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PRIVATE TOUR ITINERARY

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Discover Scotland in luxury!  You'll see the best of Scotland in 10 days with your very own driver-guide on this luxury private tour! This beautifully guided journey starts in Edinburgh where you will visit the Castle and explore the medieval townhouses along the Royal Mile. Visit Scotland’s must-see historical sites, charming towns, gourmet restaurants, spectacular mountain scenery,and beautiful isles. You'll enjoy visits to Stirling Castle, the Isle of Skye, the Highlands, Culloden Battlefield, Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle. Cherish private-guided walking tours, experience Whisky country with tastings at some of Scotland's most popular distilleries where you will learn how whisky is made and sample a wee dram, and much more in this 5-star luxury tour.

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Day 1) Arrive at Edinburgh Airport & Stirling Castle
Arrive at Edinburgh Airport where you will be met by your chauffeur-guide. Continue your journey to Stirling Castle, the last stronghold of Scotland, besieged by William Wallace and Robert the Bruce and residence of the Stewart monarchs including Mary Queen of Scots and King James. You’ll tour the castle, including the newly restored Renaissance Palace. Continue to Pitlochry for a two-night stay at Knockendarroch House, a luxury country house hotel in a quiet elevated position in central Pitlochry with a fine dining restaurant. A gourmet dinner is included tonight, and you will arrive by mid-afternoon for some rest and settle into your accommodation.

 

Day 2) Clay Pigeon Shooting, Dunkeld & Dewar's Aberfeldy Distillery 

This morning, visit Dunkeld the “Gateway of the Highlands”, on the north bank of the River Tay. You’ll experience some clay pigeon at County Clays and lunch in Dunkeld. The majestic Dunkeld Cathedral dominates this picturesque Perthshire village. Look out for the brightly colored 'little houses' built in the early 1700s. This afternoon, visit Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery, founded in 1896 by John Dewar & Sons. Return to Pitlochry, where dinner tonight is included at Knockendarroch House.

 

Day 3) Glenfarclas, Clava Cairns, Culloden Battlefield

Depart for Glenfarclas Distillery in the Highlands, home of Glenfarclas Whisky, an absolute classic 

Speysider from this long-time family-owned whisky maker. You’ll enjoy a tour of the distillery, learn about how whisky is made and sample a “wee dram”. Arrive in Grantown-on-Spey for lunch before continuing across Dulsie Bridge along a scenic backroad to Clava Cairns, an impressive collection of prehistoric burial chambers said to have inspired the books and TV series, Outlander. Next, visit Culloden Battlefield—the powerfully emotive and atmospheric battlefield where the 1745 Jacobite Rising came to a tragic end. You’ll discover the true story of the 1745 Rising from both the Jacobite and Government perspectives in the newly accredited museum where unique artifacts from the time are displayed. Continue your journey for a two-night stay at Glenmorangie House, owned and operated by one of Scotland’s most sought-after distilleries, producers of Glenmorangie Whisky. You don’t have to like whisky to love the low-key luxury and country house offered here. Hidden in a walled garden next to the sea in an often-overlooked corner of the Highlands, this is a truly relaxing place to enjoy Scottish hospitality at the highest. Tonight, dinner is included at Glenmorangie House, and includes pre-dinner canapes and a wee dram.

 

Day 4) Glenmorangie Distillery
This morning, take a tour of the Glenmorangie Distillery followed by tastings which include four of the distillery’s most prized expressions: Glenmorangie Original, Glenmorangie 18 Years Old, Glenmorangie Ealanta & Glenmorangie Signet. The rest of the day is free for you to relax in the surrounds of Glenmorangie House, where you may also enjoy afternoon tea. You may walk to the private beach or, if you are feeling energetic, take a six-mile hike along the coast to Portmahomack with its sandy bay, harbor and whale and dolphin-watching trips. There is also golf at the Royal Dornoch course, if desired. Tonight. dinner is included at Glenmorangie House, which includes pre-dinner canapes and a wee dram.

 

Day 5) Inverewe Gardens & Northwest Highlands

Today, you’ll depart Glenmorangie House for Inverewe on the northwest coast of Scotland for a visit to Inverewe Gardens. Here, rare species thrive in this heritage garden as the effects of the Gulf Stream meet the Highlands.  Explore the beautiful gardens and enjoy lunch at the newly opened Visitor’s Center. This afternoon, travel through some of Scotland’s most stunning, and less visited, scenery. Arrive in Shieldaig (Norse for the loch of the herring) for a two-night stay at Shieldaig Lodge, a refurbished Victorian hunting lodge set in a vast estate with beautiful surroundings, with beautiful views out to the sea. Dinner tonight is included at the lodge.

