Snapshot: Scottish Highlands

Rick Steves Snapshot: Scottish Highlands contains all the complete chapters on this region, excerpted from Rick's complete Scotland guidebook — and leaves out the chapters on other Scottish destinations. So if all you want is the Highlands and islands, this compact Snapshot guide delivers everything you'll need to know — for about half the price and half the bulk.

Inside you'll find in-depth, Rick-tested information on the best sights, hotels, and restaurants for:

• ​Oban and Nearby
  • Inveraray
  • Kilmartin Glen
• Inner Hebrides
  • Isle of Mull
  • Isle of Iona
  • Isle of Staffa
• Glencoe
• Fort William and Nearby
  • Road to the Isles
• Isle of Skye
• Inverness and Nearby
  • Culloden Battlefield
  • Clava Cairns
  • Cawdor Castle
• Loch Ness
• Eastern Scotland
  • Pitlochry and nearby
  • Speyside Whisky Trail
  • Balmoral Castle and Royal Deeside
  • Aberdeenshire Coast
• Northern Scotland
  • Wester Ross
  • North Coast
  • Orkney Islands

• Great self-guided walks and drives
• Easy-to-follow maps
• Transportation tips for connecting the region by car, bus, and train
• Sidebars on the Highlands' history, language, clan culture, and the Highland Games
• Basic tips on managing money, communicating, reserving rooms, handling emergencies, and other helpful hints

Should I get this Snapshot guide in addition to Rick's Best of Scotland guidebook?

If you'd like information on stops in Scotland's far north or east (Wester Ross, the northern coast, Orkney Islands, Speyside, Deeside), or more in-depth coverage of the Highlands, it'd make more sense to get the complete Rick Steves Scotland book rather than the Best of Scotland plus this Highlands Snapshot guide.

Should I get this Snapshot guide in addition to Rick's complete Scotland guidebook?

Nope! Our Snapshot guides are simply excerpted chapters from our full-length guidebooks. Snapshot: Scottish Highlands covers the exact same topics as the Highlands and islands chapters of the complete Rick Steves Scotland guidebook — the same hotels, same restaurants, same sightseeing information, same everything. (But the full-length Scotland guidebook, now in its fifth edition, is more up to date than this Snapshot guide, which was excerpted from the Scotland book's fourth edition. Check our Scotland guidebook updates for the most noteworthy changes.)

Should I get this Snapshot guide in addition to Rick's Great Britain guidebook?

If you'd like information on stops in Scotland's far north or east (Wester Ross, the northern coast, Orkney Islands, Pitlochry, Speyside, Deeside), this Snapshot guide makes a good companion to Rick Steves Great Britain, which doesn't cover these farther-flung Scottish destinations. Otherwise, the Great Britain guidebook is all you're likely to need, as it already includes nearly all the information in the Highlands chapters it shares with this Snapshot (aside from coverage of a few minor "nearby" destinations).

Latest updates: When we learn of critical changes to the information in our guidebooks on Scotland, we post them. (Of course, it's still smart to reconfirm critical transportation and sightseeing details locally.) Armed with a Rick Steves guidebook and these late-breaking updates, you're set for a great trip!

Submit feedback: Once you've used this book in Europe, we'd love to hear your feedback — good or bad — about our advice on sights, hotels, restaurants, and travel tips. We're also interested in any tips or discoveries you made while in Europe. Your comments help us improve our guidebooks for future travelers.