Scotland Itinerary with Kids: A Family Road Trip

Like most families, we have a long list of places we want to visit and we add to it faster than we cross places off. Scotland had been on our family travel bucket list for a long time, especially the Isle of Skye. With a summer off to travel after our daughter’s first school year, we knew this would be the perfect time to travel to Scotland with kids.

With two full months, it was a great time to pair up our Scotland itinerary with kids with a road trip through Ireland with kids. Our plan gave us approximately 3.5 weeks for our family vacation to Scotland. It wasn’t hard to find plenty of fun things to do in Scotland with kids, so filling up our “Scotland with kids itinerary” was pretty easy.

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Planning a Family Holiday in Scotland with Kids

Start Planning Early

The first bit of advice we’ll give on planning your family trip to Scotland is to be prepared to book well in advance, especially if you are traveling to Scotland with kids in the busy summer months.

Obviously we knew that this was high season for travel to both Scotland and Ireland, but when we started looking into booking our accommodations in January (for travel in July and August) we were a little surprised to find that our options were starting to get limited. Kid-friendly accommodation options in particular were quite hard to find.

Best Time to Visit Scotland with Kids

So the first step in planning a family holiday in Scotland with kids is deciding the best time to go. If you are limited to school holidays, then like us, you’ll probably be planning your Scotland travel during summer. It’s no coincidence that this is the most popular time to visit Scotland.

If you are able to visit Scotland with kids at other times, then we recommend looking at a family trip to Scotland in the spring. The temperatures will be starting to warm up, the snow should be all gone except maybe at the highest peaks and there should be fewer crowds. In addition, spring in Scotland would be beautiful with everything in full bloom.

The benefits of summer travel in Scotland are longer days and the warmest temperatures. But everything will be busier and you’ll still get rain. Scotland can be rainy year-round, with many areas tending to be wetter in autumn and early winter.

How Long to Spend in Scotland with Kids

Coming up with the best itinerary for your Scotland family vacation will depend entirely on how much time you have. We created our Scotland road trip itinerary taking into account driving distances and using those times strategically. We wanted to limit our driving time in the car, and also use it strategically to give our kids some down time.

During our 3-week Scotland family vacation, we tried to fit in all the places we wanted to see plus attractions in Scotland for kids.

We know that not everyone can have 3 weeks in Scotland with kids, so based on our real-life experiences, we have prepared some shorter Scotland itineraries for families. Keep reading and you will fund our 14 day Scotland itinerary for families, along with an even shorter 10-day Scotland itinerary with kids.

Getting Around Scotland with Kids

Most likely you’ll be arriving into Scotland by flying into either Edinburgh or Glasgow. Either of these two Scottish cities are a great spot to start a Scotland self-drive itinerary, but only Edinburgh made it on to our list of the most kid-friendly cities in Europe.

We rented our car at the Glasgow airport and returned it to the Edinburgh airport. Since this was our first time driving on the left-hand side of the road, we wanted to limit our big-city driving as much as possible. Picking up and dropping off at the airports allowed us to do this.

Coming from Canada, we knew the roads in Scotland would be much narrower than what we were used to. Add driving on the left-side of the road, and it can feel a little intimidating. We recommend packing light and trying to get the smallest car possible that will still fit all your stuff.

The only other driving challenge we encountered on our family trip to Scotland was on the Isle of Skye. Many of the roads on the Isle of Skye are very narrow, with only enough room for one car. There are often pullouts on the road allowing cars to pass each other.

When you encounter oncoming traffic on a single track road, the cat nearest to a pullout needs to pull over to let the other pass. One of you may need to reverse to the nearest pullout. Don’t cross over to use a passing place on the opposite side of the road.

To be honest, I found the single-lane roads on the Isle of Skye to be stressful as a visitor. I tried to avoid traffic as much as possible by getting out early in the morning.

What About Car Seats for Scotland Travel with Kids?

