Scottish Whisky Tasting (5 drams) & Fairytale Dunrobin Castle
Description
Return journey: We WILL have you back to your ship around 1 hour prior to its departure time. We nearly always arrive back BEFORE the ship’s own buses. We’re very efficient and have been doing this for 7 years, serving thousands of cruise passengers every summer season. Millionaire’s View Begin your day at Struie Hill - offers sweeping panoramas across the Dornoch Firth – the perfect Highland photo stop. Raise a Glass at Balblair Tour Balblair Distillery, one of Scotland’s oldest, dating back to 1790. See the craft of whisky-making, explore the historic stills, and savour a dram of smooth Highland malt. Charming Dornoch Stroll the cobbled streets of Dornoch, a town full of charm, artisan shops, and local warmth. Historic Dornoch Cathedral Step into the 13th-century Cathedral, with its soaring stone arches and stained glass. Fairy-Tale Dunrobin Castle Discover Dunrobin Castle. Wild Loch Fleet End your tour at Loch Fleet Nature Reserve, home to seals and rare birds.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Millionaires’ View - over the Dornoch Firth. Photo opportunity
This is an incredibly unique, historic experience that always leaves a lasting impression on tour groups looking for an authentic taste of the Highlands. The Setting: For groups of up to 14, a private, atmospheric tasting held deep inside our authentic 15th-century vault dungeon. For larger groups we would hold our tastings in our award winning whisky bar, located in the heart of our 15th-century castle. The Experience: Hosted by our expert Bar Manager, Jamie or one of our extremely knowledgable bar staff, who will guide the group through the rich history and flavours of our local landscape. The Lineup: 5 premium drams sourced entirely from incredible local distilleries. The Highlight: The grand finale! The final 2 drams of the session will be drawn straight from the cask. A lifelong memory.
Beautiful village and cathedral
Quaint bookshop
Traditional old cathedral where Madonna and Guy Ritchie married
Fairytale castle - tour Falconry display in the gardens
Pass by the local nature reserve
Call into the shop and photo opportunity of the distillery. We do not tour here unless it’s a Sunday then Balblair is closed.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Wheelchair travellers difficult
Reviews(55)
We had a delightful day out with our lovely guide, June. She showed us a number of stunning viewpoints for photos and explained the geography. During the day there was plenty of historical and cultural information. We had a lengthy visit to the town of Dornoch to look around and have lunch at an excellent cafe. We also stopped at a farm and got up close with some highland cows. Then it was on to the main attraction, Dunrobin Castle for a tour of the castle and gardens and the falconry show. On the way back to our ship, we stopped off at Glenmorangie Distillery for a tasting flight. A wonderful day. Maxine, the proprietor of Thistle Excursions was a pleasure to deal with in arranging our tour. I have no hesitation in recommending Thistle
Thank you so much. Very kind.
Tour was in a small group - just 6 of us; June was one of the best tour guide I've seen in action....and I was a tour guide in a previous life. It felt like a friend or family member had picked us up, and showed us around the Highlands. They took us back with plenty of time before the all aboard time for the cruise we were on.
Thank you so very much for this most valuable opinion x
What a great day with June! Absolutely perfect. Great tour, fantastic information, a lot of heart! Thank you very much for the wonderful day! See you again sometime!
Danke schön x
This was a good, but not a great tour. Our guide from Thistle tours ("Mo") was friendly, funny, experienced and knowledgeable. Communication about the meeting point was excellent. We saw some beautiful scenery of the highlands, with plenty of stops for photos. We enjoyed the castle tour (although we had done one in Ireland just a few days prior) mostly because we could do it at our own pace. The distillery tour was informative, but the tasting was only two basic varieties. That was disappointing. Also, the distillery that we visited doesn't ship their products, so anyone from the US wanting to buy a bottle or two will have to search for a store that carries the brand. We had ample time to explore the quaint town of Dornoch along the way, and that proved to be a highlight of this tour. Picturesque town with plenty of shops and very good restaurants (we found one on our own, searching for "best restaurants in Dornoch" on Google").
Thank you I am Not happy that Balblair distillery do not ship. We will look at choosing an alternative distillery in future.
We were a small group. Tour felt very personal. Not rushed nor waiting around. June was very knowledgeable about the area. We have taken a lot of these types of tour (adventures). Have to say June put this one in the top 5 for us. Would definitely recommend it. As the title stated, felt like a friend had picked us up, and showed us around. Thank you for the memories, and we will definitely be back next year. See you then.
Thank you so much and Thank you for helping the other guest Amy get her whisky on board. You are a lovely couple Rocky. June enjoyed her day.
Had a great experience. Our tour was in a van with a total of 6 people and the guide. Our guide Mike was spectacular. He told us great stories and had information on whatever questions we had. He had a great sense of humor and used every minute of our time while assuring us we would be back to our cruise ship on time. Occasionally we would get off track goofing around, and laughing about other topics and Mike would participate for a short while and then lead us back into the tour with information. The man should be a teacher! He has management skills. Learned a ton, and had a ball! Thanks, Mike!
Thank you so much for the glowing review.
This was the best experience we had in Scotland!! The pretty lady in purple walked us directly to our guide Cash .. personal touch.. Our Cash was awesome he was knowledgeable and took our small group there beautiful areas and gave us the most relaxing and informative tour!! 5 stars all around!!
Thank you so much. Cash is one of our new guides but he’s turning out to be great.
Tour guide was informative and friendly. Interesting sites, comfortable ride. Scottish Highlands were beautiful. Did i mention Scottish sheep and coos (cows)!
Thank you so much for taking the time to give Thistle a great review. It helps the guides feel really appreciated and gives them huge job satisfaction. It also helps the company know we’re getting it right. So very kind of you.
Very well organised tour with lots of information from our lovely guide, Eleanor. She was a lot of fun!
Thank you so Much
An amazing adventure with Thistle bookings and Mike our tour guide was fantastic. We arrived at the port location 30 minutes early Mike was fully dressed in his family’s kilt ready to go. With the six of us filling the van we were off for our 8 hour adventure. A stop in the town center allowed us to walk around for almost an hour to walk along the river as well, before our stop at Loch Ness. We then drove to the Urquhart Castle and had an hour to walk around and explore. The views are spectacular and the history so interesting. Since Mike lives in the area he was very knowledgeable about the history and shared many stories with us as we continued our scenic drive to the Scottish Whiskey tasting. the tour of the distillery was quite enjoyable and the three tastings a nice selection. We ended back at the port and took the free 5 minute bus back to our ship. Our only complaint would be that the a/c in the van belonging to Thistle needs service, as it was not working properly.
Hi Marcia Our minibus are checked weekly. All the aircons are working. I’m not sure if the guide is sa doing it wrong. I’ll speak to him. Sorry about that.
