We’re Back in Aviemore Again… and Here’s Why

Suzie and I decided on a long weekend in my favourite place in Scotland — Aviemore and the Cairngorms. After 40 years of visiting the Cairngorms and Aviemore, I’m still desperate to move here, and the sheer number of visits each year probably gives that away. We managed 8+ trips in 2025, and this is already our third visit of 2026, so it’s fair to say this part of the Scottish Highlands has a real hold over us. For this Aviemore travel guide, we rented an amazing Airbnb on the road to Loch an Eilean, which turned out to be the perfect base. It’s one of our favourite walks with Poppy, our 6-year-old fox red lab, and being just a 10-minute walk from the loch meant we could start each morning with a scenic stroll around the water. If you’re looking for things to do in Aviemore or things to do in the Cairngorms, a walk around Loch an Eilean is hard to beat. Of course, no trip to Aviemore Scotland would be complete without great coffee and good food. A visit to the new Foxfire Coffee café was a must, and it did not disappoint — excellent coffee, seriously good toasties, and a brilliant vibe. We also stopped at KJ Bothy Bakery, another essential stop for this Cairngorms travel guide, where the toasties were incredible and the baked goods were next level. The banana and caramel cake was honestly out of this world. If you’re planning a Scottish Highlands road trip, a weekend break in Aviemore, or exploring the Cairngorms National Park, this is exactly the kind of travel escape we love most — scenic, relaxed, and full of great food, great walks, and beautiful views.