We are going to London next summer and were thinking as a secondary visit either Belgium (Brugge/Ghent) or Edinburgh/Scotland. Pros/Cons of one over the other?
How much time are you planning for the secondary visit?
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4- 5 days.
I have an extended family member who was a high level ballerina, went to Duke and was a basketball dance line/cheerleader at least one season. So much fun.
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I might instead say that with 4-5 days apart from London, do Bath and Cambridge or Oxford.
I adore Edinburgh and have been during Fringe and not. If your dates coincide with the Fringe then only go if you want to make that the focus of your visit. Like, seeing 1 - 3 shows/day. Otherwise itâs a totally different place. A great one to be sure, but if theater isnât your thing, I would avoid it.
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I have to admit Iâm a little stuck on logistics when answering the question.
Itâs a 3-4 hr trip from London to Bruges via train but youâd have to clear customs on the London side so youâd need to get to St. Pancras early. So 6 hrs or so total time.
Itâs 4âish hrs from London to Edinburgh. But no customs issues.
Iâd probably head up to Edinburgh between the two options but thatâs more due to the logistics and the fact I think Edinburgh is a fun town. I donât think there is a wrong choice between the two.
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Those are both favorite past experiences.
We loved Bruges so much we extended our stay there. It was actually one of the early experiences that cemented our love for smaller European towns. With your time frame, I would personally just stay in Bruges and daytrip to Ghent from there. But some people would do the opposite, including because you would have shorter and more direct daytrip options from Ghent (although my two cents is you can give Brussels a pass).
Obviously we loved Edinburgh enough we are happily going back. There is plenty to do just in and around Edinburgh in your timeframe. Some people will try to get in and out of the Highlands in a day, but I would not personally recommend it.
So I would probably save Edinburgh for a longer trip to Scotland, if that is at all realistic. I think your timeframe would feel very comfortable for Bruges and Ghent.
But if (for at least the indefinite future) you could only do one or the other, then I would pick Edinburgh. And if you could swing at least an overnight in the Highlands, I would do that too.
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I crowdsourced on CC a few months ago for our Spring trip to Scotland. Lots of great travel advice from ccâers. You should be able to search and find thread. Or start a thread - a lot of travelers on CC.
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Yes, it is pretty easy to do a swing through Oxford, the Cotswolds, Bath, and Stonehenge/Salisbury out of a London based trip (more or less depending on your transportation plans).
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Admitted families, planning ahead: having BTDT with older kids, I am making hotel reservations for the move in and orientation - fortunately it was easy to figure out when this would be for this college. There will always be rooms in some suburb, but the chance to get a walking-distance hotel at anything resembling a remotely reasonable rate is now. And parent weekend reservations are already insane, so I may book that too, albeit at someplace a bit further away. Fully cancellable, of course.
I canât decide what is the best option, so I will probably reserve more than one.
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I made the reservation for admitted students day before the Ed date and it was surprisingly expensive. We already have move in day and parents weekend. Parents weekend is shocking!
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Although honestly I feel like visiting any schools during the âless awesome weatherâ is a chance to truly see what it is like. If they still love the school on a gross, rainy day, or a muggy 97 degrees, or whatever the case may be, all the better.
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Itâs not much better on other weekendsâ generally two-night minimums, plus alums and athlete families book rooms for weekend games. Iâve already booked an AirBnB for 2025 graduation bc the college books all the rooms at the inn and hotels donât book until a year ahead.
Given the collegeâs generous financial aid packages, they should figure out a way to ensure affordable accommodations for lower income families.
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I have rooms at the on campus hotel for revisit day and move-in. I havenât looked at family weekend. Since DS went to BS, heâs likely not interested in us coming to family weekend and likely for revisit day for that matter. I think heâll do revisit day just because he gets off campus from school. I will be calling the on campus hotel about how far out they take reservations and what the deal is on waitlists for popular days.
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Absolutely. I also like the fact weâll be there for an extended periodâless chance of just getting one-day-lucky with the weather.
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Hello! My first post here. This thread has been a great read-thank you for sharing all your insights and thoughts here. It has been very helpful and calming to know more people in the same boat as we try to navigate this stressful journey with our first-born.
S24 is interested in Mechanical Engineering, and I am hoping he is able to find a college that fits him well. His passion has been robotics from third grade, and he hopes to work in the field when he graduates from UG. He has sent in 8 EA and 1 rolling application so far. He was deferred from his top choice today, has two acceptances from safeties. He now has to figure out how many more apps he wants to send in RD. He has been mostly self-sufficient in the application process, but itâs been very hard to stand by and let him take charge.
Looking forward to sharing this journey with all of you.
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OK, so, winter break has begun, S24 has committed to applying to ten RD schools, time to get cracking on those supplements . . . but the girlfriend is upset about the Scotland plan, can he go see her? Okay, butâ(door slams behind him).
So in a TOTALLY unrelated note, my exploration of spiked eggnog variations landed on añejo tequila, and actually, I rather liked it! I often throw it in as a bourbon substitute, and I think the smokiness actually made sense for a winter drink. Apparently some people like to throw in sherry too, but I donât know if that would be my jam. But actually, maybe some cognac . . . .
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Are you looking for some suggestions on where to apply? If so, more info please. Such as:
- whatâs your home state?
- GPA, test scores
- target budget per year
- any desires for size of school, do or donât want to attend in certain parts of the US, etc.
- where has he applied already (so we donât suggest those)?
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I hear you on the standing by part. My D24 has applied to about the same amount as your son so far. I keep wanting her to add some safety RDs but she is wanting to do Honors applications instead.
Was your son really upset to be deferred? My daughter did get in her top choice but they denied our tuition exchange so we wonât be able to commit. Luckily she took it in stride. Good luck to your son and welcome to the craziness 
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I love reading your posts. That is all 
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