How to Explore Scotland’s Hebrides with the Family

The islands scattered off Scotland’s west coast offer a surprising range of attractions for a family vacation. From mysterious prehistoric sites to long beaches of golden sand, tropical gardens to birds that look like stuffed toys, the Hebrides have something for everybody.

Hiking trails lead across rolling landscapes, over low craggy peaks, and along shores of wave-lashed cliffs and serene sandy beaches. Wildflowers bloom along roadsides and across the moors, especially in Balranald Nature Reserve on North Uist. Here, fields are covered in wildflowers, including several rare species.

On South Uist is the Machair, a 20-mile stretch of floral grassland running parallel to the beaches, where up to 40 plant species can be found within a square yard. The colors change with the seasons, from yellows in the spring to red, white and blue in summer.

Flower lovers will even find tropical plans thriving in Inverewe Gardens on Loch Ewe on the nearby mainland. These plants can survive here because the region is protected from severe winter cold by the surrounding waters.

On cliffs and rock outcrops among the islands are puffin colonies, where kids delight in seeing these birds really do look like the stuffed toys that imitate them. Kayakers can paddle in protected coves safe for young paddlers or venture into sea caves and among spectacular rock formations.

Across the island of Barra from its harbor of Castle Bay, you’ll find dunes you can descend on to a long, white-sand beach — all it needs are palm trees to look like a tropical island. More white-sand beaches border the rocky hills of the Isle of Lewis. You can add some history — and prehistory — to your adventures with visits to Medieval Abbey of St. Columba on Iona and two of Europe’s premier prehistoric sights of Callanish and iron-age Carloway Broch.

The islands are a good destination for an outdoor family getaway filled with land and sea adventures. Connected by a ferry system between its towns, islands are easy to access, with places to stay within easy reach of ferry landings. Ferries from the mainland and between larger islands also carry cars, so you can bring your rental car to explore larger islands.