Travel Planning Help Please :)

[bednobs]

hi i am FINALLY getting away to stornoway this year, second week in august.
there's 3 of us me, mr b and 9yo. we'll be travelling from north hampshire.
can someone help me plan things? i dont care if we fly or drive. we could hire a car on lewis if we do fly. i would imagine if we drove, we'd break the journey up into 2 days. im really hoping theres someone about who could help me with possible itineries as i have no idea where to start

[Chinajan]

rome2rio is really good for looking at all transportation options bednobs.

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Hampshire/Stornoway

[Buenchico]

I wouldn't even consider driving! You'd be looking at about 10½ hours driving time to Ullapool for the ferry (according to the AA route planner), plus 2½ hours on the ferry. However you'd then need to add on, say, a couple of hours for breaks, time for waiting for the ferry and an allowance for delays along the route. So you'd be looking at two full days of driving at either end of your holiday, which isn't going to leave you much time to relax on a one-week break.

Fortunately, you're well placed for airports, with Southampton, Heathrow and Gatwick all within easy driving distance of Basingstoke. You'd then need a flight from one of those airports to Edinburgh, Glasgow or Inverness, in order to connect with a LoganAir flight to Stornoway. (LoganAir also operate from Manchester but I've already ruled that out, as there don't seem o be any flights that would match up with your plans).

Give me a bit longer and I'll try to find something that would work for you. (It might help to know your exact holiday dates though. I'm working on the basis of a one week stay, from Saturday 7 August to Saturday 14 August at the moment).

[bednobs]

those dates would suit perfectly, thanks!

[Buenchico]

It's looking remarkably easy with LoganAir from Southampton:

Outbound option 1 (on the Saturday dates above):
Depart Southampton 0840
Arrive Glasgow 1000
Depart Glasgow 1250
Arrive Stornoway 1350
Fare £233.82 per adult

Outbound option 2. (Faster, due to a shorter connection wait):
Depart Southampton 0845
Arrive Edinburgh 1010
Depart Edinburgh 1140
Arrive Stornoway 1245
Fare £222.82 per adult

Inbound (only one option available):
Depart Stornoway 0830
Arrive Glasgow 0925
Depart Glasgow 1035
Arrive Southampton 1200
Fare £178.46 per adult

Total fare (based upon the 0845 departure from Southampton, including all taxes, etc) £1067.27.

That's almost certainly the best route in terms of timings but it might well not be the cheapest! I'll keep looking ;-)

[bednobs]

will we need passports?

[Sam1960]

You'll need ID, so I'd take my passport if I was you.

[Buenchico]

You obviously don't need passports to travel within the UK as far as Border Force officials are concerned. However Loganair does require photographic ID when travelling on domestic flights with luggage in the hold.

Quote:
"Government-issued photographic ID is required on all Domestic flights when checking in luggage. Here's a few examples of Government Issued photographic ID that is accepted when checking in Hold luggage:
* A valid passport - an expired passport can be used up to a maximum of five years after expiry
* Valid photographic driving licence, provisional or full
* Young Scot Card
* Bus pass
Please ensure you still look like the photograph in the ID you are presenting."

Source:
https://www.loganair.co.uk/travel-help/id-requirements/

I've looked into the possibility of travelling from Basingstoke to Inverness by rail, and then hiring a car. The prices aren't too bad (totalling around £300 return for the three of you for the rail journey) but the timing don't work out for the ferries from Ullapool. They also don't work out for getting a flight from Inverness, rather than hiring a car. So that seems to be no use. Going by rail to Glasgow or Edinburgh, and then picking up a flight to Stornoway from there, doesn't work out due to the timings either.

[Sam1960]

https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/news/you-need-passport-domestic-flights-18810768

[bednobs]

what about 9 yo with passport? She does not have one

[Sam1960]

^
Read my link bednobs, it answers your question

[Peter Pedant]

erm dont go?

[bednobs]

ahh will you miss me peter?

[Buenchico]

I've tried breaking up the journey, using different operators. (e.g. easyJet have cheap flights from Gatwick to Glasgow, from where you could connect with a Loganair flight to Stornoway). However it still doesn't work out any cheaper because you still get clobbered by Loganair's fares for the second leg of the journey anyway. (It also leaves you with very long waits for connecting flights).

So, unless you're prepared to spend four days of your holiday driving (and think what fun that would be with a 9-year-old on board!), it looks like you're stuck with forking out just over a grand for fares. Sorry :(

At least you'll be in Stornoway on the first Saturday afternoon though, giving you plenty of time to really enjoy your holiday.

Although there's a limited bus service from Stornoway airport to the town (which is 4 miles away), it would probably make much more sense to take a taxi straight to your destination. Taxi phone numbers are here:
https://www.hial.co.uk/stornoway-airport/airport-information-12/3?documentId=57&categoryId=20011

[Buenchico]

PS: To get from Basingstoke (which I believe is roughly where you are) to Southampton Airport Parkway, you can take a direct train, with a journey time of roughly half an hour. You simply need to cross the footbridge (using the lifts if you've got heavy luggage) to arrive in the airport terminal.
https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

[Buenchico]

PPS: Loganair is showing the last few tickets being available at the prices I've stated. Don't delay booking or you could end up having to pay a lot more!!!

[Canary42]

/// You simply need to cross the footbridge ///

I think you will find that Southbound rail from Basingstoke you will alight the same side as the airport.

On the return journey you will need to cross the railway line of course.

[MartinMillar]

We drive to Islay in 1 day 13 hours 2 ferries with dogs
It’s easily enough sorted if you drive you can pack for everything

[bednobs]

thanks chris for your help - i have now booked

[Buenchico]

Thanks for the feedback. I hope your trip goes well.