Experience the singular beauty of the Highlands and Islands on the Eilean Donan Castle, Skye and Loch Ness 3-Day Tour. To join the tour you should arrive at 11 George Square, Glasgow by 0930h (9.30 am), where you will meet your driver/guide and board your mini-bus.
Leaving Glasgow, your route takes you past beautiful Stirling Castle, across the brooding expanse of Rannoch Moor and through Glen Coe, site of a horrific 17th century massacre.
As the road nears the coast, it passes Eilean Donan Castle. Here you have the chance to take photographs and explore the castle that featured in the film ‘Highlander’. Then it's time to cross the bridge to Skye.
You will spend the night on the Isle of Skye at Kyleakin Hotel, which has glorious gardens. All the rooms benefit from central heating, en-suite bathroom, direct dial telephone, colour television, hair drier and tea and coffee making facilities. Dinner can be obtained in the hotel restaurant (payable direct).
After a delicious Scottish breakfast (included in your tour price) you will have the whole day to explore the Isle of Skye by mini-bus. The tour will be relaxed and easy but your guide will make sure you see all the sights, such as the craggy Cuillin Mountains, the dramatic hills of the Quiraing and outstandingly beautiful Trotternish Peninsula.
In the evening you will bid farewell to the island and head back south to Loch Ness. Your day ends at Drumnadrochit, a beautiful welcoming village on the lochside. Here you will spend the night at the 3-star Drumnadrochit Hotel.
This comfortable hotel has a restaurant, a bar/lounge, and a coffee shop/café, and is located close to the Loch Ness 2000 Exhibition Centre and Original Loch Ness Monster Visitor Centre. Additional amenities include gift shops/newsstands and shopping on site.
The hotel's 28 guestrooms have satellite TV, direct-dial phones, and coffee/tea makers. The bathrooms offer shower/tub combinations, makeup/shaving mirrors, and hair dryers. Dinner can be obtained in the hotel restaurant (payable direct).
After a good night’s sleep and breakfast (included in your tour price) you will have time to explore Loch Ness. You could train binoculars on the water surface to see if any monsters are about, or take a boat trip over to Urquhart Castle (payable direct) or visit the excellent Loch Ness 2000 Exhibition (also payable direct).
On the way back to Glasgow you will visit the historic battlefield of Culloden, where the Jacobites supporting Bonnie Prince Charlie made a last stand against the forces of the House of Hanover. (Admission to the battlefield site is not included in your tour price.) The Jacobite army was overwhelmingly defeated and Prince Charlie’s hopes of restoring the Stuart monarchy were dealt a fatal blow.
You will also pass the stunning Cairngorm Mountains and explore the picturesque town of Pitlochry.
At the end of the tour you will be dropped back at the starting point.