The Itinerary
Our adventure begins! Landing in Glasgow, we'll be based at the Melvin Estate — enjoying the cuisine, comfort, and full-on chillaxing before venturing out to explore castles, highlands, whisky country, and celebrate Auntie Anna's 90th. Ailie and Parker — kayaking on Loch Lomond is calling! 🎉
- 🏰 Edinburgh Castle & Arthur's Seat
- 🏔️ Isle of Skye — Fairy Pools & Old Man of Storr
- 🥃 Glenfiddich Whisky Distillery tour
- 🚣 Loch Lomond boat trip & kayaking
- 🎂 Auntie Anna's 90th birthday celebration
- 🚂 Loch Ness boat tour & Jacobite experience
- ⚽ Kick-about at local Glasgow pitches — bring the ball!
- 🛍️ Glasgow Barras & Byres Road vintage shops (Ailie!)
A quick but meaningful stop on the south coast of England to visit family before crossing to the continent. Hastings is a charming seaside town — famous as the site of the 1066 Norman conquest, with a beautifully preserved Old Town, fishing boats on the beach, and a castle ruin perched on the cliffs above. Staying at The Highlands Inn in nearby St Leonards-on-Sea.
- 🏰 Hastings Castle & 1066 Story visitor experience
- ⚓ Stade fishing beach — largest beach-launched fishing fleet in Europe
- 🛍️ Hastings Old Town — antique shops, independent cafes, winding lanes
- 🌊 East Hill & West Hill cliff railways (Victorian funicular!)
- 👨👩👧👦 Quality time with family before the big continent leg
A quick stop to visit Martin! Amsterdam's canals, museums, and legendary stroopwafels. Short and sweet.
- 🎨 Rijksmuseum — Rembrandt's Night Watch
- 🚲 Canal bike ride through the Jordaan
- 🧇 Stroopwafels & Dutch pancakes
- 👨👦 Quality time with Martin
With 2 days before the cruise boards, we have time to explore Copenhagen before setting sail! Then we board the MSC Magnifica for 7 nights sailing the spectacular Norwegian coast. ⚽
🇩🇰 Copenhagen (3-4 days)
- 🎢 Tivoli Gardens — rides, Friday Rock concerts & Saturday fireworks
- 🌊 Nyhavn harbour walk & canal boat tour
- 🍜 Reffen Street Food — waterfront market with 50+ stalls from around the world
- 🏰 Rosenborg Castle — crown jewels & royal gardens
- 🛝 CopenHill — ski slope & climbing wall ON TOP of a power plant (Ailie + Parker!) ✅ BOOKED · Jul 9
- 🚲 Bike the city like a local — Copenhagen is the world's best cycling city
- 🥐 Danish pastries & kanelbullar — bakery crawl (Parker!)
- 🏖️ Amager Strandpark — Copenhagen's urban beach
- 🛍️ Torvehallerne market — gorgeous food stalls & local vendors (Ailie!)
- 🏰 Kronborg Castle — Hamlet's castle in Helsingør (45 min train)
🇸🇪 Sweden Side Trip — Malmö (35 min train!)
Cross the iconic 8km Øresund Bridge into Sweden for a day — another country stamp for the passports! 🛂 Malmö is completely different from Copenhagen: relaxed, colourful, and way cheaper for food.
- 🌀 Turning Torso — Scandinavia's tallest building, stunning waterfront walk at Västra Hamnen
- 🏖️ Ribersborg Beach — sandy beach + Kallbadhus (traditional Swedish open-air sauna & sea plunge!)
- 🏰 Malmöhus Castle — oldest Renaissance castle in Scandinavia
- 🍽️ Malmö Saluhall — Swedish food hall (great lunch, half the price of Copenhagen)
- 🧱 Lilla Torg — charming cobblestone square with cafés & street performers
- 🛍️ Malmö flea markets & design shops — Swedish vintage finds (Ailie!)
- 📸 Øresund Bridge views from the beach — incredible photo spot
💡 Bigger Sweden option: Train from Malmö → Gothenburg (3h) for 2-3 nights. Gothenburg has Liseberg amusement park (Parker would LOVE this — it's Scandinavia's biggest!), archipelago boat tours, and amazing seafood. Then train back to CPH for the cruise.
🚢 Norwegian Fjords Cruise — BOOKED! ✅
Beds: 1 pullman + 1 single sofa bed
🇩🇪 Sun Jul 12 — Warnemünde, Germany (7am–5pm)
🌊 Mon Jul 13 — Sea Day (relax & explore the ship!)
🇳🇴 Tue Jul 14 — Eidfjord, Norway (8am–6pm) — deep in the fjords!
