5 day Highland tours from Edinburgh

The main attraction of our Highland tours from Edinburgh is its wonderfully relaxed pace.

We will depart Edinburgh from your accommodation and make our way over the river Forth, with your opportunity to gaze at the exceptional Forth Bridge. The bridge itself was completed in 1890 and is considered to be one of the world’s great engineering achievements.

We will the travel onto the picturesque village of Dunkeld where you will have time to walk through the narrow streets and visit Dunkeld Cathedral. The Cathedral itself is beautifully located beside the River Tay.

The tour moves on to the Hermitage woodlands. The Hermitage is a lovely forest walk through some of the tallest trees in Scotland to a spectacular waterfall and viewpoint.

Next is the village of Pitlochry for lunch and then we continue north into the Cairngorms National Park. At this stage of the tour, the Highland countryside gets more spectacular with every mile we experience on our journey.

We continue our journey to Clava Cairns. This ancient 4,000 year old burial site and stone circles will transport you into the past as place your hands on structures that were put there 2000 BC.

Next on our journey we will pay our respects at on of Scotland’s most important historical sites, Culloden Moor. This is the location of the last battle on British soil. In 1746 Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite army was defeated and brought the 45 rebellion to and abrupt end.

Culloden Visitor Centre gives you a chance to see exactly what happened on the day of the battle but also gives you an understanding of the months that came before, and why the conflict ended here. 

We will then drop you off at your chosen accommodation in Inverness.

Day 2

Today we will be traveling along part of the famous North Coast 500 on our Highland tours. We firstly head north west to Assynt and the Coigach peninsula. This is a truly remarkable area with outstanding natural beauty, a wonderful coastline and indigenous forests all set against the stunning backdrop of spectacular mountains.

The tour will take a short stop in the fishing village of Ullapool, nestled in to the the edge of LochBroom on our left and the dramatic mountains of Suilven and Stac Pollaidh to our right.

 Lunch will be at Lochinver and then we will have time for you to see one of the Highlands most beautiful white sandy beaches as we head for Achmelvich beach.

Last stop on the road back the Inverness is the dramatic Corrieshallich Gorge. Take a deep breath as you walk across the old foot bridge and look down hundreds of feet below into this dramatic gorge.

Day 3

Today we are packing our bags and heading for the spectacular Isle of Skye.

Firstly and before we get onto the Island, there is still lots to see on the mainland including the world-famous Loch Ness and your chance to get your photo of the monster, (if you do get a photo of Nessie, then all revenue from said picture will be shared with your driver).

Then next leg of our journey takes us through Glen Sheil where we are shadowed by the steep sided mountains known as the 5 Sisters of Kintail. We will then stop at the iconic Eilean Donan Castle. This is perhaps the most iconic Highland Scotland Castle. We give you time to explore every nook and cranny of this fabulous castle.

Departing the castle we will travel across the Skye Bridge and onwards north through the island with a stunning view of the Cuillin Mountains. We will the drop you off at your chosen accommodation on the island capital of Portree where we will stay for two nights.

Day 4

In the morning we head straight for the famous Fairy Pools of Skye. This is a “must see” for any visitor to the Island. After that we head for Neist Point Light House. Situated at the most westerly location on Skye, it is an iconic destination with its stunning cliff scenery which provides you with get a real sense of how rugged the highland coastline is.

Moving on we will now experience a totally different atmosphere as we arrive at the Fairy Glen. This magical little spot is said to be like any other Scottish Glen (valley) but in miniature. When you see it, you will understand why our ancestors believed it was where one of the entrances was to the Fairy Kingdom.

Finally, we will tour down from the north east of the island and visit some amazing locations such as the Quiraing, Kilt Rock and finally the Old man of Storr.

Day 5

We leave the island a different way. We will drive across Skye to the ferry terminal at Armadale for an amazing sea crossing to Mallaig.

After the ferry arrives at Mallaig we take the beautiful road to Glenfinnan Viaduct which famously features in the Harry Potter movies as the Hogwarts Express train crosses the bridge. For Scottish history fans this is where Bonnie Prince Charlie rallied the nation and raised his standard prior to the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion.

 We continue south and through one of Scotland’s most famous locations of Glencoe. Your guide will tell you the sad tale of the bloody massacre of the MacDonalds took place in 1692.

Last stop on this epic journey is Doune Castle. This 13th century castle has featured in many tv shows and films including the Monty Python Holy Grail, The Outlaw King as well as the Outlander TV show.This is the end of our Highland tours from Edinburgh.