answer:I had a wonderful visit to Scotland some years back. I went with a tour group on an itinerary that was based in Edinburgh, with day trips to Glasgow, Culross, Fife, Stirling Castle and Loch Lomond, and several other destinations. It was a great balance of typical tourist sites vs. out-of-the-way glimpses and of structured time vs. free time. About half the people in the group had just come from ten days in Ireland as part of a more extended tour than I took. They were full of enthusiasm about the experience. I’d recommend the tour outfit, but ownership changed hands a few years ago, and now all they do is Asian tours. If I were going to go alone, I would study Rick Steves’ book first and do a lot of homework. I wouldn’t be afraid to go alone, but I do think I would waste a lot of time figuring out how to get from here to there—one of the great ways that a tour solves problems. If I had a lot of time—several weeks or a month—I would plan it out myself, rent a car, and take it in leisurely fashion, expecting to work from a basic itinerary and then improvise and follow my impulses along the way.