Thinking about a trip to SCOTLAND or elsewhere in the United Kingdom?  You should, it is a wonderful area to explore for a vacation, whether you visit just Scotland or pair it with other UK vacation experiences such as England, Wales, or Northern Ireland.  

 

Scotland's mix of modern British culture and memories of their tragic history combine to create a tapestry for tourists to experience Scotland’s unique culture and character including men wearing kilts, bagpipe music, singe malt whisky, and a spirit of friendliness in the people.   In the Scottish Highlands or remote areas of the Outer Hebrides islands, visitors can explore sites where ancient standing stones have stood for thousands of years.   

 

But sorting through all of the options on the internet can be overwhelming. That's why we've curated this list of great things to see and do to help people discover London and the United Kingdom (UK) for an easy Europe vacation planning resource. 

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GETTING THERE

As of this posting, there are no direct flights from Seattle to Scotland so plane change or stopover is required. 

 

Airports

Major airports: Glasgow and Edinburgh 
Smaller airports: Inverness serving the Highlands area and Stornoway for Hebrides Islands

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Getting Around

British Railways has good service through Scotland to major destinations and down into England and Whales. For example, its just a 45 minute train ride between Glasglow and downtown Edinburgh. 
 

Best recommendations to get the most of your tour would be to either join guided bus tours and day tours, or rent a car and drive yourself, paired with excellent guidebook, such as  these guides from Lonely Planet.

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Common flight paths Seattle to Scotland - fastest routes (England, Ireland, Iceland)

 

Iceland: Seattle- Reykavick - Glasgow:  Iceland Air offers flights from Seattle to Glasgow, Scotland that often include the option of a 24 hr stopover in Reykavick Iceland. 

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England: Seattle - London - Edinbugh, Glasgow, Inverness:   Multiple airlines offer direct flights from Seattle to London including: Virgin Air, Norwegian Air, British Airways, Delta, United.  Once you are in England, there are easy travel options to head north into Scotland by train (British Railways), car rental, flying, or even taking day tours to Scotland that depart in London. 

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Ireland:  Seattle - Dublin - Glasgow:  Aer Lingus has you covered.  With direct flights from Seattle to Dublin, then easy continuing flights into Glasgow. 

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Longer flight paths Seattle to Scotland, combine with other vacation destination
 

US East Coast airports: New York, Boston, etc. :   Major US East coast cities have direct flights to Scotland, however your flight tiime will be much longer.  From Seattle, we can fly over the Polar route which is faster that flying directly across the US and then across the Atlantic Ocean. 

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Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt:   You can fly into Scotland fairly easily from any major European city, so combining a few days in Scotland with another European destination might be a great way to experience this country.  Seattle has direct non-stop flights to Paris France, Amsterdam Netherlands, and Frankfurt Germany.  

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