2 weeks Scotland/England/Paris w/kids
 

Ideas for an itinerary? Traveling with 4 boys (aged 9-17) in June. Flying into Edinburgh, flying out of Paris 2 weeks later. We want to see England as well as Scotland and Paris, and would love to see something in Ireland (but there's likely not time). We do NOT need playgrounds or kid museums or kid-friendly hotels/food (although family-friendly hotels sometimes are the only ones with space for 6). We like nature and science and art. And anything that would make tween/teen boys say "That was so cool!!"
Thanks for your help!

two weeks will be quite rushed for just a taste of Scotland, a teensy bit of England, any time in London and flying out of Paris. Absolutely no time to add Ireland too.

In fact w/ a group of six I would limit myself to Edinburgh/London/Paris (Truth be told I'd do Edinburgh, a few days in the Scottish Countryside and London . . . but since you are flying out of Paris that really isn't doable)

Rooms for 6 are just about non-existant -- so depending on your budget you will either need to book two hotels rooms everywhere, stay in dorms in Hostels, or rent apartments (though not in Paris where most short term apartments are illegal)

If you have 2 full weeks/14 nights on the ground (a 16 day trip all together) I'd probably plan 3 nights in Edinburgh, a travel day with 5 or 6 nights in London, a travel day w/ and 5 nights in Paris.

If less than that you will need to cut somewhere.

Are you driving or taking trains?

A lot to handle for two weeks - do you want to see London? If not fly from say Manchester or Birmingham to Paris. Suggest you rent car for British part and easily visit castles and go thru lovely countryside.

No need to rent a car IF you are limiting yourselves to Edinburgh London and Paris - which would totally fill 2 weeks. You would want a (very large) car for any days in the Scottish countryside.

We haven't decided yet about trains vs planes vs automobiles. The flights from Edinburgh to London were $50 at one site....which is worth it for the savings in time. But we would enjoy some countryside driving at some point. We're assuming we'll be in Edinburgh, London and Paris, with a trip to a castle somewhere. The kids have never been to any of these areas, but the parents have spent between a little and a lot of time there. Thanks for the tips.

Yes if you limit yourselves to Edinburgh, London and Paris no car but if you want to see Scotland, England and Ireland-the countryside then maybe.

All depends perhaps on whether or not you want to see London and if you have not been there I would - lots of things so cool there as in Paris and Edinburgh - see we all need more info to really answer your query.

Edinburgh, London and Paris would take most of the two weeks - and do as janis says spend a few days in the Scottish Highlands- either by your own car or a tour from Edinburgh.

Perfectly good castles IN Edinburgh and London.

We're assuming we'll be in Edinburgh, London and Paris, with a trip to a castle somewhere>

Stirling Castle is an easy train ride or drive from Edinburgh - Braveheart Associations and of course Edinburgh Castle is one of the most famous and awesome in Europe:

https://www.google.com/search?q=stir...HY8CC1AQsAQIGQ

But if taking trains check out www.nationalrail.co.uk for lots of info - For Eurostar trains to Paris www.eurostar.com -book early for sweet discount.

Trains may be cheaper than flying to London when everything is considered - getting to and from airports-and even as quick perhaps - and the East Coast Rail line Edinburgh to Newcastle is pretty scenic- see something of Britain in between Edinburgh and London vs nothing when flying.

>>The flights from Edinburgh to London were $50 at one site....which is worth it for the savings in time.<<

Have you already booked?? If not don't fly! Take the train. Door to door is faster Edinburgh to London than flying is. No need to head out to the airport early, nor schlepp in to London from the airport. City centre to city centre in a little over 4 hours.

No, the only flights booked so far are to and from Europe. I'm trying to work out a loose plan and narrow down to a limited number of do-able options to present to the kids for their input/vote. So, unfortunately, I don't have many details to share since the only thing locked in are the arrival and departure cities. But yes, London and Paris are sure bets - Edinburgh/Scotland is where I need to do some research on city vs country and the time required for either option. And then, how much time in London and Paris has to be worked out. Even though we parents have spent some time there, we've never done it in this way (the country-hopping and the kid-toting). Thanks so much for the train tips.

Can you give us a more precise lay out of your time. You say you fly into EDI and 2 weeks later fly out of CDG.

Is that 14 days from arrival at EDI to the day you fly out? (so 12.5 usable days since you can't really do anything on your departure day) Or is it a fungible 'about 2 weeks' -- 13 days or 15 days or something else?

That really will make a difference re how much you can accomplish and fit in. And do account for the first day at least and possibly 2+ days some of you being jet lagged so doing much and especially driving may not be in the cards.

Right - forgot to clarify: arrive in EDI on a Fri morning and leave CDG on Fri afternoon. So 14 nights but only the arrival Fri is a usable day (but limited by jet lag/red eye factor). And with the jet lag, the suggestion to book a tour of the Highlands with transportation provided by someone else seems like an excellent approach.

