Day 1 takes you north to Dunkeld, on the banks of the River Tay, before exploring the grandeur of Cairngorm National Park and its ancient pine forests. Following the afternoon here your tour will take you onto the back-roads overlooking mysterious Loch Ness before staying in Inverness, your base for 2 nights.
Day 2 takes you into the far northern wilderness of Assynt, including visiting the Corrieshalloch Gorge and Ullapool. In the afternoon you will visit the 15th century ruins of Ardvreck Castle,the stunning white sand beach at Achmelvich Bay, and the traditional fishing village of Lochinver
Day 3 takes you west to the dramatic nature reserve of Torridon, and along the wild coastline to the remote community of Applecross, before travelling along Britain’s highest road to the “tropical” palm tree lined village of Plockton. Then it’s over the sea to Skye, where your base is the picturesque harbour town of Portee for 2 nights.
Day 4 is a flexible day exploring Skye with options to visit the wild north of the island, the Old Man of Storr, the mountain pass of the Quiraing, Skye’s most westerly point at Neist or the Talisker Distillery.
Day 5 returns you to the mainland to visit Eilean Donan Castle (set of “Highlander”), before travelling through the rugged scenery of the 5 Sisters of Kintail and Ben Nevis. Your afternoon highlight will be the wilderness of Glencoe before returning to Edinburgh.
Departure Point
207 High St, Edinburgh. Click here to see map.
Return to Waverley Bridge opposite Waverley Train Station
Inclusions:
Transportation by top of the range Mercedes minicoach for a more personal experience with a maximum of 16 passengers on tour.
We believe a small group tour with a maximum of 16 passengers really does make a big difference to your trip. It allows us to give you a more personal service and remain the only 5 Star operator to offer this personal guarantee. Touring with a maximum of 16 passengers you get more for your money, more personal attention, more time with the locals, more time off the bus, more time on the back-roads and just more of an authentic, friendly experience. The smaller groups allow you to meet people from all over the world and make friends for life.
Air Conditioning as standard.
Services of a professional Rabbie's driver/guide
All ferry and bridge crossings.
Rabbie's Discount Card - money off restaurants, shopping and attractions.
Exclusions:
Meals and refreshments.
All Visitor Attractions.
Accommodation
Your tour does not include accommodation in the price. By giving you a choice of accommodation it allows you to choose your budget, stay in smaller places and get closer to the local people. This also means you help to sustain the communities you visit in the long term. Choose a hotel, B&B or a hostel and we will book it for you.
For more information on accommodation and prices click here
*NB On occasions, when villages we stay in have events on, accommodation can be scarce and expensive so we may use other locations for your accommodation on the tour. We will always inform you of this when this is necessary.
Discount Price
Students, Seniors over 60 and Children between 5 and 16 (we regret we do not carry children under the age of 5)
Important Information
Because we believe in time off the bus and give you opportunities to take nature walks we recommend you bring suitable clothing and footwear for your tour. Scotland can be a wet place!! Accommodation on this tour is dispersed around Inverness and Portree which are small but hilly! If you have mobility problems or special requirements please let us know when booking. |
Posted by Susan Goodfellow on 13/05/2012
Time to sit back and reflect on that fabulous landscape!
Posted by phil mckenzie on 30/03/2012
Day 4 began uncertain, mist and drizzle hung over Skye, yet still we caught glimpses of soaring cliffs and endless seas. Old Man of Storr refused to reveal himself and still Richard had the day controlled. From one stunning scene to the next. As the weather eased so all the more spectacular the scenery that unfolded. Finally we ended on a beach a the base of the Cullian Mountains, not a soul to be seen, complete serenity and the sun gave us a final peek as it set beyond the isle of Rum. Winding our way back toward Portree Richard had one more gift.........the strains of Going Home from Mark Knopflers score for Local Hero. This suitably decribes the 5 glorious days we spent on the Highlands tour at the tail end of winter. The huge skies of Scotland and that gorgeous light were ours. delivered in the most remarkable way by Richard. A proud Inverness lad, loaded with amazing information and delivered in a delightful and often humourous way. We had long intended to take this tour, in every way it was so much more than we might have hoped. Just never got to try that whisky. Next time!
Posted by phil mckenzie on 26/03/2012
I´ve already waited too long to write down our great experience last September, when my mom, my sister and me took part at the 5 day Explorer tour. It was amazing to see the beautyful landscape. Liam told us a lot of the places and the history and answered all our questions. He stopped at wonderful places where we could take great pisctures. Liam was a funny and very friendly driver and even my little sister doesn´t speak any English she loved it. So thank you again Liam!
