Family Friendly Scotland

DAY 1 International Flight

Begin your journey with an international flight (most likely overnight) to the UK.

DAY 2 Arrival to Edinburgh

Welcome to Scotland! You will be met at arrivals by you private driver who will transfer you to your central Edinburgh hotel. The drive should take approximately 30 minutes depending on traffic. On arrival to your hotel, relax and unpack at leisure. Once you're all organised, we would recommend walking up Arthur's Seat - an ancient (and extinct!) volcano - to stretch your legs and for beautiful views back across the city, arguably the prettiest in Britain. Or see a different side of Edinburgh and get your bearings as you whizz through the cobbled streets on a 'Mini Cooper Car Tour'.

This evening, enjoy a spooky 'Ghost Tour' - discover graveyards, ghouls and spooky trails in Edinburgh's Old Town.

DAY 3 Edinburgh Guided Tour

Your guide - who we've specifically chosen as they're brilliant with children - will meet you in the hotel lobby, ready for your full day tour of Edinburgh. Begin your day with a private pre-opening visit to Edinburgh Castle; see if you can count the steps in the famous Lang Stair, find the dog cemetery where soldier's pets were laid to rest and make sure you meet medieval Mons Meg, one of the largest calibre cannons ever made!

After your tour wander down the Royal Mile to Camera Obscura, which has been wowing visitors with illusions, tricks and puzzles since 1835. Enjoy lunch at leisure (we know all the best family-friendly Edinburgh restaurants and can prebook you a table) before enjoying the Real Mary King's Close. Discover the secrets behind Edinburgh's dark and eerie past underneath the Old Town. You'll uncover a warren of real underground streets and spaces dating back from the 17th century, which were covered up for hundreds of years. A spooky and unnerving experience for sure!

If travelling in August, Edinburgh Military Tattoo tickets are a must.

DAY 4 A Private Castle

Today, set off for your very own castle - located just 30 minutes from Edinburgh city centre. The castle will be yours for the day to enjoy as a family. Start with a tour to the 15th century 'auld' (old) keep, toll the old bell before climbing to the top of the turret for views over the Forth Rail Bridge. An 'Upstairs Downstairs' experience will then begin, with you heading into the servants kitchens for a private cookery lesson with the chef and a 'butlering' lesson. Lunch will be served in the beautiful drawing room (including some of the delicious morsels you helped make) you will then be welcomed into the castle grounds for a falconry display and clay pigeon shooting before retiring to the log fire for a spot of afternoon tea prior to departure.

DAY 5 The Highlands

After check out and breakfast, your private driver-guide will meet you in the hotel lobby, ready to explore the Highlands! Visit the 3D experience of the Bannockburn Battle to follow in the footsteps of a medieval warrior and to find out more about one of Scotland's most historic battles, a crushing victory over the old enemy, England. From the visitor centre, enjoy a tour of Stirling Castle, which has played a key role in Scottish history. Meet the costumed characters and even dress up in costume and try some medieval instruments.

Stop for lunch in a traditional pub before heading to Pitlochry to see the magical salmon ladder where, in breeding season (autumn, or fall), huge salmon leap from man-made pool to pool to bypass a dam. Even out of season it's fascinating to hear about the adventurous journey these iconic fish take, sometimes many miles upstream on the river of their birth. After this stop, your driver will transfer you to your private farmhouse in the Cairngorms.

DAY 6 Cairngorms National Park

Today enjoy a private wildlife experience with an expert in the Cairngorms National Park. Britain's tallest mountain range and largest national park is home to the nation's biggest and best ancient forests, vast moorlands, villages, rivers and lochs, red squirrels, reindeer, ospreys, eagles and wildcats in the woods. Put simply, nowhere else in Britain has the range of landscapes all in one place that the Cairngorms has; it is a unique part of Scotland, rightly celebrated for its diversity. There are traces of people who were here 7,000 years ago, and amazingly, you can still see the remains from prehistoric, Celtic and Pictish times. After wildlife watching, visit a working farm for a sheepdog demonstration. Listen to the strict commands of the farmer and how the skilled sheepdog react. You may even get to meet a few collie pups!

DAY 7 The Wild West Coast

This morning, enjoy a scenic drive to your next hotel, located on the West Coast. The journey will take approximately two and a half hours but is extremely scenic, and you can stop off at Loch Ness for a Nessie-spotting boat ride on your way. Arrive at the hotel in time for an afternoon activity, choose from sea kayaking, gorge scrambling, bike rides and coastal walks and enjoy the rural wilderness.

DAY 8 Day at leisure

Today relax in the hotel and continue to enjoy the many activities on offer and spend some time as a family.

DAY 9 Depart back for Edinburgh

Today, make the journey back to Edinburgh - this will take approximately four hours, however this will be broken up with stop offs at Eilean Donan Castle and lunch in the beautiful but spooky Glencoe.

In a hurry? Let us arrange a helicopter to get back you to the outskirts of Edinburgh in record time. Or if you would like to extend your trip, we would highly recommend relaxing in the hugely family friendly Gleneagles.

DAY 10 Hometime

Your driver is on hand to transfer you to the airport in time for your flight home.