I'm biased because I don't love London, but what about three nights in Edinburgh, three nights in the Highlands (get to Eilean Donan if you can - I wouldn't bother going inside, but the outside is awesome, in my opinion), three nights in Dublin, and then five nights in Paris to finish? I know this didn't get you to England at all, but I loved Scotland and Ireland much more than London.

To give up time in London to substitute . . . Dublin?? Not a fair trade IMO/IME

lclutz: Definitely consider Rabbies -- here are their offerings out of Edinburgh.

https://www.rabbies.com/en/tour-scot...from-edinburgh

Agree. Dublin instead of London is silly, unless you have already spent a good bit of time in London.

While I personally could spend lots of time in Scotland and Ireland, for this trip we plan to include London. It's high on the kids' list, gets covered in their history classes more than Scotland and Ireland (so the historical aspects will be familiar) and, of course, Harry Potter lived there.

Thanks for the Rabbies site. Lots of good options.

London needs so much time! But you could easily sub it into the itinerary I mentioned - I'd probably steal a day from Paris to give to London. I also loved Rabbie's - I did their Isle of Skye tour.

BTW, London is much more kid friendly than Paris.

historytraveler - in what way is Paris less kid-friendly?

There are more things for kids to see and do in London than Paris.

In Edinburgh we took a couple of excellent walking tours. There were several to choose from and from memory, no need to book. They leave from outside Starbucks on The Royal Mile which is very easy to find. Except for the Edinburgh castle tour where there is an entry fee, the others were free with a donation made at the end if you are so inclined.

If your boys are interested JK Rowking wrote lots of the Harry Potter books in Edinburgh.

Sorry,must noticed that you already acknowledged the Harry Potter connection in Edinburgh.

>>historytraveler - in what way is Paris less kid-friendly?<<

IMO/IME - in almost every way. Paris is a fabulous city to be sure. But there is much more to see and do in London. Plus all the museums are free in London so you can pop into say the British or Natural History or what ever - and if some or all of you are flagging, you can leave and come back another time. And London and Edinburgh/Scotland in general is (I'll borrow BigRuss' catch phrase) catnip for kids.

Castles, Beefeaters in London/Soldiers in kilts in Edinburgh, Bagpipes, Double decker buses, London Cabs, Hampton Court Palace, Stonehenge, boat trips, steam trains, Imperial War Museum, the Eye, Harry Potter connections in London/Oxford/the Cotswolds/Northumberland/Scotland (how would they like to take actual Quidditch lessons at the very castle where the games were filmed?), etc etc etc

Excellent point on Paris vs London. And what?! Quidditch lessons? At "Hogwarts"? This we must do.

quidditch lessons are at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland just south of the Scottish border.

>>historytraveler - in what way is Paris less kid-friendly?<<

they speak English in London - a big plus at attractions and everywhere -if the kids are English speakers.

Thanks folks for all the kind advice. I've decided to shorten the time in Paris and add time to London and Scotland. Now to narrow down the massive list of options into something manageable...

don't cut Paris too short though - 4 full days would be nice and there are things of interest for the boys there too- like Parisian gals!

Have you already done this trip? If so, would love to know your itinerary...we are hoping to go to these same spots with two kids this summer, ages 9 and 13.

mverdin: Welcome to Fodors.

>>Have you already done this trip?<<

No, the very first sentence of the OP says they are traveling next month. If you are planning a trip, you will do better if you start a new thread with your own details/questions.

We did this trip almost exactly a year before you--but we did London/Edinburgh/Paris in that order (flying from Glasgow to Paris). Your itinerary is even better. You absolutely can do this trip in two weeks. The art you'll find in London and Paris.

You also mentioned nature and science, it really seems like you should get a car in Scotland and go see a loch and maybe some ruined castles. Loch Lomond is not as far from Edinburgh as the Highlands or Western Scotland. Stirling is also close.

Here are the lodgings we stayed at in Edinburgh last year--it's in a section called Leith, near the actual docks, which we enjoyed walking around. Some pubs, and restaurants, seems a bit up-and-coming area. It had parking with it. This might have been our family's most relaxed part of the trip, so just throwing it out there.

https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p427451

We added York to our itinerary because a lot of our family likes medieval era things and York is a walled city.

London has some great science museums. One thing still on my bucket list is Greenwich. If one of your boys loves time and watches and mechanical stuff, maybe that is a daytrip you should consider? My kids did love all the armor in the Tower of London immensely.

In England we got an in Chelsea apartment using booking.com I had a really hard time getting a place. I would suggest you reserve a cancellable place in the next day or two, and add or subtract days if you need to later.

Have fun!

5alive: If you are responding to the OP -- she hasn't been on the thread since early January. It was topped by mverdin to ask about a different trip.

Oh, sorry that is REALLY confusing when people do that. Thanks.