Day 1 – Sat: Depart U.S. for Edinburgh
Take an overnight flight across the Atlantic and relax as you start your vacation.
Day 2 – Sun: Edinburgh Cabaret Show
Arrive in Edinburgh Airport, where your CIE Tours guide or representative will greet you. Complimentary group transfers depart Edinburgh Airport at 8:00 am, 10:00 am and 12:00 noon. If your flight arrives later, you will need to transfer to the hotel at your own expense. Check into your hotel where the afternoon is at leisure. In the evening join your fellow travelers for a welcome get-together drink. A Scottish cabaret will start your trip on a high note as you sample Scottish specialty foods, including haggis, and enjoy a lively show with singing and dancing. (D)
Day 3 – Mon: Edinburgh Castle & City Tour
This morning discover Edinburgh on a sightseeing tour. Drive along Princes Street, the main shopping thoroughfare. Compare the wide streets and elegant mansions of the 200-year-old Georgian “New Town” with the narrow lanes and medieval townhouses along the Royal Mile, the oldest part of the city. Finish your tour at the imposing Edinburgh Castle to see historic buildings and enjoy a splendid view of Edinburgh. The afternoon and evening are free for independent activities. On August 4, 11 & 18 departures enjoy the Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle. (B)
Day 4 – Tue: Falkirk Wheel & Highlands
The first visit of the day is at the new engineering marvel, the Falkirk Wheel, located on Scotland’s major Millennium canal restoration project on the Forth/Clyde Canal to re-establish east to west coast access for boats. Take a short boat ride into the bottom gondola of The Wheel, which lifts the boat up to join the Union Canal. Stop in the town of Pitlochry before continuing through the Grampian Mountains to Aviemore. The Scottish Highlands are renowned for heather, which grows so profusely. Visit the Speyside Heather Centre to see more than 300 of them growing in an idyllic setting. Also enjoy tea and a local specialty called “clootie dumplings.” Continue north to your hotel in Nairn, located on the Moray Firth. (B, D)
Day 5 – Wed: Loch Ness & Culloden
Drive through Inverness and along the shores of Loch Ness to the substantial ruins of Urquhart Castle. Look around the visitor centre before exploring the remains of this splendid 13th century castle, built to control the loch. It was blown up in 1691 to prevent its use by Jacobite rebels. Embark on a cruise to admire the tranquil loch and surrounding hills. Disembark at Inverness and have a look around the town. Stop at the Culloden Visitor Centre to learn about Bonnie Prince Charlie’s political aspirations which ended in disaster at Culloden; walk around the moor where the Battle took place in 1746 before returning to your hotel in Nairn. (B, D)
Day 6 – Thu: Dunrobin Castle & John O’ Groats
Near Golspie visit Dunrobin Castle, seat of the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland and the largest mansion in northern Scotland with 189 rooms. Take a guided tour around some of the impressive chambers of the castle, which dates to 1275 but was remodeled in the mid-1800’s. Watch a demonstration of falconry in the castle gardens to see trained birds of prey. Drive along the coast of the North Sea to John O’ Groats, the most northerly village on the British mainland. Continue to your hotel in Thurso, located in the center of this picturesque town. (B, D)
Day 7 – Fri: Isle of Orkney
Take a ferry ride to the port of Stromness where a local guide will escort you around the main island of Orkney. Visit Skara Brae, a 5,000-year-old village, where you can see the layout of houses, some with hearths and cupboards. View the Ring of Brodgar, a circle of prehistoric standing stones and stop in Kirkwall to see the 12th century St. Magnus Cathedral. Drive across the Churchill Barriers, created during World War II to prevent German submarines from sheltering in Scapa Flow. See the Italian Chapel, a tiny church built from two Nissan huts with elaborate triomphe l’oeil paintings before driving to Stromness for the return ferry ride. (B, D)
Day 8 – Sat: Highland Scenery
Explore one of Scotland’s most remote Highland areas to see a variety of scenery. The landscape varies from huge tracts of bogland to rugged rocky mountains and coastline. Learn about the 18 th and 19th century Highland Clearances which left these areas completely deserted. Stop in Bettyhill, a village built in 1814 to replace crofts destroyed by the Clearances. Continue your drive and stop in the remote village of Durness. Pass the romantic ruins of 16th century Ardvreck Castle and Loch Broom on the way to Ullapool, an active fishing and ferry port that was built in 1788 by the British Fisheries Society. Drive through the town before checking into your hotel. (B, D)
Day 9 – Sun: Inverewe Gardens
Today enjoy more Highland scenery as you drive by lochs and Gruinard Bay. Visit Inverewe Gardens, the most famous in Scotland. In 1862 Osgood Mackenzie bought the estate and converted 50 acres of bleak headland into a haven of trees and shrubs. The varied and exotic plantings thrive due to the warming influence of the Gulf Stream and there is always something in flower. Travel past dramatic scenery and see Loch Maree. Drive to Kyleakin and stop for photos before crossing by bridge to the Isle of Skye, the largest of the Inner Hebrides, to Broadford and check into your hotel. (B, D)
Day 10 – Mon: Isle of Skye Tour
Discover the beauty of the majestic Cuillin mountain range and the history of this famous isle, associated with Bonnie Prince Charlie. Visit Talisker Distillery to see how whisky is distilled and savor a sample of the finished product. Drive to Portree, the capital of the island, and view colorful houses grouped around the large natural harbor. Tour the Trotternish peninsula, where every bend in the road opens up new views of mountains, moorland, lochs and sea. In Kilmuir visit the Skye Museum of Island Life to see a collection of thatched croft houses depicting life in bygone times. Return to your hotel for some free time before dinner. (B, D)
Day 11 – Tue: Glen Coe & Loch Lomond
Return to the mainland and visit Eilean Donan Castle, a picturesque fortress perched on a rock in Loch Duich. Explore the many chambers and halls of the interior. Stop at Spean Bridge Woollen Mills for some shopping. Continue your drive through Fort William and Glen Coe, a spectacular glen made famous by the Campbells’ massacre of the Clan Macdonald in 1692. Continue across the bleak Rannoch Moor to Loch Lomond and drive alongside this lovely body of water. Drive to your hotel on the outskirts of Glasgow, set on a hill overlooking the River Clyde. Enjoy some time to relax before dining with your travel companions. (B, D)
Day 12 – Wed: Depart Glasgow Airport
Your tour ends with a group transfer to arrive at Glasgow Airport by 6:30 or 9:00 am. This will allow you plenty of time for check-in procedures and duty-free shopping before boarding the aircraft for your return to the United States. A transfer to Edinburgh Airport will be provided on request at a cost of $65 per person. (B)
B=Breakfast, D=Dinner |
