Scotland Tourist Trap Tips by scotlandscotour Top 5 Page for this destination

Cairngorm "Funny Car" - Fleecing Tourists

The Cairngorm Funicular Railway is pricy and facilities poor.

Check Weather Forecast - It needs Clear Views to be Worth it

It is no good as a "quick way up the mountain"
Restrictions around the development of this skiing / tourist attraction, within the centre of a National Park and sensitive ecosystem, mean you cannot get out at the top and walk the plateau.

For disabled persons, or others unable to walk up a mountain, this does offer an opportunity to see from "up there" - but it is an anticlimax and compares poorly with similar funiculars / cable cars in Europe and the world.

Prices 2004:
Adult £8.00
Junior (16 and under) £5.00
Senior (65 and over) £6.50
Student (ID required) £6.50
Family (2 adults and up to 3 children) £22.00
Family (1 adult and up to 2 children) £16.00
5's and under go free

Unique Suggestions: Have a look at:

National Park Website:
http://www.cairngorms.co.uk/

Funicular - "Cairngorms Mountain"
http://www.cairngormmountain.com/

Fun Alternatives: Alternatively, look at the webcam of the view from the Ptarmigan Restaurant and then spend your money on a good treat!!
http://www.cairngormmountain.com/cams/image2.jpg

:-)

A9 The Main Road Between Inverness & Edinburgh

Most car driving tourists feel the need to first see Edinburgh, then with limited time head north straight for Inverness, to search for the Loch Ness monster, Highland scenery, whisky, and so on. This, they believe, is best done by driving the main road north - the A9, via Perth and Aviemore.

That will be you - stuck behind a row of cars and a lorry.

What you are not prepared for is long stretches of unmitigating boredom, and endless processions of vehicles held behind lorries / trucks restricted to 40mph. The speed limit for cars is 60mph and frustrated businessmen in powerful cars treat it like a race track, their masculine pride and chequebook dented by delay.
Expect: Views, of lots of cars and the back end of a truck.
Expect: dangerous overtaking and scary 'near accidents'
Expect: Wild open wilderness scenery and monotony, and a sense of driving in "slow motion"

Don't Expect to reach your destination fresh and invigorated!

Unique Suggestions: If you find yourself driving the A9:
Take turn offs to break the journey and see places en-route.
Take it easy and don't try to overtake. Just chill out and laugh at the stressed BMW or Mercedes in your mirror!
Try to drive it late at night when traffic will be lighter, much lighter.
When you get stuck in a procession behind a sluggish caravan, tractor or another tourist, pull of and enjoy the widerness.

A good tourist map will serve you much better than a normal road map. Get one from the tourist information offices - they show most attractions and interesting stuff.

Play "I spy", and eat your lunch en-route, to save time, and have good CDs (radio reception is almost zero in the mountain pass).

Fun Alternatives: Better alternatives are the west coast route via Stirling and Glencoe/ Rannoch Moor, (this avoids the very congested Loch Lomond route) or head over Glen Shee to Braemar and Balmoral Castle (Queen's Scottish Home) and see the Cairngorm Mountains close up.