2 Days in Edinburgh

[realnice46]

We will be in Edinburgh for 2 days. First day we are planning to do Royal Mile and the Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Tattoo in the evening.

We will be in port the second day until 11:59 PM, should we do a second day in Edinburgh or do a day tour either to Loch Lomond and Sterling Castle or to Alnwick Castle and Northumberland Coast ?

[tartanexile81]

Which ship are you on? It might make a difference.

 

Firstly there is easily enough to fill 2 days in Edinburgh, especially in August when the International Arts Festival and Fringe are on. Off the top of my head other options for Day 2 in Edinburgh to give you a different feel would be the Royal Yacht Britannia, Botanic Gardens, Roslin Chapel (Da Vinci Code) or any of the numerous galleries and museums.

 

If you decide to do a tour on Day 2 I think you'd be impressed by the amazing Scottish scenery on the Loch Lomond / Stirling castle Tour. Or have you thought of a visit to St Andrews if you're a golfer.

[realnice46]

Which ship are you on? It might make a difference.

 

Firstly there is easily enough to fill 2 days in Edinburgh, especially in August when the International Arts Festival and Fringe are on. Off the top of my head other options for Day 2 in Edinburgh to give you a different feel would be the Royal Yacht Britannia, Botanic Gardens, Roslin Chapel (Da Vinci Code) or any of the numerous galleries and museums.

 

If you decide to do a tour on Day 2 I think you'd be impressed by the amazing Scottish scenery on the Loch Lomond / Stirling castle Tour. Or have you thought of a visit to St Andrews if you're a golfer.

 

We will be on the Celebrity Silhouette. I am torn as to second day in Edinburgh but a little concerned about amount of people in town for festivals. The couple we are traveling with don't seem thrilled by that.

[tartanexile81]

If you're on the Celebrity Silhouette, you'll be tendered int Newhaven which is North of the city centre, next to Leith.

 

None of the options I've mention for Day 2 involve being anywhere near the city centre where the vast majority of festival events will be taking place. The city certainly gets very very busy and you'll find that on Day 1 doing your tour of the Royal Mile. It does give the city a real buzz but it does change the character f the place. if I'm honest the crowds are really bad on the Royal Mile and you might not be able to see the buildings properly as there's street markets, street entertainers and crowds watching them etc. The other places I mentioned are all on the outskirts and in fact Britannia is in easy walking distance of where you dock. When you get ashore the local cruise volunteers would be able to give you directions if you wanted. Last year I created a thread with photos of Newhaven, Edinburgh

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?p=48788387#post48788387

 

If I was organising a full private tour on Day 2, I would go from Edinburgh to Perth, up to Pitlochry along Loch Tay to Killin into the Trossachs National Park then finish at Stirling Castle. They're maybe not so well known by overseas visitors as Loch Lomond but there's stunning scenery and it's probably my favourite part of Scotland. If you're doing a ship's tour, I'd go for the Loch Lomond option but it will certainly be more crowded

[realnice46]

If you're on the Celebrity Silhouette, you'll be tendered int Newhaven which is North of the city centre, next to Leith.

 

None of the options I've mention for Day 2 involve being anywhere near the city centre where the vast majority of festival events will be taking place. The city certainly gets very very busy and you'll find that on Day 1 doing your tour of the Royal Mile. It does give the city a real buzz but it does change the character f the place. if I'm honest the crowds are really bad on the Royal Mile and you might not be able to see the buildings properly as there's street markets, street entertainers and crowds watching them etc. The other places I mentioned are all on the outskirts and in fact Britannia is in easy walking distance of where you dock. When you get ashore the local cruise volunteers would be able to give you directions if you wanted. Last year I created a thread with photos of Newhaven, Edinburgh

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?p=48788387#post48788387

 

If I was organising a full private tour on Day 2, I would go from Edinburgh to Perth, up to Pitlochry along Loch Tay to Killin into the Trossachs National Park then finish at Stirling Castle. They're maybe not so well known by overseas visitors as Loch Lomond but there's stunning scenery and it's probably my favourite part of Scotland. If you're doing a ship's tour, I'd go for the Loch Lomond option but it will certainly be more crowded

 

Thank you so much for the detailed information and link to photos. They we very helpful.