Trip itinerary

  I realized that I have talked about Scotland but not what we are doing there.  Here is our itinerary.  

We leave late in the afternoon of June 29 from Cincinnati airport.  We have a stopover in Newark then overnight to Edinburgh. 

 Arrive Edinburgh in the early morning on the 1st day. Drop off our luggage at the hotel, too early to check in, hop on the hop-on, hop-off bus to tour the city.  We have the day to ourselves with no tours scheduled.  We plan on taking the entire tour on the bus and then riding it to wherever we decide to explore.  Places I have looked at include the grass market, Camera Obscura and shopping on the royal mile.  We will lunch while out exploring.  Once we can check into the hotel we will go back to rest a bit and freshen up.  Dinner is at an Italian restaurant called Contini George Street.  It is about half a mile from the hotel.  Since the Waldorf has a pool and spa we will probably take advantage of them sometime in the evening then to bed early.  I have always found it best to adjust to the new time on the first day by staying up until bedtime.  A short nap is fine but nothing too long. 

On the 2nd day we have breakfast and then take off for the day.  We have a private tour scheduled that will include the royal mile, Edinburgh castle, Holyrood castle, and St Giles cathedral.  Whew!  We have reservations at a pub for lunch and dinner at a steakhouse called Kyloe.  Maybe another visit to the spa to relax and then to bed.  

The 3rd day finds up checking out of the Waldorf and leaving Edinburgh.  We are headed north to the highlands.  Our driver will pick us up in the morning and take us to see Dunkeld and the Dunkeld cathedral.  We will also visit the Hermitage and visit a master chocolatier for samples.  Cairngorms National Park is next and a Hairy Coo Safari.  Our hotel is in Inverness for the next two nights.  Dinner reservations are at Hootenanny restaurant.  

Day 4 has us up and out to see Culloden battlefield and Clava Cairns.  The we have the rest of the day to explore Inverness.  Dinner at The Mustard Seed restaurant.  

Day 5 we check out and head southwest.  A boat tour on Loch Ness to find the monster for Rory.  A visit to Eilean Donan castle and then we take the bridge to Skye where we stay for the next two nights.  

Day 6 we set out to explore the Isle of Skye.  Visits to the Quiraing, Kilt rock, the dinosaur museum,  The Fairy Glen, lunch at the Oyster Shed, the Fairy Pools then back to the hotel.  Dinner is at Antlers Bar and Grill.  No spa in this hotel so it will be in bed early. 

Day 7 finds us on the ferry to cross back to Mallig.  We see the viaduct that was mad famous by Harry Potter movies when they head to school.  We stop at Inverlochy hotel for high tea.  We explore Fort William for a bit then heat to ride the gondola to Ben Nevis, well Rory and I will ride it, Aimee will wait.  Our hotel is in Glencoe for the next two nights and we dine in our suite. 

Day 8 we take a wildlife boat tour and head into Oban to explore.  We lunch at Eeusk, a fish restaurant for lunch.  A visit to the Oban chocolate factory and exploring Glencoe.  Dinner is in our suite tonight.  

Day 9 we head out to visit Glen Etive, Tyndrum, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.  Rory gets to experience Falconry on the grounds of our hotel, Cameron House.  Dinner is at the hotel restaurant.  

Day 10 we plan on being exhausted so will be spending the day at the hotel.  They have a really nice pool and spa so we will be relaxing.  They have things to do around the hotel so we will do whatever strikes our fancy for the day, but mostly resting up for our return.  

Day 11 we head back towards Edinburgh to prepare for our return home.  On the way we visit the Falkirk Wheel, the Kelpies, visit Stirling Castle, and Dunblane Cathedral.  One night at Cromlix hotel and dinner in their restaurant.  Then we pack and get ready to fly out the next day.  

Day 12 will be breakfast in the hotel and checking out.  Our driver will take us to Edinburgh airport to depart.  The only problem I see is that Taylor Swift has concerts in Edinburgh on the 7, 8 and 9th.  I am planning on crowds in the airport so we will plan on arriving at the airport early to avoid crowds.  I plan on using the lounge at the airport to be comfortable.  We have a stopover in Newark and go through passport control there. We arrive home around 9:00 pm and then home to bed.  

I know this crammed full of activities but I hope we don’t wear ourselves out.  Most of our lunches will be on our own and we are letting Rory choose the type of food.  There will be parts where he is bored but we think we scheduled special things for him.  We do plan on shopping a bit and enjoying different types of food.  Yes, we plan on tasting haggis.  I hope we can fit everything in our luggage for the return trip.  We didn’t schedule any whiskey tours as neither of us drink it.  We hope to visit a pub in the evening one day but that will depend on if they allow kids or we can get a babysitter.  Having our own driver means we can cut some things short or add time to others.  Neither Aimee or I wanted to drive on the wrong side of the street.  Also, if you have to concentrate on driving you miss seeing things.  We are flying business class.  Our flight to Scotland is overnight and our return trip is during the day but we should be comfortable both ways.  We all have our passports and have checked out immigration procedures at all the airports.  We can’t wait to go.  Now we just have to stay healthy.  I know there is a lot more to see in the country and maybe we can return one day.