Today is the first official day full of events! 

To start the day, after your breakfast at the hotel, you will join us for a wee walk over to Edinburgh's iconic castle. Learn about some of the vital figures who once lived in this important location in Scotland's history. This castle changed hands between the Scottish and English many times during the Scottish Wars of Independence!

We'll spend a couple of hours exploring the castle before getting a break for lunch in the nearby Grassmarket. 

After lunch we'll begin our walking tour around Edinburgh's Old Town, which will take awhile as the streets and alleys twist and turn into the historic wonder that is the Capital City!

You'll have a free evening tonight to continue your exploration and find dinner amongst the pubs, taverns and 5 star restaurants!

After breakfast we will begin our second day of exploring Edinburgh's city centre. This time, however, we will be discovering New Town and why this part of the city, even though over 250 years old is still referred to as "new".

Along the way we will visit iconic sites, such as the Calton Hill, St. Andrew's Square, get to see inside a former Georgian House, and dive into Edinburgh's Enlightenment Era.

After our day of walking we'll enjoy our first group dinner (included in the tour costs) at Mother India - one of Edinburgh's top ranking Indian Restaurants! It's truly a guest favourite. 

Once our dinner is complete, onto the next stop - a whisky tasting with live music to follow featuring your tour leader - Ordinary Elephant! Does it get better than this?!

This is your chance to explore Edinburgh the way you want to: 

Fancy heading to the shops and getting some souvenirs, go for it! Not had enough whisky yet? Head to the Scottish Whisky Experience or the Johnny Walker Experience. Take this day to explore Edinburgh the way you want to.

In the days leading up to this, your guide will help you decide how to spend your time, let you know the best neighborhoods to explore, and ensure that no time or opportunity is wasted. 

Feeling brave? Your guide is happy to lead some group members to the top of Arthurs Seat. Sitting 822 feet above sea level, Arthurs Seat is the tallest of Edinburgh's seven hills. With panoramic views of the city and beyond this is a favourite spot in Edinburgh for tourists and locals alike. 

After we have breakfast, we'll finally check out of our first accommodation and journey north into the highlands!

Our first stop will be in the village of Callendar, often referred to as a the gateway to the highlands. Here you'll have the opportunity for a bathroom break, some coffee, and to grab any nibbles or souvenirs that catch your eye. 

Next, we'll be going through Glencoe Valley - absolutely astonishingly beautiful! There will be a couple of opportunities for photos before we stop for lunch at the Glencoe Visiting Centre. 

From here it's up to our next accommodation in the wee village of Dornie. After checking in there will be a dinner reservation for the group to dine together (not included in the tour cost), followed by a private concert with local musicians.

A magical day on the Isle of Skye!

This entire day is dedicated to the one and only - Isle of Skye.

Our day begins with a journey to the Skye bridge. We then travel up through the middle of the Island with our first photo stop being the spectacular Cuillin mountain range.

You will have impressive views of the Black Cuillins from the area of our first stop. This is a beautiful spot to take some fantastic pictures to show your friends or even dip your toes in the water if you’re brave enough.

Next stop, is the wonderful Village of Portree for lunch and a little souvenir shopping.

After lunch we will travel alongside the dramatic Trotternish Ridge and include stops at the Old man of Storr, Kilt Rock and the amazing Quiraing. 

After a walk at the Quiraing, amongst the unique and unusual rock architecture, we drive on to reach the magical of Fairy Glen. It’s a delightful miniature Highland landscape and legendary home of the ‘wee people’.

Once we return to the hotel there will be some free time for you to get dinner (not included in the tour cost) before another private concert and local music.

Today we will once again travel across the bridge to Skye and onto Sconser to catch the ferry to the wonderful Isle of Raasay, and its little independent distillery.

Co-founders Bill Dobbie and Alasdair Day first met in 2013 and formed R&B Distillers with the common goal of building Scotland’s leading artisanal distiller. Focusing on local production, provenance, quality and doing things differently. By 2015, they had identified the Isle of Raasay as providing the ingredients for the perfect dram, and planning permission to begin work revitalising the Isle of Raasay’s nineteenth century Borodale House into a state-of-the-art distillery, visitor centre, and luxury accommodation was granted in 2016.

Starting with a blank sheet of paper, they set about designing a distillery to create exceptional whisky that develops elegance, complexity, and depth early on in the maturation process and a handcrafted Hebridean gin that encapsulates Raasay’s style, character and impressive geological variety.

After our time at the distillery and lunch, we'll explore more of the island itself. Raasay is a small Island and is truly enchanting. You will have the option to take a drive along it western coast and then to its eastern shore to get our photos of the Brochel Castle ruin, or you can explore on your own on one of the many foot paths.

In the evening when we have returned to the accommodations, we have an incredible night planned. The second group dinner included of the tour - a seafood platter cooked by some true locals! Followed by our final private concert in the area. A night for the unique sounds and tastes of the western highlands!

After our breakfast and departure from the wee village of Dornie, we'll make a stop at one of the most iconic castles in all of Scotland - Eliean Donan castle. Not just a photo stop, we'll have the opportunity to explore the inside and learn more about its fascinating history. 

Once departed from the castle, we'll make our way east to Inverness. Along the way we'll have some photo stops of the Glenelg Brochs, and throughout the journey through Achnasheen.

We'll check into our accommodation in Inverness and you'll have time to settle. You can choose from a free evening to get your own dinner and explore on your own, or you can head over to Hootenanny's for live music after you've dined. 

Today is going to be a cruisy day with a later start and an earlier finish. 

We will leave Inverness and head for the world famous Loch Ness. This journey will take us along the eastern shore and gives a fantastic perspective of this enormous body of water, with photograph stops on the way.

Lunchtime we will arrive at quaint little village of Fort Augustus where the Caledonian Canal flows through. 

We'll then complete the loop along the western shore of the loch with an early arrival in Inverness where you will have time to meander and explore on your own before getting together for another private concert and live music with Ordinary Elephant!

After we have our breakfast and check out of the accommodations, we'll head over to the Culloden Battlefield. Many of you might be familiar with the tragic history of this site through films, shows or the many books dedicated to what transpired. We'll have time to walk along the battlefield as well as visit the dedicated museum. 

From Culloden, we'll move onto the nearby site of the Clava Cairns. The Clava Cairns, or the Prehistoric Burial Cairns of Bulnuaran of Clava, are a group of three Bronze Age cairns located near Inverness. A hugely significant and exceptionally well preserved prehistoric site, Clava Cairns is a fantastic example of the distant history of Highland Scotland, dating back about 4,000 years.

As we continue our way south we'll stop in the lovely village of Pitlochry for lunch. This village is known for its clan history and stunning scenery. 

From here it's straight to our final destination - Stirling. We'll have time to check into the hotel and settle a bit before we have our final event - the farewell concert and BBQ. This will be the final group meal included in the tour and our chance to say our farewells to all! 

Sadly, the time has come to say goodbye!

We will be providing two group transfers to the Edinburgh Airport. As we try to catch as many passengers as possible, we do not coordinate this until we have all the return flight times. The transfer times will be an early morning group, and a late morning/early afternoon group. Therefore, if you book a flight between 9am - 3pm, then you are likely to have good timing for the transfers. 

If you aren't able to make the group transfers, we offer to book you your own taxi in the add-ons section.