Arrive Edinburgh/Glasgow and collect hire car. Travel into Edinburgh enjoying a visit of Edinburgh Castle or take a panoramic city tour by bus. Overnight in Edinburgh area.
Hotel :After breakfast, head north along Loch Lomond stopping off at Luss to visit this pretty little village on the loch banks. Continue west with the option of stopping for lunch at the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar to enjoy some of the fresh produce before heading through Inveraray visiting the castle and jail. Continue north to Oban spending time in Kilmartin Glen experiencing the Neolithic and Bronze Age chambered and round cairns, stone circles and rock carvings. Visit Dunadd Fort the ancient capital of Scotland then known as Dalriada. Overnight in Oban area.
Hotel : BreakfastToday after breakfast, spend the day exploring Mull and Iona either by car or enjoy the sites from the sea and take a day boat trip to Mull Iona and Staffa. The tour leaves from Oban Harbour and is renowned as one of the best day tours in the UK, providing a scenic route through the beautiful island of Mull and a visit to the Isle of Iona Columba landed in 563 brought Christianity to Scotland from Ireland. You can also visit the famous abbey founded by St Columba before you continue on to the uninhabited Island of Staffa, which is famous for its basaltic formations, the best known of which is Fingals Cave, immortalized in Mendelssohn’s Hebridean Overture. Return to your overnight in Oban area.
Hotel : BreakfastToday after breakfast, continue north from Oban through Glencoe with its spectacular landscape and onto Fort William set in the shadow of Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain. Take the road to Mallaig to enjoy the short ferry over to Skye or continue on the road to Kyle and take the bridge to explore Skye, the largest and most scenic of the Hebridean Islands. Overnight on Isle of Skye.
Hotel : BreakfastToday after breakfast, enjoy a full day on the Isle of Skye. Head south towards the Cuillin Hills, the island’s best-known feature. Though their tops are places only for experienced climbers, there are many viewpoints and island locations where excellent panoramas can be enjoyed. Head back to your accommodation via Glenbrittle and the famous Fairy Pools – beautifully crystal clear blue pools on the River Brittle, these make for some fabulous photos. Overnight on Isle of Skye.
Hotel : BreakfastAfter breakfast, head east today for the Inverness area meandering gently along shores of Loch Lochy and Loch Ness via Urquhart Castle, which dates back to the 12 century and was originally built to guard the route through the glen! If you dare, take a cruise on Loch Ness, most famous for the illusive monster. Overnight in the Inverness area.
Hotel : BreakfastToday after breakfast, travel east of Inverness where you can visit the Battlefield of Culloden and Clava Cairns, which date back to the 3rd millennium BC. Taking the Speyside route explore some of the Malt Whisky Trail. The Speyside area is home to more than half of all the country’s distilleries plus the coopers who repair the oak casks each year. Continue towards Perthshire through Braemar and Royal Deeside passing by Balmoral Castle and Crathie Church, the Queen Elizabeth’s highland residence and church before heading through the ski area of Glenshee. Continue south towards Perth/Fife where you will overnight.
Hotel : BreakfastToday after breakfast, if time permits visit St Andrews, named after Scotland’s patron saint. Visit the impressive ruins of the cathedral, once the most magnificent in the country and St Andrews Castle where visitors can wander through damp, mossy tunnels to the dungeons. Continue along the coast via the small fishing villages of Elie and Pitenweem. Cross the Forth Road Bridge with its spectacular views of the Firth of Forth and of the newly awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Forth Rail Bridge, before returning your car to Edinburgh/Glasgow and joining your flight home.
Hotel : Breakfast