Going to Scotland for the first time w/ 2 young children. We want to go to Edinburgh but are trying to decide what other area of the country we should explore. East/west? We want to rent a cottage and use it as a base, but are unsure of what area would be best for first time visitors w/ a baby and 5 yo girl. We'll be spending 3 days in Edinburgh and we'll have another 5 days thereafter. Any thoughts will be appreciated. Thanks!

I think it pretty much depends on what you want to do/see.

What interests you? Do you intend to use the cottage as your base for Edinburgh, too?

When is the trip?

Both the above are good questions. The other is, will you have a car? If not, that limits your choices a bit.

It really depends, as Sheila asks, on what you enjoy doing. Do you like walking along the beach? Seeing ancient ruins? Shopping? Fishing? People-watching? Charming little towns and a nice pub to relax in each evening? Scotland has so much to offer, you need to figure out what you want to do there in order for us to help you figure out where to do it

Sorry all. We are planning on going in October, we will rent a car, and we'd like to see some castles, small towns are great, but we need to keep our 5 yo occupied and in the car too much (ie. not drive longer than 3 hours). Thanks everyone

I'd rent a cottage either roughly w/i the triangle of Doune/Callander/Aberfoyle or just north of there, or w/i a few miles just west or east of Inverness.

There are LOTS of other great areas - but both of these specific places are convenient for touring a very large area w/ tons and TONS of things for families. Scenery, lochs, castles etc.

Another option might be along the Dee - LOTS of castles for sure.

In October you shouldn't have any problems finding short lets of 5 days or less.

My absolute pick (assuming you're not intending to use the cottage as a base for Edinburgh)would be West Perthshire. Kenmore, Aberfeldy, Comrie- somewhere you can easily go east and west from, but which is in or near the mountains.

Not that there's anything WRONG with them as such, but I'm not a massive fan of the Trossachs, and I always see Loch Lomond as a kind of big ditch you have to drive round to get anywhere interesting. From, say, Kenmore, you're less than 2 hours to Oban; or to Aviemore, and about an hour from Perth. I pick those places because they have things for kids to do in and around.

You could get great weather, or it could tip down. Me, I'd hate to be in a cottage with a 5 yr old in the rain and too far to go to a child based indoor activity.

One other thing, IF you're out of the school holidays, you might get a deal on a 5 day let so late in the season. If within, you'll probably have to take a week's let

All good suggestions from our Scottish experts My favorite place is the isle of Skye, but I don't think there would be as much there to entertain children as there was for adults - it's mostly incredible scenery, and kids get bored with that pretty quickly.