Scotland's Best Independent Cottages.

Hand-picked holiday cottages in Scotland, booked directly with the owners. No booking fees, ever.

Hand-picked, not just listed

Every cottage chosen by us. If it isn’t special, it isn’t here.

No booking fees

You pay the owner’s price and nothing on top.

Talk to the owner

Ask questions before you book, and deal with them directly.

150 places to stay

From island crofts to estate lodges, across all of Scotland.

Find The Perfect Stay

Start with what matters most to you.

Autumn Escapes

54 Listings

By The Sea

76 Listings

Dog Friendly

108 Listings

Family Friendly

112 Listings

Great For 2

86 Listings

Hot Tubs

39 Listings

Large Groups

32 Listings

Short Breaks

87 Listings

Cottages We Love Right Now

A changing selection from across the country.

Featured
From £1,250 a week

Seawinds Cottage Applecross

Strathcarron, Wester Ross

A detached four-bedroom house near Applecross in an elevated coastal spot, with views across the Inner Sound to the Cuillin, Skye and Raasay.

  • 4 Bedrooms
  • 6 Guests
Featured
From £180 a night

Highland Holiday Cottages

Aviemore, Cairngorms & Speyside

Eight four-star cottages in five acres of grounds in the Cairngorms National Park, family-run, with one, two and three bedrooms for couples, families and groups.

  • 3 Bedrooms
  • 6 Guests
Featured
From £400 a week

Seaview Lodge

Fort William, Lochaber & The Road to the Isles

A lodge on a croft at Tougal, just south of Morar, looking straight over the white sands, with a gate at the bottom of the croft onto the beach.

  • 2 Bedrooms
  • 4 Guests
Featured
From £800 a week

Highland Haven

Lochinver, Assynt & Coigach

A spacious three-bedroom house in the crofting township of Badnaban, two miles from Lochinver on the NC500, with panoramic views across Loch Inver Bay to the hills.

  • 3 Bedrooms
  • 6 Guests
Featured
Special offer
From £139 a night

Hearthstanes Steading

Biggar, Scottish Borders

Five stone cottages from the 1600s in a steading on a working hill farm in the Tweedsmuir Hills, with the River Tweed running alongside.

  • 10 Bedrooms
  • 8 Guests
Featured
Special offer
From £145 a night

Knoydart Luxury Lochside Pod

Knoydart, Lochaber & The Road to the Isles

A self-contained pod for two on the remote Knoydart peninsula with a private deck overlooking Loch Nevis.

  • 1 Bedrooms
  • 2 Guests
Featured
From £1,200 a week

Luinga Beag

Mallaig, Lochaber & The Road to the Isles

A retreat for two on an active croft near Arisaig, designed for romantic breaks, proposals and honeymoons.

  • 1 Bedrooms
  • 2 Guests
Featured
From £875 a week

Benview Cottage

Whiting Bay, Isle of Arran

A one-bedroom cottage for two at Whiting Bay on the Isle of Arran, with a wood-burning stove and natural, understated interiors.

  • 1 Bedrooms
  • 2 Guests
Featured
From £135 a night

20A Kirkibost – Isle of Lewis

Isle of Lewis

A 2023-built, dog-friendly home overlooking an Atlantic sea loch on the west coast of Lewis, with views to the Uig hills.

  • 3 Bedrooms
  • 6 Guests
Featured
From £1,250 a week

Avernish Lodge, Kyle of Lochalsh

Kyle of Lochalsh, Lochalsh & Eilean Donan

A stone, glass and slate lodge on the banks of Loch Alsh, three miles from Eilean Donan Castle and eight from the Isle of Skye.

  • 2 Bedrooms
  • 4 Guests
Featured
From £300 a night

Litua Luxury Self Catering Arisaig

Back of Keppoch, Lochaber & The Road to the Isles

A six-person home on an active croft at Back of Keppoch, Arisaig, with uninterrupted sea views to Skye, Rum, Eigg and Canna and white sand beaches nearby.

  • 3 Bedrooms
  • 6 Guests

Explore By Region

From the Borders to the Northern Isles.

