Scottish Isles & Glens

Day1: Glasgow Arrival & City Tour

Arrive to Glasgow Airport where your CIE Tours driver/guide or representative will greet you. Complimentary group transfers are depart Glasgow Airport at the following times: 8:00 am, 10:00 am or 12:00 noon, for any passengers arriving later than this, transfer to the city-centre hotel will be at their own expense. A coach tour will leave at 2:30 pm heading to Glasgow’s main attractions including red sandstone Victorian buildings, delightful parks and the River Clyde, as well as Glasgow Cathedral, which dates from the 12th century. That evening chat with your tour director and fellow travellers over a welcome drink before dinner. (D)

Day 2: Loch Lomond & Glen Coe

This morning travel into the Highlands and drive alongside the lovely shores of Loch Lomond and across the bleak Rannoch Moor, and through the spectacular peaks of Glen Coe, made famous by the Campbells’ massacre of the Clan Macdonald in 1692. Continue on through Fort William and shop at the Ben Nevis Highland Centre. Upon leaving here take the scenic “Road to the Isles” passing Loch Shiel and the Glenfinnan Monument to cross by ferry to the Isle of Skye. Once on the Island drive through part of the “Misty Isle” and cross back to the mainland by bridge to your charming family-owned hotel near the Kyle of Lochalsh. (B, D)

Day 3: Isle of Skye Tour & Dunvegan Castle

Discover the Isle of Skye’s majestic Cuillin Mountains and learn about its associations with Bonnie Prince Charlie. Today, visit Dunvegan Castle, the stronghold of the Chiefs of MacLeod for nearly 800 years, and the oldest continuously inhabited castle within Scotland. Whilst at the castle view priceless family heirlooms and stroll through the formal and woodland gardens before driving through more island scenery. When heading back to your hotel, stop in Portree, the capital, where an abundance of colourful houses cluster around a large natural harbour. Once at the hotel, enjoy some leisure free time before dinner. (B, D)

Day 4: Inverewe Gardens

Pause for photos at the romantic Eilean Donan Castle before basking in yet more Highland scenery as you drive past Loch Maree. Visit Inverewe Gardens, where in 1862 Osgood Mackenzie converted 50 acres of bleak headland into a haven of trees and shrubs, and where varied and exotic plantings thrive due to the warming influence of the Gulf Stream. Upon leaving here travel past lochs and Gruinard Bay to Ullapool, an active fishing and ferry port built in 1788 by the British Fisheries Society, before driving through Ullapool to check in to your hotel. (B, D)

Day 5: Highland Scenery

Explore one of Scotland’s most remote Highland areas on today’s tour, and marvel at how the landscape varies from huge tracts of bogland to rugged rocky mountains and coastline. Stop in Durness, one of Scotland’s most remote hamlets and learn about the 18th and 19th century Highland Clearances which left these areas devoid of people. Stop later in Bettyhill, a village built in 1814 to replace crofts destroyed by the Clearances before continuing on to your hotel in Thurso. (B, D).

Day 6: Isle of Orkney & Skara Brae

Take the ferry to the port of Stromness on the main island of Orkney to visit Skara Brae, a 5,000-year-old village and see the layout of houses, some with hearths and cupboards. Wonder at the Ring of Brodgar, a circle of prehistoric standing stones and stop in Kirkwall to see the 12th century St. Magnus Cathedral. Take in the Churchill Barriers, created during World War II to prevent German submarines from sheltering in Scapa Flow and see the Italian Chapel, built from two Nissan huts with elaborate trompe l’oeil paintings before driving back to Stromness for the return ferry ride. (B, D)

Day 7: John o’ Groats & Dunrobin Castle

An enjoyable drive along the coast, visit John o’ Groats, the most northerly village on the British mainland. Not far from Golspie visit Dunrobin Castle, the seat of the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland and the largest mansion in northern Scotland with a staggering 189 rooms. Walk through some of the impressive chambers of the castle, which dates to 1275 but was remodelled in the mid-1800s, and watch trained birds of prey in a falconry demonstration in the castle gardens. Upon leaving here continue south to your hotel in Nairn, located on the Moray Firth. (B, D)

