Van de Paul

 We hired Daisy (the 70s VW camper) and headed into the Northern Highlands.

Paul and Beth were the most friendly, helpful people. They gave excellent advice on day 1 about how to get the most out of the van and out of Scotland, and they were available to be contacted about even the most trivial questions relating to the van at all hours. The van was in absolute pristine condition when we picked it up. Although the van is now obviously several decades old, it is simple enough to drive and you can cover a great distance in it (we clocked over 900 miles in 4 days in it, and even drove it over a mountain and through Edinburgh and Glasgow at their busiest times all without issue) and you don’t find yourself missing the kind of conveniences you may think a more modern van would be able to give you (indeed, it has been updated with a few modern features such a Bluetooth radio, fridge and solar panel etc.).

The whole experience is fantastic – wherever we drove, the van received endless love from those we passed by, with people were turning their heads to look and wave at us. The Highlands themselves are a vast playground of astonishing beauty.

Be careful with fees though – We booked via Yescapa.com and paid for 5 days hire (rather than 4 nights) however, in effect, this turned out to only be 4 days as the van was only available from 12 oclock on day 1 and needed to be returned by 12 on the final day. Despite this, we ended up returning the van a couple of hours late and were charged an additional half day’s fee (£60). We were also charged a small additional fee for the insurance due to our relatively young age. Although it is (I believe) a family run business, don’t think it is any different to hiring from large companies – additional fees can escalate if you are not careful.

Nevertheless, we had the best experience in Scotland with Daisy and we would thoroughly recommend it to anyone. We are both very grateful to Beth and Paul for giving us the chance to experience something we will look back on very fondly for a long, long time.