Scotland
Highlands and Islands
9 days
Scotland drives badly if you are in a hurry, because the Highland roads are single track with passing places and because you stop every ten minutes. That is the plan: nine days, short distances, two islands, and enough slack that a wet day ruins nothing.
Day by day
Day 01 · Spain / Edinburgh
Direct flight. The afternoon along the Royal Mile.
Day 02 · Edinburgh
The castle first thing, the old town and its closes, and Arthur’s Seat at dusk — forty minutes up and the whole city below.
Day 03 · Glencoe
Northwest past Loch Lomond. Glencoe is a glacial valley with a massacre in 1692 still recounted in the pub.
Day 04 · Isle of Skye
Eilean Donan on the way and into Skye over the bridge. Portree as a base.
Day 05 · Skye
The Quiraing and the Old Man of Storr in the morning — two landslides turned into landscape — and Neist Point at sunset.
Day 06 · Harris
Ferry to the Outer Hebrides. The beaches at Luskentyre are white sand and turquoise water, and usually empty because it is fifteen degrees.
Day 07 · Lewis
The Callanish stones have stood for five thousand years, a thousand longer than Stonehenge, and there is almost never anyone there. The Gearrannan blackhouses in the afternoon.
Day 08 · Inverness
Ferry back to the mainland and a drive through Glen Affric. A Speyside distillery with a tasting, if you fancy it.
Day 09 · Inverness / Edinburgh / Spain
South through the Cairngorms and the flight home.
Usually includes
- International flights
- A hire car with comprehensive insurance, or an English-speaking driver-guide
- The ferries to Harris and back to the mainland
- Country hotels and selected houses, not chains
- Breakfasts
- A travel document with every detail and a direct phone number
This trip, your way
Length
9 days
Route
Edinburgh · Glencoe · Skye · Harris and Lewis · Inverness · Edinburgh
Format
Private and tailor-made, on your dates
Let us make this trip yours.
Change the dates, add days where you want them, or simply tell us how you like to travel. We reply within 24 hours.
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