How to Survive a 5-Day Itinerary in Scotland with Kids

Scotland is a land of intrigue, and we are obsessed. Maybe you’ve watched Braveheart 19 times, read the history of Mary, Queen of Scots, or just got off a marathon of the TV show Outlander.

Either way, we can’t stop thinking about this piece of land north of England.

Although a 10-day itinerary in Scotland is ideal, you can see a lot in 5 days. It is easy to tack on a quick trip up to Scotland with kids, while also exploring other parts of the United Kingdom.

But, how will you survive Scotland? 

The key is to move quickly, and maximize your time in each spot. This doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy each place. It does mean that you can’t see and do it ALL.

While you may want to see ten castles in and around Edinburgh, you will only get to see four. Your bucket list is telling you to get out to the Isle of Skye and to the northern Highlands, but time will only allow you to head west into the lower Highlands to do some hiking.

It will be OK, I promise.

5 Days in Scotland with kids

Here is the itinerary you need to tackle Scotland in just five days. Inside you will find out where to stay, play, eat, and most importantly, when to move to your next stop so you can see as much as possible in the shortest amount of time. What will you be discovering?

• Edinburgh
• Great coffee
• Glencoe
• Oban
• Scotch tasting
• Stirling Castle
• Linlithgow Palace
• Holyrood Palace
• Hiking in the Highlands
• Scones!
• and much, much more.

Sounds impossible for a five-day trip, doesn’t it? It’s not. We did this trip with our boys. Granted we added another five days to explore even more of Scotland with kids on that trip, but in as little as five days we hit every single spot on this itinerary before heading into the Hebrides.

Explore more in Scotland

One thing most people don’t realize is that Scotland is actually rather small. It’s not like you are driving around a country the size of Texas. Yes, the roads can be narrow.

Many times you will have to pull over to let someone pass, which can make travel times much longer. It is all part of the adventure though.

The size of the country means that many castles are close together. Remember, people used to travel by horseback, or worse, they had to walk to get to each other. Twenty miles was really far back then.

So, while it might have taken a day for someone to march on another castle, it will only take you an hour or two to drive to your next discovery.

Pack up the kids, grab those activity book, juice boxes, crackers and sweet treats.

It is time for an adventure to Scotland, and with cheap airfare, sometimes better than domestic flights, you really have no excuse not to skip across the pond, buy a plastic sword and start playing your way across this magical land with your kids.

Would you go to Scotland for 5 days? 

This post is part of a paid partnership with Travelocity.com. As always, my opinions are my own. When they aren’t, you will be the first to know.