Scotland and Ireland with 2 kiddos

On 24 July I am unconvinced that all of the schedule is actually achievable. You may have to drop the Highland Folk Museum.

Or maybe stop overnight at Blair Atholl, Newtonmore or Aviemore- then Highland Folk Museum and Cawdor on 25 July ending he day looking round Inverness.

There seems to be repetition of Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle and Eilean Donan Castle between 25 and 26 July- so take the first possible cruise at 1000 on the 26 July from the Clansman Hotel to Urquhart- a landing cruise at Urquhart- back at the Clansman at 12 noon, thence to Skye.

27 July - 'Skye - drive on ferry to get to Isle of Skye' confuses me, as you came over the Bridge to Portree, Skye on 26 July.

On 28 July you are taking the ferry over from Armadale (Skye) to Mallaig (which you need to book ASAP, along with your two night stay on Skye).

28 July is a very long day with the 3 stops, and with the children who have had a fairly heavy schedule up until now. I was never blessed with children (so find it hard to judge) but to me this schedule feels quite demanding for you, so I wonder about the children.

Hi
I'm going to focus on the areas that I am most familiar with, living on the Isle of Skye and driving regularly between here and Inverness and Glasgow.

There is definitely confusion on 25 and 26 July. Not sure what you actually mean on these two days?

On July 26 you appear to want to do a boat trip on loch Ness, visit Urquhart Castle and Eilean Donan castle on the way to Portree? This is a pretty packed day with two small children but is possible. Can I recommend that you don't bother going inside Eilean Donan castle? It's cramped and not particularly authentic.
The drive from Inverness to Portree without any stops would be 3.5 hours so you need to factor in that time. Also be aware that it's very tricky to get dinner without advance reservations, although a good bet in Portree is Gasta, a great pizza place within the Skye Candles Visitor centre.

On July 27 you mention 'drive on ferry to get to Isle of Skye' but you are in fact already on Skye, having driven across the bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh after seeing Eilean Donan castle. So not sure where the ferry comes into play? Unless you want to use the ferry to leave the island on 27th - a good plan - if you can get a car reservation at this short notice. If you can then the ferry will save you some driving time and the kids might enjoy it. Dolphin spotting opportunities....

Anyway, back to your one day on Skye. I think you are trying to do too much. Exploring Portree will take you 30 minutes, but after that Kilt Rock & Mealt falls are in a completely different direction to Dunvegan Castle and the Fairy Pools. Don't underestimate the slow roads and difficult conditions driving on single track roads with passing places. You'll need to ensure you know how to deal with these roads, especially the etiquette of knowing when to reverse into passing places, and of always keeping left. Do not veer across the road into a passing place on the right, but stop opposite the passing place to let oncoming traffic go into it. Well worth watching a You Tube video on this subject.

Anyway, you'll need more like 2 hours to make the entry fee for Dunvegan Castle feel like value for money. Fairy Pools will be packed solid and parking a huge challenge. The walk from the car park will take you at least 45 minutes each way. Whether it's worth the slog and the pools will live up to the hype? Well only you can judge. Personally I avoid them in the tourist season. Way too many people there for me.

'July 28: Drive to Glasgow (6 hrs). En Route: Glencoe Mountains, Inveraray Castle, Town of Luss'. The drive from Skye to Glasgow would take me 6 hours out of season without the hassle of camper vans and rental cars to deal with. It's going to take you more like 7.5 hours and that's without stops. Glencoe can be a drive through as any hikes are not really going to work with 2 small kids. The castle is fun, but takes you quite a way off the direct route, thus adding more time. Luss is a village on the banks of loch Lomond. Pretty but won't delay you for very long.

Hope this is of use!
Jacqui (Skyegirl)

The itinerary is a lot clearer written out like this, but my comments on your initial post still stand.

This is completely unrealistic - you are trying to cram a months sightseeing into two weeks. some days just aren't achievable, even cutting out some sightseeing. It is also an intensive itinerary for a 2 and 6 year old. There is nothing built in to give them time to relax, run round and generally enjoy themselves.

When planning an itinerary, don’t forget to allow time for stops - food and comfort breaks in your driving times. Just finding a place to park, walk to the attraction and back again to the car can easily add 30 minutes to a stop.

July 24th. Dunkeld Cathedral could be done in 30 minutes. Blair castle - to go round the castle and gardens - you need to allow 2-3 hours. Highlands Folk Museum - again 2-3 hours. They also close and lock the car park at 5pm so you can’t even visit after its closed. At least one thing has to be cut out here.

July 25 & 26 are repeats. So if the Highland folk Museum is a priority then follow isn31c’s suggestion. HOWEVER which ever day you do this, it is still unachievable. You are looking at a five hour plus drive PLUS stops. Scrap Cawdor castle . It is the ‘wrong way’ doesn’t open until 10am. The car park is a good 10-15 minutes walk to the castle which isn’t one of the better ones to visit. (Don’t be hoodwinked as this has nothing to do with the Cawdor castle of Macbeth and Shakespeare - even their website is at pains to point this out.) Doing Cawdor will take up a full morning. Do the first Loch Ness cruise possible - also don’t be pulled into the Loch Ness myth - that is all it is a myth. Be warned Urquhart castle is always busy. Eilean Donan is one of the iconic images of Scotland on all the biscuits and shortbread. The outside is stunning. The inside disappointing as the castle was completely rebuilt from a ruin about 100 years ago. This is just a short stop on the way to Portree.

Skyegirl has already said a lot about Skye and she’s the expert.... She’s spot on about July 28th too - I wouldn’t attempt that with two small children, however good they may be sitting long hours in a car.

July 31st - won’t work - you are looking at around 3-3.5 hours drive from Galway to Killarny. Ring of Kerry is normally regarded as a full days drive, so forget that. Muckross House is boring for kids. They would probably prefer Muckross Traditional Farms. This would take 1-3 hours, especially if you talk to the people in the houses... Have you checked what days and times Brendan Farris is giving demonstrations? If they work, then make that your main focus of teh day and forget the rest. If they don't work, then do Muckross Traditional Farms and forget the rest.

Aug 1st The drive alone is going to take 5-6 hours so something has to give here. Kilkenny castle closes at 5.30 and you need to allow at least an hour to see the castle. Scrap one of them....

I hope this isn’t planned for this July... If so, have you got accommodation booked? If not that could cause problems, particularly on Skye which will have been booked up for months in advance. If you are thinking of 2025, then you have chance to rethink the whole trip. You would be much better concentrating on either Scotland or Ireland but not both.

Also remember you will need car seats for both kids. Also hire direct from a reputable company not via a third party. There are some dubious companies that quote very low rental fees but then clobber you with all sorts of excesses and you end up spending more.