Planning a road trip to Scotland? If you’re planning a road trip around Scotland, you’ve come to the right place. Please see below our recommendations and if you are planning to go away in 2021, please also read through our COVID-19 advice here.
We’re here every step of the way to assist you and can offer you the following support to get you started on planning your road trip Scotland:
Advise on where to go and things to see to get the most out of your holiday. We can suggest places to eat, tours to take and the best places to visit depending on your preferences
Advice on the best campsites to best suit your needs. We tend to think that small is beautiful and the majority of our campers agree so our list in tailored to this
Advice on safe and responsible Waste Disposal
Advice on how to navigate Scotland’s roads safely and with respect to local communities
Advice on where to informal camp and best practice when doing so . We have a list of informal camping spots with map co-ordinates which we give only to our customers to help you find that peaceful and secluded spot you are looking for
Advise on what to bring depending on time of year for your trip: our incredibly well equipped campervans make packing for your road trip to Scotland. The weather may be variable but you will always be cosy in our heated insulated campervans.
Full detailed campervan handover so you can start your holiday with confidence: for many of our customers, this is the first time they have booked a campervan holiday ; our fully inclusive customer care makes sure you feel supported every step of the way, from planning your road trip, to organising pick up and drop off and talking you through our easy to drive campervans.
The best time of year to visit Scotland for your road trip: any time of year is great for a road trip to Scotland! If you have certain things you want to see or do such as spot otters or puffins, swim in the sea or spy rutting stags, then we can suggest the right time of year to visit to ensure you get the most our of your road trip to Scotland.
Advice on how to book your ferry and great routes to take on them
Full 24/7 customer support throughout your road trip around Scotland ensuring you can feel relaxed.
Let us advise you on the best and most memorable views you will find on this planet!
Safe and courteous Driving on your Campervan road trip Scotland
We love being part of the thriving Scottish tourism community however we also feel responsible for its continued success and would ask that you read through information on Safe and Respectful driving around Scotland as well as safe disposal of both grey and black waste. As a responsible hire business we are members of CAMPA, the “Campervan and Motorhome Professional Association” and would ask that all our hirers read the following links on their website to ensure anyone hiring a campervan or driving a campervan around Scotland drives with courtesy and respect.
Informal Camping on your campervan road trip Scotland
Scotland is renowned all over the world for its beautiful wilderness. Informal camping in a campervan or motorhome has different regulations to wild camping (which is camping in a tent) and therefore there is not a right of access to camp anywhere. However, there are a number of informal camping spots where you can enjoy the wilderness and the quietness and wellness that can be found there. If you are looking to have some informal camping nights on your tour and escape the crowds of a campsite, please read more about this on the CAMPA website. The freedom that Scotland is famous for must be respected and understood by campervan and motorhome tourers in order for us to not only respect the local communities around Scotland, but also enable our freedoms to continue. We love informal/wild camping and in order to ensure that we may all continue to enjoy this freedom we ask our campers to follow these simple steps:
Be respectful of your surroundings and take only the memories
Arrive late, leave early and leave no trace – it is a privilege to be able to park up for the night and we ask you to respect the landowners that allow you to do this, including the councils that manage these locations
There are increasing problems around Scotland of informal campers leaving waste and emptying their porta loo’s in the wilderness. Please, please, please ensure that you behave responsibly and empty your waste at campsites or allocated waste disposal areas. Every time a motorhomer or campervaner leave waste and behave irresponsibly, we are a step closer to loosing our freedom. Please behave responsibly and, as my mother always annoyingly said when it was my turn to do the dishes “Leave the kitchen how you would like to find it.” Unfortunately this meant I spent a lot of time rearranging our cupboards as I took her by her word!!
Ensure that popular informal camping spots are not over subscribed to. If there are already a few campers in the parking area, move on and find another spot to ensure that your visit does not impact on local communities.
Only stay in a single place for a single night before moving on.
Do bring a trowel and bury all solid toilet waste at least 30 metres from waterways however , in busy areas, please bag and dispose of your waste in dog waste bins rather than bury waste.
In light of COVID-19 we need to be even more empathetic to the communities that we visit whilst on our tour and ensure that campervans and motorhomes do not congregate together and risk spreading the virus, not only to other tourers, but to the local communities you are visiting. If you really want to escape and get away from it all, then do just that and don’t park near homes and other campers.
Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park have in recent years set up some guidelines for your campervan road trip Scotland to protect this beautiful national park located close to Glasgow and have introduced some byelaws that we ask you to adhere to.
