London/York/Edinburgh/Highlands Help with# of days in each spot pls!

I can help a little bit. Firstly, and I realize this is too late, but it would have been better to purchase open-jaw (or multi-city) tickets, such as fly into London and fly home from Edinburgh. This way you eliminate the need to backtrack and you could have had an extra day for sightseeing. So just a good hint for next time you are planning a trip.

In Edinburgh I can recommend the Ibis St. Andrews Square. Our room for two was about $300 per night. I don't know if they have family rooms but it's worth checking out. The Ibis is a lovely hotel in New Town and within walking distance of so many things. And the rate includes a nice breakfast buffet.

For the Highlands, I can recommend the Glencoe area which is absolutely gorgeous. We loved the Isle of Skye. And we were there in June 2023 and we didn't think the crowds were that bad. The scenery is unique and spectacular.

I haven't been to London in decades so I can't really comment about neighborhoods.

I would like to add that this seems like a rushed trip, however. You have 14 nights and you want to see 4 cities/areas. You will have jet lag on the day you arrive in London. And you obviously can't count June 15 as a sightseeing day because that is the day you are flying home. And you have to return to London on June 14. By my count, you really have 13 good sightseeing days. Maybe the overnight stop in York isn't worth it for one night? I am sure more experienced travelers in the UK can give better advice. But that's my first impression about your itinerary. Or maybe exclude the Highlands, (which are beautiful so I understand wanting to go there) and stay closer to Edinburgh? I am curious to see what others suggest.

One more point - it is better to plan your trips by counting nights, not days. For example, if you want to spend 4 full days in London, then you need 5 nights in London. And so on.

Note that Saturday, June 14 is the King’s official birthday celebration in London with the “ Trooping the Colour” parade. Reserve any lodging immediately in London before your return flight home on June 15.

At first glance is there any chance you can change your flight going into Edinburgh and home from London or the other way around? It is worth a call to the airline even if it costs more figure out the cost for the train and the time involved to return to London. That is the most efficient way to travel. if that is not possible use the train to save time. I would just spend a day in York rather than having to change hotels again. If the children have different interests perhaps split up with one parent for each and doing the different activites. Please.come.back with.any questions you have and also get Ricks book Europe thru the back door and books specific to each location. You will learn so many valuable lessons such as how to change money, using the tube etc. Also you will need the new ESTAS (boy did I spell that wrong) to travel in the UK. Include the children with planning as well. Have a wonderful experience they will never forget.

The King's official birthday is on 21 June (the 3rd Saturday) not 14 June.

It was the second Saturday for the late Queen.

@Kmkwoo- originally looked at multi city..now wishing I had done this. Ibis Hotel- I will look that up now, thanks for the tip! The Highlands those dates are a must, my Mom is visiting there those dates and we want to meet up with her :) Thank you!

@Gail- visiting family who will also be in Edinburgh those dates so can't make changes but excellent point about picking up the book!

First of all, think of nights rather than days when planning your trip. For example 4 nights in Edinburgh is really only 3 days (and maybe a little extra). Same with London. So overall, you have 14 nights in the UK, which, as kmkwoo pointed out, is really only 13 days.

I would consider omitting York from your trip, and just sticking with London, Edinburgh and the Highlands. I would go with 5 nights in London (6/1 to 6/6), 4 nights in Edinburgh (6/6 to 6/10) and 4 nights in the Highlands (6/10 to 6/13), then your final night (6/14) can be spent close to where you are flying home from.

London definitely deserves 5 nights and your sons will absolutely love it! It's a magnificent city and there is so much to see and do there. And I think they would definitely enjoy Edinburgh as well. There is a lot of history, and it's a very charming city. And of course, the Highlands goes without saying. In other words, you will have plenty to see and do without York in the middle. I really would seriously consider leaving it out.

is York a good place for us to explore outside of London? 1 of my sons is into history, the other one is your typical boy who will get bored in a museum but likes the freedom to walk around and check things out.

