Medium (12-16) size Family trip logistics and Cost Saving

Well to start, they will each need to apply for the UK ETA.

London to Edinburgh would best be done by train. Driving this many people and luggage would likely require 2 vans.

Welcome to the forum! For starters, I think you'd be better off posting this (or asking the Webmaster to move it) to the Scotland forum.

For a group that size, the first thing to consider is how you will move around. You probably need 3 or 4 cars if you are going to rent. Public transportation (train/bus) is very easy in Scotland, but I don't know whether it would be cost effective for a group of 12-16 as compared to rental cars. You could also look into hiring a driver with a van, or even a charter coach. I have no idea how to go about that, but you definitely need to consider and research the options. Most folks on here are traveling solo or as couples or small families and probably don't know much about how best to deal with a group as large as yours. But maybe someone can chime in with specific advice.

Another thing to consider is tour companies. Your group may be large enough to get a tour company to create a dedicated departure just for your family. Many tour companies that run group tours offer that option. OAT, for example, has a 15-day itinerary for Scotland (https://www.oattravel.com/trips/land-adventures/europe/scotland-revealed-legends-lochs-highland-landscapes), and I know they offer this (https://www.oattravel.com/ways-to-save/travel-free-as-a-group-leader).

I would definitely have your group fly into London and take train to Edinburgh or Glasgow to begin your journey. I would also hire a private driver with a 16 passenger van to transport your group in Scotland. That way you can be driven to your various sites and dropped off without worrying about navigating and parking. That’s what I did for a golf outing a few years ago. Worked out great and spreading the cost over the group made it cheaper than public transport.

With that size of a group, when contacting hotels ask to speak to their sales person to see if you can get a group rate. This should save money.

The same would be true for train travel in the UK. Contacting group sales will save you money over the regular rates.

Additionally, contacting a tour company to take you about may not be a bad idea.

A tour company such as Rabbies operates 16 passenger vans and can customize a tour for you. They could meet you in Edinburgh and take you to where you want to go. You would also have the option of having them make all the hotel arrangments.

Tryting to please, and corral, a group of adults of that size can be a difficult task. You might be better off leaving it to the professionals.

Where are you flying in from? There are quite a few direct flights from North America into either Glasgow or Edinburgh, which would save both time and money. If you want to see other parts of Great Britain you could fly into Scotland and back from London or Manchester or vice versa to save a lot of backtracking.

With only 2 weeks I would suggest flying into Glasgow or Edinburgh. If London is a must, then stop on your way to Scotland to get over any jet lag and then train to Scotland.

Unless you're planning on hiring a tour company to take you around, suggested by previous posters, after your city stay in Glasgow or Edinburgh, rent several cars for Loch Lomond and the countryside. Check pricing with Arnold Clark Car Rental or their partner Celtic Legend. When we rented through Celtic Legend they included all 4 drivers at no extra charge.

I'm assuming you're interested in your clan history since you're focus is the west side of Loch Lomond.

What are your plans beyond Loch Lomond? Will everyone stay together the entire trip? What are the interests of your group -history, castles and ruins, golf, whisky, neolithic sights, wildlife, hiking???

Alternatively, if you prefer to travel by public transportation, there is bus service from Glasgow to Luss on Loch Lomond. From there you can bus to many places such as Oban, Glencoe, Fort William and more to see the West Highlands and Islands.

I would definitely look into a private group tour operator such as Rabbies. I have not used them but they get good reviews. I was on a 3 week tour with 22 extended family members. Believe me, you do not want to be the point person. You can certainly coordinate the itinerary and select cities and sites and choose hotels but you don’t want to be herding cats. It’s thankless.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I really appreciate them. I have all the sites we are going to see in the Loch Lomond area. It will take about 2.5 days. I think we are going to either need vans for transportation or go with a tour group. If we take the train for 12 people from London to Edinburgh, it is about $1,100, and flying back and forth doesn't make sense from a budget standpoint. We may want to see the Cotswolds, Bath, and Liverpool on the way and Durham, England, on the return. Yes, I understand that means 1 night somewhere along the way. It is impossible to get to all the sites we are planning to visit in the Loch Lomond area by public transportation. Briefly looking into a private tour company unfortunately adds more expense than we might gain from it. The tricky part I see is reaching consensus on where to stay and what to eat. I may have to just choose the first and let them go where they want on the second.

