Short summer trip to Scotland with Teens: 4.5 Days

It's a bit of a drive (up in the Highlands past Fort William) but If your kids are/were Harry Potter fans they might enjoy a ride on the Hogwarts Train.

Do you intend to hire a car after you're done touring Edinburgh? That will make a huge difference in where you can go. If you have a car, be sure to stop at the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel on your way out of town. The two are easily done in half a day.
If you're able to fly direct to/from Edinburgh, I would recommend skipping London this time around and spending all your time in Scotland. If not, look at using the sleeper train to maximize your days.

Yes we’ll get a car.

Consider Oban, gateway to the inner Hebrides, on the west coast.

A beautiful drive from Edinburgh with possible stops for ruins, hikes, waterfalls and views. Stay in town or, if both kids are over 13, consider staying outside of town in a real castle, Barcaldine Castle. Drive north to Castle Stalker and hiking in Glen Coe valley or south to the neolithic sights of Kilmartin. There's also the Abbey on Iona. Kayaking, wildlife tours, ruined castles, hairy coos, great seafood.

When looking for flights, consider a multi city/open jaw itinerary for the best fares. Fly from home to London and return from Glasgow/Edinburgh to home on one ticket.

Have you thought about St Andrews with its ruined castle and cathedral? (Catherine and William met at St Andrew's university...)

Shawna, there has been a seasonal non-stop flight to Edinburgh out of Dulles with United. It runs late spring through early fall. I am kind of thinking the same about spending your week in Scotland. You could see so much of that beautiful country, especially given you will drive. But, I adore London as well, so I get why you want to see it. If you wanted to stick with Scotland, you could drive down into Northumberland, England and see Bamburgh Castle, Alnwick Castle and the stunning coastline. I think your teens would enjoy that.

But if you really want to include London, you could start your trip flying into LHR with United. They have a flight that arrives before 7 am and with no delays and the Heathrow Express you could be in the city before
9 am then have much of Friday to explore the city after dropping your bags off at your hotel. You might even want to pay for the night before or for an early check in order to get quick showers, freshen up and change before heading out. That would give you most of Friday, all Saturday and Sunday. You could look into taking the sleeper train Sunday night to Edinburgh to gain more hours in London on Sunday.

Just a few initial thoughts.

Thank you all for the suggestions! We're switching to spring break timing instead so I'm goign to start a new question re: that.

Hi, Shawna,

Three days outwith Edinburgh is not a lot of time, but to add to your suggestions, and the others who have replied to this post, you could do an east coast tour, which would leave you within striking distance of Edinburgh for your your return journey to South Britain.

Northbound, you could stop in St Andrews for the castle, cathedral, university, and East Beach. Next, Dundee, for a visit to the R.R.S. Discovery.

Continuing up the east coast, you could visit the RSPB preserve at Fowlsheugh, with a chance to see puffins, followed a few short miles up the road to Dunnottar Castle. The cliffs at Fowlsheugh are amazing, as are the thousands of seabirds.

Next, you could skirt Aberdeen and visit the Bullers of Buchan, Slains Castle for the Bram Stoker connection, and the beach at Newburgh for the seal colony. If you decide to visit Aberdeen, there is a lot to see, but not a whole lot that would be of interest to teenagers. However, if your daughter hasn't chosen a university yet, Aberdeen Uni would be a good one to check out!

On your way back from Newburgh, you could take the Aberdeen bypass to the A91, to visit Royal Deeside. It's a beautiful drive. At Braemar, the A91 turns south through Glenshee, and at Bridge of Cally, you'd turn on to the A924, which will take you through Strath Ardle, and dump you out right at Pitlochry.

You would see some gorgeous scenery along the way, and if you're travelling during the spring, lots of wildlife. Depending on where you live in Virginia, the scenery will be a lot different!

You can pack a lot into three days, but you probably wouldn't have enough time to visit the Highlands proper, or the islands, without having long days of driving.

Very best wishes for your "sampling" holiday, and best of luck to your daughter in her senior year!

Mike (Auchterless)