Day 8: Urquhart Castle & Culloden

A picturesque drive along the shores of Loch Ness to visit Urquhart Castle, once the largest structure of its type but now reduced to picturesque ruins. Stop in Inverness and at the Culloden Visitor Centre, where you can walk around the moor in which the Battle of Culloden took place in 1746, ending Bonnie Prince Charlie’s political aspirations and many Highland traditions. Visit the vast defences at Fort George, located on the North Sea,  that was planned in 1747 to be an English army base and which has been in use ever since. Experience the reconstructed barrack rooms and a display of muskets and pikes. After dinner that night, enjoy Scottish Highland entertainment with bagpipe music, song and dance. (B, D)

Day 9: Glenfi ddich Distillery & Edinburgh

Today, drive through the Spey Valley tovisit the Glenfiddich Distillery. Take a tour to learn how whisky is distilled and whilst there sample a “wee dram.” Upon leaving here continue past the majestic peaks of the Grampian Mountains and stop in the town of Pitlochry for a look around before heading to your hotel in Edinburgh. That night cross the Grassmarket to the cosy Beehive Inn for an informal pub dinner and to join a local guide for a fun walking tour to discover the haunts of Edinburgh’s many colourful characters. (B, D)

Day 10: Edinburgh Castle & City Tour

Discover Edinburgh on a sightseeing tour this morning and compare the wide streets and elegant mansions of the 200-year-old Georgian “New Town” with the narrow lanes and medieval townhouses along the Royal Mile, the oldest part of the city. Finish your morning tour at the imposing Edinburgh Castle to see historic buildings and enjoy a splendid view of Edinburgh. That afternoon and evening you are free for independent activities. Please be aware that on July 29 to August 14 departures enjoy the Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle. (B)

Day 11: Depart Edinburgh for Home

The tour ends with a group transfer to arrive at Edinburgh Airport by 6:30 am or 9:00 am. This will allow plenty of time for check-in procedures and duty-free shopping before boarding. A transfer to Glasgow Airport will be provided on request but at an additional cost. (B)

2013 Scottish Isles & Glens - 11 Days/10 Nights

What's Included

• Group transfers on arrival and departure
• Sightseeing by luxury coach throughout
• Services of a professional tour director
• Superior & first class hotels with private bath/shower for 10 nights
• 10 Full Scottish breakfasts (B)
• 9 dinners (D) including:
• - Pub dinner at the Beehive Inn in Edinburgh
• - Scottish Highland Cabaret
• - 7 table d’ hôte dinners
• Welcome get-together drink
• Sightseeing tours of Glasgow and Edinburgh
• Ferry to the Isle of Skye
• Ferry to Orkney
• Whisky tasting and tour at Glenfiddich Distillery
• Walking tour of Edinburgh
• Reserved seats for Edinburgh Military
• Tattoo on July 29 to August 14 departures
• Visits and admissions to Glasgow Cathedral, Ben Nevis Highland Centre, Dunvegan Castle, Inverewe Gardens, Skara Brae, Ring of Brodgar, St. Magnus Cathedral, Italian Chapel, Dunrobin Castle, Urquhart Castle, Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre, Fort George and Edinburgh Castle
• Deluxe flight bag, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap
• All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage for one suitcase per person

Stay at the following (or similar):

• Menzies Hotel, Glasgow (1 night)
• Balmacara Hotel, near Kyle of Lochalsh (2 nights)
• Royal Hotel, Ullapool (1 night)
• Pentland Hotel, Thurso (2 nights)
• The Newton Hotel, Nairn (2 nights)
• Apex International Hotel, Edinburgh (2 nights)

NOTE: Hotels in the north of Scotland are of the best the remote Highlands offer; however, they are not up to the usual CIE Tours standard.

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