2020 Scottish Isles & Glens - 12 Days/11 Nights

Scottish Isles & Glens 2020, 12 Days/11 Nights / 18 Meals

Day 1: Glasgow & Bagpipes
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.


Day 2: Isle of Bute & Mount Stuart House
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)

Day 3: Loch Lomond & Eilean Donan Castle
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)

Day 4: Isle of Skye & Dunvegan Castle
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)

Day 5: Inverewe Gardens & Ullapool
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)

Day 6: Highland Scenery & Orkney
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)

Day 7: Orkney Sights & Skara Brae
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)

Day 8: Dunrobin Castle & Inverness
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)

Day 9: Urquhart Castle & Culloden Battlefield
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)

Day 10: Sheep Herding & Whisky Tasting
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)

Day 11: Edinburgh Castle & Traditional Scottish Dinner
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)

Day 12: Tour Ends In Edinburgh
Your tour ends after breakfast.
(B)B: Breakfast; L: Lunch; D: Dinner

All components of this tour (hotels, visits and attractions) for 2020 itineraries are subject to change until finalized in September 2019.

Authentic Local Experiences:

• Expect an unforgettable evening of music, ceremony, theater, and dance with reserved seats for Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo on August 1 – 15 departures.
• Explore the fascinating heritage of Orkney – the Ring of Brodgar and the village of Skara Brae date back to Neolithic times and are among the most important prehistoric monuments in Europe.

Trip Highlights:

• Dunrobin Castle
• Inverewe Gardens

  Inverewe Gardens

  Inverewe Garden is a botanical garden in the Scottish Highlands. It is located just to the north of Poolewe in Wester Ross, and is noted for the breadth of its collection.
• Isle of Skye

  Isle of Skye

  The Isle of Skye is the largest and most northerly island in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides. The island is dominated by the Cuillin Hills and is often referred to as the “Misty Isle”. It is associated with Bonnie Prince Charlie who fled there after the Battle of Culloden.
• Loch Ness Cruise

  Loch Ness Cruise

  This large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands is approximately 23 miles long and forms part of the Caledonian Canal. It is the second largest Scottish loch by surface area at 21.8 square miles after Loch Lomond, but due to its great depth, it is the largest by volume. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the legendary Loch Ness Monster, also known as “Nessie”.
• Mount Stuart House
• Ring of Brodgar

  Ring of Brodgar

  The Ring of Brodgar is a Neolithic henge and stone circle about 6 miles north-east of Stromness on the Mainland, the largest island in Orkney, Scotland. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Heart of Neolithic Orkney.
• Skara Brae

  Skara Brae

  These 5,000-year-old ruins are of an incredibly well preserved stone settlement containing an intricate maze of dwellings. The site was revealed in 1850 by a violent storm and is now one of the most famous Neolithic sites in Northern Europe.
• Urquhart Castle

  Urquhart Castle

  Urquhart Castle sits beside Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland. The castle is on the A82 road, 21 kilometres south-west of Inverness and 2 kilometres east of the village of Drumnadrochit.

Dining Experiences:

• 11 breakfasts(B) and 7 dinners(D) including a fun Scottish evening in Edinburgh with traditional songs, stories and dancing.

Hotels:

• GB-GLA-NOV | Glasgow (2 nights)
• GB-RSS-THE | near Kyle of Lochalsh (2 nights)
• GB-ULL-TRH | Ullapool (1 night)
• GB-KIO-AYR | Kirkwall (2 nights)
• GB-INV-COL | Inverness (2 nights)
• GB-EDI-AIT | Edinburgh (2 nights)