Glasgow; The Highlands & Loch Lomond Hour Private Tour
Description
A private tour that takes you from the rugged beauty of Loch Lomond to Argyll with its castles and mountains. Enjoy viewpoints across sweeping Highland panoramas. There is plenty of time in the villages of Luss on Loch Lomond and the beautifully located village of Inverary in Argyll. Between stops enjoy the ever changing Highland landscape. This 7 Hour Private tour is for your personal group of up to 7 people.
Tour Options
Itinerary
This tour for you and your personal group is fully flexible, you can suggest adjustments and changes to the tour itinerary, even on the day. If time and geography allow, your driver will strive to meet your requests. Leave Glasgow and head west towards Loch Lomond, the first stop on our tour is Dumbarton Castle which has the oldest recorded history of any Scottish Fortress, dating back to the 5th century when Saint Patrick sent a letter to King Ceretic, it was the first written letter about a settlement there. Since then Viking Kings, William Wallace, Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth 2 have been here.
Leaving Dumbarton, it’s a short drive to your first view of ‘The Bonnie, Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond’. Those words are from the Scottish Folk song “You take the High Road and I’ll take the Low Road”. Loch Lomond has the largest surface area of any lake on the British mainland, It’s over 23 miles long. Just 10 minutes later we stop at Luss, one of Scotland's most popular villages to visit, Walk past the pretty sandstone and slate cottages to the pier for wonderful views up and down Loch Lomond and across the loch to the mountains. From the pier it’s a very short walk to the atmospheric church graveyard which has graves dating back to 600AD / 700AD with a Viking hogback grave stone as well.
Heading north from Luss, we round the head of Loch Long, which is a Sea loch, a long narrow inlet of the sea similar to a fjord in Scandinavia, the tour now climbs to The Rest and be Thankful, a famous pass that divides Glen Kinglas from Glen Croe. Stoping at a viewpoint, enjoy beautiful views in all directions and of being very closely surrounded by the rugged Highlands with heather, mountainside and forest.
Leaving The Rest and be Thankful we travel down to Loch Fyne, another Sea loch, noted for it’s seafood. The Loch Fyne Oyster Bar at the top of the Loch has a restaurant (open 5 days, closed on Tuesday and Wednesday) and a delicatessan (open 7 days) Inverary, on Loch Fyne is a lovely village in a grand scenic setting on the western shore of Loch Fyne. As well as strolling in the village, a walk to the picture perfect Inverary Castle is very popular for visitors. The castle grounds are open all year round, you can stroll right up to the front door although entrance inside the actual castle and the castle gardens is from April to the end of October (open 5 days, closed on Tuesday and Wednesday) and a entrance fee is payable.
Depending on time and your preferences we can also visit two other attractions. Kilchurn Castle. Built around 1450, this long abandoned castle is still very impressive, it sits at the top of Loch Awe ringed by mountains both close by and distant makes for a very dramatic photo location. 30 minute visit St Conan's Kirk Just 5 minutes from Kilchurn Castle is this very unique and beautiful church perched on the edge of Loch Awe. Described as enchanting, magical and fascinating, a wonderful stop. Return to Glasgow. Your Tour is custom made as well….you may have some places you want to visit and / or things you wish to experience. Tell us and we will do our best to include it in your tour. From here, the last leg of the tour is a 60 minute drive back to Glasgow.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- The remaining hours of the tour is for travel time.
Reviews(9)
We did an eight hour tour with Mike. He was fantastic! We communicated several times before the trip to tweek the itinerary, and he was always very prompt to respond and accommodate all requests. 10/10 recommend!
Mike was a fantastic driver and guide. We learned a lot of Scottish and local history from him. He’s also takes great photo and found great scenic spots along the drive. We got to pick which place to visit and how long to spend in each site. We went to Dumbarton Castle for quick photo, and then explore Loch Lomond, Stirling Castle, the Wallace Monument, and then drive around the mountains before heading back to the cruise terminal. Even though we went to so many places, Mike was a great keeper of time and made sure we make it back to our cruise ship on time. Also, we spontaneously decided to buy some Scottish gin, of a particular brand. Mike called around different distilleries/stores for us and found the store that sells the gin we want at the best affordable price; we got our gin! Mike went above and beyond and we highly recommend his service!
Our original tour was cancelled last minute because of us being the only ones scheduled on our tour. Luckily for me I came across the Tripadvisor tour guide, Mike. He contacted me and was so helpful understanding what we wanted to see and experience. He customized a great tour for us that we could see so many amazing things. He was also willing to go off the beaten path for my unique requests. He picked us up from our hotel and spent the entire day...in bad weather even...taking us all over. He was very knowledgable, fun and helpful. He seemed excited to see my reactions at seeing some of the research areas I had needed to visit. He also stopped at a little town for us to grab the best lunch of our trip! I would definetly recommend him as a tour guide. If I could I would've replaced a couple of our other guides with him instead, especially a couple of my much more expensive tours.
Our guide was fantastic! He was incredibly talkative, friendly, and funny, making the trip so enjoyable. A careful and skilled driver, he ensured we felt safe the entire time. He shared a wealth of information about the Scottish Highlands and the places we visited, bringing the journey to life. Truly a memorable experience - highly recommend!
This is a must go trip if you want to experience Highlands and its best! Mike was a terrific guide who goes beyond the expected! I cannot put into words how impressive and beautiful all the lochs, castles, mountain hills, sheeps :) cities, view points and places we visitied duringthe tour were. Super clean and comfy vehicle, smooth driving, really friendly and professioanl attitude plus really useful and interesting info provided from Mike's end during the whole trip. You better not hesitate and just book your next trip with Mike and it wil live up to your expectations. Thanks Mike for this lovely day! Cannot ask for more! Greetings from the whole family! Stefan
Mike is very knowledgeable and great company - we had a wonderful time seeing the area and learning the history. Thanks for a fantastic day!
The entire day was filled with one memorable moment after another. If I had to pick just one, it would be the view from Rest and Be Thankful as well as the seafood lunch at Loch Fyne. Mike had such fun facts about each stop and had all the answers to any questions that we had. He went above and beyond the outlined tour and even took photos so that we could both be in the shots. I’ve done a lot of tours over the years and this is one of the very best. Highly recommend. Thank you Mike for giving my daughter and I a day to remember.
This was by far the most enjoyable excursion of our 28 day cruise aboard Regal Princess. Mike is LEGENDARY in our eyes. He was the consummate professional and entertaining too. A wealth of knowledge of the Highlands and surrounding towns. We would most highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in customizing their excursion experience and Mike is our recommendation hands down.