You can certainly coordinate the itinerary and select cities and sites
and choose hotels but you don’t want to be herding cats. It’s
thankless.

I'd also strongly recommend NOT making bookings for anyone else in the group. Sure, create a top-level itinerary and maybe choose hotels but the others should make their own flight, accommodation, and any other advance bookings that would leave you holding the bag should they back out.

IMHO, for a group that size you shouldn't be the singular point person for a land trip that's not organized through a professional agency or booked as a group tour through a company such a Rabbie's. At the very least, others should be appointed to do the research on meals, transport, sightseeing. etc. so that if some of them end up not liking the meals, the attractions, the hotels, etc. you are not solely responsible for handling the complaints!

That's also great thing about an organized tours when it comes to group travel: much of the footwork is handled for the group and everyone has access to the set itinerary, the tour accommodation info, what's covered and what's not, and a host of other details. The company is also responsible for handling a certain amount of unforeseen crises should they occur. You? You can relax and enjoy the journey!

Briefly looking into a private tour company unfortunately adds more expense than we might gain from it.

It might cost more but maybe not. A tour organizer might receive discounts from hotels it uses for other trips. But even if you don't save money on lodging you are receiving the benefits of someone else's expertise, the relief of not having to book drivers, cars or bus tickets and generally not shouldering the burden of having to answer the million and one questions that will be asked.

There are several railcards available that could help reduce your costs if you're making more than one long-distance train journey. https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/railcards/
If your family is made up of 6-8 couples, hotels or traditional BnBs might work, but if you want to save on costs, as indicated in the title of your post, you should look at AirBnBs. I'm not suggesting all 12-16 people stay in one house together, but perhaps you can find 2 or 3 (or whatever makes sense) in close proximity. IME, this can save on both food and lodging expenses.
Two 9-passenger vans could work, even for 16 people, so long as everyone is willing to pack light (strictly carryon and personal item only). Two vans and a 5-seater "regular" car might be a better choice.
As far as your role in "pulling it all together," I suggest you limit "it all" to identifying your drivers and pointing them toward the rental agencies, establishing dates and locations (starting with "We'll meet in Edinburgh on May 7th" so that anyone who needs to fly into London knows they need to get themselves up there to start the trip), and suggesting accommodation in your identified locations. Once you've done that, you need to let everyone know that your job is done.
Good luck to you.

I love the idea of having Rabbies do a private tour for your group. I have been on a one-day Rabbies tour in Scotland and a multi-day Rabbies tour of England and Wales. The tour guide on the England tour was the best tour guide I have ever had-he was born to be a tour guide.

I would definitely discuss with a travel agent or one of the tour organizers already mentioned. With 12-16 adults you need some help.

This is a bit pedantic but it’s not a van you will need to hire to move people. A van in the UK is not for carrying people. A van is a commercial vehicle.

For that number of people and luggage you are going to need a mini bus. Probably 16 seats for 12 people. I don’t know how big for 16, this is where you need to start when pricing up the cost of a hiring a vehicle over taking the train. As you need to factor in the cost of the hire, parking, fuel etc.

"If we take the train for 12 people from London to Edinburgh, it is about $1,100, "

Woth railcards it will be significantly less rhan that. And you may be surprised how much it costs to rent a minibus, or multiple cars, particularly with a one way rental surcharge and plus petrol costs at 170-180p a litre.

rental mini-buses are usually limited to 9 seats because of driving licence rules in Europe. So you'd need two of them and even then there wouldn't be much luggage space if 16 travelled. Celtic Legend describe their 9 seaters as perfect for four golfers with luggage and clubs.

The drive from London to the Scottish border theoretically takes 6-7 hours without stops, plus more to reach where you actually want to be - and that can't begin until you've collected the vehicles so basically a whole day will be gone on this move.

For train travel foer a groiup this big you'd need to coordinate (about 3 months in advance) with the group travel office of each train company used.