We didn’t want to lug our heavy convertible car seats from home and risk damaging them. With a little bit of research we discovered we could buy high-back booster seats in Glasgow from a major department department store called Argos upon our arrival. Buying new upon arrival cost roughly the same as renting from the car rental company.

We always discuss the merits of bringing our own car seats versus renting. Renting was out of the question since we weren’t returning our rental car to the same city. Plus, we don’t love renting car seats from car rental agencies, as most will not guarantee availability.

This post about travel with car seats on our Baby Can Travel blog gives you a full rundown of what to think about when it comes to travel with kids and car seats.

Where to Stay in Scotland with Kids

Aside from our two nights in a hotel in Pitlochry, we found vacation rentals to be the best option for our family while traveling around Scotland with kids. Having a rental car made it very easy to get groceries to cook our own meals in each of the places we stayed on our Scotland itinerary.

As a bonus, staying in Scotland vacation rentals and buying groceries to make our own meals helped us to travel to Scotland on a budget.

What to Pack for Scotland with Kids

If you’ve visited our family travel blog before, you know our trips are usually pretty active. We always try to be as prepared for the weather as possible and plan to be outside exploring nature, rain or shine.

For traveling to Scotland with kids, we knew this would mean rain gear for everyone. If you’d like to see out complete list of “must haves” for anyone planning to travel to Scotland, we highly recommend you check out our full family packing list for Scotland.

For the driving days on your Scotland road trip, we recommend downloading some kid-friendly podcasts for road trips to help keep kids entertained on long car rides.

Scotland Family Road Trip Itinerary

Here is our 3-week Scotland Itinerary with kids. As mentioned previously, this was a self-drive road trip itinerary for Scotland and we didn’t join any tours.

While we did plan some outings just for our kids, we mostly chose hiking and outdoor activities over castles and museums. But don’t worry, we still included some of the very best cultural attractions as well.

3 Week Scotland with Kids Itinerary Overview

• Days 1-3: Glasgow
• Days 4-9: Loch Lomond
• Days 10-13: Fort William
• Days 14-19: Isle of Skye
• Days 20-21: Pitlochry
• Days 22-24: Edinburgh

3-Week Scotland Itinerary with Kids

We loved our family holiday in Scotland and couldn’t have been happier with our Scotland itinerary with kids. Our road trip itinerary gave us sufficient time to explore each area and find some of the best things to do in Scotland with kids.

Days 1-3: Glasgow with Kids

We arrived in Glasgow after an overnight flight. Once we checked into our Glasgow apartment rental, we grabbed some breakfast then had a nap.

That first afternoon in Glasgow, in an effort to reduce the effects of jet lag we headed out for a short walk to get some exercise and sunshine. We stopped at a playground to give the kids some time to burn off some energy.

On our first full day in Glasgow, we had our first experience with a Hop On Hop Off bus, which our kids loved. Our first stop was the Riverside Museum, which is probably one of the best things to do in Scotland for kids. From there we visited Kelvingrove Park for a picnic before walking over to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

We finished our first day in Glasgow with kids walking through the pedestrian streets, climbing to the top of The Lighthouse and seeing a show at the Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre.

Our second full day in Glasgow we spent cycling the Forth and Clyde Towpath. Our goal was to make it to the Falkirk Wheel, but we didn’t quite make it. Even without making it, we loved our time on this family-friendly bike ride in Glasgow.

Days 4-9: Loch Lomond with Kids

We picked up our rental car on the way out of Glasgow. Given this was our very first time driving on the left side of the road, we were grateful the drive to our Balloch apartment rental was only 25 minutes long. After settling in, we walked through town then into Balloch Castle and Country Park.

On our first full day in Loch Lomond with kids, we were ready to hike and see some incredible scenery. An easy drive took us to Balmaha, where we hiked the popular Conic Hill Walk. Though the popular Loch Lomond walk was full of people, the scenery did not disappoint.

