Each season has its advantages and disadvantages, but if you are lucky enough to have the flexibility to travel whenever you want, why not try a couple of trips at different times of year – there is certainly plenty to keep you coming back.
I am a country girl at heart, so my preferences are based on the countryside. If you are into cities and a bit of a “culture vulture” then your choices may be based around festivals or concerts that you want to incorporate into your trip.
Spring – April & May
This is probably my favourite time of year due to the lengthening hours of daylight, change in nature’s colours and promise of renewal. As I travel around Scotland, I love seeing the plants and trees come back to life with lime green on the trees and all manner of colours in the flowers as they emerge from their winter cocoon.
Most attractions open back up in late March after their winter slumbers, in time for Easter holidays so there will be plenty you can visit across Scotland and it would be easy to mix different interests to keep everyone happy.
If you enjoy visiting gardens, then I highly recommend the rhodedendron and azalea gardens of the west coast of Scotland in May and into early June – there is a riot of colour in gardens such as Crarae, Inveraray Castle, Benmore Botanic Gardens, Arduaine Garden, Attadale Gardens and so many others. There is a great article on spring gardens by Discover Scottish Gardens.
We also have bluebells season in mid to late May and these flowers bring woodlands to life with a riot of blue-purple colour. A couple of my favourite places to see the bluebells are Dunrobin Castle, Kinclaven Woods and St John’s churchyard at Ballachullish.
In terms of weather, April and early May can still be quite chilly in the mornings reaching up to 13C-20C / 58F-72F in the afternoons with odd frost the reminds us not to plant out bedding plants too soon ! As long as you bring layers of clothing, there is no reason why you should not be able to get out and explore. My brother reckons that the week around 25th May is always sunny as that is when his birthday is – he may be a ray of sunshine in my life, but he’s not wrong about the weather as he has hardly ever had a damp birthday!
Early Summer – June into early July
In my view, a great time to visit. If you enjoy birdwatching, this is a great time to see the migrating seabirds and head out on wildlife watching trips. A couple of my favourites are the little passenger ferry to Handa Island and the walk around the island (you will need a reasonable level of fitness for this) and Staffa Tours boats that take you to Staffa and Fingal’s Cave with time on the island to watch the puffins and other temporary visitors. Often on the journeys, you can spot various seals, dolphins and cetaceans as well. There are also boats on the east coast of Scotland including one from the Seabird Centre, North Berwick, which is only 30 minutes on the train from Edinburgh.
For sea-mammal watching trips, try out Arisaig Marine in Arisaig on the Road to the Isles, Sealife on Isle of Mull, Ecoventures and North 58 not far from Inverness. If you are in the kingdom of Fife (the other side of the River Forth from Edinburgh), you could go on a visit to Isle of May to see the puffins and seals.
Early July is also the time for the Scottish Game Fair at Scone Palace – it is all about celebrating country life and includes have-a-go session with fly fishing, shooting, dog scurry competition and demonstrations in the main arena of gundog displays, terrier racing, equestrian skills, Highland ponies, falconry and much more. Of course, many areas of retail therapy can also be indulged in too!
High Summer – mid July to mid September
Ahh, the warmth and sunshine of high summer mixed with opportunities to tour through nature or indulge in a lot of culture. This is also the busiest time to visit Scotland as the Northern Hemisphere is on vacation. The population of Edinburgh doubles in August due to the Edinburgh International Festival and Festival Fringe – so if you are a “culture vulture “ this is a great place to be at this time.
VisitScotland have a handy list of the festivals in Edinburgh in 2025
If you prefer to avoid the crowds of Edinburgh, but fancy a city break, I would highly recommend you head to Glasgow, less than 1 hour by train from Edinburgh. Having lived there for just short of 20 years, I can guarantee you that it has plenty to offer in terms of culture, as well as being a UNESCO City of Music. If music is your thing, I can highly recommend a tour with Glasgow Music City Tours
As well as all the city options, you could enjoy the great outdoors as Scotland has a long established Outdoor Access Code that give people the right of responsible non motorised access to the countryside and waterways, no matter who owns the land (this may come as a shock to many of our American friends who don’t enjoy such freedoms). This means you could rent kayaks and boats and explore the waterways or take yourself out for a range of walks for all abilities – my favourite walk description website being Walkhighlands.
Late Summer into Autumn – mid September to mid October
The number of visitors is beginning to reduce as the children head back to school but the weather is still pleasant and the seas are at their warmest (about 14C / 60F!) so if you are on the coast on a sunny day, it can be worth going for a dip.
Fall colours are beginning to make an appearance but really hit their best late October.
Weather wise, it can range from a late bloom / last hurrah of summer heat (it’s all relative, but could be up to 25C / 82F) to much cooler temperature about 10C / 52F. On tour with a lovely group in 2024, I had both of these within the space of 10 days – the photos above are from the high end of temperatures on Isle of Iona mid September, and yes, I went in for a dip!
Autumn – mid October to late November
“The nights are fair drawing in” as we say in Scotland. The hours of daylight are reducing and in late October we “Fall back” i.e. we turn our clocks back by 1 hour so we get more daylight in the morning.
The Fall colours are at their best in late October as can be seen by the photo above. It is also the time of The Enchanted Forest in Pitlochry – a sound and light show in Faskally Woods during the month of October.
The main tourism season is beginning to wind down (apart from the Tattie Holidays – school half term – in mid to late October) so venues are less crowded and roads are a little quieter. The weather is cooler so bring multiple layers as it can be warm one day and freezing the next.
Winter – December to end March
This is the calmest part of the year – apart from Christmas & New Year – and you can suit your pace to how you feel. Our daylight hours are shorter with it getting light about 9am and being dark by 3.30pm – but this is a great excuse to cosy in by a fire, enjoy comfort food and good company and hang out with the locals !
We get some beautiful crisp blue sky sunshine days during winter (as well as some grey, wet or snowy ones) – these are the ones I love getting out for a walk on.
For the “culture vultures”, January and February is also a great time to head to Glasgow and go to many of the music gigs that are part of the annual Celtic Connections musical celebrations. An annual returner is Transatlantic Sessions which brings together musicians from North America, Ireland and Scotland.
Whichever season you visit in, you will be left wanting to come back to Scotland to experience more !
If you need some help planning your Scottish itinerary or being guided for a day or more, please get in touch with me, susan@yourscotlandguide.co.uk or follow me on instagram or facebook under the @scotlandtourguide