Hello! I am in the VERY early stages of planning a trip for my family to the UK. It will be the first time anyone in my family has been to the UK. My plan right now is to spend time in England and Scotland and to spend about a week in each area. We would like to spend time in London and visit surrounding areas such as Oxford and Canterbury, and we would also like to visit Edinburgh and the Isle of Skye. What should the order of our trip be? Should we start in London or Edinburgh? Should we start in London, go to Scotland, and end in London? Any and all recommendations are appreciated. Thanks!
Posted by
Duluth🌲
9765 posts
The easiest way would be to start in London (or Edinburgh) and end Edinburgh (or London). In other words, book a multi-city trip so you would fly into one city and out of another. I did that earlier this year when I flew into London for 10 days, then took the Eurostar to Paris for 3 days, and flew home from Paris. For me, it's usually no more expensive than a round trip ticket; especially considering the cost of transportation to get back to your original city.
In terms of the order, many people like to start in London as you usually have more energy at the beginning of the trip, and London is a very vibrant city with a lot to see and do. Then you can end up in Edinburgh and Skye, which is a bix more relaxing. But really, it doesn't make that much difference. If it were me, I'd probably look at the flights and see which order works best in terms of price and also convenience.
Posted by
Chicagoland
801 posts
I agree with Mardee's advice.
Hopefully you are planning for 2026??
All the answers are "it depends". When are you planning to travel? Are you planning to rent a car or use public transportation. How many children and their ages? Are there convenient flights from your home airport to/from Scotland?
You could easily see Oxford and Canterbury as day trips from your week in London, either on your own or wyan organized group tour. You could spend weeks in London and not see everything.
Train up to Glasgow or Edinburgh and pick up a rental car. An overnight stop on the way to Skye. 3 nights on Skye, another overnight on the way to Edinburgh, then 2 nights in Edinburgh. Your week is filled and you'll be driving through some spectacular scenery.
When you know your dates, book your Skye lodging well in advance.
Posted by
Seattle
376 posts
And remember to factor into your planning applying for a UK ETA for each member of your family.
Posted by
OP
Louisiana
2 posts
Thank you so much for the replies! I'm planning for May 2027, so I have a while to figure things out and scope out airfare. It sounds like either London or Edinburgh will be good to start/end in. Thanks again for the input!