Visitor Information

Before you go, you can get information and maps from the British Tourist Authority (Visit Britain; www.visitbritain.com). In the United States: 551 Fifth Ave., Suite 701, New York, NY 10176-0799 (tel. 800/462-2748, or 212/986-2266 in New York; fax 212/986-1188). In Canada: 5915 Airport Rd., Mississagua, ON L4V 1T1 (tel. 888/VISIT-UK in Canada; fax 905/405-1835 in Toronto). In Australia: Level 2, 15 Blue St., North Sydney NSW 2060 (tel. 02/9021-4400; fax 02/9021-4499). In New Zealand: Fay Richwite Blvd., 17 Floor, 151 Queen St., Auckland 1 (tel. 09/303-1446; fax 09/377-6965).

If you're in London and are contemplating a trip north, you can visit the Scottish Tourist Board, 19 Cockspur St., London SW1 Y5BL (tel. 0845/225-5121; www.visitscotland.com); it's open Monday through Friday from 9:30am to 5:30pm and Saturday from noon to 4pm. Once you're in Scotland, you can stop by the Edinburgh & Scotland Information Centre, Princes Mall, 3 Princes St., Edinburgh EH2 2QP (tel. 0131/473-3800; www.edinburgh.org; bus: 3, 7, 14, 31, or 69). July and August, it's open Monday through Saturday from 9am to 8pm and Sunday from 10am to 8pm. May, June, and September, hours are Monday through Saturday from 9am to 7pm and Sunday from 10am to 7pm. From October to April, hours are Monday through Saturday from 9am to 6pm and Sunday from 10am to 6pm.

There are more than 170 tourist centers in Scotland, all well signposted in their cities or towns; some are closed in winter, however.

Budgeting Adventure -- If you're going to be visiting a large number of Scotland's historic properties, your best bet is the Explorer Pass. It gives you savings on 75 of Scotland's most visited historic attractions, including Edinburgh, Stirling, and Urquhart castles. There are three types of passes. The first is good for 3 days within a 5-day period and costs adults £19 ($36) and seniors and children £15 ($28). The second pass is available for 7 days within a 14-day period and costs adults £27 ($51) and seniors and children £21 ($39). For those who are uncertain of when they'll be traveling, the third pass, which allows for 10 days in a 30-day period, is a good choice. However, it is the most expensive alternative, costing adults £32 ($61) and seniors and children £24 ($46). The pass is available at all of Scotland's historical sites, the tourist information centers, and on the Web at www.historic-scotland.gov.uk.

Another good choice for visitors on a budget is The Great Britain Heritage Pass, which is accepted all over Great Britain. The pass will allow you free entry to more than 600 tourist attractions in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and England, including Stonehenge, Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh Castle, and the Roman Baths. In addition to the free entry, pass holders also get a 40-page guidebook and a map of Great Britain. The 4-day pass costs £28 ($53). For 7 days, it's £39 ($74) and 15 days is £52 ($99). The month-long pass costs £70 ($133). You must use the pass on consecutive days. It can be purchased at a tourist office or online at www.gbheritagepass.com.

What's on the Web?

The most useful site was created by a very knowledgeable source, the British Tourist Authority itself, with U.S. visitors targeted. A wealth of information is tapped at www.travelbritain.org, which lets you order brochures online, provides trip-planning hints, and even allows e-mail questions for prompt answers. All of Great Britain is covered.

If you're surfing the Web for accommodations, a good site to browse is www.visitscotland.com (site of the Scotland Tourist Board).

A lot of individual tourist board websites are helpful. The best of these include information on the Borders at www.scot-borders.co.uk; on the Highlands at www.visithighlands.com; on Ayrshire and Arran at www.ayrshire-arran.com; on Argyll and the Isles, Lock Lomond, Stirling, and the Trossachs at www.visitscottishheartlands.com; on Perthshire at www.perthshire.co.uk; on Angus and Dundee at www.angusanddundee.co.uk; on Glasgow at www.seeglasgow.com; and on Aberdeen and the Grampian region at www.agtb.org.

Maps

Good ones are available from the Royal Automobile Club (tel. 0800/730-1104; www.rac.co.uk) or from the Automobile Association (tel. 0870/600-0371; www.theaa.co.uk). The best road map, especially if you're trying to locate some obscure village, is The Ordnance Survey Motor Atlas of Great Britain, revised annually and published by Temple Press. It's available at most bookstores in Scotland. If you're in London and plan to head north to Scotland, go to W. & G. Foyle Ltd., 113 and 119 Charing Cross Rd. (tel. 020/7434-1574; www.foyles.co.uk).

Other excellent maps include the Collins Touring Map of Scotland and Frommer's Road Atlas.

Okay for a Wee Dram, but Not for a Fag

Pub devotees in Scotland had to give up smoking in March 2006, so no more fags (the slang term for cigarettes). A wee dram -- or a lot more -- is still acceptable, of course. The ban, which applies not only to pubs but also to restaurants, workplaces, and public transport, was designed to protect fellow workers, other diners, and even bartenders from inhaling secondhand smoke. Ignoring the ban will cost violators £50 ($95). The British Heart Foundation proclaimed the moment the ban went into effect as a "historic day for Scotland."

Telephones

To call Scotland from North America, dial 011 (international code), 44 (Britain's country code), the local area codes (usually three or four digits and found in every phone number we've given in this guide), and the local phone number. The local area codes found throughout this book all begin with "0"; you drop the "0" if you're calling from outside Britain, but you need to dial it along with the area code if you're calling from another city or town within Britain. For calls within the same city or town, the local number is all you need.

For directory assistance in London, dial tel. 142; for the rest of Britain, 192.

There are three types of public pay phones: those taking only coins, those accepting only phone cards (called Cardphones), and those taking both phone cards and credit cards. At coin-operated phones, insert your coins before dialing. The minimum charge is 10p (20¢).

Phone cards are available in four values -- £2 ($3.80), £4 ($7.60), £10 ($19), and £20 ($38) -- and are reusable until the total value has expired. Cards can be purchased from newsstands and post offices. Finally, the credit card pay phone -- Access (MasterCard), Visa, American Express, and Diners Club -- is most common at airports and large railway stations.

To make an international call from Britain, dial the international access code (00), then the country code, then the area code, and finally the local number. Or call through one of the following long-distance access codes: AT&T USA Direct (tel. 1800/CALL-ATT), Canada Direct (tel. 0800/890016), Australia (tel. 0800/890061), and New Zealand (tel. 0800/890064). Common country codes are: USA and Canada, 1; Australia, 61; New Zealand, 64; and South Africa, 27.

For calling collect or if you need an international operator, dial 155.

Caller beware: Some hotels routinely add outrageous surcharges onto phone calls made from your room. Inquire before you call! It may be a lot cheaper to use your own calling-card number or to find a pay phone.

Hot Line to Scotland -- Travel information for the whole of Scotland is offered on Visit Scotland's national telephone hot line, available for inquiries from the U.K. and overseas. Travel advisors are available to help you book accommodations throughout Scotland -- hotels, guesthouses, or bed-and-breakfasts -- or find out about special offers, events, and attractions to visit. You can order brochures as well. Advisors are available Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 5:30pm (U.K. time). In the U.K., tel. 0845/225-5121; from overseas, tel. 011-44-845/225-5121; www.visitscotland.com.