As I had mentioned in the introductory post for the Scotland trip series, this trip was the first guided tour we've ever taken. As taking our usual land-based travel camping trips with our van is becoming more difficult as we age, we wanted to see if the "guided trip" is for us. Our feelings about that are mixed.
<Link to our first Scottish post> (That first post is followed by daily trip posts)
This all-inclusive (mostly, except for most lunches) tour was through the Seniors Discovery organization. The trip was well-managed, and we got what we expected. We did enjoy the trip overall, Cathie especially enjoyed seeing parts of Scotland she thought we might never get to.
However we've decided that this exact kind of trip isn't really for us. There was a lot of bus travelling, and changing hotels. We think a trip that was more oriented to going to a central location for a few days and taking day trips out from there would be less tiring for us, especially if it was via a smaller tour bus. The trip will definitely help us make future trip decisions. It would be nice to avoid air travel too. Maybe the Queen Mary would be an option!
Internet Access:
At home we use Koodo prepaid for our cellular access, for phone, text, and data. Of course this wouldn't work in the UK, and Koodo had no good options for us.
We decided that since we were on this fully-arranged tour, we could live without phone and text for the trip, so looked into getting UK data.
I've never used an eSim before, but it seemed a good option as our phones support adding an eSim. There are lots of choices for eSim data for travelling. We opted for a 5Gb plan from aloSIM, a Canadian-based company. The plan (we just put one on my phone) cost us $20 Cdn + tax for 30 days or 5Gb, whichever came first. We used 4.5 Gb on our 2 week trip, so just the right amount.
Improvements for next time:
We did miss having texting on both our phones. Not a big deal, but we're used to having text to contact each other when shopping or whatever if we need to reconnect. We didn't miss phone service this trip, as we didn't need to phone ahead for accommodation etc.
I had put the eSim on my phone, then turned on the Hotspot function when Cathie wanted data on her phone. That worked ok, but we'd prefer having data on both phones. One thing I didn't realize was that when my phone was providing hotspot data, battery use increased quite a bit. It did the job for us though.
UK travel trivia:
We did learn a number of things while on the trip that we wish we had known earlier. I'll list some things here that we "discovered" about Scotland travelling, in case it helps somebody. Mostly hotel trivia:
- If you want to plug in to a wall outlet using a Canadian plug, you'll need a adapter to the standard UK wall plug. Easy to find on Amazon etc, and we got one before the trip. Our adapter also included 3 standard USB "A" outlets, very useful at times.
- I assumed the adapter takes care of the voltage change though. Canada/US wall plug voltage is about 110 volts. UK plugs are 220 V. Many North American USB plugs can handle a range including both voltages, so are ok. Not all do though. The UK adapter plug does not change the voltage from 220 to 110. Check your devices before plugging in.
- Light switches are Down for On, usually. Most outlets must be switched On for power.
- Bathroom light switches were usually (maybe always) on the wall outside the bathroom. Usually no night light in the bathroom. - Most hotels had no clock in the rooms. Not a problem really, as most of us have smart phones for time and wake-up alarms.
- No rooms we were in had a fridge.
- Hotels didn't seem to have ice dispensers, or laundry facilities.
- no washcloths provided
- only 1 hotel we were in had a room safe
- only 1 hotel provided Kleenex-type tissues
- bed covering was a duvet mostly. The rooms were warm enough that the duvet was too warm for us. We'd prefer just a sheet, but none provided. One fellow traveller just unzipped the duvet and took out the stuffing, then used the cover as a sheet. Wish we'd thought of that.
- Midges can be an issue. Kind of like a small version of our Black Flies. They swarm and will bite. If you're going to be outdoors much consider bug repellent, or even a head net if you're especially sensitive.
-
Gasoline prices ranged from 1.40 to 1.60 per litre. That's pounds
though, so about 2.50 - 2.80 $ Cdn per litre. Just something to consider
if renting a car.