Lodging? Many places won't even have beds for 16. People are already booking for next May so you need to get a plan. As a starter Queen of the Loch at Balloch is big enough, has parking and place to eat and is close to Loch Lomond. https://www.marstonsinns.co.uk/inns/queen-of-the-loch-hotel-balloch/

You're not completely onboard with trains or professional tours for financial reasons, but it sounds like your family wants to save money by putting a lot of stress on you. You need to refuse to be in charge of pulling it all together. As some have suggested, you plan the Loch Lomond part of the trip and tell the others they are on their own for anything else they want to do in Scotland or England. If some want to do those travels together, let them plan their logistics. I don't think you're going to enjoy this trip at all if you accept responsibility for making everyone's wishes come true on this entire trip. By the end of the trip you and some of them may not be speaking to each other. With regard to transportation, it is highly unlikely with a group that size that everyone will pack lightly. If you use trains, they need to know that they are responsible for their own luggage the entire time and there are no porters to help.

We may want to see the Cotswolds, Bath, and Liverpool on the way and
Durham, England, on the return. Yes, I understand that means 1 night
somewhere along the way.

Stopping off to visit these places will need more than a 1 night stop.
Don’t underestimate how long it takes to travel in the UK. Also don’t underestimate the cost of car hire, petrol and parking. $1100 for 12 train tickets from London to Edinburgh, really isn’t that expensive. How cheap did you expect it to be?

Trying to organise a trip for this many people with, almost certainly, different areas of interest and travel styles is going to be misery, likely for everyone.An organised tour, is the way to go.

Another option is rather than trying to plan/organise for the whole group and the whole trip just arrange the key part your group is interested in, I presume Loch Lomond, and leave it to everyone else how they plan to grt there. Then if some want to go to Liverpool and others Durham or some want to drive and others take the train it is for them to sort out. Everyone just comes together at a set place and time to do the important bit together.

12-16 people sounds like a large group to me. For that many people, I would suggest staying in one area , ie only Scotland and flying into Glasgow or Edinburgh. To transport that many people from London to Scotland will be costly and complicated.

Although it seems early to have these discussions, have there been chats about daily start times how to start and end days, eating as a group or not, what if someone or several in the group decide(s) to do something different how will that be managed. These are the kind of things that could make or break this trip for a large group.

This is a lot of planning. It seems as if you are doing most or all of the organizing for transportation etc. I hope others in this group are doing some of it too. I know you are the person posting in the forum and not your family members so it feels as if you are being the travel agent, so they need to help out if they aren't yet.

Good luck.

"If we take the train for 12 people from London to Edinburgh, it is about $1,100, "

I see advance tickets for 41.40 GBP per ticket. That is about 56 USD. I don’t think any other form of transportation is going to be cheaper.

I had a hard time planning a trip for my friend, her daughter, my daughter, and me. Waiting for my friend to text me back if a certain time or museum or restaurant was ok, and feeling like I was an unpaid travel agent. If I do a trip with someone who isn't in my immediate family again, the option with the least friction sounds like doing an organized tour together and we just sign up for the same dates and pay individually.
I've heard nothing but good regarding Rabbies.

I see advance tickets for 41.40 GBP per ticket. That is about 56 USD. I don’t think any other form of transportation is going to be cheaper

Forget looking at individual ticket prices. Contact the train company's group sales department. It will be a better deal.

I worked in the tour business years ago. With your size of group, you need to think of group bookings to save money.

Deb VT has planned trips for 10 and here is one of her trip reports which may help you. But note this is two families who have traveled in US together before. Your group is much more challenging.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/2-lovely-weeks-in-spain

I wil see if I can find hers from Greece and add it.

Here it is.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/greece-2-weeks-12-people-what-a-great-vacation

Forget looking at individual ticket prices. Contact the train company's group sales department. It will be a better deal.

Some more info:
https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/tickets-railcards-and-offers/saving-money/group-travel/

Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but you also need to consider the travel experience and skills of everyone in your group, including yourself. If you are from the US, do you have enough drivers who are comfortable driving on the other side of the road? I have been to England 7 times and Scotland once and also planned the 2 European trips we took with my in-laws(of which I have great memories and experienced zero problems!) and there is no way I would attempt to plan the trip that you are describing.

