London & Edinburgh - How to split our time?

I understand the challenge with limited PTO. This is like trying to pick your favorite child. Some things to consider: are you two more city people or countryside people? If city is your favorite, then I'd urge you to consider doing just London. There is so much to see, and just being there to savor it is wonderful. If you are set on doing both, I'd still do more time in London vs Edinburgh. Also, the train will take you longer, but it's fun to see the countryside. Have fun! And as Rick says, "assume you will return."

Unless you've already had multiple visits to London, I'd opt for the extra time there.

Having lived in both places, I definitely recommend more time in London, especially if you haven't been before. The train ride is lovely- you will have a wonderful time!

...trying to decide if we should stay in London Fri - Sat vs Fri - Sun...

Friday you will probably be feeling the effects of jet lag so Fri - Sat will only give you one good day in London. Personally, I'd spend the entire time in London and save Scotland for a later trip. But, if that is not feasable, consider three full days in London and the rest in Scotland. Just food for thought.

You didn’t specify what time you are arriving LHR. If it’s a very early arrival then you obviously will have more time to spend that day. One thing to consider is maximizing your time by possibly buying tickets on the Heathrow Express. This can cut off some travel time into London, but it is best if your hotel is near Paddington Station for optimal time savings. If you buy them early, they are very reasonable and you are in the city no stops and very quickly. Also, (and this was something that I wish I had done in October we arrived really early 6:30 am) consider booking your hotel an extra night before arrival so that you can get into your hotel room before 3, freshen up, relax a bit and then head out for a very full day. For me, being able to do so really made a difference with jet lag. If you spend that first day walking outside and seeing many of the iconic sites, you’ll enjoy it.

I am in your same position with needing to take shorter trips, so I fully understand. More time in London would be my suggestion, too. There is so much to enjoy!

There is vastly more to see in London than in Edinburgh; obviously, visiting rural Scotland adds a lot of complexity to the calculation. I would consider that it's quicker and usually cheaper to return to London in the future. Since you are (apparently) definitely going to Edinburgh, I'd want to see enough there that I wouldn't feel impelled to return there on my very next trip to Europe.

How you (the collective you) are likely to react to the sleep-deprivation and jetlag often following an overnight flight is another consideration.

I understand your wanting to taste a little of both. Scotland has a special charm, and for me, is ancestral (in addition to England).
I'm presuming this is the first trip to the UK. It sounds as if Scotland is planned as more of a focus for the trip, given you plan t to do a tour. Is the highlands tour already booked?

we are planning to fly out on a Thursday...

Are your flights already booked? Is it possible to rebook to fly into/out of Edinburgh and to save London for another trip? Plenty to see in Scotland. If not, I would stay in London until Sunday night or early Monday to pack in close to 3 days in London, but still allow for a couple of days in Edinburgh. I think it's more likely to find cheaper flights to London another time when you can solely do London.

Where are you flying out of? Check out suggestions for avoiding jet lag.

Even though the conventional wisdom here is to focus on one area, this is your dream trip---enjoy a taste of both areas if that is your desire. You will be eager to return to both!

Enjoy your trip!

LOL. acraven and I were thinking along the same lines---I'm just slow typing and posting!

If you stay in London for three days then you could take the Caledonian Sleeper train to Edinburgh on the Sunday night, thus "gaining" a good half day in Edinburgh on the Monday.

Have you been on the sleeper Stuart? I saw a couple of Youtubers taking it and it didn't look all that comfy to me. The cabins looked nice but it seemed quite noisy for sleeping. I saw that they do some shunting operations at Carstairs at the crack of dawn which looked like it might wake you up.

I usually take the overnight flight that has me arriving at Heathrow around 7 am--with a smidgen of sleep, plenty of coffee and a good plan that includes staying upright and outdoors, I make good use of that first day--I generally don't start to fade until 4 pm. Good night's sleep and the next day has the potential to start early and get a lot accomplished. That said, I love :London and will never have enough time there...but Edinburgh is plenty spectacular, and easy to explore on foot. If you are pressed for time I'd suggest allowing 2 full days in Edinburgh, the rest in London.

Thanks so much for the replies! We are landing at 6:30 am on that Friday... so like y'all said, with enough coffee and moving around, here's to hoping we'll be awake enough to see a lot on that first day! We decided to do the Fri-Sun morning in London and then Sun afternoon/evening through Wednesday morning in Edinburgh, so we're excited! Thank you for all the input.

Gerry,

I believe in giving people the choices. What I think about the sleeper is irrelevant, although I am on record as far preferring the Cornish sleeper.
And from Scotland I far prefer the overnight bus but that is just me.
The Mark 3's to Cornwall (especially as rebuilt) are a far superior product to me than the Mark 5's. They glide their way down the tracks.
When the Scottish sleepers had the old stock I was a season ticket holder on them, sometimes several times a week. Even if I was on an expense account I can't imagine doing that now. Now I can only afford seating class. Cabins are as far out of my price point as on Amtrak.
Also for the record the Man in Seat 61, usually seen as the guru of things rail on this forum loves the Cal Sleeper. Read him last week gushing about it.
There are always two sides to a coin and plenty of other You Tubers also love the Cal Sleeper.
The train divides at Carstairs, rather than being shunted. A big difference. Done well, like on the Cornish sleeper at Reading, that is barely noticeable.
And Carstairs is only about 35 minutes out of both Glasgow and Edinburgh anyway.
The untimetabled stop at Preston can be the worse one if Platform staff, catering crew shoreside or freight traincrew are chattering away, and/or the train is running early.