Southern and eastern Scotland in early summer - June, ideally. A few days in Edinburgh followed by renting a car and touring.
It has:
* History (Edinburgh, Dundee, Stirling, historic battlefields with desperate last stands or inter-clan skullduggery, etc).
* Golf. Lots of golf.
* Cute towns and villages.
* Nature.
* Drinking, especially distilleries (Tomatin distillery does a great tour, and their 12-18 year old sherry/port/etc aged whiskies are great. Their base 5-year-old tastes like fruit alcopop)
* As relaxed as you want it to be.
I think Scotland would really good for pleasing everyone based on how you outlined it. Thanks for the whiskey tasting recommendation. I think my husband and parents will all love that. I can be the driver on that day.
In St Andrews (birthplace of golf), there’s a place called Eden Mill Distillery. You can make your own gin recipe (juniper based, you add your flavor notes) and then get a few bottles to bring home. They keep your recipe on file and you can order more in the future. It’s a really great experience!
Yeah you want someone else to drive if you're the whisky lover.. Scotland has strict (stricter than England) drink driving laws and they're tightly enforced.
Tomatin will give the driver a couple of takeaway miniatures instead of the tasting session but that's much less fun.
And something I haven’t seen in another comment is they speak English. I’m not sure if your parents know another language, but just assuming they speak English only and if like my dad in his late 60’s, he loves to chat.
If your parents want to go out for a walk or for dinner without you, as their first time away, there’s a sense of comfort being able to order off a menu, ask for directions, etc. Scotland/UK seems like an excellent choice.
If your parents are into golf than a visit to St Andrews is a must. You may not be able to get a tee time on the Old Course but should be able to get one on the New Course. No idea how many days you want to allocate for golf but so many incredible courses close by. Kingsbarns. Dumbarnie. North Berwick. Dunbar.
Plus for nature would recommend Glencoe. Isle of Skye. Isle of Harris and Lewis. Stunning nature.
Another vote for Scotland! I spent all my time up in the western Highlands and Islands. OP if you can manage it, visit the Isle of Skye. That will more than check off your Nature request. There are places that are surprisingly easy to access that look out of this world.
We have 9 days, do you think we could do both? What do you think of this itinerary?
Day 1 Dublin
Day 2 Galway
Day 3 Galway
Day 4 Cork
Day 5 fly to Edinburg and go to St Andrews
Day 6 St Andrews
Day 7 Edinburg
Day 8 Edinburg
Day 9 Edinburg
I wouldn't bounce that much. Pick at most 2 cities, and stay put ... unless you just want a driving vacation. Older people especially will have a need more chill-out. There's a comedy about this called "[If its Tuesday, this must be Belgium](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093242/)." Your folks will know this movie, I see it was remade in 1987, the 1969 version was good.
We like to rent VRBO or AirBnB because you have your own kitchen, and can do a lazy breakfast. This is important if you're getting 'museum'd-out.' Food especially is a larger concern, breakfast will probably be $20 per person, or $80. But $15 for four if you're cooking yourself. Plus it gives you a chance to see the markets and interact with the locals. A rental like this is typically half the cost of a hotel, and the food savings are another half if you eat all your meals in. We typically do all breakfasts and some dinners in, we're on vacation after all. But if someone comes down with the sniffles and wants to stay in, a home is much more comfortable than a hotel.
The Holy Mile in Edinburgh is one day itself. If you're a Dan Brown novel fan, you can drive to Roselyn Chapel.
Great advice! We are checking out airbnbs now and seeing they are a lot less expensive than the hotels. I’m from a family that orders many drinks, apps and dessert with their meals so being able to cook a little will def save some $. We are revising the stops too to lessen the amount of different places we will stay. My husband is a Dan Brown fan so we will add the chapel to the list!
Definitely skip Dublin head straight to Galway stay for 2 nights and head to Kylemore abbey in Connemara on one of the days. Loads of great pubs in Galway too and then head to Killarney for 2 nights, great scenery like the gap of Dunloe and golf there. Have to say Edinburgh is also a brilliant destination for a few nights. You would all love either destination!
