Best of Scotland
Experience Overview
Experience the Best of Scotland from Edinburgh Castle to the eclectic streets of Glasgow. Revel in the romance and history of the Scottish Highlands and contemplate the mysterious depths of Loch Ness, before toasting bonnie Scotland’s lochs, glens and legendary locals.
Highlights
Dining Summary
- 4 Dinner (D)
- 6 Breakfast (B)
Be My Guest
- Kilmarnock: Experience an intimate farewell to Scotland at Craufurdland Castle, just 30 minutes south of Glasgow. This exclusive Trafalgar event offers an evening steeped in Scottish heritage and hospitality, hosted by the 29th Laird of Craufurdland, Simon Houison Craufurd, and his wife, Adity. Guests will arrive at the castle, where Simon and Adity will lead a private tour through historic rooms like the Gothic Hall, The Blue Dining Room, and King Charles' bedroom, sharing tales of the castle’s royal connections and legacy. Enjoy a 3-course dinner in The Laird’s Table, a restaurant within the castle that features furniture crafted by Simon himself. Relish locally sourced dishes paired with wine or soft drinks, plus fresh bread, butter, tea, and coffee. With only Trafalgar guests in attendance, this exclusive experience promises a warm and personal farewell, rich with the Craufurds’ stories, Scottish history, and a commitment to sustainable hospitality that makes Craufurdland Castle truly unforgettable.
Dive into Culture
- Glasgow: Visit Clydeside Distillery for a tour and a tasting of their whisky as you learn of their long history.
Iconic Experience
- Edinburgh: Explore the city with your Local Specialist as you travel along Princes Street to see the Scott Memorial, the neoclassical Adam facades of New Town and the official Scottish residence of the King, Palace of Holyroodhouse.
- St. Andrews: Visit the university town where the famous beach scene from 'Chariots of Fire' was filmed and see the golf course where the sport was created.
- Scottish Highlands: Admire picturesque lochs and glens as you travel through the Scottish Highlands.
- Inverness: Discover why the Battle of Culloden lasted only an hour yet changed the Highland way of life forever.
- Eilean Donan: Stop for a photo of this gorgeous castle.
- Fort William: Enjoy an excellent view of Ben Nevis from the World War II Commando Memorial.
- Glencoe: Drive through this Highland village on Loch Leven.
- Glasgow: See the grand public buildings of Glasgow, including George Square.
- Stirling: Visit Stirling and see its castle, once the seat of Scottish royalty.
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®
- Glencoe: Join a wildlife ranger in Glencoe and learn about the rich biodiversity of wildlife including insects, invertebrates and mammals, such as otter and fallow deer. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land.
Must-see Highlights
- Explore Edinburgh
- Discover Glasgow
- Visit Edinburgh Castle, Pitlochry, Culloden Battlefield, the Isle of Skye, a whisky distillery in Glasgow, the Necropolis and Stirling Castle
- View the 18th green at St. Andrews, Eilean Donan Castle, Loch Ness and Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands, Loch Lomond, Glasgow Cathedral and George Square in Glasgow
Trip Details
Product Code: 28218
Tour Type: Group Tour
Accommodation: Deluxe
Transport: Private
Guide Language: English
Travel Styles:
Family, 55+
Tour Operator:
Trafalgar (CA)
Supplier Code: 39.115B
Starts: Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Finishes: Glasgow, United Kingdom
Duration: 7 days
Departures: Guaranteed
Physical Rating:
Easy
Includes
Whats Included
- An expert Travel Director and professional Driver
- Cherry-picked hotels, all tried and trusted
- All porterage and restaurant gratuities
- All hotel tips, charges and local taxes
- Breakfast daily and up to half of your evening meals
- Must-see sightseeing
- Audio headsets for flexible sightseeing
- Luxury air-conditioned coach with Wi-Fi in most countries or alternative transportation (such as rail journeys)
- Optional Experiences and free time
- Ferry from the Isle of Skye to Mallaig
- On occasion, hotels of similar standard and location may be utilized
Price
Price per person: (Double Occupancy) CAD $3,465 ($495 /day)
Itinerary
Get lost in the narrow lanes of Edinburgh – the Scottish capital with a mystical air that combines ancient heritage with the verve of a modern city. Spend your day at leisure delving into its rich history and embracing the warm culture of the Scots, before joining your travel companions and Travel Director for dinner.
