Edinburgh

Our trip to Edinburgh (2019-2020)

Getting to Edinburgh

✈️ We flew to Edinburgh from Brussels on Ryan Air. We did not feel like we needed a car once we were in the city center.

🚘 While a car is not needed in Edinburgh, if you are wanting to visit the highlands at all- it is worth considering a car. There are also day tours that you can take, and depending what you want to do which is what we opted to do this trip.

Our trip to Edinburgh (2019-2020)

My most recent trip recap.

This was a trip that me and my sister planned while I was nearing the end of my fall 2019 study abroad semester. She and my parents were coming over to spend Christmas in France with me and I had found cheap RyanAir flights from Brussels to Edinburgh and afterwards from Edinburgh to Dublin. Knowing that Scotland and Ireland were some of the top countries on her list to visit, I called her and asked if she was on board. When doing research about our trip we learned that they celebrate Hogmanay. There's a giant street party and different events throughout the week. We of course grabbed some tickets. We traveled from France to Brussels by train, spent a half day there and then boarded our flight for our first sisters trip!

Day 1:

We landed in Edinburgh on New Years Eve. We headed immediately to our Bed&Breakfast to check in and set our luggage down. (Recommend doing this time of year because everything is closed the 1st and 2nd). Afterwards we decided to explore town by foot before heading over for Hogmanay. For dinner we decided on the classic pub dinner. We each had fish & chips and peas. When we looked at the sports game on the TV- the University of Kentucky basketball team was playing! Small world! After we finished eating we headed over to get the Hogmanay celebrations going. We checked in and made our way down, checking out the area. There was a big parade, music, and an overall great ambiance. We found our spot that we wanted to watch the fireworks at and guarded it for the last hour. We were right in front of the castle and next to a giant screen so we were sure to see everything going on. The countdown started and a gorgeous Firework show appeared. Afterwards, instead of going out, we chose to go back to the Bed&Breakfast.

Day 2:

It was January 1st. We woke up and shortly after realized that pretty much everything is closed on New Years Day in Scotland. We chose to have a lazy day and rest at our Bed&Breakfast from the events the night before.

Day 3:

On January 2nd we took a bus to Glasgow for a day trip. It was pouring down rain. We were surprised that the locals around us (at least we assumed they were locals) didn't have an umbrella, only a raincoat. About mid-day after using our umbrella we learned why. It was so windy it kept turning inside out! Everything was closed still. We took a hop on hop off bus tour to get out of the rain and still see the city a little and learn a bit of history. We stopped at a church along the route and tried to go in- it was closed! I didn't realize that churches close. After the hop on hop off bus tour, we went to a cinema and saw little women. It was a big tear jerker. We ate dinner that night at hard rock café since we like to go in different cities. Then we went back to Edinburgh for the night.

Day 4:

On January 3rd we explored the Edinburgh royal mile. We went on a whiskey tour at The Scotch Whiskey Experience, then to the Edinburgh Castle and ate at the Tea Room in the castle. The Whiskey experience was very interesting since both my sister and I have done multiple bourbon tour experiences in Kentucky. While it may not have been the wisest decision to do the tour in the morning, when in Scotland! After the tour there is a tasting and a giant gorgeous room filled from floor to ceiling with Scottish whiskey that is incredible to see . The Edinburgh Castle is a gorgeous piece of history that was extrememly interesting to learn about. They also have a cannon go off that is cool to wait and see. Inside the castle there is a Tea Room. I highly recommend eating there if you are able. The food and tea was delicious and a super cool experience! I ordered a scone after the afternoon tea and it was as big as my head! That night we found an asian restaurant to eat at that was delicious.

Day 5:

We took a hop on and hop off bus tour after walking a little bit through the shops on the royal mile. On the tour we saw The World's End Bar, and made our way to the Palace of Holyrood House. While the Palace tour on the inside was interesting and I liked hearing about the history, it was the grounds that I was most impressed by. They were beautiful! We were there on a gorgeously sunny day as well which helped. After we toured the Palace, we decided to make the best of the weather and made our way over to climb to Arthur's seat. The walk was not bad at all, it just got a bit steep toward the end. It's impressive how high up you are. It was cool to be able to see all of Edinburgh from that distance. That evening we headed back into town and ate at a delicious tapas restaurant, Cafe Andaluz. They were pretty busy when we were there and so I would recommend making a recommendation.

Day 6:

Our 5th day in Edinburgh we took a day tour into the highlands with Highland Explorer Tours. They took us up to Glen Coe, the Great Glen, Highland Perthshire and Loch Ness where we did a boat cruise with the theme the Loch Ness Monster. We had an amazing tour guide along the way that told us all about the history of the area. After we got back from the day trip we went to Dishoom for dinner. This restaurant had some of the best food I have ever eaten in my life. I even bought the cookbook from them!

Day 6:

January 6th was our last day in Scotland. We spent half the day walking around the Royal Mile and ate breakfast at The Elephant House, were J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter in Scotland. Afterwards we saw Greyfriars Bobby Statue, and then make our way to the airport to head to Dublin!

Food

I have never had a bad meal in Scotland and it even surprised me!

Reservations are recommended- we weren't there during the high season and popular restaurants were booking up fast. We were able to get lucky getting into places but would have done much better with reservations.

Some foods to eat are:

Fish & Chips (with peas, mushy peas are fun to try!)
Go and eat at a Pub
Full Scottish Breakfast
Tea at Edinburgh Castle
Cafe Andaluz
Dishoom
The Elephant House

Lodging

We stayed in the Appin House Bed & Breakfast. This was a very comfortable Bed & Breakfast with a delicious full breakfast. On New Years day we were served mimosas with breakfast.