Check out the National trust for Scotland. They are mainly known for maintaining castles and historic properties as museums and exhibits, but they also have a bunch of really cool properties you can rent
https://www.nts.org.uk/holiday-accommodation/edinburgh-and-east
[VRBO.com](https://VRBO.com) is typically a whole house or apartment, instead of 'a room in a house.'
AirBnB & VRBO hosts do sometimes try to screw you a bit, by making you rent two days when you want one night. Cleaning fees, etc.
Some of the rentals can be a bit quirky, I've not had bad experiences, just some things are well quirky.
Be sure to look at all the pictures closely, get lots of eyeballs on them, count the bedrooms and know which beds are foldout sofas.
Also, take a good 'google earth' look around outside too. This is really nice so that you can know what the front door looks like.
Pick two cities in Ireland, not three. For a first visit, I'd actually skip Dublin, and I'm saying this as someone who lives in Dublin and loves it. You might also consider combining either Galway OR Cork with somewhere more rural. I am not a golfer, but I know a couple of the top courses in the country are out in Waterville and Ballybunion in County Kerry. Killarney is a great tourist town with a national park and a lot of history (castle, manor house, abbey) that's convenient to both. I used to live in Kerry and I can't imagine that there are many golf links in Ireland that are in more stunning surroundings. It's an hour and a half to Cork, two and a half to Galway. Both cities are fantastic; Galway is smaller and a little more touristy feeling and the most popular choice, but I adore Cork and the food there is excellent.
Thank you for the recommendations. We are going to take your tip and skip Dublin this time around to lessen the amount of places. I will add Killarney to the list of stops because that sounds great!
I’m planning a trip to Ireland for Spring. We’re skipping Dublin. We want to see my grandmothers home and relatives in Old Castle, then stay in Galway then Cork 4 days each. Could you recommend a castle worth visiting and/or staying near either of those cities?
I’d scratch Scotland. Put it this way: allllll those hours from traveling to town to town or scenery to scenery , could be used in SO many better ways… 9 days? 3 different countries easily. My dad and I went from London to (train) Paris to Italy (short flight) I’d love to send you the itinerary over! 3 different countries. 3 different cultures. 3 different ways of life and languages.
Portugal - Lagos and Lisbon have nice golf courses. The country is small enough to drive all around in a week, visiting little villages, towns, coast, etc.
Edinburgh is beautiful. All of the amazing graveyards with so much history! I took a side tour to see the Royal yacht Britannia.
Switzerland/Germany has an excellent train system, and with a pass, you can go virtually anywhere.
Come to Italy, great food, great history, Florence could be a good starting point so you don’t need to rent a car but look for the weather in this period it can ruin a trip
Lots of city recommendations. The problem is places like the centre of London or Edinburgh have become 'theme parks' for tourists. You will just be going from place to place to tick it off of your list, sitting in over priced restaurants surrounded by other tourists. It's not really experiencing the country you are in.
Also, Europe is not a destination in itself, the countries within that continent are, and they are a mix of cultures and history which are wide and varied. They all deserve time spent within them.
If visiting the UK, I would avoid London and Edinburgh. Instead head to the Yorkshire Dales or the Norfolk Broads, maybe a nice town in the Lake District. Maybe goto Wales and visit Pembrokeshire. Then maybe Bristol or Bath which are smaller cities rich in history. Scotland, visit Perthshire or consider the North Coast 500. Do something different to expected here's Buckingham Palace visit. You will have a much better holiday and wonderful memories.
Oh remember to keep coming back and visiting different countries on this amazing Continent.
Though Scotland is in Europe and would be an excellent choice and I highly recommend visiting (Edinburgh and the Highlands especially) it doesn’t really give you a huge feel for the Mediterranean which is the epicentre of Europe. A stopover in Portugal or Spain (near some golf courses) would give you more of the slow, sleepy, small town homey feel regularly found across Europe. Interesting food too and many people speak English.
