Arrive Edinburgh/Glasgow and collect hire car. Travel into
Edinburgh enjoying a visit of Edinburgh Castle or take a panoramic
city tour by bus. Overnight in Edinburgh area.
Click on map for more details
Day 2 Loch Lomond & Oban
Head north along Loch Lomond stopping
off at Luss to visit the Thistle Bagpipe Works. Continue west
with the option of
stopping for lunch at the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar to enjoy some
of the fresh produce before heading through Inveraray visiting
the castle and jail. Continue north to Oban spending time in
Kilmartin Glen experiencing the Neolithic and Bronze Age chambered
and round carins, stone circles and rock carvings. Visit Dunadd
Fort the ancient capital of Scotland
then known as Dalriada. Overnight Oban area.
Day 3 Isle of Mull
Today spend the day exploring Mull and Iona (see TravelScotland Guide) either by car
or enjoy the sites from the sea
and take a day boat trip to Mull Iona and Staffa. The tour leaves from Oban Harbour
and is renowned as one of the best day tours in the UK, providing a scenic route
through the beautiful island of Mull and a visit to the Isle of Iona where Columba
landed in 563 brought Christianity to Scotland from Ireland.
You can also visit the famous abbey founded by St Columba before you continue on to the uninhabited Island of Staffa, which is famous for its basaltic formations, the best know of which is Fingals Cave, immortalised in Mendelssohn's Hebridean Overture. Return to your ovenight stay in the Oban area.
Day 4 Glencoe & Isle of Skye
Continue north from Oban through Glencoe with its spectacular
landscape and onto Fort William set in the shadow of Ben Nevis,
Britain's highest mountain. Take the road to Mallaig to enjoy
the short ferry over to Skye or continue on the road to Kyle
and take the bridge to explore Skye, the largest and most scenic
of the Hebridean Islands. Overnight on Isle of Skye.
Day 5 Loch Ness & Inverness
Head east today for
the Inverness area meandering gently along shores of
Loch Lochy and Loch Ness via Urquhart Castle, which
dates back to the 12 century and was originally built
to guard the route through the glen! If you dare, take
a cruise on Loch Ness, most famous for the illusive
monster. Overnight in the Inverness area.
Day 6 Sutherland
Today begins with a visit to the capital of the Highlands,
Inverness before heading for a day trip into the northern highlands.
Head for the Kessock Bridge and the Black Isle, in reality
a peninsula decked out in a thousand shades of green. A maze
of quiet country roads and forest tracks, the area is a delight
to explore. It is a naturalists paradise with attractions such
as the bird reserves and Munlochy and Udale Bay and the famous
dolphins which can be best viewed on cruises from Cromarty.
Continue north visiting Dunrobin Castle and Gardens bringing to life the lives through the centuries of the Earls of Sutherland. Here you can enjoy a display of the ancient sport of falconry in the gardens of the castle. Return to the Inverness area for your overnight stay.
Day 7 Speyside & Perthshire
Today travel east of Inverness where you can visit the Battlefield
of Culloden and Clava Cairns, which date back to the 3rd millennium
BC. These are burial chambers which are made up of 3 impressive
round chambered cairns surrounded by a ring of stones. Taking
the Speyside route explore some of the Malt Whisky Trail. The
Speyside area is home to more than half of all the country's
distilleries plus the coopers who repair the oak casks each
year. Continue towards Perthshire through Braemar and Royal
Deeside passing by Balmoral Castle and Crathie Church, the
Queen Elizabeth’s highland residence and church before
heading through the ski area of Glenshee. Continue south towards
Perth/Fife where you will overnight.
Day 8 Fife & St.Andrews
Today if time permits visit St Andrew’s, named after
Scotland's patron saint. Visit the impressive ruins of the
cathedral, once the most magnificent in the country and St
Andrews Castle where visitors can wander through damp, mossy
tunnels to the dungeons. St Andrew's is also the famous home
of golf, played on the Old Course since the 15th century. Continue
along the coast via the small fishing villages of Elie and
Pitenweem. Cross the Forth Road Bridge with its spectacular
views of the Firth of Forth before returning your car to Edinburgh/Glasgow
and joining your flight home.
Package Price (per person based on 2 sharing
a twin/double room):