Scottish Isles & Glens - 12 Days/11 Nights

Tour begins 2:00 PM at your Glasgow hotel. Enjoy a tour around the city famed for its Victorian and Art Nouveau architecture. A prosperous port city due to international trade and shipbuilding, today it is Scotland’s cultural hub. Proceed on to the National Piping Centre, where you’ll learn all about bagpipes and even try your hand at playing a tune. Enjoy a welcome drink with your group and then enjoy a free evening for dining independently.

Take a ferry to the Isle of Bute for stunning island scenery and a guided tour of the 19th-century Mount Stuart House. Spend some time in Rothesay, the main town on the island. Enjoy free time in Glasgow and an independent dinner. (B)

Travel along the famous Loch Lomond, renowned for its unsurpassed beauty. Journey through Glencoe, often considered one of Scotland’s most beautiful regions. Travel through Fort William and stop at a woolen mill for refreshments and shop for Scottish goods. Visit the romantic Eilean Donan Castle before heading to your hotel. (B, D)

Explore the Isle of Skye and its associations with Bonnie Prince Charlie. Tour Dunvegan Castle, the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland and former stronghold of the Chiefs of MacLeod. Enjoy a photo opportunity or two, including the spectacular Kilt Rock. Stop in picturesque Portree with its brightly painted houses clustered around the bay. Enjoy free time before dinner. (B, D)

Take in the Highland scenery as you head to Inverewe Gardens, where a haven of tropical trees and shrubs has been created. Continue to Ullapool, an active fishing and ferry port, and check in to your hotel near the harbor. (B, D)

Admire the rugged mountains, coastline, and vast areas of open land of the sparsely populated northernmost section of the Highlands. Learn about the Highland Clearances, a tragic period of history when many peasants were forced off the land and emigrated to the United States, Australia, and other countries. Take advantage of the many photo opportunities along the way. Continue to Scrabster on the northern coast of Scotland and take a ferry to the Orkney Islands, enjoying dinner on board. (B, D)

Discover Orkney, starting with a drive across the Churchill Barriers, created during World War II to deter German submarines. Next, explore the tiny Italian Chapel, with its elaborate paintings. Travel on to the Ring of Brodgar, a Neolithic henge and stone circle that is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit Skara Brae to see the well-preserved 5,000-year-old village dwellings and return to Kirkwall to see St. Magnus Cathedral. Enjoy free time in the afternoon and evening to browse around the town and dine independently. (B)

Board a ferry back to the mainland and head to Dunrobin Castle, dating to 1275 and renovated in the mid-1800s. With 189 rooms, this is the largest castle in northern Scotland. Stop for photo opportunities amidst its scenic hills. Continue south to Inverness, the principal town in the Highlands. (B, D)

Keep your camera handy as you visit the picturesque ruins of Urquhart Castle and take a cruise on Loch Ness. Stop at the Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre to learn about the conflict that led to the end of the clan system in Scotland. Walk around the moor and see monuments to the various regiments who lost men. Return to Inverness with time to relax, shop, or walk alongside the river. (B, D)

Immerse yourself in farm life and watch as skilled dogs round up sheep. Enjoy lunch on your own in the Victorian town of Pitlochry and visit Blair Athol Distillery to see how whisky is produced and enjoy a tasting. Travel onto Edinburgh and check into your city centre hotel with free time to explore and have dinner on your own. (August 1 – 15 departures have a festive Scottish dinner on this day instead of Day 11) (B)

Discover Edinburgh’s highlights including the wide streets and elegant mansions of the 200-year-old Georgian “New Town” and the Royal Mile, the oldest part of the city. Tour the imposing Edinburgh Castle to see the Stone of Destiny and the Scottish Crown Jewels. That evening, enjoy a festive Scottish dinner with lively, traditional entertainment to follow. August 1 – 15 departures visit the spectacular Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo on the Castle Esplanade (with the Scottish dinner on Day 10 instead). (B,D)

Your tour ends after breakfast. (B) B: Breakfast; L: Lunch; D: Dinner >