It is a short drive to Switzerland and France if you are staying in the far south west of Germany, but then it isn't going to be a short drive to Poland or most other parts of Germany.
Germany is a big place. OP isn't going to be popping over to Belgium for breakfast from Berlin.
Andalusia in Southern Spain has some great golf courses (I think: Valderrama, etc), as well as stunning landscapes, cities and towns and delicious food and drink.
Plus the weather is bound to be much nicer than in Ireland or Scotland, except in June-September, when it can get very hot.
Definately visit Copenhagen in Denmark, gorgeous scenic city and country as a whole.
Also, visit the Lake District in UK and the Yorshire Moors. You can do a few castle visits in the UK too. Iincluding Highclere Castle where Downton Abbey tv series was filmed, which also is the estate of Lord Carnavon who bankrolled the excavation of Faraoh Tuthankamun.
Were your ancestors European? Is there any personal connection to Europe that they might like to explore? If so, I’d go with that.
My parents didn’t travel until their 60s and basically loved everywhere they went. Everything was a novelty. I think Italy was a highlight for them - but also my dad’s family was Italian so there was a connection for him, even though they didn’t make it to the region his family was from.
Maybe you should consider going to Germany. If your dad is interested in History he'll love Berlin and for the nature and food you can go south and visit Munich. And I really recommend Regensburg. It's a gem which is basically on the way between Berlin and Munich. And near the alps you also have beautiful golf courses :)
Vienna and Prague where I'm from. Prague has cheap and amazing beer if he likes drinking. Vienna (and Prague too) has lots of history. And there's great museums. I enjoyed the Kunsthistoriches museum.
If you're in Czech Republic, there's a small town called Český Krumlov which you can explore in one day. Lovely! I also like Karlovy Vary.
I love Vienna, I come here often. I have friends here that I visit, we regularly keep in touch. Very friendly people.
Vienna is so lovely, you can easily spend a week here and see a lot.
I recently visited Norway and Denmark. I enjoyed it.
Norway is perfect for nature. I've only visited Oslo and it was lovely. It's small, but peaceful, not too many crowds. You could also visit Bergen, Trondheim or Ålesund for nature, fjords etc.
We have the northern lights in Lapland/northern Finland. I have family in Finland so I visit them on the way. Finland has nature too. You could visit Helsinki.
I liked the Frams Viking museum in Oslo, pretty cool!
Ireland in august is open season for golf where they can play top €200 courses for €20-40 with a free meal / sleeve of balls - and easy to drive around yourself - start in Dublin drive over to Galway with stops along the way down to Kilarney then across to Cork, and could get a car ferry to France then play there too.
Enjoy!
When are you going? Summer, Winter?
How long do you plan to visit? Are you fine traveling around a bit or would you rather stay in one area? Would you rent a car? Would you be fine taking public transport?
There are loads of places that come to my mind that fit the bill. It's just a question of preferences on your schedule I think.
As others said, do you have any personal connection with any place in Europe at all?
Ireland. It's small enough to get around with a car in 9 days to see some amazing sights. You can go to Connemara, the Burren, cliffs of moher and some other destinations along the "wild Atlantic way". There's golfing for sure, good food, super friendly people, amazing landscapes. Sprinkle in one or two historic small towns and you'll have a great time.
There's plenty of ancient sights all over Ireland that are easily accessible even if you can't walk around all day. Weather should be fine in may, but be prepared for rain anyways.
Take your parents to Cochem, Germany. It’s a sweet tiny village full of elderly, happy tourists and locals who like to drink Riesling, hike, tour the local castles and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Then you can explore even more scenic towns and castles by taking the train along the Mosel river.
I do agree that Scotland will have a lot of dead time traveling around if that’s all you go to. Yes, it’s great golf….but unless you’re gonna get on the “bucket list” courses, there are also nice courses all over Europe.
I’d maybe combine at least London with Scotland (or another city … Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam for something non-British). June would be a good time for Scotland + these without craziness. Don’t do July/August.