We chose to hike the Whangie the following day, mostly because it was so close to Balloch. With large rocks to climb, a canyon to explore and an open area to run, this was a fun hike for the kids. We followed up our hike with a stop at the Devil’s Pulpit, which is a fun walk through a deep canyon.

Ready for another hike, on our fourth day in Loch Lomond with kids we drove to the Trossachs area of the national park. Here we climbed to the summit of Ben A’an with kids. With the sweeping views throughout this hike, it’s no wonder it’s such a popular walking trail.

It rained heavily on our fifth day in Loch Lomond with kids. You can’t let the rain get in your way on a family trip to Scotland, so we all donned our rain gear to take a boat ride to Inchmahome Priory on Lake Menteith. Here we enjoyed a walk around the ruins of a 700-year old monastery and also a family walk around the island through the lush green forest.

Not ready to end our day, we drove to the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park for a short, kid-friendly hike along the interpretive Waterfall Trail.

On our final day in Loch Lomond with kids, we wanted to experience a little more of the West Highland Way so we hiked along the shore of Loch Lomond north of Balmaha and stopped to play on the beach.

Days 10-13 Fort William & Glencoe with Kids

In an effort to explore as much of the Scottish Highlands as possible, we had hoped to do some family hiking around Glencoe on our way to Fort William. Due to some very heavy rain we decided to just enjoy the scenery from the car with some quick stops at the various viewpoints.

On our second day in Fort William we wanted to take our kids to one of the best Harry Potter places to visit in Scotland. Sadly, tickets for the Jacobite Train (the real-life Hogwarts Express train) was already sold out. Don’t make the same mistake and get your tickets early!

Thankfully there was a great alternative to the Jacobite Train. ScotRail offers service on the West Highland Line which also crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct, which was famously featured in the Harry Potter movies. This much cheaper alternative to the Jacobite Train still allowed us to see the Glenfinnan Viaduct from inside a train.

We ended the day at the Nevis Centre indoor playground, which was near the train station in Fort William. This huge indoor playground is a wonderful thing to do with kids in Fort William.

The following day we decided to give hiking in Glencoe another try. This time we were able to hike most of the Lost Valley hike with kids. It was a beautiful Glencoe hike, but climbing over the rocks took us much longer than expected. We didn’t quite make it to the end of the hike, but turning back was the right thing to do for our family.

Once we were back at the car, the clouds finally cleared and the views of Glencoe were incredible. We spent a little more time walking along a small road near the viewpoint parking lot to enjoy the views of the Three Sisters mountain.

On our way back to Fort William, we did a final short hike in the An Torr area.

We decided to spend our last day in Fort William back at the Glenfinnan Viaduct, one of our favorite things to do in Scotland with kids. Our plan was to watch the Jacobite Train cross the Harry Potter bridge, then spend some time exploring the valley.

It ended up being one of those perfectly warm summer days, so we just kept walking. After the fun of watching the Harry Potter Hogwarts Express cross the Glenfinnan Viaduct, we walked up the valley for more amazing views.

We then returned to the Glenfinnan visitor centre and found a fun trail across the road. The kid-friendly Dragonfly Trail along the shores of Loch Shiel was very beautiful. The kids especially loved running across the wooden boardwalks.

Days 14-19: Isle of Skye with Kids

Finally! The Isle of Skye was the portion of our Scotland itinerary with kids that we were most excited about!

We stopped for a short hike in the Kintail area on the way between Fort William and the Isle of Skye. Once we arrived in Portree on the Isle of Skye, we grabbed groceries and settled into our house rental.

Taking advantage of a good weather forecast on our first full day, we got two of the best kid-friendly Isle of Skye hikes done right away. It’s important to take full advantage of any day it’s not raining in Scotland.

We started with the Old Man of Storr hike, since we knew it would be the busiest. Though there were some steep parts, our kids had no problems hiking the Old Man of Storr.

