Scotland for Dummies

I bought this guide well in advance of a recent family trip to the 'old country' (as my Nana called it) kind of as a joke - but I'm really glad I did. It has everything from packing tips (if you don't have enough room for souvenirs, mail your dirty laundry home - what a hoot!) to budgeting worksheets and maps included. We bought the Explorer pass as recommended and had a blast. We purchased more detailed maps there as well, but as far as planning the trip out, this book is the cats pajamas. I like how it is broken down by region, it makes it super easy to plan a day or two ahead. Before I take another trip like this, I'll check for a 'dummies' book.

I traveled to Scotland with a friend(who happens to be an experienced traveler; and i'm not!) in the summer of 1997. Deb planned everything and i coughed up the money and was just along for the ride. Which by the way, was most exceedingly pleasant! I recently purchased this book as I am planning a return trip with my sister in the summer of 2005. Reading this book was like experiencing the '97 trip all over again! Any advice given in this book should be well heeded; it absolutely does not steer you wrong. From "what to pack" to "where to eat" this read has instilled in me the confidence that i can do this trip without being led by the hand of a more seasoned traveler. I will be packing a couple of different maps but this will be the only tour book i pack!

While I have not gone to Scotland yet to put all the wonderful information into practice, this is a wonderful book! I found it very easy to read, it gave all kinds of websites to visit, and the overviews were very interesting. I felt like I could plan my whole trip just from this book.I highly recommend it.

This book was the most helpful piece of information for our trip to Scotland. It not only helped you while you were in the country, but helped you get there. We found that the places they reviewed were well worth it and that we ended up in a few we didn't even realize we had gone to. For instance, we lost a friend after the Tatto and ended up with the Edinburgh police force. Once we found our friend they mentioned a pub they were going to so we went and the next day I was looking through the book and there it was on pubs to visit. Buy the book it helped us get everywhere we wanted to be.

One of the things I love about the "For Dummies" series of books is that they explain complicated topics in a manner that the average person can understand. In this case, a vacation to a country of such contrasts as Scotland (where else can you have snow-capped peaks *and* palm trees ... no kidding!) calls for a book that "tells it like it is." David G. Allan's "Scotland for Dummies" is precisely that book. Allan gives readers the advantage of his experience as a traveller to all of Scotland's varied regions, sharing what's a hit and what should be missed. Particularly useful are the "heads up" bits ... quick blurbs that give warnings about peculiarities that might be encountered along the line. Jeff and I found the information in this book invaluable in our honeymoon planning.