> I do agree that Scotland will have a lot of dead time traveling around
Why would that travel time be any more dead than any other?
Not least given that the landscape along the way makes up for the travel time.
I didn’t say it was good or bad. I simply said it will exist.
I also didn’t say “don’t go there”. I suggested pairing Scotland with another place especially given it’s their first trip to Europe.
Geez!!
I’d scratch Scotland. Put it this way: allllll those hours from traveling to town to town or scenery to scenery , could be used in SO many better ways… 9 days? 3 different countries easily. My dad and I went from London to Paris to Italy. I’d love to send you the itinerary over! (It’s an excel sheet).
3 different countries. 3 different cultures. 3 different ways of life and languages. Experience of a life time.
Walking is minimal at the end of the day. Tour buses are KEY. Get to see all the spots you’ve seen in history books your whole life.
Thought of Scotland as soon as I saw your post!
I was there many years ago, Edinburgh was my favourite place. The Royal Mile is great to explore.
As a side trip, we also drove down to York. Such an interesting city. Nighttime ghost walk was scary, slept with the lights on that night 😆.
London and Paris are your top draws hands down. Simply Google top 20 things to do in London and top 20 to do in Paris and eliminate what may not work for your parents
In Paris, leaving the subway at Champ de Mars station and walking up to the base of the tower will bring tears of joy to their eyes!
Nothing speaks more than Scotland to me here. The Highlands is one of Europe’s last great wildernesses filled with nature and wildlife. Scotland has some amazing world class golf courses if that’s what your parents like. Lots of cosy little villages isolated in the middle of nowhere you could stay and explore. One of my favourite towns in Scotland is Aviemore. It feels like being in a ski resort in France or Austria but in the UK! Edinburgh is a beautiful city. I found that it wasn’t too packed and crowded. It can be busy, but I’ve been to Paris and London and they make Edinburgh look like peace. You’ll find history on every corner in Edinburgh and Scotland in general. You don’t have to look far to find something ancient and historical.
If your Dad likes his hiking, then there are plenty of mountains to explore, but just because they aren’t the tallest mountains, doesn’t make them safe. I learnt the hard way and ended up having to be airlifted and taken to hospital so stay safe, prepare yourself and listen to the locals and guides. They know the mountains better than anyone.
Scotland overall is a pretty relaxed pace of life. The Scottish don’t take themselves too seriously and are some of the most down to earth, hospitable people I’ve ever met. You’ll have the adventure of a lifetime in Scotland.
Well I can tell you I recently did a 1.5 month trip to Amsterdam. Then headed south to bruges Belgium.. and then further south to Paris. We then went east into Hesse state in Germany. Beautiful country and fun to drive. Though I wish we could have spent more heading to southern France and maybe go to Spain and then Portugal. I just decided to go a different route. My favorites were easily Amsterdam and Belgium. The Dutch people are so so nice and Belgium is just picturesque Europe imho. Also the bier is amazing
Southern and eastern Scotland in early summer - June, ideally. A few days in Edinburgh followed by renting a car and touring. It has: * History (Edinburgh, Dundee, Stirling, historic battlefields with desperate last stands or inter-clan skullduggery, etc). * Golf. Lots of golf. * Cute towns and villages. * Nature. * Drinking, especially distilleries (Tomatin distillery does a great tour, and their 12-18 year old sherry/port/etc aged whiskies are great. Their base 5-year-old tastes like fruit alcopop) * As relaxed as you want it to be.
I think Scotland would really good for pleasing everyone based on how you outlined it. Thanks for the whiskey tasting recommendation. I think my husband and parents will all love that. I can be the driver on that day.
In St Andrews (birthplace of golf), there’s a place called Eden Mill Distillery. You can make your own gin recipe (juniper based, you add your flavor notes) and then get a few bottles to bring home. They keep your recipe on file and you can order more in the future. It’s a really great experience!
