Eilean Donan Tour: Explore Scotland's Highlands

15 Ratings

Glasgow City

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The two-day Eilean Donan tour departing from Glasgow offers an enriching journey through the stunning highlands. Experience breathtaking views of Loch Lomond, Inveraray Castle, the Glenfinnan Viaduct, and naturally, Eilean Donan Castle.

Duration: 2 days

Cancellation: 6 days

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Highlights

Journey from Glasgow to Fort William

Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park - The tour kicks off in Glasgow City Centre, heading north past the beautiful banks of Loch Lomond, with a stop for a break in the charming loch-side village of Luss.
Inveraray - The journey continues west, passing the stunning Rest and Be Thankful pass before…

Journey from Glasgow to Fort William

Inveraray - The journey continues west, passing the stunning Rest and Be Thankful pass before reaching Inveraray.

Inveraray, home to the impressive Inveraray Castle, known from Downton Abbey, is an ideal stop. Here, enjoy the loch-side scenery, explore the streets, and have lunch before heading north into the Highlands.

Glencoe - Traveling north, the tour passes through the dramatic Glencoe, site of the 1692 MacDonald Clan massacre. This valley, featured in James Bond’s Skyfall, offers a chance to learn about its history and capture amazing photos.

Glenfinnan Viaduct - After a brief break, the tour proceeds to the iconic Glenfinnan Viaduct, famous from the Harry Potter films. In summer, there’s time to see the Jacobite Steam Train (or Hogwarts Express) crossing the bridge for that iconic photo.

Please note: The Jacobite Steam Train is operated by a third party, so its operation and timing cannot be guaranteed.

Fort William - The first day concludes with arrival in Fort William, where guests will check into their accommodation for the night.

Journey from Fort William to Edinburgh

Eilean Donan Castle - After a hearty Highland breakfast, the second day begins by checking out and heading north to Glengarry Viewpoint, offering breathtaking views. Notice how Loch Garry resembles a bird’s eye view of mainland Scotland.

From this stunning viewpoint, the tour continues east to Scotland’s most photographed castle, Eilean Donan. Take time to explore the castle and its grounds, and learn about its rich history.

Fort Augustus - The tour then moves to the picturesque town of Fort Augustus, at the base of Loch Ness. Enjoy lunch and the views of Loch Ness, and keep an eye out for Nessie!

Commando Monument - From Fort Augustus, the tour heads south, stopping at the Commando Memorial. Here, learn about the memorial and enjoy views of Ben Nevis, Britain’s tallest mountain.

Pitlochry - On the return to Edinburgh, enjoy a relaxing journey through the beautiful Highland scenery. A comfort break in Dunkeld or Pitlochry allows for soaking up the atmosphere in these charming towns.

Forth Road Bridge - The final stretch back to Edinburgh includes crossing the impressive Queensferry Crossing. This engineering marvel spans the Firth of Forth, joining the Forth Road Bridge and iconic Forth Rail Bridge, showcasing three centuries of Scottish engineering and innovation. After a short journey, the tour concludes in Edinburgh, ending the 2-day Eilean Donan, Loch Ness, and the Highlands tour.

For those continuing to Glasgow, the guide will escort them to Edinburgh Waverley railway station for the 50-minute train journey.

What's Included

1 night accommodation (unless ‘no accommodation’ option is selected)
In-vehicle air conditioning
Live commentary on board
Knowledgeable driver-guide

What's Not Included

Food & Drinks - unless specified
Accommodation - unless chosen
Attraction Tickets
Gratuities
On-board restrooms

Additional Information

Minimum age is 4 years old.
Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or a full refund.
Collapsible wheelchairs with removable wheels can be accommodated providing the passenger is…

Location

19 Killermont St

Killermont Street

This is located outside the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and opposite Buchanan Bus Station.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel at least 6 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel between 2 and 6 day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a 50% refund.
If you cancel within 2 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.

Customer Ratings

5.0

(15 Ratings)

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Paula_r

Oct 17, 2024

100% recomended - The experience was increíble. Our tour guido Mark was grate fun. Every place we visited was a postal card. Lovely :)))

Review provided by Viator

Stacy_c

Sep 13, 2024

Shug the great! - Shug was great. We had a relatively small group so we were able to get a lot done. The B&B overnight stay was great. Didn’t feel too rushed. Would have liked another 30 mins at the castle. Loved feeding the hairy coos and stopping at the small village shops. Get him to tell you about his army experience.

