Open Championship 2022/St. Andrews/Scotland Trip planning

[MidTexHorn 822]

Getting started on a group trip to Scotland for next July. Initial impetus is to see the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews, but also want to see some of Scotland so anticipate getting a couple cars and heading north after the golf tournament concludes. Have a few questions for folks in case anyone is knowledgeable.

1) Lodging in St. Andrews during the Open is, as expected, very pricey. Thinking of staying in Edinburgh and training/bussing over to St. Andrews and back each day. Looks like a bit of a pain, but Edinburgh is a place we'd want to see anyway so seems like a way to save some money on lodging and see both places at once. Anyone done this? Thoughts or recommendations on this or alternatives?

2) When we head north, would love to hear recommendations on must see towns or locations. Our interests run more towards nature than history/castle stuff, although a mix is always good. Worth treking over to the West to see the Isle of Skye and if so how much time would you devote to it if you had about a week to devote to driving around Scotland.

Thanks for any input.

[4th&Five 41590]

Never  made it to St. Andrews but Edinburgh is one of my favorie cities I've visited. The further north you go the more beautiful it gets as well.  We only made it to Inverness but would have loved to keep going.  Wife grew up over there and still has cousins all over so we had places to stay in a few out of the way towns.  Everywhere was great but I don't really have a reason to go back to Glasgow.

Jealous of you, man.

 

[MidTexHorn 822]

19 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

Never  made it to St. Andrews but Edinburgh is one of my favorie cities I've visited. The further north you go the more beautiful it gets as well.  We only made it to Inverness but would have loved to keep going.  Wife grew up over there and still has cousins all over so we had places to stay in a few out of the way towns.  Everywhere was great but I don't really have a reason to go back to Glasgow.

Jealous of you, man.

 

Thanks. Any place jump out at you other than Edinburgh as must visits or places you wish you’d spent more time?

[Incredulity 11683]

The train ride from Edinburgh to St Andrews sucked when I went in 2015.

At least 1.5hrs( It says 1.2hrs online).

I don't know if anything is available closer, but I fucking hated that ride.  

 

Edinburgh has a lot of cool history, but we found the town to be really slow.  Basically everything was closing at 11 and even the big tourist trap bar area(Rose St.) was really quiet that week.

[Pato del Muerto 52607]

I only spent a couple of days in london, but I came away with the thought that if I ever attempted to drive there I’d cause a crash within a half hour. 

[MidTexHorn 822]

5 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

I only spent a couple of days in london, but I came away with the thought that if I ever attempted to drive there I’d cause a crash within a half hour. 

Yeah, I drove for a week in Ireland and it was definitely an adventure. I bumped 3 cars while parking in Dublin within the first 3 hours, I was all mixed up and turned around. After that though, once I got out into the country it was all good. Definitely scarier in town - had the whole family on the lookout for me doing stupid stuff.

[YoungCounty 165]

Flying out on Friday. We will be visiting Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Perth, Inverness, and Oban. Visiting some other places, but these are places we will be staying overnight. 
 

I know we are doing distillery in each of Inverness and Oban. Other than a lot of other tourist stuff, pretty much have afternoons/evenings free. 
 

Any recommendations on must do things in any of these places?

[HouTex 1894]

Does not sound like you play, but golf is a must-do in St. Andrews.  It’s where the game started.  There are 5 or 6 courses in or around town.  Check out the University of St.  Andrews.  There are a couple of good restaurants in town.  I forget the name, but the one that basically sits on the beach is very good.  

[YoungCounty 165]

16 hours ago, HouTex said:

Does not sound like you play, but golf is a must-do in St. Andrews.  It’s where the game started.  There are 5 or 6 courses in or around town.  Check out the University of St.  Andrews.  There are a couple of good restaurants in town.  I forget the name, but the one that basically sits on the beach is very good.  

I do not play golf. I have played less than 5 times in my life, and I was HORRIBLE. 

Some of our group is playing golf at St. Andrews one day. I was thinking about playing, but I have not hit a golf ball, other than putt putt, in probably 18 years. I’m afraid I would hold up the group or get kicked off the course for playing so poorly. I would really like to see the course though. Do they let people go even if not playing? Could I pay to play, but actually just walk the course with them?

[HouTex 1894]

1 minute ago, YoungCounty said:

I do not play golf. I have played less than 5 times in my life, and I was HORRIBLE. 

Some of our group is playing golf at St. Andrews one day. I was thinking about playing, but I have not hit a golf ball, other than putt putt, in probably 18 years. I’m afraid I would hold up the group or get kicked off the course for playing so poorly. I would really like to see the course though. Do they let people go even if not playing? Could I pay to play, but actually just walk the course with them?

Not sure, but I don’t see why not.  There is a putting course near the club house/restaurant for the New Course that might be fun.  And the 1/2 mile or so walk from town to the New Course clubhouse/restaurant is cool.  You walk across holes 1 and 18 on a paved path to get there.  Of course, if you know someone, or get lucky and meet them, that belongs to the R&A or the New Golf Club (over 120 years old) see if they’ll treat you to a cocktail in the clubhouse.