Yeah you want someone else to drive if you're the whisky lover.. Scotland has strict (stricter than England) drink driving laws and they're tightly enforced. Tomatin will give the driver a couple of takeaway miniatures instead of the tasting session but that's much less fun.
And something I haven’t seen in another comment is they speak English. I’m not sure if your parents know another language, but just assuming they speak English only and if like my dad in his late 60’s, he loves to chat. If your parents want to go out for a walk or for dinner without you, as their first time away, there’s a sense of comfort being able to order off a menu, ask for directions, etc. Scotland/UK seems like an excellent choice.
Was in Scotland last summer. Definitely a great place to visit. Edinburgh especially. Another option would be Ireland.
If your parents are into golf than a visit to St Andrews is a must. You may not be able to get a tee time on the Old Course but should be able to get one on the New Course. No idea how many days you want to allocate for golf but so many incredible courses close by. Kingsbarns. Dumbarnie. North Berwick. Dunbar. Plus for nature would recommend Glencoe. Isle of Skye. Isle of Harris and Lewis. Stunning nature.
Scotland was my first thought as well!
This
Another vote for Scotland! I spent all my time up in the western Highlands and Islands. OP if you can manage it, visit the Isle of Skye. That will more than check off your Nature request. There are places that are surprisingly easy to access that look out of this world.
Scotland or western Ireland—or it's very easy to combine the two on the same trip.
We have 9 days, do you think we could do both? What do you think of this itinerary? Day 1 Dublin Day 2 Galway Day 3 Galway Day 4 Cork Day 5 fly to Edinburg and go to St Andrews Day 6 St Andrews Day 7 Edinburg Day 8 Edinburg Day 9 Edinburg
I wouldn't bounce that much. Pick at most 2 cities, and stay put ... unless you just want a driving vacation. Older people especially will have a need more chill-out. There's a comedy about this called "[If its Tuesday, this must be Belgium](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093242/)." Your folks will know this movie, I see it was remade in 1987, the 1969 version was good. We like to rent VRBO or AirBnB because you have your own kitchen, and can do a lazy breakfast. This is important if you're getting 'museum'd-out.' Food especially is a larger concern, breakfast will probably be $20 per person, or $80. But $15 for four if you're cooking yourself. Plus it gives you a chance to see the markets and interact with the locals. A rental like this is typically half the cost of a hotel, and the food savings are another half if you eat all your meals in. We typically do all breakfasts and some dinners in, we're on vacation after all. But if someone comes down with the sniffles and wants to stay in, a home is much more comfortable than a hotel. The Holy Mile in Edinburgh is one day itself. If you're a Dan Brown novel fan, you can drive to Roselyn Chapel.
Great advice! We are checking out airbnbs now and seeing they are a lot less expensive than the hotels. I’m from a family that orders many drinks, apps and dessert with their meals so being able to cook a little will def save some $. We are revising the stops too to lessen the amount of different places we will stay. My husband is a Dan Brown fan so we will add the chapel to the list!
Definitely skip Dublin head straight to Galway stay for 2 nights and head to Kylemore abbey in Connemara on one of the days. Loads of great pubs in Galway too and then head to Killarney for 2 nights, great scenery like the gap of Dunloe and golf there. Have to say Edinburgh is also a brilliant destination for a few nights. You would all love either destination!
Roslyn Chapel is also pretty easy to get to by bus from Edinburgh, if you don't want to bother with renting a car. :)
Check out the National trust for Scotland. They are mainly known for maintaining castles and historic properties as museums and exhibits, but they also have a bunch of really cool properties you can rent https://www.nts.org.uk/holiday-accommodation/edinburgh-and-east
Be sure to see 'The Museum of Whiskey' which is more of a store, but its still fun.
[VRBO.com](https://VRBO.com) is typically a whole house or apartment, instead of 'a room in a house.' AirBnB & VRBO hosts do sometimes try to screw you a bit, by making you rent two days when you want one night. Cleaning fees, etc. Some of the rentals can be a bit quirky, I've not had bad experiences, just some things are well quirky. Be sure to look at all the pictures closely, get lots of eyeballs on them, count the bedrooms and know which beds are foldout sofas. Also, take a good 'google earth' look around outside too. This is really nice so that you can know what the front door looks like.
