All the Places You'll Want to Add to Your Scotland Family Vacation Itinerary

Scotland! Are you looking for a family-friendly international vacation idea? How about Scotland? Emily Braziel from @sixpackexplorers joins Lisa to share all of the things her family loved doing in the Scotland Highlands and in Edinburgh.

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Family-Friendly Things to Do in Edinburgh

- Tour Edinburgh Castle

- Tour Holyrood Palace. The gardens are a highlight.

- Camera Obscura World of Illusions. Not cultural but super fun. The kids (and adults) will love it.

- The Scotch Whisky Experience (it actually includes a dark ride, reminiscent of Disney World)

- Walk the Royal Mile

- Playgrounds! Do a web search for Edinburgh playgrounds.

- National Museum of Scotland. The name may sound s bit dull but there is plenty of fun for kids and adults.

- Afternoon Tea. Many of the hotels offer this.

- Stockbridge neighborhood and Circus Lane (very picturesque to walk around, lots of yummy bakeries)

- Love Harry Potter? Be sure to check out all of the inspiration spots for J.K Rowlings' Harry Potter books: Elephant House Cafe, cemetery, Victoria Street, and more! Here is one blog post with a full list of Harry Potter & Edinburgh highlights.

Family Fun in the Scotland Highlands

- The train ride between Edinburgh and Inverness is a fun activity for kids. A convenient way to get around plus it’s a bit of an adventure.

- Falconry lessons. Emily hired someone to come to their vacation rental and do a private falconry experience with her family. Emily couldn’t remember the exact company they used for this activity but here is an idea of one company that will do a falcory experience in Inverness.

Photo of Emily’s daughter enjoying the falconry experience.

- Visit the Cairngorm Reindeer Herd.

- Ride the Cairngorm Mountain Funicular (highest in the UK, restaurant with hot chocolate at the top.) It’s about 30 degrees colder at the top of the mountain so bring along so warmer clothes.

- Day trip to Isle of Skye (stunning scenery, complete with a waterfall cascading into the sea)

- Take a scenic walk or hike (so many options!)

- Boat ride on Loch Ness (The kids will love looking for Nessie!)

- Visit the Urquhart Castle ruins on Loch Ness

- Day trip to see Eilean Donan Castle. This was the most beautiful castle Emily and her family saw. It’s surrounded by mountains and situated on a little lake with the only access being a bridge across the water.

- Robertson's Farmyard. Farm shop selling delicious homemade cheeses, jams, honey, and much more. They also have Highland Hairy Coos (Scotland cows) and other farm animals for children to pet and feed.

- Take a dolphin-watching tour. There are a few companies that offer tours. Dolphin Spirit Inverness looks like a nice option.

Family Favorite Foods in Scotland

- Try Haggis! Emily’s kids found this very entertaining... and they liked it!

- Afternoon tea. It's wonderful to experience a fancy afternoon tea at a 5-star hotel in Edinburgh if you can, but anywhere you stay in Scotland will likely have some form of afternoon tea. Emily’s daughter Alice looked forward to having tea and scones with clotted cream every day of our trip.

- Scotch tastings - While this is, of course, an entirely adult activity, most grown-ups visiting Scotland won't want to miss the opportunity to visit a world-renowned distillery when visiting the Highlands. There are actually some that are kid-friendly, complete with on-site playgrounds.

- In general, Scottish cuisine turned out to be a great fit for children. They ate lots of fish & chips, shortbread biscuits, roasted potatoes, soups, and puddings.