I have a limited amount of time in Scotland and am without a car so I thought about taking one of Rick Steves' recommended Highland bus tours for a "Loch Ness, Glencoe, and the Highlands" day trip. He lists four different companies, Timberbush Highland Tours, Gray Line, Rabbie's Trail Burners, and Heart of Scotland Tours. Has anyone taken any of these tours? Which one would you recommend? Thank you so much!
Posted by
Boulder, Colorado, USA
27 posts
I took the "Timberbush" Loch Ness tour back in 2006. It was a pleasant day, the driver was very knowledgeable, and well worth it. We had sufficient time at Urquhardt Castle, and a 1/2 boat ride on the loch was included. Unfortunately "Nessie" did not put in an appearance. I found it a good way to at least get a quick looksee at the highlands. Hope to visit them again when I have more time available.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32332 posts
Meghan, I'll also be in Edinburgh this summer, and thinking of taking a one-day tour to the Highlands as well. I've narrowed down the choices somewhat to either Timberbush or Heart of Scotland but haven't made a final choice yet. If you'll be there in peak season, it might be a good idea to pre-book the tour. Cheers!
Posted by
Clarksville, TN, USA
959 posts
All of the tour companies that we looked at seemed to be the same, so we went with Timberbush which was recommended by the B&B owner where we stayed. We really enjoyed it. We met at their office which is by the castle, but since they drove near our B&B on the way back, they dropped us off at the end of our street which was great. The buses they used were small, so there was a lot of flexibility during the day since there were less than 20 of us. The driver/tour guide was very good and incredibly knowledgeable about Scotland and its history. We were lucky to have incredible weather the day that we went... Anyway, I think we may have gotten a small discount since our B&B booked it ahead of time for us. I bet a lot of the companies are the same, but a big difference could be the tour group size. Enjoy!
Posted by
Edinburgh, UK
1 posts
Hi Meghan, My name is Keira MacMillan and I am the marketing manager for Timberbush Tours. We are delighted to hear you are considering booking one of our tours, and would be happy to answer any specific questions you have regarding your trip to Scotland. Please feel free to email me on [email protected]. Many thanks,
Keira