Yes, but you should skip it if you only have one day. It's one of our favorite cities and has a train museum, a recreated Victorian street in another museum that you walk thru, a Viking museum, miles of town walls that you can walk, a wonderful Cathedral, and more. If you like the PBS show "All Creatures Great and Small" then you can take a bus to Thirsk and visit the place he actually practiced which is now a museum, and there are companies that offer tours of the Moors and other small towns near York.

My point is you can't visit much of this in the time you'll have by the time you get there from London. Add the day to one of your other destinations, maybe visit York on some future trip.

In London the company London Walks has many great guided tours you might want to look into.

As for trains, use the official site https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ to research. It takes about 4.5 hours by train from Edinburgh to London which when all is said and done is competitive with flying back to London since you need to get to/from the airports and arrive at the airport at least an hour (more is better) before your flight. Depending on how you booked your flights you may be able to change and fly back from Edinburgh which would effectively add another sightseeing day to your trip.

For a London hotel you might look at aparthotels, which would also provide housekeeping facilities:

https://search.ricksteves.com/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=London+aparthotel&button=

In terms of London hotels you might want to consider Premier Inns. They are a British chain that can be found in just about any London neighborhood. The hotels are consistently good, with very comfortable beds, are clean and very reasonably priced. The earlier you book, the lower the price. I stayed at the Premier Inn County Hall south of the Thames for 5 nights in late March and found it very nice, but there are plenty of others all over London. I think I paid around $175 per night for a Premier Plus room, which includes a mini fridge.

The best thing is that they have family rooms, where 2 adults and 2 kids (under 16) can stay. Or if you want to spread out, for that price you could possibly get 2 rooms with a connecting door. One nice feature is that 2 kids under age 16 eat breakfast for free with a paying adult.

In terms of location, it would help to know which sights you plan on seeing and which airport you are flying into. Will you be doing any day trips; for example, to Hampton Court Palace (which I highly recommend)? I think both your sons would love it.

@isn31c, The Trooping the Colour, which marks the King’s official birthday, will be Saturday, June 14, 2025.

Perhaps you can share where you’re getting June 21 as his official birthday. He actually was born on November. 14, 1948.

I think Kenko is correct. According to Visitbritain, the Trooping of the Colors will be held on June 14, 2025. So Kimmmie, you should follow Kenko's advice and book that last night quickly. Depending on when your flight leaves, you might consider getting an airport hotel, which can be cheaper than staying in London. https://www.visitbritain.org/news-and-media/destination-news-and-inspiration/looking-ahead-2025-royal-events

Edit to add, I am seeing some conflicting information about when it is. Some sites are saying it is June 21. So maybe Stuart is right. It's weird about the conflicting information.

More editing: Wikipedia is saying it's the 3rd Saturday in June, so the 21st in 2025. It looks like the majority are saying the 21st, so not sure wny visitbritain has it wrong, but it does sound like his previous 2 birthdays were celebrated on the 3rd Saturday of June.

Kimmie, you have now joined “the inexperienced traveler who wants to do it all club”. I am a verified member and immediately recognize my people. Lol. I agree with the responses about maybe trying to narrow down what you can do. Mardee’s suggestion about omitting York if you want to include Edinburgh and the Highlands is a first thought for me, too. One suggestion I was given when I was hoping to try to see places so spread out was to keep it to a smaller geographical area. I think you may regret spending so much time on the train getting to/from London there. 4 hours is a good chunk of two days, and as new travelers, and with kids, count on everything taking longer to do. There can also be train delays, etc. I’m sure you could do it, but…

Here’s an outside the box plan that shakes up your original one. I thought I would throw it out there. Since you are flying in/out of London, why not keep your trip to London for 5-6 nights/ 4-5 days (I think 5 for a first time family in June, but that’s me), then venture out into the areas nearby the city for the other 7 days. Rent your car from the airport and head down to Bath, Oxford, the South Downs Way coast, (your kids would love that area) really anywhere within a couple hours drive and split it into two interesting locations- 3 days in one, 4 in the other. Soak in that area of England. There’s so much history there as well as striking beauty. Then return the car to the airport and spend that 12th night before heading home. Save the North for a return trip, maybe?

