Loch Ness, Glencoe, the Highlands Guided Day Tour from Edinburgh
Description
This 12 hour tour will fit in as much of Scotland as can possibly done in one day! You will witness the stunning scenery of Glencoe and Ben Nevis before you make your way to Loch Ness for a cruise across its deep waters looking for evidence of its renowned resident, Nessie. Enjoy traveling in comfort on one of our luxury, modern, air-conditioned coaches as you witness the stunning sights that Scotland has to offer. Please note: This tour is designed to pack into one day as much as possible of Scotland’s highlights! While much of the journey is enjoyed from the comfort of the coach due to the distance covered, you will experience breathtaking views and scenery along the way.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Your 1-day Loch Ness, Glencoe and the Highlands tour departs from our Edinburgh City Centre departure point at Castle Terrace, outside the NCP Car Park, EH1 2EW in the morning. Departing from Edinburgh, our Loch Ness tour travels northwest, passing the imposing Stirling Castle.
We make our first stop in the Callander area in the highlands for some light refreshments, with the possibility of seeing a Highland coo depending on the time of year.
We travel on through Rob Roy Country of Clans MacGregor and Campbell then over the dramatic landscape of Rannoch Moor and the Black Mount to Glencoe, one of Scotland’s most famous glens, site of the 1692 massacre of the Clan MacDonald. Here we pause for a photo stop, and to soak up the atmosphere in this haunting glen.
Continuing via Loch Linnhe, our Loch Ness tour will stop in the Fort William area for lunch then continue into the natural beauty of the Great Glen as we pass beneath Britain’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis.
Travelling on, we will pass though the pretty village of Fort Augustus before reaching Urquhart Castle - here, choose to take part in a cruise and castle excursion (optional extra).
If not, we will continue up to the Clansman Hotel where you will have an hour of free time before we begin our return journey to Edinburgh. Here, you can relax in the hotel with an option take part in the “Donald Fraser – Illicit Whisky Experience”. This is a 20 to 30-minute, on-site experience, where guests can enjoy a film about the history of illicit whisky distilling, paired with a dram of the Donald Fraser blend. (Optional extra £12). Alternatively, you could spend your time exploring the area - such as the Old Coffin Road Walk which begins at the hotel car park. There is also the option to take a one-hour round trip cruise along the loch, with stunning views of Urquhart Castle (optional extra). Loch Ness, 24 miles long and over 700 feet deep, is most famous for its sightings of the Loch Ness monster, affectionately known as “Nessie”. Spend time at Loch Ness, where you can choose to take a wonderful cruise on the loch.
The Loch Ness tour will start its return for home, journeying through the Cairngorms National Park and the woodland scenery of Perthshire, including the Forest of Atholl, with an evening refreshment stop at the Victorian resort town of Pitlochry, en route back to Edinburgh, where the Loch Ness tour ends. Top tip: to save time at the stops and ensure you get to make the most of every minute there, bring along a cold packed lunch!
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Minimum age is 4 years old.
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately.
- Collapsible wheelchairs with removable wheels can be accommodated providing the passenger is accompanied by someone who can assist them board and disembark the bus.
- Please arrive 30 minutes before your tour's departure time.
- Digital translations in English, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian & Mandarin available on request.
- Top tip - You could bring a cold packed lunch with you in order to make the most of your time at each stop - this would be particularly time-saving in the busier months!
- We recommend taking cash for the optional extras including the Loch Ness cruise. You can arrange payment with your driver-guide on the day and there is no need to pre-book optional extras.
- Our coaches do not have restrooms, however, there are frequent comfort breaks during the journey at stops with restrooms.
- We cannot guarantee on any tour that we will see specific wildlife like Highland Cows but keep your eyes on the scenery and you might be able to spot some!
- Please note: This tour is designed to pack into one day as much as possible of Scotland’s highlights! While much of the journey is enjoyed from the comfort of the coach due to the distance covered, you will experience breathtaking views and scenery along the way.
Reviews(2,455)
It was definitely a pleasure to participate on this trip. Beautiful places, comfortable travelling, but the jewelry of it was definitely Stevie B.: amazing driving skills, really enjoyable style, remarkable Scottish sense of humor, and he has rally interesting historical stories about Scottland and the sites.
Very fun experience!! Our Loch Ness tour guide Stevie B. was always fun and cracked jokes along the way, while providing historical context for each landmark. I enjoyed all of the beautiful sights of the highlands and of the Loch Ness.
Overall a very nice, educational and relaxing tour. Also, if you fancy dad jokes, Stevie B is your boy.
Sorry for the late review. I moved house and found a few things from a holiday I took in Dedcemebr 2024. I had an amazing 2 day trips. One on abig coach with many people to Glencoe and the Highlands. Reallly great tour, shame about the foggy weather. The other to Lindisfarne, Berwick and other places. The young blonde tour guide Alistair was amazing, great playlist played during our day trip, incredible amount of historic and geographical knowledge. There was only myself and an italian couple so he was very accomodating and gave us so many great tips and allowed for extra time to see places. Oneof the best day trips I have taken.
We had a wonderful trip to the highlands and learnt lots of things thanks to Sarah, our guide! The cruise on Loch Ness was definitely worth it, we recommend this experience if you are in Edinburgh!
Our guide and driver, Shafiq was simply excellent. He is very informative and we enjoyed his sense of humour throughout the day.
Excellent tour and a super guide, Shafiq who was very helpful and knowledgeable.
Cameron and Jamie were great for our day out, lots of laughs and genuine Scottish humor. Beautiful highland tour!
Jack was a great historian and storyteller! He made the visitors feel special and was so friendly. Adam did an amazing job of getting us to our destinations with ease and on time.
Our tour was full of breathtaking scenery and interesting places to see and learn about. Our bus driver Stevie B. seemed to know the roads very well and had a lot of great history and information to guide us and make us experience a lot of fun. I would highly recommend this tour. From start to finish it was amazing.
