Scotland Tourist Traps

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Most Viewed Tourist Traps in Scotland

1.

Tours Etc.   Edinburgh

Tours Etc., Edinburgh

 13 Reviews  It was quite entertaining but wasn't exactly what I expected. The first 20 minutes were spent listening to a funny but fairly inaccurate history of Scotland. From there we went to Greyfriars Kirkyard.... 

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2.

Inverary Jail   Glasgow

Inverary Jail, Glasgow

 10 Reviews  Inveraray jail is nowhere near glasgow. It's a 150 km round trip - go for the trip, which is always scenic, but skip the jail which is nothing more than an old country police station with some dummies... 

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3.

Shopping   Edinburgh

Shopping, Edinburgh

 7 Reviews  Like any capital city there are plenty of traps to allure the eager tourist. Watch out for the overpriced shortbread biscuits, tartan everything (can you find YOUR clan?) and plenty of whiskey themed... 

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4.

Royal Mile   Edinburgh

Royal Mile, Edinburgh

 6 Reviews  Unless you want something typical Scottish to eat and pay for it don't eat at the restaurants on the Royal Mile. They are very expensive and if you never had any Scottish food before and are not sure,... 

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5.

Miscellaneous   Edinburgh

Miscellaneous, Edinburgh

 6 Reviews  only use black hackney cabs the proper taxis the same ones you see in london dont use the "private hire cars" i stress the word cars as they are not taxis, although they are liscenced by the council... 

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6.

Surroundings   Edinburgh

Surroundings, Edinburgh

 4 Reviews  The Royal Yacht Britanna at Ocean Terminal (A shopping mall & cinema) is over priced but it does give you a chance to see how the Royals lived and the poor bloody marines who went with them. Around... 

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7.

Scott Monument   Edinburgh

Scott Monument, Edinburgh

 4 Reviews  This is not the best view point for Edinburgh although its not bad. Its a hell of a dizzying climb up very narrow stairs for a few minutes of viewing not really worth in my opinion. Check out Black... 

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8.

Edinburgh Castle   Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh

 2 Reviews  You might say that the castle is one big tourist trap and you will be right. A lot of visitors , noise and you cant see anything you want , problems to take photos but still this is one amazing... 

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9.

Holyrood   Edinburgh

Holyrood, Edinburgh

 3 Reviews  You can register your ticket to gain unlimited entry for one year but stop and look at the small print before shelling out for tickets to both the Palace of Holyroodhouse and The Queen's Gallery (both... 

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10.

Art & Culture   Edinburgh

Art & Culture, Edinburgh

 2 Reviews  This is kind of a "museum", where the visitors are told about how our planet was created and how it was developing. However, no real things of the past centuries are exhibited. "Our Dynamic Earth" is... 

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11.

Many Miles From Edinburgh...   Edinburgh

Many Miles From Edinburgh..., Edinburgh

 2 Reviews  If you like the views of an oil refinery then this place is great. It's an absolute dump - the only thing that can be said about it is that the car parking is free! How the NT have got the nerve to... 

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12.

Greyfriar's   Edinburgh

Greyfriar's, Edinburgh

 1 Review  The statue of a dog who stood by his master's grave for years. It's cute, I have to admit, but not worth a special trip. Although if you're on your way from the castle to the National Museum, you may... 

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13.

Festival, Tattoo, Hogmanay, Etc.   Edinburgh

Festival, Tattoo, Hogmanay, Etc., Edinburgh

 2 Reviews  Now I suppose theatre goers and culture vultures will not agree with me but I'd advise you to avoid Edinburgh during the 'festival' period (August). It's NOT typical then... crammed full of people... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Hungry in the Highlands - no late lunches

by JessH

This isn't really a "Tourist Trap", just a piece of advice for travellers to know what to expect and avoid any inconvenience.We've done a lot of driving and hiking around the Scottish Highlands and plan to do more in the future. It's a fantastic area to explore, even if you don't have a clear destination in mind… in fact, these are the days when you often "stumble upon" a special sight or place that's off the beaten path and not to be found in every guide book.On our first trip to Scotland we noticed within 2-3 days that - unlike the cities - the little villages of the Highlands run at a different pace of life and have a different time table. This becomes very evident when looking for a place to eat and in the initial days of our road trip we found ourselves "stranded" without lunch a few times. The people you see on the photo are travellers we met one afternoon at a small corner shop /...

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Haggis Hunting Season in the Scottish Highlands

by JessH

According to a BBC survey of the year 2005, a third of US tourists who were asked about their upcoming trip to Scotland said they believed the haggis was a creature. The survey also revealed that almost a quarter of those questioned thought that they could go on a hunt & catch the country's most famous dish... OK then!Traditionally, Haggis hunting season opens in January, 2 weeks prior to Burn's Night Supper (Jan. 25th), the day where the demand for freshly caught Haggis reaches its peak amongst the people of Scotland!Haggi (plural of Haggis) live in the mountains of Scotland and have 2 legs on the right shorter than the 2 legs on the left. This makes them run around the mountains in a clockwise direction. The only way to catch them (shooting is not an option, as they'll burst!) is by chasing them into a Glen (=valley) where they can do nothing but run around in a circle.Here's the...