Just adding another idea, not trying to confuse or complicate! If you’re set on the original plan, go for it. You’ll come back knowing what worked and what didn’t, and that’s all part of the fun and learning.

@Kenko,

The sovereign's official birthdays and real birthdays have been different since the early twentieth century (apparently since 1908) - according to the BBC (which may or may not be right) since Edward VII.

Edward VII, who was King from 1901 to 1910 was born in November, which is not known in the UK for its good weather. But he wanted it to be possible to have a big public celebration outdoors - and November is quite cold and rainy. So, given that his actual birthday wouldn't be a good time of year for a big birthday parade, he decided to combine it with an annual military parade in the summer, when the weather would hopefully be nicer.

There are a number of sources on line which give the date as the third Saturday in June- this is just one- https://calendar-yearly.com/festivities/gb/kings-official-birthday.
This is another- https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/kings-birthday
I don't know why it was moved by one week for the new sovereign, or why Trooping The Colour has been left on it's old date- leading to a disconnect. Maybe just for the sake of tradition.
Whatever neither date (second or third Saturday) is a public holiday. In a city the size of London it is questionable whether it brings that many extra tourists in. It's just another of many events in the year.

EDIT- Maybe Trooping the Colour is a week 'early' this year to avoid a clash with Royal Ascot on the 3rd weekend in June. So just a calendar thing.

It is Trooping the Colour (singular) not Colours (Plural)

Mustlovedogs, I think that Kimmie and her family are meeting her mom in the Highlands; hence the trip north to Edinburgh and western Scotland. She mentioned it in a reply so you probably missed it. :-)

Oops! Yep, I did. Sorry about that kimmie! Thanks for keeping me straight mardee :) maybe I need to add a bit of something to my New Year’s Eve nightcap! Lol

Must love dogs- yes, I am a proud member of that club..lol...your post made me laugh! I did really want to visit Oxford..and the Cotswolds..lol..I want to do it all!! I think with everyone telling me to strike York I will. Thank you all for the lodging suggestions, I will take a peek at them tonight. Now to look up Trooping the Colour. I tell you I miss the days of full service travel agents!

We'll be going to York this year in summer. Eye Witness Travel Guide has a full day walk, all planed out. Page 390-391, 2004 edition, Or 404-405, 2006 edition. Don't know if Rick has a walking guide. York, looks very interesting as a two day stay.

BA have a mid afternoon flight from Inverness to Heathrow on Friday 13 June, and a 9pm flight on Saturday 14 June. (also morning flights on both days).

The 9pm Saturday would buy you a full extra day in the Highlands. Including checked baggage the Friday afternoon flight is only £69 each currently and the Saturday evening flight £56- which is only slightly more than the Easyjet flights from Inverness to London Luton. So BA is a no brainer for you rather than Easyjet.

On both nights there are Premier Inns at or near Heathrow for around £70 to £80 per room. Those seem to be family rooms but the extra beds for the boys are sofa style beds- may or may not be adequate for you if the boys prefer 'real' beds. But would you take two adjacent rooms for that one night?

***@ Isn31c ---Oh, I love this idea...we will be renting a car in EDI for the highlands trip. I would need to find out if I could return the car in Inverness, I think that would be the only kink in this awesome plan. Thank you for the suggestion!***

BA have a mid afternoon flight from Inverness to Heathrow on Friday 13 June, and a 9pm flight on Saturday 14 June. (also morning flights on both days).

The 9pm Saturday would buy you a full extra day in the Highlands. Including checked baggage the Friday afternoon flight is only £69 each currently and the Saturday evening flight £56- which is only slightly more than the Easyjet flights from Inverness to London Luton. So BA is a no brainer for you rather than Easyjet.

On both nights there are Premier Inns at or near Heathrow for around £70 to £80 per room. Those seem to be family rooms but the extra beds for the boys are sofa style beds- may or may not be adequate for you if the boys prefer 'real' beds. But would you take two adjacent rooms for that one night? * Absolutely*