Aberdeen advice....hotels and sights
Tammy (aka Diveloonie) 🤿
I've done a last minute (for me, lol!!) booking for a Seymour Travels 2-week van tour of Orkney and Shetland Islands for mid-August.  I had to book airfare quickly because I was going to be in Yellowstone for a couple of weeks and there is very little cell coverage.  I did not have time really to...
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I've done a last minute (for me, lol!!) booking for a Seymour Travels 2-week van tour of Orkney and Shetland Islands for mid-August. I had to book airfare quickly because I was going to be in Yellowstone for a couple of weeks and there is very little cell coverage. I did not have time really to figure out a good plan and just went with one that looked like it would work.

ANYWAY...I wound up booking Spokane->Seattle->Amsterdam->Aberdeen over and back. I gave myself 2 nights in Aberdeen on the way over before booking a flight with LoganAir up to Kirkwall the day before the tour starts. I've got one night in Aberdeen on the way back from Lerwick/Sumbaugh on LoganAir. I mainly wanted to do this to give myself some flex time in case of flight disruptions.

Because I did not have time to do any research, I'm now feeling pressed about my plan for Aberdeen. I've done some searches here on what to see and where to stay but am still unsure and could use some guidance.

Hotels: I see that there are a lot of recommendations for PI in Aberdeen (not sure which one?) and also several people have stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn. For the nights in question in mid-August the Marriott is about 200GBP/night. I'd prefer not to pay that much and am not sure about the location in the city center. It looks fairly sterile on googlestreet view and I'm just unsure. I also looked at the Ibis which is across the street from the Marine Museum which might be interesting. On the way back through, I'll just stay that night at the airport so I can walk over to the terminal for my flight to Amsterdam. Probably will go with the PI there unless others have airport suggestions. I'll take a cab to the hotel on arrival. I'll arrive around 430P after a long flight "day" from Spokane. Looks like it will be about 24-25 hours of travel at that point counting the drive from home to the airport.

What to see: I'm also not sure what I want to do for my full day in Aberdeen so I suspect the lack of a "plan" is what is making me also unsure about where exactly to stay. I've looked at Rabbies and see they have a few day tours of the area but to be honest I'll be doing a small van tour for 2 weeks on the Islands so I'm ambivalent at this point on whether I should try to see the surrounding area or just concentrate on Aberdeen. It will be my first full day in that time zone and I'd prefer some outdoor time to help with adjustment to the time zone. I've also briefly looked at some tourist office websites and see some DIY walking tours i Aberdeen which sounds fine as well. I also might be interested in the Marine Museum and the Aberdeen Art Gallery as I'm a museum person, lol. It looks like there is some walking along the coast going north from what appears to be the port area?

I'm open to any advice for a first time solo visitor with just one full day in Aberdeen! Thanks!