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expensive exchange

by margaretvn

If you are buying anything in the many woollen mills around Scotland using your credit card watch which currency they do the bill in. The exchange pound/euro they use is very high. They should ask which currency you want to pay in before ringing up the amount. In several shops we were in they did but in the Jedburgh woollen mill they did not and I was too slow and only realised what had happened too late..... cost me a couple of pounds extra on the bill. say straight away what currency you want the bill in.

YOU COULD BE IN TROUBLE IF YOU TAKE PICTURES

by DAO

YOU ARE A TERRORIST.Oops! I meant ‘You are a Tourist'! See how easy that mistake was to make. Well the Metropolitan Police in their infinite wisdom have decided that you may want to report ‘Odd picture taking’. Let’s see. You see someone taking pictures of their food, bus stops, train stations and major landmarks. It’s a Virtual Tourist Member working on their tips! Or is it? Consider yourself a suspect. I have included 2 pictures that I have been warned verbally about. Picture 1) The Police Poster and telephone numberPicture 2) People making Sushi. A policeman made me show him my pictures and warned me not to do in anymore. This is a Sushi place inside Victoria Station in LondonPicture 3) A poster in a HSBC bank in London. An employee came running out and said I could not take this photo. The poster says ‘Welcome to the UK’. Hardly.I am all for vigilance and security. I am against...

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Loch Ness Monster

by Sairaanhoitaja

Please people, face it, Nessie just isn't there.Don't you think it would have been found by now? Loch Ness isn't exactly the Atlantic Sea, and they have found much more interesting things there.Some actually believe that Loch Ness Monster sightings in by gone times were when the circus travelling to Inverness stopped by the loch and let the Elephants out into the water. So with the elephant walking underwater, the hump of its back shows above the water, seemingly a hump on nessies back, with the Elephants trunk above the water to breath, seemingly nessies head and neck. I wouldn't encourage you not to visit Loch Ness, as it is a beautiful place, but just don't get sucked into the touristy hype about it all, you will only be let down if you shell out for a boat ride, only to, as ever, not find Nessie. (That doesn't mean you should dampen the kids spirit about it all, they love a good...

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TIPPING IN RESTAURANTS

by DAO

We don’t tip in Britain. Get over it. There is a reason there is no place to leave a ‘gratuity’ on credit card bills or your server tells you not to bother. In the UK service workers are paid full wages unlike restaurant waiters in North America. I should know; I was a waiter! Tipping can be severely counterproductive here. Also, if you do tip, especially by card, the tip is kept by the owners! The staff will never see that. There are also a lot of establishments that put a 10% ‘Service’ charge on already. So you could end up ‘tipping’ the owners twice! Do not do it. If you really feel the need, slip 5-10% in cash DISCRETELY to the server. I watched the owner of a restaurant once take the money right out of the waiter's pocket and scream at him. By the way, don’t expect good or fast service. Welcome to queuing.

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GETTING TELEPHONE NUMBERS

by DAO

Need a telephone number in Britain? That’s going to cost you! A few years ago the Directory Enquiries number ‘192’ was privatised and now there are over 100 options. Some will cost you more than £1 for a phone number! I recommend not using 118 118. They do the most marketing, but they certainly are not cheap. They charge you 49p for answering the phone and 9 pence a minute to actually talk to you. Try 118 848. They charge a flat 27 pence and will give you 3 numbers. Look here to compare tariffs:http://www.marcuskern.com/info/118.htm

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Skip the audio tour at Edinburgh Castle

by rmkwebdesign

When visiting the Edinburgh Castle, you will find that there are free guided tours that start regularly (IIRC, on the half hour). Skip renting the audio guide...the guided tour is more interesting and makes the audio tour relatively redundant and a waste of money.

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Inverness

by MichaelFalk1969

Get in - get out - and nobody gets hurt. The only city in Scotland I didn`t particularly like - there is not much to see. The only advantage is the proximity to Loch Ness (though Loch Ness itself isn`t very spectacular either if Nessie doesn`t show up).

Nessie

by Florida999

Sorry....but Nessie was kind of a tourist trap. My dad's comment: "at least at Disney World there would have been a plastic dino coming out of the lake every half hour and blown smoke!" We took a picture in front of the purple plastic Nessie to be able to say we've been there Keep going along the lake, past Inverness and check out Culloden and the Clava Cairns. Much more interesting

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Top 3 Hotels in Scotland

The Balmoral Hotel  Edinburgh

 5 Reviews and 770 Opinions  Two men wearing kilts (or trews) welcome you at the door and an open fire welcomes you in the lobby,... 

 Hotels in Edinburgh

Hotel du Vin at One Devonshire Gardens  Glasgow

 1 Review and 352 Opinions  One Devonshire Gardens is a class of its own.Fabulous rooms with four poster beds,tubs you could... 

 Hotels in Glasgow

Skene House Rosemont Hotel  Aberdeen

 1 Review and 247 Opinions  Skene House Apartments was so nice, an impressive layout , nice bedrooms !, Fantastic and modernised... 

 Hotels in Aberdeen

Questions and Answers

zchatila profile photo

Q:  Hello Lovely site indeed. Great resource. I plan on spending 11 days in Scotland and just wanted some advice. FYI: I have... 

rexvaughan profile photo

A: I can't address all your questions, but wonder if you want a full day on Loch Lomond unless you plan on boating, fishing, etc. One of the ways we dealt with not having a... 

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