trip to scotland during last week of may with a 16month old toddler

16 months is pretty young for a trip to Europe, in my opinion. Can you leave the toddler with a grandparents while you go? Also how long are you planning on traveling? What is your budget and what are your interests? That will help us make pertinent recommendations.

Nonsense! Rick was taking his kids to Europe when they were small. I remember seeing shows with Jackie Steves in one of those thingies on her mothers back. Not a backpack..what are they called. Anyroad, nonsense. What to see? Do you know where you want to go? Edinburgh of course. The castle, The Royal Mile, tea at Clarinda's. Holyrood House. The Falkirk Wheel and Sterling Castle. There's so much. Go to the Library and get a book and see what strikes your fancy. How long will you have there?

Are you more interested in scenery or the cities? If you enjoy cities, then you can spend an entire trip of Edinburgh, Glascow, and the area around. If you like scenery more, head for the Highlands. Inverness is the only city in the area, but I wouldn't spend much time there. Also, if you opt for the scenery, you'll need a car
As far as your little one take him/her. We have taken our children everywhere with us. We went on a trip to Boston when our youngest son was 4 months old. We all had a wonderful time. We were on a flight a couple years ago with a man who was going to visit his parents in London. He had his 3 children all under age 5 with him. They made it fine. His wife was coming later smart woman. :)

Thank you all!! We decided to move the trip to september. This will give us time to plan better. I am sure I will have more questions later......

My son had finished his 12th round trip by the age of two when we had to start paying for his own seat. That includes two separate trips to Europe, once with just mom to England and Wales and once with both parents to England and Scotland. Totally doable, but a little front end planning makes it go MUCH more smoothly. What we found to be key...Starbucks sells a kids whole milk at all their stores. It's way cheaper at the grocery store, but in a pinch, it's a lifesaver! Oh, and we managed the nine day trip in two carryon backpacks, even with the toddler.

I'm with the others, take your child with you. Our oldest was 22 months old on his first trip overseas. Travel is different with one that age, but can be a blast nonetheless. There's a lot of things to keep in mind, tho. You'll have to schedule in downtime and possibly naptime into the schedule. Playgrounds are a must. I haven't been to Scotland, so I can't advise you on what exactly to do or see there. I'd also advise staying in 1-2 places, as opposed to moving around every couple of days. On our first trip with our son, we visited 2 towns, one staying with family, the other staying in a room that was slightly bigger than a double and had a kitchenette. Having a fridge was great for keeping snacks around. The town had a small playground and a carousel in the middle, so we visited that every day. Seeing sights that he could run around in worked well. Having to take a tour was out of the question. And big, echoey churches don't mix well with little ones, either. If you're traveling as a pair of parents with your child, you can always trade off, if there's something one of you really wants to see that won't work well for your child.

Don't forget that you and your toddler will be welcome in Scottish pubs during daytime hours. I saw many a stroller in the pubs and even the odd dog! They have a much more casual attitude about this than in North America. Also, your toddler won't have to put up with all of that cigarette smoke nowadays.

When you do go, remember that there is a zoo in Edinburgh. Also, there are steam rail roads that are fun for children of all ages. In Birnam in Perthshire there a wee Beatrix Potter garden. Also, there are nice walks in the area that wouldn't be too long. in addition, you may want to just plan some visits to the beach. I remember my nieces and nephews doing a lot of digging at that age. ; ) Pam