Best of Scotland Tour - Aug 7 to Aug 20, 2023

Intentional misspelling of Glasgow?

Gosh, I’m sorry there were some big misses on this tour. I did it before the revamped itinerary and had trouble imagining how I’d keep busy with the 2 days in Oban as well. Plus, for me, that long haul out to Iona was a trek.

I’d definitely complete your tour eval with your comments about the Oban nights as well as shopping stops. One of the things that is supposed to separate Rick’s tours from others is no shopping stops.

BTW, many of the tour hotels are not listed in the guide books. I figured it was because they are mostly booked out.

And for heaven’s sake, I’m not sure why anyone would waste keystrokes making a snarky comment about spelling.

It’s ok to say you weren’t totally happy with the tour. Hopefully the Steves people will read it and make some adjustments. It’s a long way and lots of money to not be satisfied. Maybe try another group and see what they offer.

Hi Brent -

I agree with you that the best experiences in Scotland are those getting out and into the rugged scenery. The trouble is, any walks from Glencoe tend to be most of the day affairs and determinedly steeply uphill (and down coming back of course) in mostly rugged terrain that requires a certain amount of the correct gear. Even the relatively short hike up the Pap of Glencoe is no stroll in the park. Add in that not all members of the group will either want to or be capable of wandering into the Glen and factor in - how shall we say? - the unpredictability of the Scottish weather, and it’s easy to see why a group tour can’t please all the people all the time. Scottish Glen wandering is best done with a group of like minded friends and with choice, if possible, of when you get out and where dependent on the weather. But yes, for me 10 - 15 minutes in Glencoe doesn’t sound like nearly enough.

Similarly, I see why Oban is used as a base for getting across to Iona, but again I’d agree that while it’s a perfectly pleasant town, there are other places that I’d rather go and see. Perhaps a separate trip under your own steam having had your appetite whetted by the Rick Steves Tour?

I understand the absolute necessity of including Edinburgh in the trip, wouldn’t be a proper tour of Scotland without, but I can’t agree with you about Glasgow. I’ve had many fun times there and, whisper it, think I prefer it over Edinburgh!

Ian

Hi,

We did this tour a year ago. I don’t recall any shopping stops. I agree about Glasgow. I could have skipped it. Sorry but I am not a fan. Extra time in Edinburgh would have been my preference. We spent a few nights in Edinburgh pretour and have visited there before. We absolutely love Edinburgh. The extra day in Oban was too much. We enjoyed going to Iona including the journey to get there. We had glorious weather on Iona. Our bus driver on Mull was very entertaining. That was a very long day with not a lot of time on Iona because getting there and back is a hike. If we had been able to get out to Staffa to see the puffins then the extra day in Oban would have been worth it. But they had closed the island to tourists for conservation reasons so we couldn’t get there. If you stayed at the hotel in Oban that we did, I also agree it was not our favorite. It was a short stop in Glencoe for sure but I am not sure what else you would do if you weren’t hiking as someone else pointed out.

I did this tour just pre-Covid and I enjoyed it as I do all the Rick tours I take. The itinerary looks very similar except it starts in Glasgow & goes in the opposite direction when it started and ended in Edinburgh. I don't remember any stops for shopping. We did have stops where we were let loose to wander in a small town (usually to find lunch), but I didn't shop, I explored and usually found something really interesting, like a war memorial park in the small town near the distillery, the wonderful day wandering around Iona where I enjoyed a lovely small museum, walking around St Andrews and seeing the ruins of the castle and cathedral. I agree there isn't much to do in Oban, but I had a great fish dinner there and the day spent on the ferries to get to Iona made it worthwhile. A favorite memory for me was on the ferry one of my fellow tour members taught me the best way to do selfies! I think of her every time I successfully do a selfie.

I recently returned from this tour and felt like the people I talked with enjoyed it. I believe the stops that were referred to as shopping stops were really just a chance to use bathrooms and stretch our legs. I usually roamed the back streets and enjoyed the local gardens rather than shop. The extra day in Oban can be great if the boats to Staffa are running. I had hoped to hike on Kerrera Island on the extra day, but was pretty tired from our excursion to Iona (which I thoroughly enjoyed). Many of us spent the afternoon watching the local shinty team win a championship game, a fun look at local life. Our guide James heard this was happening and arranged the tickets. I agree a change in Oban hotels would be a good idea. I was very satisfied with this tour.

The Royal Hotel in Oban was horrible. Everyone was complaining. The service was horrible at the hotel. Guest were complaining that the rooms weren't clean. The host at the front desk gave the lady a bottle of windex and some paper towels to go clean her room. She was so angry that she was being told to clean her own room and that they didn't even offer her appropriate cleaning supplies. The rooms were very stuffy and you couldn't open the windows. This hotel just wasn't up to standards, especially since we were having to stay at this hotel the longest since the "vacation from the vacation day" was while we were in Oban. To make matters worst, the Castle was closed and the Oban Distillery was booked so there were not many options to enjoy while staying there.

While staying in Oban, a few of us had hoped to take a day trip to Staffa but the tours didn't offer a day trip to the island on the day we were there. Our only option was to take an entire day to retrace the exact trip we had taken the day before across Mull and to Iona. It didn't seem like a good use of our day to take this long journey back to simply get less than an hour at Staffa.