VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION – All group tours depart from Bus Stand ZE, Waterloo Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3BQ (opposite Howie’s Restaurant).
Times
Please check in with your driver guide at Bus Stand ZE, Waterloo Place 15 minutes before departure
Departure
08:30Return
19:00Duration
2 daysPrices & Booking Terms
Included
- Luggage allowance of up to 15 kg (33 lbs)
- Free cancellation/rebooking up to 8 days before departure
- Transport in a luxury Mercedes Wee Red Bus
- Fully guided services of a Heart of Scotland tour leader
Not Included
- Entry fees to attractions
- Meals and refreshments
- Accommodation (see below)
Tour Highlights
- Average group size of around 12
- Loch Ness and Inverness
- Outlander filming locations
- Glenfinnan Viaduct
- Culloden Battlefield
- Glen Coe
- Prehistoric standing stone circles
- Both Scotland's National Parks
Dates
2024 Season
2025 Season
TripAdvisor Traveler Rating
According to TripAdvisor travelers as of September 2024
Your Accommodation
Tour price does not include the cost of accommodation. Accommodation is pre-booked by Heart of Scotland Tours (or by yourself) and you pay card or cash at checkout. Please note some Bed and Breakfasts (B&Bs) only accept cash. Choose from:
- Hostel – £25 to £35 per person, per night
- B&B single or single occupancy of a double room – £60 to £120 per person, per night
- B&B en suite double or twin – £120 to £190 per room, per night (2 sharing)
- B&B en suite triple or quad – £160 to £240 per room, per night (3 or 4 sharing)
- Hotel – £160 to £240+ per room, per night (2 sharing)
Your accommodation options explained in more detail.
Itinerary
Enjoy our popular 2 day escape to the Highlands. Travelling through spectacular scenery, this tour is the perfect way to see Scotland. The itinerary includes stops Glen Coe, Glenfinnan Viaduct (April – October only) and Loch Ness. Overnight is in the Highland capital of Inverness followed by visits to Culloden battlefield, prehistoric standing stones, Highland Pitlochry and a riverside walk at Dunkeld. For fans of Outlander and Harry Potter, this tour includes stops at several featured locations.
Day 1
Leaving Edinburgh we pass Stirling Castle and the National Wallace Monument on our 2 day adventure into the stunning Scottish Highlands.
As we continue north the mountains and lochs provide a dramatic backdrop for our journey to Glen Coe, perhaps the most famous of all Scotland’s glens.
'Glenfinnan Viaduct features in several Harry Potter movies'
This narrow valley is where the bloody massacre of the MacDonalds took place in 1692. You may even recognise this part of the Highlands, used as a backdrop for many movies including Skyfall.
After lunch we visit the Glenfinnan Viaduct (Apr-Oct only) which famously features in several Harry Potter movies as the Hogwarts Express train crosses the bridge.
Historically this stunning viewpoint also marks the spot where Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) landed on mainland Scotland and raised his standard prior to the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion.
'Our overnight stay is in Inverness, the northernmost city of the UK. There are numerous pubs, cafés and restaurants for evening entertainment'
We stop for a photo of Britain’s highest mountain (Ben Nevis) before continuing along the Great Glen to the world’s most mysterious lake, Loch Ness.
There will be an opportunity for photos and souvenir shopping in the charming village of Fort Augustus. We continue along the full length of Loch Ness for a photo of Urquhart Castle… eyes peeled for monsters!
Our overnight stay is in the northernmost city of the UK and pretty capital of the Highlands, Inverness. There are numerous pubs, cafes and restaurants for evening entertainment.
Day 2
After being collected from your accommodation it’s only a short drive to Culloden Moor where the Jacobites were finally defeated by government soldiers in 1746, the last battle to be fought on British soil.
You will have time to walk on the battlefield and learn more about this tragic event that killed 700 Highland clansmen in three minutes.
From there we visit one of Scotland’s most evocative and sacred prehistoric sites, the nearby 4000 year old stone circles and burial mounds at Clava Cairns. As we drive south through the Cairngorms National Park you’ll hear about the flora and fauna of this wonderful wilderness which was officially protected in 2003 and is the largest national park in the British Isles.
'We visit 4000 year old standing stone circles at Clava Cairns'
After lunch in one of the charming villages inside the national park we arrive at the lively Highland town of Pitlochry with an elegant main street packed with shops and restaurants.
During our break here options include souvenir shopping, a short stroll to the famous hydro electric dam and salmon ladder or a lovely woodland walk to the Black Spout waterfall. Our final stop is a gentle riverside walk through Big Tree Country at Dunkeld, a beautiful way to finish the tour all seasons of the year.
As we return to Edinburgh we cross the Forth Bridge with stunning views of the Forth Rail Bridge and the new Queensferry Crossing. The rail bridge amazed the world when it was completed in 1890 and has become an enduring symbol of Scotland’s engineering heritage.
Our Tours
Guaranteed Hairy Coos!