Informal camping in the Loch Lomond & Trossachs requires a permit to stay overnight in your campervan in certain areas from March to September known as Camping Management Zones. Laybys are not affected by the new camping management byelaws. People with campervans and motorhomes can still use laybys in the Camping Management Zone to stop and rest (including sleeping overnight if necessary), but encampment on a road (including laybys) is an offence under road traffic legislation and will be managed by Police Scotland accordingly, in cooperation with land owners.
The National Park provides permit areas specifically for motorhomes and campervans at Three Lochs Forest Drive, Inveruglas and Firkin Point. These lovely locations are designed for informal, short stays of a maximum of three nights. Permits for staying overnight in these spaces can be booked online in advance at here and cost £3 per tent or motorhome/campervan per night. You can book a camping permit for up to three nights in one area. You can book up to 8 weeks in advance. A permit allows you to camp anywhere within your chosen permit area.
You can arrive from 1pm and must depart by 11am on the day you are leaving.
Bookings may be cancelled by contacting campingbookings@lochlomond-trossachs.org up to four weeks prior to the start of the intended stay. No refunds will be given for bookings with a value of less than £7.
Informal Camping in the Loch Lomond National Park
56 9’ 30.4308”n 4 21’ 59.4936”W
Right on Loch Lomond but trees in between car park and the loch.
56.169020
-4.678644
56 10th 8.472”n
4 40’ 43.1184w
Three Lochs Forest Drive by Aberfoyle
There are several sites in this gated loop forestry road which pass Lochan Reodhte, Loch Drunie and Loch Achray. There is a toilet block.
56.186601
-4.364160
56 11’11.7636”n
4 21’ 50.976”W
By Ardlui Pier and Loch Lomond Wakeboard – payment required through Loch Lomond Wakeboard
56.302044
Booking Ahead
Many areas in Scotland are now requesting that you stay only in organised campsites or designated overnight parking spots. You should pre-book these pitches with plenty of notice. Please do not park in passing places, verges or on our iconic coastal machair (grassland).
Road Trip Scotland: Four Seasons Campers Tour Routes for Campervans
We would be delighted to assist you in planning your road trip around Scotland when you hire one of our campervans. Whether you have visited Scotland before or this is your first time travelling to Scotland, we would be delighted to share our tried and tested campervan tour routes. You can take a look at our uploaded tour routes on the website and email us for more detailed tour routes around Scotland which include our suggested ‘informal’ camping spots.
We also have a list of recommended campsites around Scotland plus map co-ordinates for the most beautiful wild/informal camping spots to stop at on your road trip Scotland.
Booking Ferries for your road trip around Scotland
The beauty of touring Scotland in a campervan is that you have more freedom than elsewhere to explore our beautiful country at your own pace. However, we would recommend that if you are planning on visiting Scotland’s islands and taking a ferry journey, you book the ferry in advance, particularly in the busy summer months. Calmac have recently changed their policy re standby tickets for Campervans and Motorhomes meaning you will have to wait for the next sailing as tickets are prioritised for those without accommodation on the mainland.
Our VW campervan is built on a short-wheel base and is 4.9m long so when you are booking tick the 4.6 -5.0 m length box. Please extend this to the next size if you have a bike rack as well. Caledonian MacBrayne offer an excellent service around the Inner and Outer Hebrides and Clyde sea routes. You can contact them at enquiries@calmac.co.uk or call 0800 066 5000 (+44 1475 650397 for International calls)
If you have several ferry journeys then we recommend booking an Island Hopper ticket. It costs the same price but will be quicker for checking in at the ferry port than individual tickets.
Please note that Bookings for Calmac ferries for 2019 are open from 31st October 2018.
Caledonian Macbrayne’s website shows most ferry routes around Scotland however there are some additional routes such as the original Skye ferry from Glenelg to Kylerhea which can be found on other websites. The larger ferries are requesting that all passengers book in advance. Many of the smaller routes are still running on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.
Booking campsites for your road trip around Scotland
We are delighted to offer our customers up to 30% discounts through our Privilege Membership for Camping and Caravan Club Campsites and Camping in the Forest Campsites. Our membership gives you access and discounts to over 110 campsites throughout the UK.
The growth in popularity of a campervan and motorhome holidays to Scotland has meant that many of Scotland’s campsites can get busy for many months of the year. Whilst it is lovely to have the freedom to roam, we would recommend that if you call or email your campsites in advance and make a reservation to avoid disappointment. Many areas and islands have said that this is now a necessity before you book your ferry or arrive in the area.
Tips when booking your campsite:
You will be asked if you would like a hook up or non-hook up pitch. Our VW Campervan has a powerful leisure battery that will recharge as you drive it so if you are driving around Scotland each day, you wont necessarily need to hook up at a campsite. We do however, recommend that you charge the leisure battery every 4 days to give it a good charge. Please note that if you are looking to use the 230v socket in the campervan or have hot water, then you will need to have electric hook up.