Late Availability and special offers

Gaps and discounts, straight from the owners.

Featured
Special offer
From £139 a night

Hearthstanes Steading

Biggar, Scottish Borders

Five stone cottages from the 1600s in a steading on a working hill farm in the Tweedsmuir Hills, with the River Tweed running alongside.

  • 10 Bedrooms
  • 8 Guests
Featured
Special offer
From £145 a night

Knoydart Luxury Lochside Pod

Knoydart, Lochaber & The Road to the Isles

A self-contained pod for two on the remote Knoydart peninsula with a private deck overlooking Loch Nevis.

  • 1 Bedrooms
  • 2 Guests
Special offer
From £950 a week

Faire Chaolais

Mallaig, Lochaber & The Road to the Isles

An architect-designed, eco-friendly house in Morar on the Road to the Isles, by award-winning Dualchas.

  • 3 Bedrooms
  • 6 Guests
Special offer
From £1,000 a week

Poolewe Beach House

Poolewe, Ross-shire & The Black Isle

A new-build, single-level house right on the shore of Loch Ewe at Poolewe on the NC500, with otters, seals and sea eagles in view.

  • 4 Bedrooms
  • 9 Guests
Special offer
From £950 a week

Millsyde @ Hendersyde

Kelso, Scottish Borders

A single-storey country cottage on a family farm between the River Tweed and the Eden Water, three miles from Kelso.

  • 3 Bedrooms
  • 6 Guests
Special offer
From £495 a week

Southsyde at Hendersyde

Kelso, Scottish Borders

A farm cottage at the end of its own lane near Kelso, with views across the Tweed Valley to the Cheviot Hills and Hume Castle.

  • 2 Bedrooms
  • 4 Guests
Special offer
From £2,100 a week

Blue Reef Cottages

Isle of Harris

Two turf-roofed cottages for couples at Scarista on Harris, each with its own sauna and whirlpool bath.

  • 1 Bedrooms
  • 2 Guests
Special offer
From £90 a night

Croft Cottage

Mallaig, Lochaber & The Road to the Isles

A cottage less than five minutes' walk from a secluded white sand beach near Mallaig, with red deer grazing outside.

  • 1 Bedrooms
  • 3 Guests
Special offer
From £300 a night

Camus Ciuin

Morar, Lochaber & The Road to the Isles

A new beach house between Morar and Arisaig with ocean-view decks and a white sand beach on the doorstep.

  • 2 Bedrooms
  • 6 Guests

What Guests Say

One of the best holiday cottages we have stayed in Beautiful little cottage set in a courtyard of similar cottages. As an older couple the cottage was all on one level with its own little private garden which opened on to an enclosed large garden. The cottage had all the facilities you would need a comfy bed, ensuite bathroom, a well equipped kitchen and a cosy lounge. The cottage is located mid way between Dalwhinnie and Newtonmore and about 15 mins away from Aviemore. If you love the peace and quiet of the countryside, then this will be ideal for you. Finally, it is reassuring that the hosts are on site if needed, but are very discrete and offer you your privacy.

Highland Holiday Cottages

We loved our stay at Kirkibost. Real care has been taken with the furnishings, decoration and provisions. Did not feel like a holiday home, but more a home from home. It was modern, comfortable, clean and beautiful. We had to spend lots of time in the house as weather was not on our side so it was very fortunate that Kirkibost is such a lovely place to be. The beach at Bosta was our favourite place to visit – a 20 minute drive away. Highly recommend to anyone wishing to spend some time on Lewis.

20A Kirkibost

Absolutely stunning cabin, finished to a really high standard. The views are incredible, especially from the large bedroom window looking out towards the sea, Skye and the beach.
There are plenty of beautiful beaches nearby, and there is also access to one down through the field, depending on the tide. I loved the spacious bathroom and double sink! and the enclosed garden was a great for our dogs.
Although there are other properties nearby, the cabin itself feels very private. We had a fantastic stay and would definitely recommend it. Beautiful place.

Luinga Beag

Can’t find the right cottage?

