Region · United Kingdom
Where to stay in Scotland
This guide covers 25 destinations in Scotland, a first-level administrative division of United Kingdom, with 720 places to stay between them. The largest by population are Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Across its destinations, July and August are the months comfortable in the most places. The airport most of them name as their nearest is Edinburgh Airport (EDI).
- Destinations in this guide
- 25
- Places to stay
- 720
- Comfortable in the most places
- July and August
- Main airport
- EDIEdinburgh Airport
- Currency
- GBPpound sterling
- Time zone
- Europe/London
Destinations
Destinations in Scotland
Every destination in this guide in Scotland, the ones with the most places to stay first. Best months are the months that are comfortable there (average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month); the nearest airport is by straight-line distance from the centre.
| Destination | Population | Places to stay | Nearest airport |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh | 488,050 | 121 | EDI · 11 km |
| Inverness | 47,380 | 63 | INV · 13 km |
| Glasgow | 626,410 | 60 | GLA · 12 km |
| Dundee | 148,280 | 51 | DND · 4 km |
| Perth | 47,430 | 44 | DND · 26 km |
| Stirling | 37,910 | 38 | EDI · 40 km |
| Aberdeen | 200,680 | 33 | ABZ · 8 km |
| Elgin | 24,760 | 32 | INV · 45 km |
| Leith | 50,030 | 28 | EDI · 13 km |
| Ayr | 46,780 | 28 | PIK · 5 km |
| Dumfries | 33,440 | 27 | PIK · 78 km |
| Helensburgh | 13,640 | 23 | GLA · 24 km |
| Glenrothes | 38,510 | 22 | DND · 30 km |
| Dyce | 6,190 | 20 | ABZ · 0 km |
| Paisley | 77,220 | 18 | GLA · 3 km |
| Livingston | 57,030 | 17 | EDI · 12 km |
| Dunfermline | 53,100 | 17 | EDI · 15 km |
| Fort William | 10,175 | 17 | INV · 103 km |
| Kilmarnock | 46,770 | 15 | PIK · 13 km |
| Hamilton | 54,080 | 13 | GLA · 27 km |
| Falkirk | 35,850 | 12 | EDI · 26 km |
| Kinross | 5,120 | 8 | EDI · 28 km |
| East Kilbride | 75,120 | 6 | GLA · 20 km |
| Scottish Highlands | 5 | INV · 62 km | |
| Cumbernauld | 50,920 | 2 | GLA · 29 km |
Where to stay
The best-rated places to stay in Scotland
The top 30 of 52 places to stay in Scotland with a published guest score, ordered by that score as each operator publishes it, weighted by the number of reviews so a handful of perfect scores does not outrank thousands of very good ones. Each links to its own website.
Where to stay
More hotels in Scotland
664 hotels in Scotland recorded in Wikidata and not marked closed; the 30 best known are shown, by the number of Wikipedia editions that cover them. Each is listed under the destination it is within 25 km of.
When to go
Best time to visit Scotland
From the climate of 25 destinations in Scotland with climate data: how many are comfortable each month (average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month), and the typical high and rainfall across them. The months comfortable in the most places: July and August.
| Month | Comfortable destinations | Typical high | Typical rainfall |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 of 25 | 6 °C | 114 mm |
| February | 0 of 25 | 6 °C | 92 mm |
| March | 0 of 25 | 9 °C | 83 mm |
| April | 0 of 25 | 11 °C | 63 mm |
| May | 0 of 25 | 14 °C | 71 mm |
| June | 0 of 25 | 17 °C | 79 mm |
| July | 6 of 25 | 18 °C | 88 mm |
| August | 6 of 25 | 18 °C | 96 mm |
| September | 0 of 25 | 16 °C | 95 mm |
| October | 0 of 25 | 12 °C | 131 mm |
| November | 0 of 25 | 9 °C | 123 mm |
| December | 0 of 25 | 6 °C | 123 mm |
Typical = the median across the destinations. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Airports serving Scotland
The airports with scheduled flights that the destinations in Scotland name among their nearest, by how many name each as the nearest. An airport can lie outside the region. Distances are straight lines from a destination's centre.
EDI · Edinburgh Airport
GLA · Glasgow Airport
INV · Inverness Airport
DND · Dundee Airport
PIK · Glasgow Prestwick Airport
ABZ · Aberdeen International Airport
CAL · Campbeltown Airport
WIC · Wick John O'Groats Airport
TRE · Tiree Airport
Good to know
Public holidays in Scotland, 2026
Shops and offices may close and transport may run reduced timetables on these dates. Source: python-holidays (MIT).
Nationwide in United Kingdom
Regional holidays observed in Scotland
Nearby
Regions near Scotland
Other regions of United Kingdom with a page in this guide, nearest first by the straight-line distance between the median positions of their destinations.
Sources: destinations and their regions from Wikidata; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia, ODbL); public holidays from python-holidays (MIT); places to stay and guest scores from each operator's own public pages; further hotels from Wikidata. A region has a page here when at least 3 destinations of this guide lie in it. How this guide is made.