Itinerary :

All Tours can start or finish in either Glasgow or Edinburgh.

Day 1 : Arrival – Edinburgh Area

Arrive Edinburgh/Glasgow and collect hire car. Travel into Edinburgh enjoying a visit of Edinburgh Castle or take a panoramic city tour by bus. Overnight in Edinburgh area.

Day 2: Loch Lomond - Oban

Head north along Loch Lomond stopping off at Luss to visit the Thistle Bagpipe Works. Continue west with the option of stopping for lunch at the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar to enjoy some of the fresh produce before heading through Inveraray visiting the castle and jail. Continue north to Oban spending time in Kilmartin Glen experiencing the Neolithic and Bronze Age chambered and round carins, stone circles and rock carvings. Visit Dunadd Fort the ancient capital of Scotland then known as Dalriada. Overnight Oban area.

Day 3 :Isles of Mull, Iona and Staffa

Today spend the day exploring Mull and Iona either by car or enjoy the sites from the sea and take a day boat trip to Mull Iona and Staffa. The tour leaves from Oban Harbour and is renowned as one of the best day tours in the UK, providing a scenic route through the beautiful island of Mull and a visit to the Isle of Iona where Columba landed in 563 brought Christianity to Scotland from Ireland. You can also visit the famous abbey founded by St Columbus before you continue on to the uninhabited Island of Staffa, which is famous for its basaltic formations, the best know of which is Fingals Cave, immortalised in Mendelssohns Herbridean Overture. Return to your ovenight in Oban area.

Day 4 : Glencoe - Isle of Skye

Today continue north from Oban through Glencoe with its spectacular landscape and onto Fort William set in the shadow of Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain. Take the road to Mallaig to enjoy the short ferry over to Skye or continue on the road to Kyle and take the bridge to explore Skye, the largest and most scenic of the Hebridean Islands. Overnight on Isle of Skye.

Day 5 : Loch Ness - Inverness

Head east today for the Inverness area meandering gently along shores of Loch Lochy and Loch Ness via Urquhart Castle, which dates back to the 12 century and was originally built to guard the route through the glen! If you dare, take a cruise on Loch Ness, most famous for the illusive monster. Overnight in the Inverness area.

Day 6 : Sutherland

Today begins with a visit to the capital of the Highlands, Inverness before heading for a day trip into the northern highlands. Head for the Kessock Bridge and the Black Isle, in reality a peninsula decked out in a thousand shades of green. A maze of quiet country roads and forest tracks, the area is a delight to explore. It is a naturalist paradise with attractions such as the bird reserves and Munlochy and Udale Bay and the famous dolphins that can be best viewed on cruises from Cromarty. Continue north visiting Dunrobin Castle and Gardens bringing to life the lives through the centuries of the Earls of Sutherland. Here you can enjoy a display of the ancient sport of falconry in the gardens of the castle. Return to the Inverness area for your overnight stay.

Day 7 : Speyside - Perthshire

Today travel east of Inverness where you can visit the Battlefield of Culloden and Clava Cairns, which date back to the 3rd millennium BC. These are burial chambers that are made up of 3 impressive round chambered cairns surrounded by a ring of stones. Taking the Speyside route explore some of the Malt Whisky Trail. The Speyside area is home to more than half of all the country's distilleries plus the coopers who repair the oak casks each year. Continue towards Perthshire through Braemar and Royal Deeside passing by Balmoral Castle and Crathie Church, the Queen Elizabeth’s highland residence and church before heading through the ski area of Glenshee. Continue south towards Perth/Fife where you will overnight.

Day 8 : Fife – St.Andrews

Today if time permits visit St Andrew’s, named after Scotland's patron saint. Visit the impressive ruins of the cathedral, once the most magnificent in the country and St Andrews Castle where visitors can wander through damp, mossy tunnels to the dungeons. St Andrew's is also the famous home of golf, played on the Old Course since the 15th century. Continue along the coast via the small fishing villages of Elie and Pitenweem. Cross the Forth Road Bridge with its spectacular views of the Firth of Forth before returning your car to Edinburgh/Glasgow and joining your flight home.