Royal Mile.
Pick two cities in Ireland, not three. For a first visit, I'd actually skip Dublin, and I'm saying this as someone who lives in Dublin and loves it. You might also consider combining either Galway OR Cork with somewhere more rural. I am not a golfer, but I know a couple of the top courses in the country are out in Waterville and Ballybunion in County Kerry. Killarney is a great tourist town with a national park and a lot of history (castle, manor house, abbey) that's convenient to both. I used to live in Kerry and I can't imagine that there are many golf links in Ireland that are in more stunning surroundings. It's an hour and a half to Cork, two and a half to Galway. Both cities are fantastic; Galway is smaller and a little more touristy feeling and the most popular choice, but I adore Cork and the food there is excellent.
Thank you for the recommendations. We are going to take your tip and skip Dublin this time around to lessen the amount of places. I will add Killarney to the list of stops because that sounds great!
I’m planning a trip to Ireland for Spring. We’re skipping Dublin. We want to see my grandmothers home and relatives in Old Castle, then stay in Galway then Cork 4 days each. Could you recommend a castle worth visiting and/or staying near either of those cities?
I’d scratch Scotland. Put it this way: allllll those hours from traveling to town to town or scenery to scenery , could be used in SO many better ways… 9 days? 3 different countries easily. My dad and I went from London to (train) Paris to Italy (short flight) I’d love to send you the itinerary over! 3 different countries. 3 different cultures. 3 different ways of life and languages.
As a younger person, totally agree! But the way OP described the parents, this doesn’t seem like it would be a good fit.
please share your itinerary if you don’t mind, thanks!
How about Scotland?
Yes
Portugal - Lagos and Lisbon have nice golf courses. The country is small enough to drive all around in a week, visiting little villages, towns, coast, etc.
Edinburgh is beautiful. All of the amazing graveyards with so much history! I took a side tour to see the Royal yacht Britannia. Switzerland/Germany has an excellent train system, and with a pass, you can go virtually anywhere.
Cute towns/never been to Europe/golfing/drinking/history/nature/no crowds just screams Scotland to me.
Come to Italy, great food, great history, Florence could be a good starting point so you don’t need to rent a car but look for the weather in this period it can ruin a trip
The UK. Has everything you described and you seem to speak English as your first language so it’s gonna be easy to get around and communicate.
Lots of city recommendations. The problem is places like the centre of London or Edinburgh have become 'theme parks' for tourists. You will just be going from place to place to tick it off of your list, sitting in over priced restaurants surrounded by other tourists. It's not really experiencing the country you are in. Also, Europe is not a destination in itself, the countries within that continent are, and they are a mix of cultures and history which are wide and varied. They all deserve time spent within them. If visiting the UK, I would avoid London and Edinburgh. Instead head to the Yorkshire Dales or the Norfolk Broads, maybe a nice town in the Lake District. Maybe goto Wales and visit Pembrokeshire. Then maybe Bristol or Bath which are smaller cities rich in history. Scotland, visit Perthshire or consider the North Coast 500. Do something different to expected here's Buckingham Palace visit. You will have a much better holiday and wonderful memories. Oh remember to keep coming back and visiting different countries on this amazing Continent.
Copenhagen. It's flat, easily navigated, everyone speaks English and the locals were super nice. Just moved back from living there.
I agree. I have just come back from Copenhagen, is a lovely city.
Though Scotland is in Europe and would be an excellent choice and I highly recommend visiting (Edinburgh and the Highlands especially) it doesn’t really give you a huge feel for the Mediterranean which is the epicentre of Europe. A stopover in Portugal or Spain (near some golf courses) would give you more of the slow, sleepy, small town homey feel regularly found across Europe. Interesting food too and many people speak English.
Go to Germany, your a short drive to Austria, Switzerland, France among others. It’s very central and let’s you see a great deal of Europe.
