One of my favorite hobbies that never gets old is trip planning. I sometimes plan trips that I have no actual plans of going on. I once planned an entire week long road trip in Alaska for fun. Anyway my point is the planning part is as much fun for me as the actual going.

In a little over a month we(Scott, myself, and my mom) will be heading to Scotland so I am finishing up planning of this trip and I thought I might share a few of my thoughts and tips of how I plan. This is definitely not advice because everyone is different but maybe someone will find a helpful tidbit.

You may be asking yourself well how did you even get started?

Where?

The answer to that would be that Scott and I went to Wales this past Spring and he now shares my love of the UK. On a whim we decided that we would go to Scotland in the Fall and invited my mom because Scotland is high on her bucket list. Mom and I went to Edinburgh back in 2016 and we have been dying to get back ever since. So there we go we have a country and a city.

The other cities in our itinerary came from a lot of research into things we were all interested in. It is very hard to narrow it down but here is the list I ended up with:

• Started with Edinburgh-again was on our bucket list to go back to
• Next we added Inverness because my Mom has a life long dream of going to Loch Ness to see Nessie(and yes she is real!)
• Cumnock and Sorn were added next because my Mom and I have a familial connection. Our ancestors lived in this area in the 1600s.
• Isle of Skye was a last minute addition because it looks so beautiful and I can’t pass it up.

Is this too many places to cram into an 8 day trip? Who knows but it’s gonna be fun anyway!

How do you get there?

I researched flights from our home airport to all the major airports in Scotland and arrived to the conclusion that Edinburgh would be the best place to fly into and out of. I am horrible at flight planning so don’t get your flight advice from me. I buy them early because I like certain seats and certain times and that’s ok! I am also too tall for economy so I have to upgrade to Premium. Again you have to book early because seats are limited.

But where will we sleep?

This part took a lot of research. I personally prefer an Airbnb or VRBO experience over a hotel but I always research all options for trips. My key things I look for are:

• Location-I love a walkable city! I like to be able to walk to a variety of restaurants, shops, and touristy spots. There may be some times a remote location is more relaxing so it just depends on the vibe you want. Please note that staying in the city also means noise! I see so many Airbnb reviews that state how there was horrible street noise when you can clearly see in the photos the room is over a pub.
• Character/Charm- This obviously isn’t of the most importance but I do love staying in a place that has a cute quirky vibe or a unique history. It adds to the experience for me.
• Amenities- I like the option to cook on vacation to save a little money so a kitchen is ideal. Laundry helps when you’re packing light. Table for afternoon games. Outdoor spaces are nice. The list goes on.
• The key is to know what you want out of you’re home away from home and pick a place that fits you. Don’t settle and don’t be afraid to book through multiple sights. We are staying at an Airbnb, VRBO, and a boutique hotel.

But what will we do?

Again this takes a lot of fun research. I love a combination of unique things and the typical touristy things. For this trip we had several bucket list things that we started with and then just had to fill in. I like to use Google maps to find a place I want to go to then I can see what else is in the area to do that is walking distance. I also make lists of all the possible things we might want to do and then prioritize it so that day we can see how we feel and do what we can. Unfortunately you can never do it all! If all the research isn’t for you, there are plenty of guides and apps available that will basically plan it all for you. I recently discovered Wanderlog and it’s pretty cool even though I still prefer a good old fashioned Google Doc.

Anyway, that’s a few of my thoughts on my planning process. Is it the best way? Maybe not but it works for me!

Side note: You may be wondering, what did Scott do for the planning process? The answer to that is agree that we are going and ask his employer for the time off. He will show up at the airport with a vague idea of where we are going and the bliss of a beautifully planned vacation by his travel agent….I mean wife. And honestly that is just fine with me!