The 15 5-Day Experiences in Scotland That Earn Their Price

1.5-Day Isle of Skye, Loch Ness & Inverness From Edinburgh

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 451 reviews · from $808Our pick

Travel from Edinburgh through the Highlands with Highland Explorer Tours, staying four nights in 3-star B&Bs. See the Kelpies, Glencoe, Glenfinnan, Skye, Loch Ness, Culloden, and Clava Cairns, with guides such as Cara, Paul, Owen, Sophie, Tom, Ryan, or Robert leading the way.

“Scotland Highlands and Isle of Skye are amazing 😍 so beautiful and unique landscape, the countryside is so serene and scenic. We were so lucky to have 3 wonderful guides : Tom, Ryan and Robert. Thank you to all the 3 musketeers who made our experience so speciaRead more”

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2.Scotland in 5 Days Including Jacobite Steam Train from Edinburgh

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 341 reviews · from $1,330

Travel from Edinburgh through Loch Lomond, Glencoe, Skye, and Inverness on a five-day guided coach tour. Ride the Jacobite Steam Train, cross to Skye by ferry, cruise Loch Ness, visit Culloden, and stay four nights in hotels or B&Bs with breakfast included.

“The whole trip was very interesting and informative. Dusty is a wonderful and entertaining guide. The 5-day tour covers a lot of territory in a short time. If we tried to do it ourselves we could never have had such a good trip.”

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3.5-Day Best of Scotland Tour from Edinburgh

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 263 reviews · 5 days (approx.) · from $1,240

Travel from Edinburgh through Loch Lomond, Kilmartin Glen, Glencoe, Skye, Loch Ness, and Culloden in five days. Your guide handles the driving and fills the miles with Scottish stories, music, and local lore. Expect B&B accommodation, four breakfasts, long days, and plenty of walking.

“This tour was an amazing experience. Chris was the perfect tour guide he made the 5 day trip fun. we got to see some beautiful locations and learn fun facts along the way. The hotels were ok make sure you pack light because none of the hotels have elevators. I also suggest bringing shoes with really good grips on them as you will be doing a lot of uphill and downhill hiking. If you get Chris you’re going to have the best time.”

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4.5-Day Highland Explorer and Isle of Skye Small-Group Tour from Edinburgh

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 169 reviews · 5 days (approx.) · from $1,301

Travel from Edinburgh in a 16-seat Mercedes mini-coach with a driver-guide such as Alan, Sean, Ross, or Gail. Spend two nights in Ullapool or Inverness and two in Portree, visiting Assynt, Applecross, Skye, Eilean Donan, and Glencoe. Accommodation and breakfast are included, but attraction tickets and meals are extra.

“The Rabbies five day Higland Explorer tour was first class. Emily the tour guide/ driver was brilliant and was extremely professional. The small group (10 passengers) were a friendly fun loving group and we all had a marvellous time. I thoroughly recommend this tour.”

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5.5-Day Orkney & Northern Coast Tour from Edinburgh Incl Admissions

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 132 reviews · 5 days (approx.) · from $1,454

Travel from Edinburgh through the Highlands to Orkney in a 16-seat Mercedes mini-coach. Your driver-guide, such as Martin, Karen, or Jodie, handles the roads and stories while you visit Skara Brae, Maeshowe, the Italian Chapel, Culloden, and more. Four breakfasts and selected admissions are included.

“Tour and Guide, Keith were excellent. Only reason one star was kept back was accommodation. Hotel in Inverness was of a good standard, but we were locked out, the key not working and no-one answered the emergency number. A customer had to let us in. Hotel in Kirkwall was very good. Hotel in Ullapool was very tired with black mould on the bathroom tiles, broken toilet seat and broken bath panel. Not what we would expect. All in all the trip was very good and we could not fault the actual trip.”

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6.5-Day Iona, Mull and the Isle of Skye Small-Group Tour from Edinburgh

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 86 reviews · 5 days (approx.) · from $1,417

Travel from Edinburgh in a 16-seat Mercedes mini-coach with a professional driver-guide, visiting Iona, Mull, Skye, Glencoe, Eilean Donan Castle, and Loch Ness. You get four nights with breakfast, ferry crossings, and free time for walks, castles, seafood, and island views.

“The landscapes were wonderful and our tourist guide was excellent Michael. He was very professional and well organised. We highly appreciated his enthusiasm in telling us about the Scottish history.”

