2024 Tour code: RS-SCSR-24
About the tour
This is the quintessential Royal Scotsman experience and certainly one of the most popular rail journeys. After following the east coast up to Keith, the train heads across Scotland to the picturesque west coast village of Plockton before making its way to Inverness and then south to Perth and Edinburgh.
A visit to Ballindalloch Castle, with its magnificent house and gardens, is just one of the many highlights of this luxury rail journey. Along the way there are opportunities for optional fishing, clay pigeon shooting or guided walks along Caledonian pine forest trails.
Highlights
What’s included
Itinerary
Travel north, crossing the Firth of Forth via the magnificent Forth Railway Bridge. Enjoy a leisurely afternoon tea as you pass Arboath, Montrose and Aberdeen before arriving in Keith. Informal dinner and entertainment in the Observation Car.
Additional information
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Reviews
4.0 / 5 · 4 reviews
Kathleen Hollywood
Submitted 29 Oct 2023
Our tour was cancelled days before we flew to Scotland. Total disappointment. Came and hired a driver to show us Scotland. He did an excellent job, but the Royal Scotsman was a complete bust.
Collected by Trustpilot
RYAN GIBBONS
Submitted 05 Sep 2023
Fantastic trip. You’re definitely going to pay for it, but this is a once in a lifetime adventure. I would compare it to a luxury cruise on rails. The cabins, while small, are very comfortable, and you won’t spend much time there anyways. The food was incredible. Some of the best food we have ever had, and it was prepared in a kitchen on a train… unbelievable. Our bar tenders were very attentive and made sure we were always well-plied with the alcohol of our choice (as a Scotch drinker, their onboard selection was extremely large and diverse). The entire experience was well managed- we always knew what was going on, when it was happening, and what was expected (weather, dress, etc). The only area that I would “dock” the BRS for points is value for money on the excursions. Most of them were limited tours of houses or castles. The seal boat cruise was well worth the money, as was the Rothiemarcus estate, the walk/hike with a highland historian, and the distillery tour, but the others were not worth the overall cost of the trip, in my opinion. However, the remainder of the experience more than made up for that small fault. Seriously, I’m going to have to take a couple weeks off of drinking to allow my liver to heal from nights in the observation car! Great experience, would definitely recommend enthusiastically!
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Diane A., Flushing, NY
Submitted 26 Apr 2018
Excellent accommodations and dining,professional and caring staff, excellent coordination of activities. We cannot think of anything that would improve on the experience we had. It was our first time traveling this way and we were very pleased. Definitely do it again.
Collected by Vacations By Rail
Samuel G & Mary W, Doylestown, PA
Submitted 17 Feb 2018
It was a wonderful experience---WELL DONE!
Collected by Vacations By Rail
Apr 20, 2023 · By Vacations By Rail
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