Automatic economy car with:
Start your trip at Glasgow Airport where you will pick up your rental car and drive to your hotel.
Take your time to get settled in before touring Glasgow by car, foot or public transport. This is a city that flourished in Victorian times. See George Square with its ornate City Chambers and nearby Glasgow Cathedral. Visit Provand’s Lordship, Glasgow’s oldest house built in 1471, and step back in time to discover Glasgow’s unique history.
Have a quiet drink in the evening and enjoy your first Scottish dinner of the trip.
Overnight in Glasgow
Depart Glasgow and drive north along the banks of Loch Lomond with views of Highland peaks.Travel across the mountains to Inveraray Castle. This imposing Campbell family home with four conical spires was built between 1746 and 1789. Stop off at Kilchurn Castle on the shores of Loch Awe. Kilchurn was another Campbell family stronghold and also a filming location for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Move further north along the shores of the spectacularly beautiful Loch Awe and the River Orchy. The drive into Glencoe is one of the most beautiful and it might be nice to stop here for lunch. Continue further north and arrive in Fort Augustus. Find your accommodation and settle in for the night.
Overnight in Fort Augustus
Drive along the coast of Loch Ness – all the while keeping an eye out for the mythical Nessie – and stop at Urquhart Castle on the shore for a tour. You might also like to take a cruise on the loch a little further on. Arrive in Inverness in time for lunch and take a short walk around the town. From Inverness, make your way out to Culloden Battlefield and spend some time in the museum and the walking around the battlefield outside.
As you navigate your way south through the Scottish Highlands, you will drive along the outskirts of Cairngorms National Park. You will arrive in Edinburgh in the early evening. Find your accommodation and settle in for the night.
Overnight in Edinburgh
The best way to explore Edinburgh is by one of its many walking tours. Take one or more of these and you can then decide what you would like to see for the remainder of the day. See the bustling Princes Street and the gracious, wide streets of the 200-year-old Georgian New Town.
Walk along part of the Royal Mile where compact medieval houses reach 11 floors tall. Visit Edinburgh Castle, which dominates the city and contains the Crown Jewels of Scotland and the Stone of Scone.
Overnight in Edinburgh
Rosslyn Chapel, Scotland’s best-kept secret has now achieved worldwide fame since the publication of ‘The Da Vinci Code’. An architectural gem, its superb stone carvings are still not fully understood. The short walk through the glen to ancient Roslin Castle is also fascinating.
Travel south to charming Melrose for lunch. Melrose Abbey is believed to be the final resting place of King Robert the Bruce’s heart. Scotland’s great writer Sir Walter Scott (whose monument dominates Princes Street in Edinburgh) lived nearby and loved this beautiful area.
Cross the ancient Scotland/England border. Hadrian’s Wall is one of the most important monuments built by the Romans and is a stunning example of their engineering skills. It cuts Britain in half just south of the Scottish border. It is also the inspiration for the Wall in Game of Thrones. Make your way back to Edinburgh for your final night in Scotland.
Overnight in Edinburgh
Return your car at Edinburgh Airport before your flight home.
All hotels and accommodations included in your trip are carefully selected to meet a 4-star standard or higher. While we occasionally book 3-star hotels or B&B properties, they must meet our high standards of quality and comfort. To ensure consistency, we strive to have a team member visit each property regularly or conduct a thorough site inspection.
Round trip flights to the tours destination are not included, but we are happy to provide you with a flight quote for your trip along with travel protection for the duration.
While booking flights may seem simple, hidden fees and service classes that exclude seats, meals, or bags are common. Since 1985, our expertise and exclusive contracts allow us to secure better routes and often better prices than what’s available online.
We would be happy to help create a custom itinerary for you before or after your time in Scotland, if you’d like to extend your trip.
Your first vacation quote, and up to two revisions, for trips of 9 or fewer days, and 45 days in advance of travel, are complimentary. If an itinerary requires further revisions subsequent to this, we will require a non-refundable deposit of $75 per person in order to continue.
If you are requesting a quote for a vacation that is 10 days in length, or with travel dates within 45 days, or to a non-core destination, a deposit of $75 per person will be required in order for us to begin working on your proposal.
Planning deposits can then be put towards the cost of the trip should you decide to proceed with the booking.
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