5-Day Isle of Skye and Loch Ness Tour from Edinburgh

We leave Edinburgh and head to the iconic Kelpies. We then head north past Stirling and take in views of the Wallace Monument and Stirling Castle. We will make a stop in Callendar before entering the Highlands and stopping at the lovely village of Killin, with its famous waterfall. Later in the day we journey through famous Glen Coe, then head to the quaint fishing town of Oban. (Overnight: Oban)

Today we start bright and early and head north to Fort William. There we’ll take a diesel train* on the stunning West Highland Line and cross Glenfinnan Viaduct, famously featured in the Harry Potter movies. As we cross, we’ll take in the sweeping views of the Scottish Highlands and Loch Shiel. We arrive in Mallaig and take the ferry to the Isle of Skye before driving to our overnight destination in Portree. (Overnight: Portree)

*Please note the train ride is not on the Jacobite Steam Train. The train will not be running on 8 June, 25 June, 6 July, and 24 August

We explore more of the mysterious Isle of Skye with its awe-inspiring mountains, stunning coastline, and local folklore before returning to the mainland. On the way to Loch Ness, we stop at the incredibly photogenic Eilean Donan Castle and wind our way along the Great Glen where we also visit Dundreggan Rewilding Centre to learn about Scotland’s ancient Caledonian Forest and then on to Inverness, home for the next two nights. (Overnight: Inverness)

Keep an eye out for the elusive monster, ‘Nessie’, while we take an optional cruise on Loch Ness before heading north towards the quaint town of Beauly. The ruins of Beauly Priory were used in the filming of Outlander and have a history stretching back to 1230AD.
After lunch we visit the mysterious chambered cairns and standing stones of Clava Cairns; followed by Culloden Battlefield, site of the last battle fought on British soil; both locations provided inspiration for the hit TV series Outlander (Overnight: Inverness)

Leaving Inverness, we visit the Highland Folk Museum to get a real taste of Scottish Highland life from the past centuries before heading to a local whisky distillery for a tour and a taste of the ‘water of life’. For our final stop we visit Dunkeld and take a walk through the quaint village, on to the River Tay and make a visit to the cathedral. Our tour returns to Edinburgh in the evening.