Grant and I just got back from our two week long Europe trip & I have been dying to share my itinerary with you! Whenever we go on trips we never use travel agents because we love to plan out everything ourselves! If you ever plan on planning a trip on your own I HIGHLY recommend utilizing TikTok as a resource for places to eat, things to do, and where to stay! Some of our favorite experiences from our trip were ideas we got off TikTok! Overall, we had a blast and I feel like we got the most out of every destination we stayed at! Let’s jump in to the details, shall we?
LONDON
For this trip London served as our base to fly in and out of however we didn’t have a ton of time to spend in the actual city.
PRO TIP: If you are looking to travel to Europe I always recommend flying in to the cheapest destination near the other places you plan to visit. Treat it as a hub to fly in and out of and utilize trains, buses, and cheap flights to hope around from location to location from there.
The time we did have in London we tried to pack in as much as we possibly could. Here’s a round up of what we did:
WHERE WE STAYED:
WHERE TO EAT/DRINK:
- Dishoom– AMAZING Indian food. So good we went on the first and last day of our trip.
- L’eto for tea & pastries- Great option if you want a “high tea” experience but are looking for something more casual. Everything is al a carte and was perfect for use since we were crunched for time.
- White Lion- Came here for Dinner & Drinks in Covent Garden. Super fun place to be at night
WHAT TO DO:
- Buckingham Palace
- Big Ben
- The London Eye
- Covent Garden
- Hyde Park
- Bar Hopping in SOHO
EDINBURGH
If you want to feel transported back in time, head to Edinburgh! It is the most beautiful city filled with cobblestone streets, historic buildings, and amazing restaurants! We stayed here for three nights before continuing our journey to the Highlands by train.
WHERE WE STAYED:
Hapimag Hotel Edinburgh -I could not recommend this place enough! It was a massive sweet and had the most insane views!
WHERE TO EAT/DRINK:
- The Witchery -The COOLEST experience you can get. If you want all the magical vibes, eat here. Food was amazing and we had the best tea for dessert!
- Scotch Whiskey Experience –Take their Whiskey class or come and build your own flight downstairs! We did both and had a great experience each time we went
- Cold Town House for light bites, drinks, & rooftop view of Edinburgh Castle
- Vittoria On The Bridge- Yummy Italian food & great cocktails
- Civerino- Fun place to grab Pizza & Apps
- Dragonfly for cocktails
- Edinburgh Street Food- Nice casual place with yummy bites
- Fortuna Coffee Bar -more modern breakfast place
- MilkMan Coffee Shop- Cute coffee shop by the castle
- B + B Edinburgh -Go here & get their traditional Scottish Breakfast!
WHAT TO DO:
- Inverness Castle
- Scotch Whiskey Experience
- Stroll through Old Town
- Edinburgh Castle Park
INVERNESS
We spent 3 nights in Inverness which is located in the Scotish Highlands. I will be honest- you really don’t want to spend more than a day in Inverness itself but it is a great place to be located to do all the amazing things the Highlands have to offer. We spent one full day on an Outlander tour and another we took a road trip to Isle of Skye!
WHERE WE STAYED:
The Annexe At Rauldon AirBnB -Cute airbnb just a few minutes walking distance from the town!
WHERE TO EAT/DRINK:
- McGregor’s- For Pints & Fish and chips
- The Walrus & Corkscrew- Cute wine bar on a street corner with outdoor seating
- The Waterside -Come here for drinks along the river!
- PERK Coffee & Doughnuts- We came here for a late night peanut butter whiskey cocktail but they also have breakfast!
- Corner on the Square- One of our favorite meals from he entire trip! This cute farm to table restaurant is located in a small town near Inverness called Beauly!
- Glen Ord Distiller- Stop here for a Whiskey tasting
WHAT TO DO:
- Walk along the river
- Leakey’s Bookshop
- Outlander Tour -All the activities below we did on our tour but you can by all means explore them yourself!
- Boat Ride on Loch Ness
- Explore Urquhart Castle
- Stop in Beauly for lunch
- Whiskey Tasting
- Visit Culloden Battle field
- Visit the stones at Clava Cairns
- Take a day trip tip visit Isle of Skye
Isle of Skye
Our day in Isle of Skye was probably my favorite experience on this entire Euro trip! We rented a car for the day and left Inverness at 6:30am. It takes about 3 hours to get there and then we road tripped around the coast! We didn’t stay there this time but If I ever go back I will definitely be finding a cute Bed and Breakfast to stay in here!
WHERE TO EAT:
- Birch -Cutest coffee shop in Portree. Stopped here for a bite to eat before starting our roadtrip around Isle of Skye
- The Hungry Gull -Quaint Lunch place in a small town! Went for soup and sandwiches!
WHAT TO DO:
- Breakfast in Portree
- Old man Storr
- Waterfall
- Stop for lunch at The Hungry Gull
- Fairy Glen
- Fairy Pools
GENEVA
We flew from Inverness to Geneva. Instead of taking the three hour train into the mountains to our next destination we decided to spend a quick night here before continuing on!
WHERE WE STAYED:
WHERE TO EAT/DRINK:
Bains Des Paquis -Super casual lakeside restaurant where you can get Fondue. This was the best fondue I have ever had and the food was pretty affordable compared to the rest of Switzerland!
WENGEN
Wengen felt like it was straight out of a movie. It truly didn’t even look real. Small quaint town in the mountains. We spent two days here and loved every minute.
WHERE WE STAYED:
- Hotel Falken -Highly recommend staying here! Amazing views, vintage feel, gorgeous rooms, and they have the cutest Samoyed pup on the property!
- Hotel Schönegg -Stay here if you want your view to overlook the mountains and the town! So beautiful but very small rooms!
WHERE TO EAT/DRINK:
- Hotel Bernerhof Fondue -Great place to grab fondue in Wengen!
- Co Op- This is a grocery store and they have them EVERYWHERE in Switzerland! They have the best pre made salads, bowls, and sandwiches! We found a lot of the food in this region to not be that good and was extremely over priced so we started eating here for a more affordable and lighter lunch option and it did not disappoint! We ate it 3 times!
WHAT TO DO:
- Drink a bottle of wine on your hotel terrace
- Use the All Trails app to find a path to hike
- Take the train to Lauterbrunen and visit a waterfall
GRINDELWALD
If you’re an adventure junkie you’ll love this place. There’s hiking, paragliding, zip lining, tobogganing, and more right outside your doorstep. Or if you are more of the relaxing type, nothing beats sitting on the terrace admiring the views with a cocktail in hand! Grindelwald gives you that small village in the mountains feel but is actually quite large. There are endless things to do in the area!
WHERE WE STAYED:
Hotel Fiescherblick -One of my favorite stays from the trip! They are a brand new hotel in the area with exceptional views and even better hospitality! Everyone there was so kind and gave us many recommendations for things to do in the area!
WHERE TO EAT/DRINK:
- At Hotel Fiercherblick- They have a fantastic chef here and their cocktails are incredible!
- Take Away 191 -Easy takeaway pizza place, nothing special!
- Co Op- We could not get enough of this place!
WHAT TO DO:
- Toboggan
- Zip line
- Ride a Gondola
- Hiking
OTHER THINGS TO DO NEAR HERE:
- Paragliding
- Via feratta
- Top of Europe Train
- Biking on First
For more details from my trip, head to my IG story highlights!
