6 Days in the UK: A First-Timer Plan
Six days buys you a proper look at both of the UK’s biggest cities plus one genuine push into wilder scenery, and you never need a rental car to do it. This first-timer plan spends three days in London on the icons, the free museums and one countryside day trip, then rides the train north to Edinburgh for the Castle, the Royal Mile and Arthur’s Seat, before a guided day trip into the Highlands closes out day six. The United Kingdom is four nations under one government, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and this route genuinely crosses from one into another. Budget in pounds sterling, not euros, pack a waterproof for changeable weather, and get your ETA sorted before you fly, not at passport control.
This is the longest London-plus-Edinburgh plan in our UK itinerary family before things stretch into a full week. Shorter trip? The 2-day and 3-day plans stay in London the whole time, and the 4-day and 5-day versions add Edinburgh without pushing further north. Got a full week? The 7-day plan gives the Highlands, or a Lake District stop, extra room to breathe.
Book these before you go
- Tower of London and Crown Jewels tickets, on GetYourGuide : the walk-up queue on a busy morning eats an hour you don’t have.
- Edinburgh Castle entry, listings on Viator : grab a timed slot before you leave London.
- A hotel for your two Edinburgh nights, rates on Booking.com : prices climb fast the closer you get to the Fringe in August.
- A Highlands day tour from Edinburgh, options on Viator : the good Loch Ness and Glencoe tours sell out in summer, book ahead.
Do you need an ETA to visit the UK?
Yes, almost certainly, unless you travel on a British or Irish passport. Most visa-exempt visitors, including Americans, Canadians, Australians and EU/EEA citizens, now need a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation approved before they board. Apply through the official app or gov.uk a few days ahead of departure, for roughly £20, a fee that has already risen twice, so check the live figure before you pay.
Day 1: Westminster, Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London
Start the trip at Westminster: Big Ben (officially the Elizabeth Tower), the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey are all within a few minutes of each other on foot. From there, head to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard, a schedule that shifts by season, so check the current days rather than build your whole morning around it.
Spend the afternoon at the Tower of London. Close to a thousand years of history, the Crown Jewels and the Yeoman Warders make this one of the few paid stops on this trip that genuinely earns its ticket price. Book online ahead of time, then close day one with a pub dinner near the river, a steak and ale pie is the honest choice.
Day 2: Free museums, the South Bank and a West End show
Give the morning to the British Museum, free to enter for the permanent collection, and to the same genuinely rare fact at the National Gallery and Tate Modern. Book a timed-entry slot online if you’re travelling between April and August, when the queues stretch long.
In the afternoon, walk the South Bank from Tower Bridge past Borough Market to the London Eye. Use the evening for the West End show you booked ahead; walk-up tickets for a good seat on a good night are not something to bank on. Keep your phone in a front or inner pocket on the Tube and around Oxford Street. Phone snatching in crowded tourist spots is the one real safety issue on this leg, not violent crime, which stays genuinely low.
Day 3: A day trip to Bath and Stonehenge
Take a direct GWR train from London Paddington to Bath, a ride of a little over an hour, and spend the morning at the Roman Baths and wandering the Georgian streets around the Royal Crescent. It’s the strongest countryside day trip on this itinerary, and a good stretch of the legs before two long train days ahead.
Stonehenge itself has no direct rail link, so either join an organised day tour from London that bundles both stops, or connect via a train to Salisbury and the dedicated Stonehenge Tour Bus from there. Either way, budget a full day for this one; it is not a quick add-on to an already busy London stay.
Day 4: The train to Edinburgh and Edinburgh Castle
Leave London mid-morning from King’s Cross on an LNER direct service to Edinburgh Waverley, a genuinely comfortable ride of around 4 hours 8 minutes, with standard advance fares starting from roughly £34-35 one-way if you book ahead. It’s a real alternative to flying, not a compromise, and it skips airport security on both ends of the trip.
Check into your Edinburgh hotel, then walk straight up to Edinburgh Castle while the afternoon light holds. The castle sits above the city on an extinct volcanic crag, and the view down the Royal Mile is worth the climb on its own. Close the day with haggis, tatties and neeps at a restaurant on or near the Mile.
Day 5: The Royal Mile and Arthur’s Seat
Walk the full length of the Royal Mile in daylight, from the Castle down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, ducking into the closes and courtyards that run off it on both sides. Scotland is not England; the shopkeepers and guides here are Scottish, part of the same UK but with their own parliament, their own capital and their own accent worth listening for.
In the afternoon, climb Arthur’s Seat, an extinct volcano right at the city’s edge with a genuine summit and panoramic views over Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth in under an hour each way. Save some energy; day six is a long one.
Day 6: A Highlands day trip from Edinburgh
Join a guided day tour north into the Highlands, most run to Loch Ness or Glencoe, leaving Edinburgh early and returning after dark. It’s a genuinely long day, ten to twelve hours round trip is normal, but it’s the honest way to see the Highlands on a six-day schedule without adding an overnight, or the risk of self-driving on the opposite side of the road on a tight timeline.
Loch Ness trades on its monster legend but earns the trip on scenery alone: glens, lochs and single-track roads that a coach or minibus handles far better than a rental car would. Glencoe swaps the loch for dramatic mountain walls and is the shorter drive of the two. Either way, you’re back in Edinburgh for a last dinner before heading home.
Should you drive between London and Edinburgh?
No. It’s roughly 400 miles by road, a long day of driving each way for a trip this length, and you’d still face London’s Congestion Charge (£18 on weekdays) and ULEZ (£12.50, every day) just leaving the city. The train covers the same ground in about four hours, city center to city center, with no charge to dodge and no need to adjust to driving on the left.
What does 6 days in the UK cost?
Prices already include the UK’s 20% VAT, so the ticket or menu price is what you pay; there is no tourist VAT refund in Great Britain since Brexit. London runs noticeably more expensive than Edinburgh or the Highlands leg, especially for hotels and dinner, and none of this is a cheap trip.
| Day | Focus | Base or train | Rough daily spend (GBP, excl. hotel) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London | London | £90-140 |
| Day 2 | Free museums, South Bank, West End show | London | £80-130 |
| Day 3 | Bath and Stonehenge day trip | London (day trip) | £70-110 plus tours or train fares |
| Day 4 | Train to Edinburgh, Edinburgh Castle | London to Edinburgh (LNER, ~4h8m) | £70-110 plus the train fare |
| Day 5 | Royal Mile, Arthur’s Seat | Edinburgh | £60-100 |
| Day 6 | Highlands day tour (Loch Ness or Glencoe) | Edinburgh (day trip) | £90-140 plus the tour cost |
Is 6 days enough for London, Edinburgh and the Highlands?
It’s enough for a real look at all three without feeling rushed: three full days in London, two in Edinburgh, and one long push north. It is genuinely full, though. This route stays in England and Scotland; Wales and Northern Ireland are a different trip. If the Highlands leave you wanting more, the 7-day plan gives that leg extra room, and visitbritain.com is the right next stop for planning further afield.
Book your London-Edinburgh train and your Highlands day tour the moment your dates are fixed. Both get more expensive, and more likely to sell out, the closer you get to summer, especially anything touching the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.