Tell us where, when and who’s coming, and we’ll find stays that fit.

The Pure Dead Brilliant Newsletter

Cottage picks every Monday and the best late deals every Thursday, in your inbox.

Where to stay in Scotland

Best Scottish Cottages is a hand-picked collection of independent self-catering stays: more than 150 cottages, lodges, huts and houses, each run by the person who owns it. We don’t list everything. A place has to be special to get on, and you book direct with the owner, so there are no booking fees and the person answering your questions is the person who knows the house. Put the whole collection side by side and it makes an odd, good list. A Romany palace in the Borders. French caravans with hot tubs near Melrose. A Jacobite-era boathouse on Skye. A chapel on Loch Shiel, turf-roofed brochs at Achiltibuie, a houseboat on Edinburgh’s canal, a former coal shed in a fishing village in Aberdeen, and a lodge on an island in Loch Lomond that you reach by private ferry. That is what we mean by the unique, the quirky, the hidden and the divine. Most of our owners are people, not companies. Some let cottages on working hill farms in the Borders and Argyll, some run an estate, and one family looks after eight cottages in the Cairngorms. They live nearby, and they will tell you which pub to book, which beach is empty at eight in the morning and which ferry to catch. That local knowledge is what you lose when a booking site sits in the middle, and it’s the main reason to book direct.

Start with what you want

Most people choose a cottage by what they want from it before they think about where it is, so start there. Dog friendly cottages are the collection people search for most. After that come cottages by the sea, cottages with hot tubs, short breaks of two or three nights, cottages for two and big houses for groups of 8 to 35.

Then choose where

The west coast and islands and the Highlands hold most of what we list, with Skye, Mull, Harris and the North Coast 500 in between. The Borders, the south and the north east have fewer places and are quieter. If it’s your first trip, pick one area and stay put. Scotland takes longer to cross than it looks on a map, and a week in one place beats a week in a car.

You don’t need a week

Many of our cottages take stays of two or three nights, and the biggest houses usually ask for a week. The owner sets the minimum on each listing, and you can ask them about anything different. Gaps and discounts appear on Late Availability as owners add them, which is why it changes from week to week, and our newsletter, The Pure Dead Brilliant, picks out the best of them on Mondays and Thursdays. If you can’t find the right place, Match will do the searching for you.

Your Questions Answered

Booking direct, dogs, short breaks and where to stay: the things guests ask us most.

No. We’re not a booking agent. You deal with the owner directly and pay the owner’s price, with nothing added on top. Owners pay us to advertise their places, which is why the price you see is theirs.

Find a cottage, then use the enquiry form or the Book Direct button on its page. Your message goes to the owner, who replies with availability and the price. Payment, deposit and cancellation terms are agreed with them, so ask about anything you want to know first. Prices are in pounds sterling.

We don’t list everything. Every cottage is chosen because it’s special: the setting, the design, the history or the welcome. Owners can pay for extra promotion, and those places are labelled Featured.

At many of them, yes. Our Dog Friendly collection lists them. Check each page for how many dogs are allowed and whether there’s a charge, and ask the owner if you’re not sure.

Often, yes. Many cottages take stays of two or three nights, and our Short Breaks collection shows them. Minimum stays vary by cottage and by season, and school holiday weeks are often longer.

Pick one area and stay there. For beaches and the islands, the Road to the Isles around Arisaig and Mallaig. For mountains, the Isle of Skye. For castles and rivers, Royal Deeside. For an easy trip from Edinburgh or Glasgow, the Scottish Borders or Loch Lomond and the Trossachs.

Yes. Our Large Groups collection has houses and lodges that sleep from 8 to 35, from a laird’s house on the Cowal peninsula to Highland lodges with saunas and hot tubs.

Try Match. Tell us where, when, who’s coming and what matters, and we’ll find stays that fit. You can also join our newsletter, The Pure Dead Brilliant Newsletter, for cottage picks every Monday and the best late deals every Thursday.

Own a special cottage?

List it on Best Scottish Cottages and take more direct bookings. Guests contact you, you keep the relationship, and we’ll talk you through the right option for your property.

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