After our epic Scotland Road Trip, we were ready for a little bit of a base in Scotland. We knew there was so much more to explore and Edinburgh seemed like the perfect place to base ourselves to find more of Scotland’s gems.
So after city exploring through Glasgow,
Castle hunting the country,
Finding bliss in Fort William,
And a little real life magic in Isle of Skye…
Andrew and I nestled into the perfect Airbnb in Edinburgh.
We had five days booked to explore Edinburgh and beyond! With five days booked, in between adventures we needed at least one work day… we have to balance all of the play with just a little work to sustain it all.
Edinburgh is the city that stole our hearts, the city we will be back to for a long term stay in 2019. All of Scotland had us captivated and Edinburgh signed the deal, that we would be back and we would stay. From the people to the history to the high tea at noon, this city will not disappoint.
Edinburgh Travel Tips:
1. Grab your walking shoes, Edinburgh is super walkable! And with all of the beauty around you, you’ll walk a two hours with out even realizing it.
2. The people are WONDERFUL, go strike up a convo with literally anyone and they’ll have you swapping stories and feeling like best friends in no time.
3. Try all of the food and be careful with your pints 😉 People hate on the food in the UK, but we found amazing food spots tucked around Edinburgh. Don’t be afraid to try the hole in the wall you walk past and when in doubt just ask a local [see tip 2] And while you’re at the restaurants, be mindful of your pints, the beers are much bigger than the pints we’re used to!
Here’s what our Edinburgh itinerary looked like:
Day One in Edinburgh:
City Exploration and coffee, definitely coffee.
This was our wandering aimlessly around the city day. I recommend it in most city stays. We found a nice starting spot that gave us coffee and donuts, a walking day must! Highly recommend The Brew Lab, for some great coffee, sandwiches and homemade donuts.
We sat down at The Brew Lab and got a little bit of work done on day one before a little exploration.
I’m not much of a city person at all, but I think I could explore Edinburgh for hours and hours. After catching up on some work hours; we just wandered around, marveled at historical buildings and watched what life is like day to day in Edinburgh.
Day Two in Edinburgh:
Though we had a rental car still from our road trip, we almost exclusively walked around everywhere in Edinburgh. On day two our plan was to check out Calton Hill and Arthur’s Seat, but the weather had other plans for us.
Today, we made our way up to Calton Hill. Which I am sure are some of the best views of the city and some of the most beautiful historical monuments. It’s obvious why this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
If you can’t tell in the progression of our photos there, we finally experienced some true UK weather. Our day two went from blue skies to wind storm and downpour, causing us to put Arthur’s Seat on the back burner this time. We heard if you can fit it into your itinerary it’s totally worth the hike!
Day Three in Edinburgh:
If you haven’t figured it out yet… we are coffee, breakfast and pastry people. So day three of course started with finding another epic place to fuel the day.
Today’s goal: The Royal Mile
It was about a thirty minute walk to Edinburgh Castle from our Airbnb. We definitely recommend stopping at Princess Gardens along the way!
The sites along our walk did not disappoint. We started our stroll on The Royal Mile with Edinburgh Castle and ended at Holyrood… you can go for either way depending on where you’re located and your plans at each. We tried to get to Edinburgh Castle as early as possible to attempt to avoid crowds… we did a decent job at that. Didn’t account for stopping to hear bagpipe players.
Just to note… Starbucks was not the yummy breakfast place found originally… it was a refuel 😉
Try and grab your Edinburgh Castle tickets before you get to the door and you can avoid an entire second line.
I definitely think this castle was worth every penny and I will go back! The tour that comes with your ticket is much worth it as well, our guide was so fun and knowledgable. This particular tour queued up my obsession with learning all things Mary Queen of Scots.
And more great views of Edinburgh from a new angle.
After your castle tour we continued down The Royal Mile popping into shops and little pubs. Soaking in all of the culture of Scotland.
The end of the road is Holyrood Castle, we heard they do a GREAT afternoon tea, but we were too late… Next time!
Day Four in Edinburgh:
My personal favorite day, I don’t think you need a car in Edinburgh, except to see where day four took us, The Traquair House.
The oldest inhabited house in Scotland, dating back to 1107, and visited by 27 kings and queens.
What an AMAZING piece of history to be able to explore.
I highly, highly recommend touring here!
They have taken amazing care of this house, allowing you to indulge in pieces of history in a way that’s rare to be able to do nowadays.
It doesn’t hurt that they have an amazing little brewery, officially my all time favorite beer!!!
There is a really fun maze in the back.
AND a great little cafe with fresh food and a gorgeous garden.
Seriously, if you enjoy history, beautiful things, beer, good food or fun… go explore here, you won’t regret it!
There you have it, our perfect little four day stop in Edinburgh!
I have a feeling after summer 2019, there will be a part two to this, so stay tuned!
Have you been to Edinburgh? Tell us where we absolutely must go when we’re back in the comments.
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One Response
Has anybody been to The Vape Loft? xx