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Emily

May 31, 2024

Great intro to the highlands - Our tour guide Gillian was awesome! The sites were amazing and she combined it with lots of history, stories, movies and music, which gives the sceneries life. I only wished we can have more time on the sites, but I guess that’s how it is when you want to visit them all in 2 days.

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Diana_n

May 26, 2024

Incredible - Every time was wonderful. Tom is great tour guide man. Only I has a recommendation.... It would incredible if you include more tour details in your website. An specific schedule. Thanks a lot.

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Cindy

May 5, 2024

Amazing sights and informative guide - We really enjoyed this tour. Our guide, Shug, kept us informed and entertained throughout the tour and made sure everyone enjoyed it. It was a lot packed into two days, but definitely worth it. The Wallace Monument was very interesting. We climbed the 246 steps to the top and the view was spectacular. We then traveled to Glencoe where the views were incredible and stopped to see the Glenfinnian Viaduct. We spent the night in Fort William at the lovely Fassfern B&B. The next day we visited Elean Donan castle, stopped at a beautiful waterfall. Our guide made sure we saw 'hairy coos', reindeer, and wild goats. All in all, it was a great tour.

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Nicole_s

Aug 17, 2023

Eilean Donan & Highlands Tour - Our guide, Paul (Santa), was great! He had a story for every leg of the trip, and took us to see some truly beautiful sights.

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Walter

Jun 23, 2022

Highpoint on Edinburgh trip - What an amazing tour. Our guide, Paul, was very knowledgeable and made the trip much better. Not only did we have great landscapes, as he always had great historical facts and anecdotes on all our stops. Not to mention that we were able to cover a lot of places. Definitely recommended.

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Rachel

Dec 25, 2019

Fantastic two day tour - accessing sites you could not see without a car! - I had a fantastic time on this tour with Stuart (in a kilt). The bus was comfortable and the small sized group was nice. We travelled at a good pace and spent appropriate times at our stops, especially as it is Winter and there are minimal day light hours. Because of this, we did not see all the stops listed on the site (had to pick between Wallace Monument and Glenfinnan Viaduct), though it still felt like we tried to maximise our time. The photo stops were one of my highlights - the stunning scenery was something you simply cannot absorb if on public transport, and much harder to try and navigate on your own if you have a car. Stuart was great at sharing history and knowledge to us for the entire tour, which was another highlight that I really appreciated. As soon as we set off in the morning, Stuart was sharing stories, and he continued to do this up to the end of the trip, even as we were driving in the dark back to Edinburgh. I felt his knowledge really enhanced the trip experience and I learnt so much from him! Some feedback I would share would be about maximising daylight hours in Winter - I felt we could have begun the tour earlier in the day (for each day) to really maximise daylight, perhaps an option on the second day which could be offered to the group (who are happy to wake up earlier) if the first day start time is not negotiable. The hostel option provided by the company was certainly cheap, though quite dilapidated and small (but for only one night, guests can decide for themselves if that is okay!). The only other slight disappointment I had was not being able to visit the interior of Eilean Donan castle. I had specifically chosen this weekend as I had looked up the relevant websites and confirmed it would be open to the public, only to be told on the day that in fact it was closed due to a wedding. However, as we walked around the castle, we realised they were accepting visitors, by which time it was too late to buy a ticket to visit. If the staff could double check their facts again this situation possibly could have been avoided. However, overall this tour was excellent. I saw lots of beautiful Scotland and learned lots from Stuart. Would highly recommend this tour as a quick option to see some of the highlands!

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346muhammadbilala

Apr 21, 2019

Best Tour - Me and my brother really enjoyed the tour with timberbush, Charlie is a great host, loved ur jokes😊

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Stefanon1147

Dec 11, 2018

Unforgettable - This tour is the only way to visit highlands and castles without renting a car. Distances between points of interest are big and with public transport is impossible to catch the real wild Scotland. The guide was very kind and explained us a lot of curiosity about places and history of this country. The organization is very efficient and gives support whenever you should need. We strongly suggest this tour.

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up to 15 guests

1 Adult