 

Day 6) Shieldaig  
Today you are free to relax in the beautiful surroundings of the hotel and/or take up any of the following activities:

• Falconry: Discover the ultimate falconry experience—embark on an unforgettable experience of flying majestic birds of prey around the beautiful grounds of Shieldaig Lodge. 

• Whisky Tasting: The Lodge has over 250 selected award-winning whiskies, with at least one from every post-WWII distillery in Scotland. Sadly 35 of these distilleries have gone silent, however, the Shieldaig Lodge has a bottle from each one! During the tastings you’ll learn about what makes a peated and un-peated whisky. Not included.

• Fishing: The Lodge has fishing rights in nine major and numerous smaller lochans, with boats on six of these lochs. Beginners are welcome from any age. Fly fishing lessons typically start on the lawn of the Lodge and once you have mastered the cast you will progress onto a loch with a personal instructor. 

• Guided walk of the Fairy Lochs: Discover breathtaking beautiful natural lochs and mountainous scenery on your guided walk of the Fairy Lochs. The route begins and ends near the hotel and follows a well-worn path with fabulous views overlooking Loch Gairloch.

Enjoy a second dinner tonight at the lodge.

 

Day 7) Attadale Gardens & Talisker Distillery, Isle of Skye

Today, depart Shieldaig Lodge through more spectacular mountainous and scenery to Attadale Gardens. Attadale Gardens are spectacular gardens with views of Skye and feature an impressive collection of sculpture scattered throughout the 20-acre site. Visitors arrive through the water gardens and can wander through the new wood, admire the huge trunks of the ancient rhododendrons, as well as explore the sunken garden. You’ll then cross by bridge to the Isle of Skye and continue to Carbost, home to Talisker Whisky, where you will tour the distillery and enjoy some tastings. Talisker whisky has been made by the sea in the oldest Single Malts Scotch Whisky distillery on the shores of the Isle of Skye, some of the most remote, rugged, yet beautiful landscapes in Scotland. The name Talisker comes from the Viking language for Sloping Rock, ‘Thalas Gair’. You’ll then arrive at Kinloch Lodge, a historic luxury hotel and restaurant with loch-side views, and formerly a hunting lodge and later a family home to Clan MacDonald. A gourmet dinner tonight is included at the Lodge’s award-winning restaurant.

 

Day 8) Isle of Skye

Today, explore the northern tip of the Isle of Skye following a circular route via Sligachan, Kilmuir and the Trotternish peninsula. You’ll visit Dun Beag Broch where you will be rewarded with spectacular coastal views and the ruins of a pre-Christian era hillfort and experience the whimsical Fairy Glen of round-topped grassy hills and lochans. Enjoy lunch at the Uig Hotel, look for whales from the ruins of Duntulm Castle, located high up on the cliffs on the northern edge of the island, step back in time at the Skye Museum of Island Life, admire the views from the Quiraing mountain pass, stop at Kilt Rock and view the Old Man of Storr, a large pinnacle of towering rock with views over the Islands of Raasay and Rona. Enjoy your second gourmet dinner at Kinloch Lodge’s award-winning restaurant.

 

Day 9) Glenfinnan & Oban

After a leisurely start, depart Kinloch Lodge for Armadale where you will leave by ferry to Mallaig on the mainland. Continue your journey to the Glenfinnan Tower Monument where Bonnie Prince Charles rallied support for the Jacobite Rebellion of 1746, and view the 21-arched Glenfinnan Viaduct, also known as “The Harry Potter Bridge”. Follow a back-road coastal route along Loch Linnhe, and cross by ferry at the Corran Narrows before continuing through mountainous landscapes to Oban, a historic fishing town on the western side of Scotland, for an overnight stay at the Perle Hotel. If time permits, visit Dunstaffnage Castle, surrounded on three sides by the sea, guarding a strategic situation and dating back to the 13th century. Recommendations will be made for dinner in Oban. 

 

Day 10) Kilmartin Glen, Inveraray Castle & Glasgow

Enjoy some leisurely time to explore Oban. You’ll then venture through the Kilmartin Glen where you’ll see standing stones and strongholds that are over 1,500 years old. At Inveraray on the banks of Loch Fyne, enjoy a tour of Inveraray Castle, majestically located by Loch Fyne and the seat of the Dukes of Argyll, chiefs of Clan Campbell since the 18th century. From Inveraray, continue to Glasgow where your tour ends: you may wish to extend a few nights in Glasgow on your own or we can arrange for you.