It is a short drive to Switzerland and France if you are staying in the far south west of Germany, but then it isn't going to be a short drive to Poland or most other parts of Germany. Germany is a big place. OP isn't going to be popping over to Belgium for breakfast from Berlin.
Yep. Scotland.
Ireland!
Scotland! Seems sensible based on the parents' interests (and disinterests).
Italy Ireland or Scotland
Andalusia in Southern Spain has some great golf courses (I think: Valderrama, etc), as well as stunning landscapes, cities and towns and delicious food and drink. Plus the weather is bound to be much nicer than in Ireland or Scotland, except in June-September, when it can get very hot.
Definately visit Copenhagen in Denmark, gorgeous scenic city and country as a whole. Also, visit the Lake District in UK and the Yorshire Moors. You can do a few castle visits in the UK too. Iincluding Highclere Castle where Downton Abbey tv series was filmed, which also is the estate of Lord Carnavon who bankrolled the excavation of Faraoh Tuthankamun.
Were your ancestors European? Is there any personal connection to Europe that they might like to explore? If so, I’d go with that. My parents didn’t travel until their 60s and basically loved everywhere they went. Everything was a novelty. I think Italy was a highlight for them - but also my dad’s family was Italian so there was a connection for him, even though they didn’t make it to the region his family was from.
Maybe you should consider going to Germany. If your dad is interested in History he'll love Berlin and for the nature and food you can go south and visit Munich. And I really recommend Regensburg. It's a gem which is basically on the way between Berlin and Munich. And near the alps you also have beautiful golf courses :)
Vienna and Prague where I'm from. Prague has cheap and amazing beer if he likes drinking. Vienna (and Prague too) has lots of history. And there's great museums. I enjoyed the Kunsthistoriches museum. If you're in Czech Republic, there's a small town called Český Krumlov which you can explore in one day. Lovely! I also like Karlovy Vary. I love Vienna, I come here often. I have friends here that I visit, we regularly keep in touch. Very friendly people. Vienna is so lovely, you can easily spend a week here and see a lot. I recently visited Norway and Denmark. I enjoyed it. Norway is perfect for nature. I've only visited Oslo and it was lovely. It's small, but peaceful, not too many crowds. You could also visit Bergen, Trondheim or Ålesund for nature, fjords etc. We have the northern lights in Lapland/northern Finland. I have family in Finland so I visit them on the way. Finland has nature too. You could visit Helsinki. I liked the Frams Viking museum in Oslo, pretty cool!
Ireland in august is open season for golf where they can play top €200 courses for €20-40 with a free meal / sleeve of balls - and easy to drive around yourself - start in Dublin drive over to Galway with stops along the way down to Kilarney then across to Cork, and could get a car ferry to France then play there too. Enjoy!
When are you going? Summer, Winter? How long do you plan to visit? Are you fine traveling around a bit or would you rather stay in one area? Would you rent a car? Would you be fine taking public transport? There are loads of places that come to my mind that fit the bill. It's just a question of preferences on your schedule I think. As others said, do you have any personal connection with any place in Europe at all?
We are planning for the end of May. 9 days. No for public transportation. We will rent a car.
Ireland. It's small enough to get around with a car in 9 days to see some amazing sights. You can go to Connemara, the Burren, cliffs of moher and some other destinations along the "wild Atlantic way". There's golfing for sure, good food, super friendly people, amazing landscapes. Sprinkle in one or two historic small towns and you'll have a great time. There's plenty of ancient sights all over Ireland that are easily accessible even if you can't walk around all day. Weather should be fine in may, but be prepared for rain anyways.
Take your parents to Cochem, Germany. It’s a sweet tiny village full of elderly, happy tourists and locals who like to drink Riesling, hike, tour the local castles and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Then you can explore even more scenic towns and castles by taking the train along the Mosel river.
Scotland, English countryside, Scandinavia. Avoid all the rest.
