Edinburgh with teens

[daisymay133]

Hi looking to book a 3 day trip to edimburgh early August with 2 teenage dds 15&13
Just after some ideas of things to do given all the restrictions ? Me and dh last went pre kids about 18 yrs ago but dds haven’t

Not interested in museums etc - happy to see castle but after a bit more excitement really!

Any nearby trips or events? We like many things but they won’t thank me for anything ‘educational’!
They’ll be happy shopping and eating but could do with a couple half day things - anything very local? It’s a 4 hr drive to get there so ideally don’t wanna drive to much when there

Thanks!

Sorry can't help but following this with interest as I have two dc the same ages and planning a similar trip.

The Real Mary King’s Close
The Edinburgh Dungeon
The Chocolatarium
Cadies and Witchery Tours
Edinburgh Zoo

Camera Obscura. No idea how social distancing will work in there but my 14yo really enjoyed it.

The National Museum of Scotland is fab and while educational would tick boxes for teens interested in science. Dolly the Sheep lives there.

A little further afield if you have your car are the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel, they are around an hours drive.

Royal Yacht Britannia is in Leith which is worth a visit for the quirky shops and bars. Plenty of buses go there from town.

Ordinarily I’d have said the fringe and all the stuff that happens alongside it....but it’s all cancelled.
Maybe best having a look at the Visit Edinburgh website to see if any tours or anything are still running?

The zoo is very good - it's the only zoo in the UK with pandas!

Thanks this may be stupid question but are there any like boat trips or evening sail trips nearby?

Bumping

There's a boat going to Inchcolm Abbey from the Forth Rail bridge. Not sure if it's running at present but it's a good trip

I wouldn't do the castle. It's a waste of money imo. Better to look at, the inside doesn't feel like a castle it feels like museum rooms
My teen liked the real Mary Kings Close and the ghost bus tour if its running

There’s some good Escape Room places in Edinburgh - the Space Odyssey one here is fun: www.canyouescape.co.uk/edinburgh.

The Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick does good boat trips: seabird.org/visit/boats/10/22 North Berwick’s about 40 minutes on the train, nice beaches

Thanks so much for the updates

Yes I wasn’t gonna pay for the inside of the castle - quick photo will do. We are not a sight seeing family really!

Yes I fancied the ghost tour but the kids did it in York and wasn’t sure if it’s same sort thing

What’s the dungeon like is it too young? Beating in mind my eldest has done farmageddon which is pretty scary locally 🤣

Any recommendations for a nice afternoon tea?

Is there anywhere to hire bikes and is it safe to cycle round the city/parks? I’ve seen cycling tours but I’m thinking on our own?

My 4 year old loved the Edinburgh dungeon, so not too scary really.

Camera Obscura is fab, but as pp said, not sure how social distancing will work, but is worth going.

Edinburgh Zoo is amazing!

The dungeon is great. Much like York but with Edinburgh stories
You can't beat the London dungeon but Edinburgh is probably better than York

The Witchery does a nice afternoon tea - or The Balmoral would probably be fine too

Thanks so much

Not sure about dungeon may be too tame then 🤣

The witchery looks just the ticket too love that thanks 👍

I like the idea of the escape rooms but it’s quite a bit dearer than the one near me for same experience

Do they do offers in local papers etc as £80 for 1.5 hours seems steep 🤔

Have you done any checking around what’s open? My 12 year old and I spent the weekend in Edinburgh last week - it was a weekend of walking around and none of the usual places we would go were open (which we knew). It was a terrific weekend because Edinburgh is a beautiful city but don’t go expecting anything beyond shops to be open.

Thanks yes I know

To be honest we were going barcelona and it was only cancelled yesterday which I’m pleased about but it’s left everything last minute

I’m happy walking shopping and eating out - anything else is bonus really

More after 1/2 activities incase it rains

Do you have any tips? Nice ‘novelty’ eateries or places quirky shops that teens may like?

Ghost tours are excellent in Edinburgh if they are still running, I guess it could be easily socially distanced so should be?

Camera obscurer if it's open

Dungeons are great, but they do play to the crowd so if there are young kids they'll tame it down but if you to later in the day you'll find it's amped up a bit.

There's a great indoor climbing centre near Arthur's Seat (hill walk) which is also good, if they are into that sort of thing.

The zoo is worth it for the pandas and the penguin parade but it is a lot of walking up big hills.

I’ve heard as quick google and so far all your suggestions are open thankfully 👍

My dds are quite adventurous really

We can’t copy their usual watermark type of holidays which is why I haven’t tried

Their only other love is shopping and later nights 🤣 so even if I can find nice novelty themed type restaurants that be a bonus 👍

Water park I meant

Activities in case it rains are few and far between just now for obvious reasons.
A walk around the Old Town is great, going down the closes (lanes) and into the courtyards of the Royal Mile. You could use a guidebook to tell you about the history as you go.
The New Town is lovely to wander around too. You could walk down to Stockbridge and go along the Water of Leith path to Dean Village.
The Botanic Gardens are beautiful. You need to reserve (free) tickets at the moment though so plan a few days in advance.
Portobello for the seaside - cafes, the prom and the beach. The amusement arcade will probably be closed.
You could drive to South Queensferry and walk over the Forth Road Bridge for great views. There are boat trips running from South Queensferry. You can have fish and chips by the harbour here too.
Drive along the East Lothian tourist coastal route to lovely beaches at Seton Sands, Aberlady, Gullane and North Berwick.
Normally August in Edinburgh is full of exciting stuff but the Fringe is off this year...