Accommodation: Novotel Center, Delta by Marriott
Meals: Dinner
Join your Local Specialist this morning for an intriguing sightseeing tour of the city. Ascend Castle Rock and visit Edinburgh Castle, which watches over the surrounding city from its elevated vantage point. Stroll through the Old Town before enjoying time at leisure to soak up the city's festive atmosphere. Tickets to The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo are included on departures that align with performance dates.
Accommodation: Novotel Center, Delta by Marriott
Meals: Breakfast
Tread in the footsteps of the world's golfing greats and head to St. Andrews en route to the glorious Scottish Highlands. A scenic drive takes us north and across the Firth of Tay, past the city of Dundee to Pitlochry. After lunch, explore Pitlochry's vibrant high street at your leisure or join an Optional Experience to Blair Castle, the ancestral home of the Clan Murray. Your day in beautiful surrounds comes to an end with a cozy dinner at your hotel located within the Cairngorms National Park in the Scottish Highlands.
Accommodation: Laggan, Highlander
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Continue your journey to the tragic battlefield of Culloden. Pay tribute to the brave people who lost their lives in the Jacobite Uprising, then travel past Scotland's infamous Loch Ness. The solitary beauty of Eilean Donan Castle will leave you speechless before you continue to the coast and cross to the Isle of Skye. Heather-clad peaks provide a stunning backdrop for your scenic drive across the Sleat Peninsula. Board your ferry in Armadale and cross to Mallaig, back on the mainland.
Accommodation: Laggan Hotel Cairngorms, The Highlander
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Your first stop today is to commemorate World War II history at the Commando Memorial near Fort William, from which you admire spectacular views of Britain's highest peak – Ben Nevis. Journey through the volcanic ruins and precipitous mountains that lie just beyond Glencoe to see the 'Glen of Weeping'. Here you remember the MacDonald clansmen who were massacred in 1692. Join a ranger for a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, learn about the protection of this rare ecosystem and the important work reintroducing lost indigenous species to its flora and fauna. Continuing towards the River Clyde, arriving at your final stop for the day – Glasgow.
Accommodation: Crowne Plaza
Meals: Breakfast
Madainn mhath! While your Gaelic may be a little rusty, your orientation tour around this edgy city will be anything but. Begin your day seeing Glasgow's iconic sights. Enjoy views of the Necropolis, the regal George Square and River Clyde, for over 200 years the center of shipbuilding. Continue to Stirling, to see its hilltop fortress, which stands as a symbol of national pride. Stirling Castle was once the seat of Scottish kings and queens, including Mary, Queen of Scots. View the Wallace Monument from the castle walls, paying tribute to the Scottish hero who fought for Scotland's independence. Later, Dive into Culture at a whisky distillery and enjoy a wee dram. Tonight, join a Be My Guest experience.
Accommodation: Crowne Plaza
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
The rugged beauty and warmth of Scotland’s people forever in your memory, enjoy one last hearty breakfast with your travel companions before wishing them and your Travel Director a fond farewell.
Meals: Breakfast
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Tour Operator
Trafalgar (CA)
Family owned and run since 1920, The Travel Corporation (TTC) is the world leader in immersive travel experiences across an extensive range of travel categories. Each year TTC's 40 award winning hospitality and travel brands connect over 1 million happy travellers to the world. We give you access to the 12 DMC’s behind these brands, so you can build your business by capitalizing on the extensive experience, local expertise, and financial assurance of TTC. LOCAL EXPERTISE The world leaders in travel for over 100 years, we offer unparalleled local expertise with a global footprint. Our 12 DMCs, led by experienced in-destination teams, deliver experience rich travel solutions in more than 80 countries. Additionally, our market based teams are on hand to support across our 40 offices worldwide
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Reviews
Trusted Customer - Traveled, October 2024
Scotland is for everyone. What I’ve said earlier. We enjoyed everything that we did and experienced on the tour. Personally I would have preferred to have more traditional hotels as they have more personality and more of a ‘local and authentic’ feel. (New hotels do appear to have lost this). But we saw everything we wanted to see (and some we didn’t expect) and we had a great group of fellow travellers. Both *Personal information removed by Feefo* (tour guide) and *Personal information removed by Feefo* (driver) were excellent and knowledgeable. We had a great time.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/20/2024
Yonette Wood - Traveled, April 2025
Best of Scotland was an adventure. Loved all of the quaint hotel choices owned by Trafalgar and the last one that wasn't was very fancy! Our tour guide and driver were delightful. Better than I thought. Loved the destinations. Felt one of the excursions was a rip-off, considering we back tracked and did it the next morning anyway. We spent $64 Glasglow City Evening Tour for an overpriced meal and for an evening trip and could have seen it fro free the next morning.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/05/2025
Trusted Customer - Traveled, April 2025
Great itinerary. Seeing the varied country side and sites of Scotland was amazing. Only suggestion I would have is when at the Glecoe Vistor Centre park area more time would be great to enjoy the beauty of the area more. Such a vast beauty are deserves more than an hour or so.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/03/2025
Trusted Customer - Traveled, April 2025
The dog trainer experience was excellent. The Isle of Skye was a disappointment. We saw very little of it. It took a while to get there only to eat lunch and return to our hotel.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/03/2025
Elizabeth Stuart - Traveled, April 2025
So much fun in Scotland! Our tour guide and driver were amazing! They both went above and beyond to make the trip special. This itinerary was perfect! Do much fun stuff packed into 7 days. I couldn’t have planned all of these adventures if I tried!