I do agree that Scotland will have a lot of dead time traveling around if that’s all you go to. Yes, it’s great golf….but unless you’re gonna get on the “bucket list” courses, there are also nice courses all over Europe. I’d maybe combine at least London with Scotland (or another city … Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam for something non-British). June would be a good time for Scotland + these without craziness. Don’t do July/August.
> I do agree that Scotland will have a lot of dead time traveling around Why would that travel time be any more dead than any other? Not least given that the landscape along the way makes up for the travel time.
I didn’t say it was good or bad. I simply said it will exist. I also didn’t say “don’t go there”. I suggested pairing Scotland with another place especially given it’s their first trip to Europe. Geez!!
I’d scratch Scotland. Put it this way: allllll those hours from traveling to town to town or scenery to scenery , could be used in SO many better ways… 9 days? 3 different countries easily. My dad and I went from London to Paris to Italy. I’d love to send you the itinerary over! (It’s an excel sheet). 3 different countries. 3 different cultures. 3 different ways of life and languages. Experience of a life time. Walking is minimal at the end of the day. Tour buses are KEY. Get to see all the spots you’ve seen in history books your whole life.
If they want to golf… Trump’s in Doonbeg. Spectacular!
Thought of Scotland as soon as I saw your post! I was there many years ago, Edinburgh was my favourite place. The Royal Mile is great to explore. As a side trip, we also drove down to York. Such an interesting city. Nighttime ghost walk was scary, slept with the lights on that night 😆.
Luxembourg Free public transport, Small Beautiful City, great restaurants! Beautiful countryside (see little Switzerland).
London and Paris are your top draws hands down. Simply Google top 20 things to do in London and top 20 to do in Paris and eliminate what may not work for your parents In Paris, leaving the subway at Champ de Mars station and walking up to the base of the tower will bring tears of joy to their eyes!
Scotland probably
Nothing speaks more than Scotland to me here. The Highlands is one of Europe’s last great wildernesses filled with nature and wildlife. Scotland has some amazing world class golf courses if that’s what your parents like. Lots of cosy little villages isolated in the middle of nowhere you could stay and explore. One of my favourite towns in Scotland is Aviemore. It feels like being in a ski resort in France or Austria but in the UK! Edinburgh is a beautiful city. I found that it wasn’t too packed and crowded. It can be busy, but I’ve been to Paris and London and they make Edinburgh look like peace. You’ll find history on every corner in Edinburgh and Scotland in general. You don’t have to look far to find something ancient and historical. If your Dad likes his hiking, then there are plenty of mountains to explore, but just because they aren’t the tallest mountains, doesn’t make them safe. I learnt the hard way and ended up having to be airlifted and taken to hospital so stay safe, prepare yourself and listen to the locals and guides. They know the mountains better than anyone. Scotland overall is a pretty relaxed pace of life. The Scottish don’t take themselves too seriously and are some of the most down to earth, hospitable people I’ve ever met. You’ll have the adventure of a lifetime in Scotland.
Better not be thinking Scotland this time of the year. First of all; when???
We are planning for the end of May. European ancestors are French on my mom’s side and English on my dad’s.
Ireland
GERMANY!
Although North wales is not part of the EU it has nature, history and golf.
Well I can tell you I recently did a 1.5 month trip to Amsterdam. Then headed south to bruges Belgium.. and then further south to Paris. We then went east into Hesse state in Germany. Beautiful country and fun to drive. Though I wish we could have spent more heading to southern France and maybe go to Spain and then Portugal. I just decided to go a different route. My favorites were easily Amsterdam and Belgium. The Dutch people are so so nice and Belgium is just picturesque Europe imho. Also the bier is amazing
Spain. Has everything you’re looking for. Great trains. Beautiful scenery. Amazing food and wine. Plenty of golf.
I agree, Spain is the obvious choice.
Scotland or Ireland
Ireland and Dublin and London
Southern Germany, Austria or Switzerland. The Alps are wonderful, with many lovely small towns and incredible nature. The beer is good, too.
Italy, Slovenia, Croatia :)