Help! First Scotland Trip with Parents in early 70s

How about checking out a Rabbie’s tour and discussing with your travel mates? Even just look at the Itinerary for ideas. The train ride from Edinburgh to Oban is lovely. Visit Oban and take a day trip out on a boat. Note; I have done day trips with Rabbie’s and really enjoyed them.

Hmm .. so you’ve got two seniors who want to visit Scotland but won’t help with any planning, two kids (of what age?) to be entertained, and yourselves, on a very short trip over winter holidays. That is a challenge. You’d need a big car for six people and their luggage, days will be short, and the weather grim (think ice, snow). Keep it simple and follow Rick’s advice to focus on cities when visiting Europe in winter. Just visit Edinburgh, where there is plenty of “heritage”, and all weather activities for all (but keep in mind holiday closures). Don’t rent a car. Take a day trip or two (such as Glasgow or Stirling) by train.

5-6 days in the winter?? Seriously?? With someone who says he has always wanted to travel to Scotland but won’t help with the planning?? The days are very short and you don’t have enough time to travel in the Highlands. Are you sure you want to do this? If you must then go to Edinburgh. Day trip by train to Glasgow. No rental car.

Where in Scotland are your gggrandparents from?

That could be a focal point of the trip to visit that heritage. Then work out from that focal point what there is to interest three generations. I know you say you want to focus on your parents but I think you equally want to keep the other end of the age range happy and engaged.

In fact that could be a project for the children.

Let's say for the sake of argument that the family history is in Dundee (could be anywhere, just choosing a random place). Do those parts of Dundee your family came from still exist? What is there to visit there now? What did your folks do in Dundee?
As it happens Dundee (if they were from there) would give very rich rewards, but that is incidental.
I think that would be a very good way for the children to learn, maybe for them to teach their grandparents. Maybe even for them to show their school?

In a sense I hope the answer is not that they were from Skye or the Outer Hebrides as that would be pretty challenging in the winter.

My suggestion would be to base yourself in Edinburgh, and maybe take a Rabbies tour to the Highlands or somewhere else. They have a variety of tours lasting from 1 day to multi-day trips you can take that originate in Edinburgh, and are highly recommended on this forum. It would be easier than trying to plan something yourself.

One thing to keep in mind is that the days are very short in the winter, which will definitely cut into your sightseeing time.

Where in Scotland are your gggrandparents from?

I ditto what isn31c said. With just 5-6 days, this would be the best and most meaningful way to approach it. Do a little genealogy research to find out where your father's ancestors came from. With luck the neighborhood or house is still standing. What did his family do for a living, etc. A second item would be to see where in Scotland they sailed out of. If Scotland has an outdoor museum covering the time, that might also be advantageous.

I've done such a trip in Sweden, but longer. Had I just visited without origins in mind, it would have meant so much less...still meaning full, but less so. You could start with Ancestry.com using commonsense, but do try to be somewhat logical about it. There are many, many trees that are just plain wrong. People just cut and paste. You need to find and read the resources yourself.

I also strongly recommend Rabbie's- in addition to joining a pre-organised tour they can do personal tours just for your group and I've had great experiences.

In terms of the weather, as others say you need to be prepared for it to be very dark and grim- at xmas the sun sets about 3.40pm and it starts getting dark well before that. Tho for some people that might add to the atmosphere!

Do you live in an area that gets real winter cold?
Are you used to that?
Scotland does not seem that cold if you just look at numbers; but it can be very windy, very damp and getting dark by 3:30-4 pm or so.
You will all need good winter waterproof clothing and footwear.
I lived there for years….it can be a surprise if you don’t prepare.
Seconding all the others who say stick to cities: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling.
The weather and roads are not conducive to seeing the Highlands in winter.
You then won’t need a car at all.
Trains and buses.

I’m sorry that you have been landed with all the planning.

Can you all get together and hash out some ideas of what people are interested in…including the children, but especially your parents.
Best of luck.

I don't think any of you would enjoy Skye at that time of year. We tend to try to escape the worst of the winter, by heading to places like Colorado or Montana for skiing. In Skye it's just really cold, damp, windy and dark from December to February. Very little is open in terms of accommodation and dining and I honestly don't know what you would do. I think it'd just be miserable.

I agree with other posters who suggest trying to find out where the ancestors came from and maybe building the trip around that location.

Edinburgh is also a good bet as it's a vibrant city with plenty to do for everyone, and lots of opportunities to get inside if the weather is dreadful. A Rabbies tour from there would be a good idea as suggested by Mardee.

You won't find a car that will fit 6 of you plus luggage in comfort.