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/03/2025
Trusted Customer - Traveled, April 2025
Excellant trip and beautiful country. Our guide, *Personal information removed by Feefo* was a superstar! Our bus driver, *Personal information removed by Feefo* was excellant. The bus was super nice! The optional ventures done very well.I wish we could of seen more of the Isle of Skye and more time in Inverness. My least favorite was Glascow - another day in Edinburgh would have been better. OR a ferry ride to Orkley.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 04/26/2025
Trusted Customer - Traveled, October 2024
Being able to spend adequate time at the golf course was wonderful but description could have been more clear. Something like " step onto the old course at St. Andrews " so we'd know it wasn't a drive by. There must be someplace more interesting than Glasgow to sleep.or st least a more tourist friendly area. The St. Mungo stop was a waste of time.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/19/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, September 2024
the itinerary was too tight, each day we set off at 8am and given one hour for lunch and toilet break, as the group size of 48 and the need to line up to buy our lunch, it is often very rush. The tour was packed with optional tours which was within the package tour timing, if you did not purchase the optional tour, you would be left alone on your own, doesn't make sense to me. Optional tour ought to be after the regular tour sightseeing. The Edinburg tattoo was not in season and we are charged admission ticket for it, should have refund the money to us. The 3 star hotel at Craiglynne Hotel Grantown On Spey was half the size of a regular room even though i paid for a single room, the dinner they served was terrible. i would not recommend this tour to my friends.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/05/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, May 2024
The St Andrew’s stop was wasted on those who were not golfers and probably not long enough for those who were. The Abbey would have been more interesting to all in st Andrew. The Kelpies would have also been a good option as would Falkirk and the Wallace monument while near Stirling area, on the way to Perth.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/26/2024
Nicole Bianchi - Traveled, September 2024
The tour guide and the bus driver were fantastic. I wish we had more time to see some of Highland sights versus the numerous woolen mills. We drove by the Harry Potter bridge. Wish we could have stopped for at least a descent picture. The tours in the Edinburgh and in Glasgow were great. Sterling Castle is amazing and huge. Saint Andrews could have been a bit better as we were leaving just as the castle there opened at 10. I feel like we did rushing to get to shopping and missed sight seeing of some other things. Definitely had the best weather imaginable. The Lake was beautiful and the highlands were stunning under the sunny skies. The hotel in the Highlands was disgraceful. The cups were dirty filled with toothpaste from a previous guest and the towels were still on the back of the door. Obviously no cleaning of the bathroom between occupants. The room was boiling with no thermostat and the open window was above the kitchen area and woodsmoke poured in. The food was all boiled and inedible for dinner. And for some reason the eggs were a pale yellow green and floating in water. Lots of water and they were scrambled. . . This hotel needs to be removed and I would have not paid for the night stay if I had been there individually as the room had not been cleaned. However, the first and last hotels were great. The one in Glasgow was by far the best with awesome duvets and Fresh linens. The castles were all amazing, the driving by *Personal information removed by Feefo* was exceptional (I wish he had been the hotel in the Highlands owner, as he kept that bus immaculate). *Personal information removed by Feefo* was supremely knowledgeable and gave great insight.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/08/2024
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