You want to find the perfect places to stay for your Scotland trip so you’ll have great experiences and wonderful memories. But the hidden gems are truly hidden because Google shows big sites and chain hotels before anything else. So how can you find quirky or unusual places to stay and be certain they’ll be great?
My three step guide has links and search tips to help you find and book those perfect places to stay.
Scotland has amazing places to stay if you want something more personal than a chain hotel. Castles and cottages, boats and glamping pods, lightships and lighthouses. But how to find them?
You’ve done your research and know your dates and where you want to go. But where to stay?
To find the best places, search by location NOT date. Hosts with great places often don’t open their full calendar on Airbnb or Booking.com.
When you’ve found somewhere you like, google their website and book direct. It is often cheaper – these platforms cost the host about 20% of the price and many hosts will pass that saving on to you.
Specific searches give better results (eg “lighthouse cottage on the NC500”). Or search for features like “dog friendly places to stay” to get niche websites you can visit for a deeper dive. General searches (“cottage in Scotland”) will take you to the big agencies with big advertising budgets like Airbnb, Sykes or Cottage.com
Google Maps – a really useful tool when you want to see what’s near a particular place. Simply choose the area and enter “accommodation”. You will get the best results if you toggle between “hotels” and “holiday rentals”. Click through to the place’s own website accurate dates and prices because Google links to Booking,com or similar sites for availability.
There are ones specialising in places for walkers, pets, kids, farms, Insta or Tik-tok. This will save you a tonne of time! Favourites are Away with the Kids, Cool Stays, One off Places, Green Tourism, Ecosys Travel, The Good Dog Guide and The North Coast 500.
Scotland’s official website for visitors is a great starting point for all aspects of planning your trip to Scotland. Down south, you can use Visit England and Visit Wales. There are equivalent sites for places like Orkney, the North Highlands, and so on.
Facebook group are great places to find bargains. Find the right groups for you searching for things like “holiday cottage highlands” or your particular needs (eg kid-friendly holidays).
Post your dates and location and chat with the host before you book. Beware of scams though. The best hosts will link to their website or listing on a site like Airbnb, and they should never ask for card details or direct payments via DM.
A lot of places that book direct offer a referral (we say thank you with hand-made chocolates or artisan soaps). So ask your friends for recommendations.
Use the Four Ws! Say:
Don’t enter dates in the online travel agents so you can find all those hidden gems.
A quick note about Trip Advisor – You’d think TripAdvisor includes every place to stay. Not So! They only show accommodation that you can book through them or their affiliated sites. If somewhere is not on TripAdvisor, don’t panic.
Sometimes there is no time – how do you find somewhere to stay immediately?
Google Maps – is brilliant for finding places near you.
Airbnb, Booking,com, TripAdvisor and VRBO – This is where these big sites come into their own.
Chain hotels – Great when you are a bit stressed and want no surprises. Sometimes you just want a takeaway meal and old episodes of Friends. The most popular low- and mid-budget chains in the UK are Travel Lodge, Premiere Inn and IBIS.
And of course I think the perfect place to stay is the Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage at Noss Head – even in the snow!
My name is Ben, and I own and run the Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage, a self-catering holiday cottage at a working lighthouse on the North Coast 500.
The cottage is a perfect getaway for couples, and a great home-from-home for families and groups of up to six people. And we just love welcoming your dog! We have Four Stars from Visit Scotland so you know our standards are high, and we have a Gold Award for Green Tourism too.
This post was written by me, and not by AI.
Last updated: 26th January 2025