Posted by meldavi on 22/03/2012
What a fantastic tour!!!. My husband and I really enjoyed it, beautiful landscapes (everything in green and brown colours, lochs...), the weather was fine, nice hotels and restaurants to go, we also met nice people from other countries all around the world... We would like to thank Rabbie's and specially our guide Richard who brought us the opportunity to know a lot about Scotland. Ana & Gines. Spain
Posted by ANA LORENTE on 04/02/2012
My daughter Jennifer and I have just returned from a two-week vacation in Scotland and without doubt, Rabbie’s made the trip. This was my daughter’s first trip to Scotland and while this was my fourth visit, I have never seen Scotland like this. Our first tour was to Rosslyn Chapel and our guide Dave made it a memorable day with his incredible knowledge and keen sense of humour. We excitedly followed this up with the Highland Explorer - Skye & the Far North 5 day Tour with Eddie. Words fail us when describing the incredible landscape, out of the way places that Eddie made sure we experienced, accommodations and fun that was ours for the taking. Eddie is a fountain of knowledge, humourous, a skilled story-teller and consummate gentleman. Jennifer took advantage of the opportunity to travel with tour guide George to Neist Point and had a great time. We are not exaggerating when we say that upon our return to Edinburgh, we immediately considered scrapping our remaining plans and heading back up to the highlands with Rabbie’s! However, we remained in Edinburgh and fulfilled the rest of our plans when, realizing we had some extra time, we immediately headed back to Rabbie’s and booked the West Highland Lochs & Castles Day Tour. To our delight Sara, a true Highland Lass was our tour guide, once again regaling us with stories, myths and information. We also can’t say enough about the excellent and friendly help we received from the office staff. All logistics seamlessly rolled out and accommodation was outstanding. Rabbie’s more than lives up to their award winning reputation and we highly recommend them. Slàinte mhòr agad! Cheers!
Posted by Marion Neven on 19/10/2011
Had a grand time in Scotland: Excellent weather, excellent tour guide and wonderful group of people. Thanks Rabbie's, we will definitely recommend you! Chris and Donna
Posted by ChrisDonna on 18/10/2011
Had a grand time in Scotland: Excellent weather, excellent tour guide and wonderful group of people. Thanks Rabbie's, we will definitely recommend you! Chris and Donna
Posted by ChrisDonna on 24/09/2011
I recently met up with my sister (who lives in Germany) in Edinburgh and we did the 5 day Rabbies Highland Explorer Tour. Thank you Rabbies for organising the tour and a big ‘thank you’ to Ross (our Driver/Guide) for making our tour so special. We loved it. His knowledge of the history of Scotland, the geology and his love and pride in his homeland was infectious. We loved his stories and anecdotes. He was always so good humoured. One day it was blowing ‘a hooley’ but this did not spoil our tour, all part of it. I really enjoyed seeing Applecross and Monty Halls croft (BBC programme) and walking in Monty Halls footsteps. Also meeting Steve Feltham at Loch Ness of the Nessie-sery Independent Research. Who knows, he might yet prove it! I took a photo of a group of ‘fairy mushrooms’ (amanita muscari) - really for my granddaughter who loves fairies and magic - at Eilean Donan Castle and this really sums it up – it was magical! We hope to see you again next year for another tour. Thank you Rabbies and Ross.
Posted by Monika Bowditch on 15/09/2011
We just finished our 5 Day Highland Explorer trip. Liam did a great job driving and guiding!!! I've posted a few pics in a new album...by the way, if anybody knows how to delete a pic please let me know (I've posted a pic twice!!).
Posted by Mike Seminsky on 15/09/2011
It is unbelievable how wonderful one tour can be. We would like to thank Rabbie's and especially our guide- Ross, for an incredible experience in Scotland. Ross is a very unique personality, he loves his land and you can feel it through-out the entire time! He is devoted to his work and has an amazing positive energy that affects all of his tourists! We would like to say- we are so glad we have taken the tour with Rabbie's and not with anyone else! We had the best time ever and met great people, and of course, the beautiful beautiful landscape and people of Scotland! We fell in love with your country and we hope to come back someday for another tour! Thank You Rabbie's and thank you Ross!!! with much love- Michael, Veronica, Ronit and Natalie Shanider, Israel 2011
Posted by Shnaider Natalie on 05/09/2011
We have just returned from our 5 day Highland tour. The trip more than lived upto our expectations. The scenery was beautiful and the B & B accommodation was very good. We even had sunshine along with the occasional rain. The trip would not have been as memorable or enjoyable without our excellent guide Liam. Throughout the trip he was unfailingly pleasent, charming and knowledgeable as well as an excellent driver. His knowledge of the Highlands and history of Scotland plus music and folklore tales all made it a holiday to remember. After been looked after so well we were very sorry when the holiday came to an end and we will definately recommend Rabbies tours to our families and friends.
