2024 Tour code: MK-EJSR-24
About the tour
A land where legends are just as prevalent as natural beauty, Scotland plays host for this journey of a lifetime. Settle in as you explore from south to north aboard a legendary rail line, and by way of scenic roadways through the highlands. Incredible history and stunning neogothic architecture offer a grand introduction to the country as the trip commences in Edinburgh. Grandeur lies around every corner as you explore on foot, soaking in the ambiance forged by Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile and Old Town. From here, venture into the rolling hills of the Scottish Highlands aboard the Jacobite Steam Train and then out to the Isle of Skye, where majestic coastlines and Viking history merge to create a location unlike any other. Our route loops back toward Inverness and then Edinburgh, but the adventures do not end here. One last day trip to the Kingdom of Fife and St. Andrews introduces you to yet another facet of the local culture. Ancient castles, medieval cities and landscapes that rival those anywhere else in the world are yours to behold in beautiful Scotland.
Highlights
What’s included
Itinerary
Arrive in Edinburgh and transfer on your own to the Hotel Indigo, your home for the next two nights. The remainder of the day is free to begin exploring this historic city. Overnight Edinburgh.
Additional information
Train
Reviews
4.2 / 5 · 16 reviews
FREDERICK MICHAEL DEDOLPH
Submitted 01 Nov 2023
Well organized itinerary - all of the reservations arrangements worked seamlessly. All of the day trips were conducted by very entertaining, professional (and local) guides. The weather cooperated and the scenery was everything we hoped for. All in all, an outstanding introduction to Scotlands highlands.
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SharonLacey
Submitted 13 Oct 2023
The communication from the company was abominable. We received one very brief itinerary a month before the trip, and never heard from them again. Turns out the itinerary changed, but they didn't notify us! I tried to call the number on the itinerary, and it took at least 20 minutes on hold for someone to finally answer the phone. They verified that the itinerary had changed, and they didn't know why we weren't notified. Also, the name of the last hotel was inaccurate or had changed in the time since we received our ONE itinerary, causing problems and confusion.
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SHERRIE WILLIAMS
Submitted 10 Oct 2023
Wonderful trip, but we thought more of the tours would be by train and not bus. I see that this was not realistic based on where we went. The tour guides were great. The hotels were also very nice.
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Stan Weinberg
Submitted 21 Sep 2023
Tours set up by Vacations by Rail had expert guides who provided fun and educational tours, Walking Tour; Secrets of the Royal Mile, Bus; Lochness and Outlander tour, Bus; Isle of Skye tour was cancelled due to bus speaker failure, Bus; St Andrews and fishing villages. All (not cancelled) were worth the price in our opinion but not without some issues. Specifically the Secrets of the Royal Mile walking tour only included the tour of the Edinburgh Castle for an extra fee, the St Andrews tour was scheduled in a large bus which was unable to go down streets normally used to view more of locations and was also 2 hours shorter than scheduled so we were unable to do some of things we wanted to do. Overall we did enjoy them but be aware that some of them are long trips and if your vehicle is full, it can feel a little cramped. My travel backpack was too large to fit in the overhead storage and made sitting in our seats even more cramped.
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MURRAY YOUNG
Submitted 01 Sep 2023
Tour was well organized and hit all the highpoints we were looking for.
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JANE BROWNSEY FLACK
Submitted 16 Jul 2023
While I appreciate your agent taking my call at 3 am Chicago time, and it was fortunate that there was room on the bus, it was a big oversight that my name was not on the tour guides list. Also, details of each bus day trip should have been included in the itinerary, like when it ended. While I recognize this was an independent trip, it does not compare to how well planned the Italy trip was, which also was independent.
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