🇳🇴 Wed Jul 15 — Bergen, Norway (12pm–8pm) 🎂 Parker's 14th birthday!
🇳🇴 Thu Jul 16 — Kristiansand, Norway (1pm–9pm)
🇳🇴 Fri Jul 17 — Oslo, Norway (8am–4pm)
🇩🇰 Sat Jul 18 — Copenhagen (arrive 9am)
- 🏔️ Eidfjord — tiny village at the end of Hardangerfjord, waterfalls everywhere, Vøringsfossen falls
- 🏖️ Kristiansand — charming southern Norway town, Posebyen old quarter, great beaches
- 🏛️ Oslo — Viking Ship Museum, Vigeland Sculpture Park, Karl Johans gate
- 🇩🇪 Warnemünde — seaside resort town, lighthouse, optional day trip to Berlin (2h train)
- ⚽ Live football on the big screen on board!
- 🏊 Pools, waterslides, mini-golf & teen zone on sea days
🎂 Parker's 14th Birthday in Bergen — Fun Activities! tap to expand ▾
We dock at noon, leave at 8pm — 8 hours to make this birthday epic! Here are the best options:
Germany's coolest city! Hamburg blends maritime heritage with cutting-edge culture — the Elbphilharmonie, world-class food scene, and legendary nightlife on the Reeperbahn.
- 🎵 Elbphilharmonie — stunning concert hall with panoramic plaza (free!)
- ⛴️ Harbor cruise through the Speicherstadt warehouse district
- 🐠 Miniatur Wunderland — world's largest model railway (kids love it!)
- 🍔 Fischbrötchen at the Fischmarkt — fresh fish sandwiches
- 🍺 Brauhof brewery tour & tasting
- ⚽ Volksparkstadion tour (HSV!)
- 🛍️ Jungfernstieg & Mönckebergstraße shopping (Ailie!)
- 🌊 Alster Lake — rent a boat or stroll the waterfront
Fairytale castles, beer gardens, the Alps on the doorstep, and FC Bayern's Allianz Arena. Munich packs a punch even in 2 days.
- 🏰 Neuschwanstein Castle — THE Disney castle
- ⚽ Allianz Arena tour (FC Bayern!)
- 🏄 English Garden — watch the river surfers!
- 🏔️ Zugspitze — Germany's highest peak (cable car)
- 🍺 Augustiner beer garden evening
- 🥨 Bavarian pretzel & bakery tour — fresh Brezen everywhere!
- ⚽ Kick-about in the English Garden — locals play pickup all summer
- 🛍️ Viktualienmarkt — Munich's famous open-air farmers market since 1807 (Ailie!)
Jaw-dropping mountain scenery in the Italian Alps. Via ferrata climbing, the iconic Tre Cime hike, sunrise photography, and lunches at mountain huts with speck & polenta. Ailie & Parker — there's a high ropes adventure park! 🧗♂️
- ⛰️ Seceda Ridgeline — most iconic Dolomites view
- 🧗 Via Ferrata for beginners (Ailie + Parker!)
- 🥾 Tre Cime di Lavaredo circuit hike
- 🎢 Adventure Park — zip lines & high ropes
- 📸 Sunrise photography at Seceda
- 🍦 Italian gelato in Ortisei village — best in the Alps
- 🛍️ Ortisei woodcarving shops & local artisan vendors (Ailie!)
Romeo & Juliet's city! A quick overnight before the Sardinia flight — arena, aperol spritz on the piazza, and the best Italian dinner before island time. 🍷
- 🏟️ Verona Arena — Roman amphitheatre from 1st century AD
- 💕 Juliet's Balcony — yes, that one!
- 🍷 Aperol spritz on Piazza delle Erbe
- 🍝 One epic Italian dinner before island time
- 📍 North base: Residenza Roccarosa · Lu Fraili, San Teodoro
- 🏖️ Lu Impostu — big white-sand beach, 10 min by car
- 💎 Cala Brandinchi — turquoise, shallow-water beach, 10 min by car
- 🏄 La Cinta — long beach for a proper beach day, 8 min by car
- 🏨 Capitana base — Phi Hotel Sighientu with breakfast included
- 🤿 Capo Carbonara snorkeling & boat tour
- 🏍️ Quad/ATV excursion (teens will love this!)
- 🌅 Sunset boat tour with aperitivo
- 🏛️ Day trip to Cagliari old town & markets
- 🏖️ Beach hopping south: Costa Rei, Cala Pira, Porto Giunco
- 🍦 Gelato every single day — this is Sardinia, it's the law
- ⚽ Beach football at sunset — easy south-coast beach options nearby
- 🛍️ San Benedetto market in Cagliari — biggest covered market in Italy! (Ailie!)
- ✈️ View Flight Details — Aug 5-6