So many great comments and suggestions. Some more information. I have driven in the UK seven times and just starting to feel comfortable:>》Good points but that and time to drive are accounted for. Unless there is a reasonable priced train pass where we can stop along the way, (please let me know) I have looked at tour groups companies and tgey are expersuve but certainly take stress away- if yiu have a favorite besides Rabbies, I would love to hear it. Idon't see how we make it happen by train and certainly not train alone. Just a round trip to Edinburgh from London the cost for 12 is $1200 or more. Doesn't include the other transport between places. Or the ability to see the places we want to go. Parking is always a concern but one I have worked through before. I hear what you are saying about individual preferences and the challenges of that dynamic. Thank you everyone!

Are there at least two other people in your group who would be willing to drive? If not, you will have to either go with a tour company or hire a driver.

I think I would start there. It really doesn’t matter what is most economical if you logistically can’t do it.

My thought would to hire a driver or go with a tour company for the Loch Lomond part and use public transportation for the rest.

I expect that you considered this but here goes. Remember that the group will travel at the speed of the slowest - you will probably know who sleeps in, who needs the last minute bathroom break (again!), who needs 10 more minutes to finish their meal, or who wanders off.

You can't leave each day until all of you are on board.

You'll know who are the picky eaters, who is likely to not have their passport in order or has ETA troubles.

Do you have a good feeling if it will wind up as 16 all together or 12?

Is one person paying all the costs, hence the looking at the total prices for things versus how much each person will need to contribute?

If you are the ringmaster you will get any praise for things working out well - and all the brickbats and rotten tomatoes when anybody in the group is unhappy. Brave you. I'd try to share the love among several. Anybody else who might give you a hand?

I was just coming to say that I have done this several times and of course, it’s doable. I have NOT done it for 12 in England and Scotland - but have looked at it. So much depends on the group dynamic (which is a factor no one here knows).

What might not be doable is the budget approach with specific itineraries. I feel like something will have to give. You balance doable itinerary with cost. If you plan it, the others are already getting a big price break, so I wouldn’t feel guilty if you don’t choose the absolute cheapest way. It is a ton of work!

If the focus of the trip is Scotland, I would plan to fly into and out of Scotland. (You might be giving convenience and time the nod, over price.) Once there, the easiest for me to manage with transportation would be 1) your own bus that picks you up and drops you off; 2) trains and busses; 3) your own vehicles (unless you have experienced drivers and you plan to do some splitting up). This is probably the complete opposite of what is cheapest.

Frank and Laura have given you some good advice: look at group pricing for both transportation and lodging. Restaurants that can seat the whole group aren’t on every corner and need to be reserved soon as well. Decide ahead of time when it makes sense for everyone to eat together and when you can let that go.

Group expectations are key, so the sooner you can let people know what planning you are including and what time they will be own their own, the better. But if you ask 12 people what they want, you will get 12 different answers. But everything is slower with 12. So if it were me and London is absolutely in the plan, I would probably fly into London and out of Edinburgh or Glasgow; train from London to Edinburgh; forget stops in between; and concentrate on what you are doing in Scotland and how. Two weeks will go by fast and everything doesn’t fit in 2 weeks.

BethFl is right - Deb has done this for family so could give you some help with the process and potential pitfalls, if not specifics for this area.

Briefly looking into a private tour company unfortunately adds more
expense than we might gain from it.

Do not discount the immense value of your time and sanity trying to make arrangements for 16 people. Speaking for myself, the cost of a professional outfit sorting that out would be worth its weight in gold.

Some companies offer consulting services that help you think through all the logistics. They don't make arrangements but that might help you get your head around it. A former RS guide, Sarah Murdoch, offers this service https://adventureswithsarah.net/consultations/ Her company also does private tours which could be another option besides those mentioned already.

If it's true that the 9 passenger rule will result in your having to rent at least 2 vehicles, have you investigated the cost to rent and the amount of gas it will take? I suspect it will be less expensive to take trains, which are readily available to Bath and Durham but not Cotswolds which do usually require a car. Many of us on this forum don't consider the Cotswolds worth the effort.