in Edinburgh just across from The Meadows. For shorter stays, I found these accommodations to stay throughout Scotland.

Hotel In Edinburgh: If you’re in Edinburgh for a few nights, you want to stay in the heart of it all. You can’t get a better price or location than Motel One Edinburgh – Royal. It’s just down the street from the Royal Mile, a short walk to all the main attractions. See room rates & availability.

Hotel In Glasgow: The Dakota Glasgow is a classic style hotel in Glasgow’s city centre. Next to the two main train stations and popular events halls in Glasgow. See room rates & availability.

Hotel In The Highlands: If you’re travelling through the Highlands, we did actually go on a two day road trip from Edinburgh and stayed at the Loch Ness Clansman hotel. It’s conveniently right off the highway, making it an easy place to stop for the night between Inverness and Urquart castle. But my favourite part about staying here – watching the sunrise over Loch Lomond while enjoying breakfast! See room rates & availability.

See more accommodations in Scotland on Booking.com.

Shop My Scotland Day Trip Amazon Must-Haves

Planning a Scotland Adventure? Read My Other Guides

• How to Spend a Day in North Berwick [From Edinburgh]
• Edinburgh to St. Andrews: The Ultimate One Day Road Trip In Scotland
• How To Drive In Scotland Through The Scottish Borders in a Day [From Edinburgh]
• The Best Castles to Visit Near Edinburgh
• Edinburgh Fun Facts

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Last update on 2024-04-20 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API