[Kief]

My wife and I will be driving around all of Scotland this summer, and I’m looking for recommendations on the best options for navigating around, specifically the more remote areas like the North Coast 500 and Outer Hebrides…

What would you recommend:
-Would an eSIM and Google Maps work or too remote (if so, which carrier would you recommend for best coverage)?
-Would adding a gps to our car rental be the best option due to limited cell coverage?
-I don’t see many UK car hire companies offer portable WiFi add-on. This worked out perfectly during a recent trip to Iceland.

Thanks

[HeebieJeebies]

Do the NC500 anti-clockwise, the scenery gets better and better as you go round. There’s plenty of coverage for mobile phones and just about every shop/hotel has free WiFi. Start off in Inverness, book a night in Thurso for the first leg, then either Durness or Kinlochbervie, last night stay In Ullapool, the Royal Hotel is nice.

Choose your hotel/B&B’s well in advance of your trip.

Research is key! Good luck, you’ll have an amazing time.

Go into the central areas, remote but stunning, visit some of the beaches on offer and see some amazing places.

[Kief]

Originally Posted by HeebieJeebies

Do the NC500 anti-clockwise, the scenery gets better and better as you go round. There’s plenty of coverage for mobile phones and just about every shop/hotel has free WiFi. Start off in Inverness, book a night in Thurso for the first leg, then either Durness or Kinlochbervie, last night stay In Ullapool, the Royal Hotel is nice.

Choose your hotel/B&B’s well in advance of your trip.

Research is key! Good luck, you’ll have an amazing time.

Go into the central areas, remote but stunning, visit some of the beaches on offer and see some amazing places.

Thanks, I should have mention I’m coming over from the States.

Due to flying into Glasglow and our schedule to the Outer Hebrides, we are traveling clockwise, but I have read it is better to go counter-clockwise due to the build up of the scenery, with the western-leg not being as exciting. Nevertheless, everything is already planned.

So which mobile carrier would you recommend I get an eSIM for the best coverage while I’m on the road?

[paulockenden]

If it’s not too pricey you’re better off with a non-UK eSIM then you can roam onto any of the (effectively) four UK networks, I’d have thought. But it’ll certainly cost more than a UK sim.

[bmnut]

Originally Posted by Kief

Thanks, I should have mention I’m coming over from the States.

Due to flying into Glasglow and our schedule to the Outer Hebrides, we are traveling clockwise, but I have read it is better to go counter-clockwise due to the build up of the scenery, with the western-leg not being as exciting. Nevertheless, everything is already planned.

So which mobile carrier would you recommend I get an eSIM for the best coverage while I’m on the road?

Whilst we're from the North East of England we regularly visit Scotland and have actually just returned from a trip to the Isle of Mull.
We use EE for our mobiles over the entire UK and the coverage is excellent throughout Scotland.

[HeebieJeebies]

Originally Posted by Kief

Thanks, I should have mention I’m coming over from the States.

Due to flying into Glasglow and our schedule to the Outer Hebrides, we are traveling clockwise, but I have read it is better to go counter-clockwise due to the build up of the scenery, with the western-leg not being as exciting. Nevertheless, everything is already planned.

So which mobile carrier would you recommend I get an eSIM for the best coverage while I’m on the road?

The western leg IS the most exciting buddy, that’s the rawest scenery and countryside. The Hebrides are a dream trip, the beaches on North and south Uist, Harris and Lewis are world beating, Barra does not too bad either.

We did a wee trip there a few years ago, ferry to Barra from Oban then went from South to North up to Lewis, ferry back to Ullapool on the mainland but you can do the ferry to Uig on Skye too.

Have a great trip and I hope your stay in Scotland is a wonderful experience

[Kief]

Originally Posted by HeebieJeebies

The western leg IS the most exciting buddy, that’s the rawest scenery and countryside. The Hebrides are a dream trip, the beaches on North and south Uist, Harris and Lewis are world beating, Barra does not too bad either.

We did a wee trip there a few years ago, ferry to Barra from Oban then went from South to North up to Lewis, ferry back to Ullapool on the mainland but you can do the ferry to Uig on Skye too.

Have a great trip and I hope your stay in Scotland is a wonderful experience

LOL, right, I miswrote western instead of eastern…damn America-centric mentality!! Haha

[330Stevie]

I’ve always found Airalo very reasonable as an eSIM provider when I’m outside the uk (where my provider contract doesn’t support free data etc)
And like said above it will jump on any network

[Kinsman]

Hey Kief, you've chosen an incredible part of the world to visit and you will have a great holiday. Pack for all weather though as summer up here is unpredictable. Network coverage is fine for navigation and all you will need is your phone and an in-car cradle.

I use Google maps offline with maps downloaded. Works fine and no need to worry about GSM. eSIM providers are much the same in terms of coverage. Lewis and Skye have very good Vodafone coverage, O2 also works well.

I strongly recommend you book the ferry in advance www.calmac.co.uk as the boats will fill up well in advance. It is rare to be able to turn up and go during the summer season.

Skye to Harris in particular is very busy and it's an incredible drive to get to the boat, going past Ben Nevis and through Glencoe. I also recommend you sign up for the status alerts as cancellations can occur at short notice due to weather and the general unreliability of boats across the network. The ferry service is a bone of contention for us in these parts.

If you are in Harris you must take a trip to the beach in Luskentyre, it is one of the most popular destinations and is stunning on a good day. Even on a good day you will find a nip in the air so bring more than just speedos

Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes.

[Kief]

Originally Posted by Kinsman

Hey Kief, you've chosen an incredible part of the world to visit and you will have a great holiday. Pack for all weather though as summer up here is unpredictable. Network coverage is fine for navigation and all you will need is your phone and an in-car cradle.

I use Google maps offline with maps downloaded. Works fine and no need to worry about GSM. eSIM providers are much the same in terms of coverage. Lewis and Skye have very good Vodafone coverage, O2 also works well.

I strongly recommend you book the ferry in advance www.calmac.co.uk as the boats will fill up well in advance. It is rare to be able to turn up and go during the summer season.

Skye to Harris in particular is very busy and it's an incredible drive to get to the boat, going past Ben Nevis and through Glencoe. I also recommend you sign up for the status alerts as cancellations can occur at short notice due to weather and the general unreliability of boats across the network. The ferry service is a bone of contention for us in these parts.

If you are in Harris you must take a trip to the beach in Luskentyre, it is one of the most popular destinations and is stunning on a good day. Even on a good day you will find a nip in the air so bring more than just speedos

Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes.

Thanks!
Yup, we are all planned out and cannot wait!! Booked our ferry crossing once the summer timetable was up and running. We are on a tight schedule, so I hope the weather/wind cooperate and our ferry doesn't get cancelled. I was surprised some car hire companies have a ferry crossing charge (Sixt) but others don't. Car rentals are crazy expensive and I check almost daily to rebook if prices come down.

I'll still go with an eSIM. Google offline maps are okay, but my phone's storage is getting up there and I prefer real-time.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.