First-time visit to Scotland in mid-July

Check out the Visit Scotland on-line site for some good visual ideas. Edinburgh Castle is a Military Museum but is still fun enough for kids. Check Historic Scotland for Castles. Are you Clan? You can follow them to different locations. We went to Our Clan Headquarters and a couple of ancient clan castles. Or you can follow Mary Queen of Scots. We drove with no problem. There are plenty of day trips close to Edinburgh such as Stirling, Lithlingow, and Glasgow that are reachable by public transportation. If you go up by Loch Lomand you will find a scenic area. Too many choices for four days.

There is plenty in the Central Belt that might appeal. Both the Castle and Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh might be of interest. Given the ages of the children the Dynamic Earth near the Parliament might be of interest.

I would not hire a car if your base is in Edinburgh. You can get out to the Borders, out to Fife or Glasgow easily by train or bus. Get the kids' maths compasses, a map of Scotland and draw 80 km from the capital. That is quite good travel wise.

Like penguins? The Discovery in Dundee.
Like penguins? Deep Sealife Centre in Queensferry
Like penguins? Edinburgh Zoo.

They also have pandas.

Where I think you should avoid is trying to get the Highlands. You can always come back.

Think about taking the train to Dunkeld in Perthshire for the day. You and do some walking in hills, explore the cathedral, burn some energy in countryside. No Loch's but the River Tay is beautiful.

You can also take the train to St. Andrews--last few miles by bus or taxi. It's not just a golf course. There a wonderful castle with a mine that you can go down into. :)

So, while you may be museumed out, by then, but if you have a rainy day, you might want to go to Dynamic Earth. It will be full of Scottish children and tells the history from a Scottish perspective. It's interactive and like many of the science museums in the US. I really like the section on glaciation.

The Royal Yacht Britannia might be fun too. I enjoyed it and many other have as well.

There is a nice walk by Leith Water through parts of the city and it can take you to the Modern Museum of the National Gallery. My experience with nieces and nephews has been that they like the weirdness.

Pam

Thanks for the tips everyone! I will check them out.

Should we avoid Loch Ness? Is it overrated? A bit too far?

Any other must-see castles/ruins/etc. that are an easy day trip from Edinburgh, aside from the things mentioned so far?

I really appreciate the advice. I am excited to get at least a taste of Scotland, even if we can't make it to the Highlands-- another time, perhaps.

Stirling Castle is great, and very enjoyable for kids too. It's a short train ride from Edinburgh (no need to pre-book, just buy a ticket on the day) then a brisk walk uphill through town to get to the castle.

Loch Ness is probably too far for a day trip, three hours plus each way.

Loch Ness is pretty quiet. Too far for a Day Trip. Our excitement was tossing a pebble in the water to make circles and pretend we just missed Nessie. There are a bunch of closer Lochs with Castles etc. Do Google Earth to check this out and then zoom in for info on locations.

Any in the family like planes? The Museum of Flight in East Fortune is reachable by bus, http://www.nms.ac.uk/national-museum-of-flight/

I keep a Moleskine cahier notebook with blank pages for my travel journal. I write in it, draw in it, also glue stick paper items into it. It could be a good habit to start with your little ones.

Happy travels!

Yes, Loch Ness is very over rated. We took a picture by Nessie and headed for Fort William.
As stated above there is a lot of beautiful country around St. Andrews (we took the bus from Edinburgh) Just watch the bus schedule for the return trip. They have an express bus from St. Andrews to Edinburgh if you miss that you get to go on a real adventure! Been there.

I think we will explore St. Andrews, as it is eminently accessible from Edinburgh and we can even go by bus if we don't rent a car.

I also like the idea of the travel journal in a moleskine! I'm a scrapbooker, which is very photo intensive and involves lots of work-- usually months after the actual event/trip. I love the more relaxed idea of keeping a travel journal as you go.