Next on our list was the Brother’s Point walk, located near the Old Man of Storr. Brother’s Point is a very fun, scenic family walk along a peninsula near the ocean. The kids especially enjoyed playing in the tide pools at the end of the hike.

Our second full day on the Isle of Skye, we drove out to the Fairy Pools. Even on a windy, dreary day we were in awe on this beautiful hike.

The Fairy Pools hike is a great activity on the Isle of Skye for kids. The hike isn’t overly difficult, aside from a few streams to jump across. When you are done, there a fun playground in Sligachan to stop at.

With still some time left in the afternoon, we explored Staffin Beach near our Isle of Skye house rental.

Having seen much of the Isle of Skye by car, it was time to get out on the water. On our way we stopped at Duntulum Castle then joined our Isle of Skye boat cruise in the afternoon. The kids were super excited to get binoculars for seeing the various wildlife like seals, eagle and what we really wanted to see – puffins.

It’s always a pleasure when you get good weather in Scotland and that’s exactly what happened on the next day. What started out a little dreary (but without rain) turned out to be the perfect day to tackle the Quiraing hike with kids.

We didn’t have to worry about the Quiraing trail being muddy or slippery. The high winds kept us from hiking the full Quiraing circuit, but we liked the wind since it kept the midges at bay!

Since Staffin Beach was so close, it was the perfect way to end the day and give the kids time to run around.

We were so glad for the weather we had on the previous Isle of Skye hikes, but that would be the end of our good fortune. It was pouring rain on the following day, yet we didn’t want to miss out on the Fairy Glen.

We are so glad that we went, despite the wet weather. The rain didn’t dampen our spirits nor did it take anything away from our short hike to the Fairy Glen; one of the most fun, kid-friendly hikes on the Isle of Skye.

We finished the day by stopping at what was probably the most popular attraction on the Isle of Skye on that rainy day, the Dunvegan Castle and Gardens.

On our final day on the Isle of Skye with kids, we took advantage of our close proximity of our rental house and stopped at Mealt Falls, Lealt Falls and Kilt Rock. We also did a portion of the Fingal’s Pinnacles hike, before our drive to Pitlochry.

Days 20-21: Pitlochry with Kids

We chose Pitlochry as a stop to break up the long drive between the Isle of Skye and Edinburgh. With a full day there, we spent some time relaxing and did the kid-friendly Hermitage Woodland Walk in Tay Forest Park.

Days 22-24: Edinburgh with Kids

We arrived in Edinburgh with enough time to settle into our rental apartment then hike up to Arthur’s Seat. Not only was it good exercise after a few days of driving, but the high vantage point gave us a good overview of Edinburgh.

We filled our first full day in Edinburgh with kids with a walk along the Royal Mile, visits to Calton Hill, the Edinburgh Castle and Princes Street Gardens, before ending with the National Museum of Scotland. It was a bit of a whirlwind tour of the best things to do in Edinburgh with kids.

Our kids had so much fun at the National Museum of Scotland, yet we hadn’t even seen half of the museum. They were both super excited when we gave them the option to go back the next day. We never go back to museums, but this one was so fun for kids, we couldn’t resist!

Who were we to argue after all the incredible hiking they’d done up to this point. This was definitely one of the most fun things to do in Edinburgh for kids.

2-Week Scotland Itinerary with Kids

If you don’t have three full weeks for a Scotland family holiday, we have taken the highlights of our trip and have distilled it down into a Scotland 2 week itinerary with kids.

Days 1-2: Glasgow

(Remove one day from the time in Glasgow).

Choose if you’d rather explore the city or cycle to the Falkirk Wheel. If you choose to cycle, we recommend starting as early as possible and bring plenty of high-energy snacks.

Days 3-6: Loch Lomond

(Remove two days from the time in Loch Lomond).

We recommend removing the Whangie hike and final day on the West Highland Trail. The portion of the West Highland Way could be done after hiking Conic Hill since it’s so close.

