Will be taking train from Edinburgh to Inverness next month, and will not be getting a car. Staying in Inverness a few nights, so looking for recommendations on a good smaller group guided tour to Isle of Skye and surrounding area. Same thing for a trip to Loch Ness and the castle on the loch. Anyone have a great experience on a tour, and what was the length of the tour and the name of the tour?
Also, related topic, is the bus to Oban the best way to get there, and can we book tickets for the bus after we get to Inverness?
Any recommendations for guided trips from Oban, especially one that gets to an island or two? Thank you everyone, for any suggestions for good experiences (or any to avoid!)
Posted by
Costa Mesa, CA, USA
503 posts
We did the Highlands (Glasgow to Edinburgh) via Oban, Skye, Orkney and Speyside but we had a car.
When in Oban we used West Coast Tours for a tour of Mull Iona and Staffa. Since you are basing in Inverness, I don't think this is possible to do in one day - you'd need to overnight in Oban- bus from Inverness to Oban is a good 3.5 to 4 hours and the tours are about 8 hours or so.
As for tours of Skye, we did our own - definitely will be a very long day out from Inverness.
Given what you want to see, you may want to re think not having a car....
Posted by
Centennial, CO, USA
1883 posts
I was in Scotland in March with my daughter and we took the train to Inverness just to take a tour with Hugh through Colloden, and Clava Cairns, we also got to visit a local farm and more. He was the director at Colloden and was instrumental in getting the new visitor center built. That all said, his company offers many tours out of Inverness, so check them out and see if one meets your needs.
Our tour was the one day shared Outlander Tour - we are fans of the books and show.
If you look down the right side of this page, starting at the 5th tour, those are all Isle of Skye tours with a visit to the castle...
http://invernesstours.com/all-day-inverness-tours.html
My husband and I are going back to Scotland in September to hike The Great Glen Way, we will be in Oban after our hiking and plan to do this island tour http://www.staffatours.com/boat-tours/departs-oban/three-isles-early-bird-tour/
We are taking this tour based on a friend's recommendation - she did it and raved about it. One suggestion she had....bring snacks...it's a long day on the ferry visiting the three islands.
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
For Skye an alternative is to take the train to Kyle of Lochalsh and do the Skye tour. They connect with the last train back to Inverness. And BTW the train trip from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh is Awesome!