The trip guide
Every page of the trip guide, step by step
All fifteen trip-guide pages, grouped under the checklist step they belong to.
The trip guide expands each step of the homepage checklist. Start with the season and your base area, then work through accommodation, transport, day trips, the coast and the practical details. Every page is written independently and does not promote any particular business. For evenings out, see the separate venue guide, and for shorter, dated travel notes, see the field notes board.
Step 1 · Pick your season
Seasons and weather in the North-East
Long light in summer, short bright days in winter, and weather that changes quickly in between — what each season is really like.
Step 2 · Choose your base area
Staying in Aberdeen city centre
Union Street, the Castlegate, the Merchant Quarter and the West End — how the centre is laid out, and who each part suits.
Old Aberdeen: cobbles, colleges and quiet streets
The historic burgh to the north of the centre, where the university's oldest buildings line a cobbled high street.
Footdee: the fishing village at the harbour mouth
Fittie, as locals call it, is a tiny cluster of squares and sheds where the harbour meets the beach.
The beach and esplanade
Two miles of sand within walking distance of the centre — and what a stay near the seafront is like.
Step 3 · Decide what kind of stay suits you
Choosing the right kind of place to stay
Hotels, guest houses, apartments, cottages and campsites — an honest look at the main types of accommodation around Aberdeen.
What to look for before you book
Ten questions worth asking about any room, apartment or cottage in the North-East — before you pay a deposit.
Step 4 · Sort out arrival and getting around
Getting to Aberdeen and getting around
Trains, buses, flights, ferries and your own two feet — how the city and the region fit together.
Step 6 · Plan one day out of the city
Royal Deeside: the valley west of the city
Follow the River Dee inland through Banchory, Aboyne and Ballater to Braemar and the edge of the Cairngorms.
Castle country: tower houses of Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire has more castles than almost anywhere in Scotland. How to choose a few and string them into a day.
Into the Cairngorms
Britain's largest national park begins on Aberdeen's doorstep. How to sample it safely in a day or plan a longer stay.
Step 7 · Leave room for the coast, the granite and the table
The North-East coast: cliffs, harbours and seals
South to Stonehaven, north to the dunes and sea cliffs of Buchan — the coastline within an hour of the city.
Food and drink of the North-East
Butteries, Cullen skink, Aberdeen Angus beef and fish from the North Sea — what to try, and where to look for it.
Reading the Granite City
Why Aberdeen looks the way it does, and the buildings to look out for on a walk through the centre.
Step 8 · Pack and check the practical bits
Practical tips for your stay
Money, connectivity, safety, accessibility and a few local habits — the small things that make a trip run smoothly.