If you’d prefer to keep the Whangie hike, then replace the day with the Inchmahome Priory and hike the Whangie instead. We think the Conic Hill and Ben A’an hikes are well worth keeping on your 2-week Scotland itinerary.

The drive is short on the first day, so there’s plenty of time to hike the Whangie or replace the Balloch Castle and Country Park with the Devil’s Pulpit.

Days 7-8: Fort William

(Remove two days from the time in Fort William).

As much as we loved our time in the area, we didn’t need to see the Harry Potter bridge (Glenfinnan Viaduct) in two different ways. If riding the Jacobite train is high on your list, then choose to see the Glenfinnan Viaduct that way. If it’s not, we’d recommend seeing it from the viewpoint.

Since Balloch isn’t that far from Glencoe, you could do your kid-friendly hiking in the area on your arrival day.

Days 9-12: Isle of Skye

(Remove 2 days from the Isle of Skye itinerary).

With so many days on the Isle of Skye, we had the luxury of spending time on the beach or playgrounds in the afternoon. We really enjoyed how we spent our time on the Isle of Skye with kids, but with less time you could combine some of the days and still see almost as much.

With only 4 days, the top three things to do on the Isle of Skye with kids are the Old Man of Storr hike, The Quiraing hike and the Brother’s Point hike.

To fit in a few of the other sights, rather than stopping for a hike on the way to the Isle of Skye, you could do the Fairy Pools on the first day.

Mealt Falls, Lealt Falls and Kilt Rock are so close to each other and to the Old Man of Storr hike, that they could have easily been added on to that day.

Depending on the time of the Isle of Skye boat cruise, it would also be possible to see the Fairy Glen and do the cruise on the same day.

Days 13-14: Edinburgh

(Skip Pitlochery and drive straight to Edinburgh. Remove one day from Edinburgh).

We treated ourselves to two days at the National Museum of Scotland. This can easily be cut to one day.

Your Scotland 2-week Itinerary Overview:

• Day 1 Glasgow: Arrival
• Day 2 Glasgow: City Walking or Cycling
• Day 3 Loch Lomond: Balloch Castle or Devil’s Pulpit
• Day 4 Loch Lomond: Inchomome Priory / Queen Elizabeth Park or The Whangie
• Day 5 Loch Lomond: Conic Hill / West Highland Way
• Day 6 Loch Lomond: Ben A’an hike
• Day 7 Fort William: Hike Glencoe Area
• Day 8 Fort William: Jacobite Train or Glenfinnan Viaduct
• Day 9 Isle of Skye: Fairy Pools hike
• Day 10 Isle of Skye: Old Man of Storr / Brother’s Point
• Day 11 Isle of Skye: Quiraing hike
• Day 12 Isle of Skye: Fairy Glen & Boat Cruise
• Day 13 Edinburgh: Arrival – Arthur’s Seat Hike if time permits (leave early – it’s a long drive)
• Day 14 Edinburgh: Edinburgh Castle / National Museum of Scotland

10-Day Scotland Itinerary with Kids

To shorten your family trip to Scotland even further, this is how we structure a 10-day Scotland itinerary with kids:

• Day 1 Glasgow: Arrival day
• Day 2 Glasgow: City Walking or Cycling
• Day 3 Loch Lomond: Conic Hill hike plus portion of the West Highland Way
• Day 4 Loch Lomond: Ben A’an hike
• Day 5 Fort William: Hike Glencoe Area
• Day 6 Fort William: Jacobite Train or Glenfinnan Viaduct
• Day 7 Isle of Skye: Fairy Pools hike and/or Old Man of Storr (time permitting)
• Day 9 Isle of Skye: Fairy Glen & Quiraing hike (or portion of it)
• Day 9 Edinburgh: Arthur’s Seat Hike if time permits (leave early – it’s a long drive)
• Day 10 Edinburgh: Edinburgh Castle / National Museum of Scotland

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