Posted by Pat Fell Mary Brown on 03/09/2011
A couple of weeks ago we took a 5 day tour to the Highlands and the Isle of Skye. It was our first time with rabbie's and has been a great experience. We enjoyed the incredible landscapes and we learned a lot about Scotland. Every visited place was lovely with enough time for photos. Accomodation also perfect. And we were very lucky with weather and had sunny and warm days! We absolutely recommend it. Please give our special thanks to our guide Roland, we really enjoyed his stories and jokes. Regards also to his brother Oli and to our second guide Doc. All of them made our tour much more funny. Regards from Spain!
Posted by Silvia and Iñaki Lander on 13/08/2011
My mom and I just returned from our 5 day trip through the highlands today. It was in a single word, amazing! Our nice sized group of 9 had a wonderful variation of ages and personalities and our awesome tour guide Roland, was able to tie us all together and make sure each one of us had a great time. I loved Roland's personal stories and comical histories. They added a nice touch to each day. He was also very accommodating to make sure we got the most of each day of our tour. Highlights of our trip included an insane amount of rainbows as well as some stunning waterfalls and flooding on our way back, but Roland got us back safely. He was also an excellent driver and was able to answer all the questions we had, either about Scottish life, history, or even the fauna, and if he didn't know, he would find out and tell us the next day. Lastly, he's a beast at pool! Thank you Rabbies and Roland for a great trip around Scotland and a great vacation! David and Tarri Wells
Posted by David Wells on 09/08/2011
Fantastic tour in the main areas of the northern Highlands and Skye with spectacular views on lochs, glens, islands.Despite our international group, Eddie provided us with humorous commentaries and a well-selected music.He was a very good and efficient driver and a talented tour-guide. Dany and Anne-Marie from Belgium
Posted by THOREZ DANIELLE on 21/05/2011
On July 10th my mom and I set out on the five day highland explorer tour. Our tour guide, Liam was wonderful! While we were in the bus he was able to provide a lot of information about the territory we were travelling through, he told excellent stories and at one point he even did a little singing! He played music from the areas we were which added to the overall experience. As I said he was very knowledgable about where we were and he was able to recommend some excellent places to get dinner and lunch. We thoroughly enjoyed this trip and would recomment this trip to anyone. Cheers, Lindsay and Ellen Fink
Posted by Lindsay Fink on 26/04/2011
I think Liam is a really outstanding tour guide and he is professional (I know its a tiring job but he is always energetic)knowledgable, friendy. I really enjoyed the trip.
Posted by Wai Wing LI on 11/04/2011
I love taking pictures so I appreciated all the photo stops (even when the weather was less than nice.)
Posted by Sandra West on 06/04/2011
small groups, very friendly and very knowledgable driver guides, enjoyed all of it, even the Scottish weather!
Posted by Monika Bowditch on 15/10/2010
A very enjoyable travel! The landscapes were beautiful and the guide,Roland, very friendly and entertaining (the stories about scotland were so funny)!!! Sincerly, I liked all the five days of the tour with Rabbie's!
Posted by Martine Christ on 31/08/2010
Ross had good local knowledge for photo stops for amazing scenery and lovely places to eat etc.
Posted by Mary Halliday on 22/08/2010
Ross was very informative and clearly passionate about the Highlands. He made good selections to deviate from the standard plan to accomodate weather or timing and we thoroughly enjoyed our trip.
Posted by Nancy Ruffino on 22/08/2010
Saw salmon leaping. Wonderful scenery and views
Posted by Glenda Hesketh on 16/07/2010
Our guide was great. The B and B's that you picked for us were very good. Our entire group was very friendly and made an excellent group to travel with. The scenery was wow.
Posted by Jim and Glynis Wilkes on 05/08/2009
The places we visited and the tour guide Alec was wonderful, knowledgable and had a great sense of humour. The places we visited were very interesting and a bit different. Alec let people take their time and was so flexible and accomodating to all. Accomodation at the Mardon B & B in Inverness was wonderful. Accomodation in Portree was very nice.
Posted by Cynthia Henderson on 24/07/2009
Our guide/driver, Alec was wonderful. His driving was expert and very safety conscious. The scenery was awesome and even the weather cooperated! It was great to be able to sit back and enjoy the scenery without having to worry about driving on the twisty one lane roads that we were on so much of the time. Alec was very good about filling us in on what we were seeing and on where to eat, etc Even my husband, who had never been on a bus tour and who had been a really "hard sale", was completely impressed and was glad we had done the tour instead of trying to go it on our own. It was also nice to be able to pick what type of place we wanted to stay in and where we wanted to eat.
Posted by Nancy Fallon on 17/06/2009