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7.5-Day Isle of Skye, Oban, & Highlands Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 86 reviews · 5 days (approx.) · from $518Best value

Travel from Edinburgh through Oban, Skye, Inverness, and the Highlands in a group of up to 16. A Hairy Coo guide such as Stephen, John, Steve, or Callum leads the route, with folklore, Jacobite history, film locations, short walks, and free evenings in each town. Accommodation and most admissions are extra.

“It was fast and lots of walking even some climbing. Stephen was so much fun!! He is knowledgeable and was patient with this little old lady. The trip was simply amazing. The views of the mtns & lochs were nothing short of breathtaking. The history was a fantastic overview. I highly recommend this trip!! (And ask for Stephen if you want an extra fun time.)”

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8.5 Day Classic Tour of Scotland

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 83 reviews · from $0

Travel privately with Iain Stewart and Serenity Scotland from Edinburgh through Stirling, Glenfinnan, Skye, Loch Ness, Pitlochry, St Andrews, Falkland, and Castle Campbell. Expect history, folklore, film locations, short walks, ferries, castles, local food, and a flexible pace shaped around your group.

“Our tour guide Iain was fabulous. He was knowledgeable about the history of Scotland and shared so many insights about every place we visited. Our group was 13 members of our family aged 68-10 and Iain connected with every one of us. Iain made our trip one to remeRead more”

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9.5-Day Isle of Skye, Inverness & Loch Ness Tour w/Hostel

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 47 reviews · 5 days (approx.)

Travel from Edinburgh through Glencoe, Oban, Glenfinnan, Skye, Loch Ness, and Culloden on a five-day guided trip with HAGGiS Adventures. You stay in shared hostels in Oban, Portree, and Inverness, ride in an air-conditioned vehicle, visit Dundreggan Rewilding Centre, and hear Scottish stories from guides such as Alistair and Paul.

“My experience with the 5-day tour was worth the booking for Scotland. The Isle of Skye and the highlands were my favorite part of the tour as you saw the autumn colors bloom on mountains and everywhere you drove by, was amazing of the nature scenery. The Haggis Adventure were great on organizing the tour and our driver/tour guide Alister made the trip exciting and well-knowledgeable to keep you entertained with Scottish stories and facts about Scotland.”

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10.5-Day Orkney and Highlands Tour from Edinburgh

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 23 reviews · 5 days (approx.) · from $1,305

Travel from Edinburgh through Loch Lomond, Glencoe, Inverness, and Orkney on a five-day small-group tour. A driver-guide such as Stefan or Iain leads the route, with ferries, four nights’ lodging, breakfast, Maeshowe, Skara Brae, Culloden, and Dunrobin Castle included in the plan.

“Great guide who knew the island and went above and beyond to give a great experience. Saw more than was given in the internary.”

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11.5-Day Best of Scotland Experience from Glasgow

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 23 reviews · 5 days (approx.) · from $1,229

Travel from Glasgow with a driver-guide such as Tom, Andrew, Alex, or Owen, staying four nights in selected guesthouses or hotels. See Loch Lomond, Glencoe, Skye, Eilean Donan, Loch Ness, Culloden, and more, with breakfast included and groups capped at 35.

“We had a wonderful time in Scotland. We booked 5-day best of Scotland tour. The bus driver/guide Andrew was a very entertaining and helpful person. bed and Breakfast places we stayed was nice and clean and they provided us with really tasteful food. The trip was memorable. We visited Eileen Donan Castle, Loch Ness, Isle of Sky, Oban and over 700 Km of bus ride through Scotland.”

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12.Bespoke 5 day Tour – your personal itinerary

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 20 reviews

You get a private, five-day Scotland tour for up to two people with a flexible itinerary, driver-guide, WiFi, bottled water, and parking included. Keith can shape the route around your interests, from Eilean Donan and Skye to Rosslyn Chapel, Cairngorms walks, and Dunnet Head.

“As a married couple celebrating a 70th birthday, we booked this tour not knowing what to expect. All we can say is WOW. Our tour guide driver Keith was more than willing to take us wherever we wanted, including tracing personal heritaRead more”

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13.5 Days English Speaking Course Around Edinburgh

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 17 reviews · from $680

Spend five days speaking English with Garry, Elena, and the small course group while exploring Edinburgh, Moffat, Grey Mare’s Tail, and Drumlanrig Castle. Expect shared accommodation, home-cooked meals, walks, games, and plenty of informal conversation, with free time to request places you would like to see.

“Amazing experience! I’ve met very nice people: Garry, his wife Elena and the other participants were very friendly. Every day we did some nice excursions. The accomodation is very charming e cosy. Compliments to Garry for the fantastic idea to join English speaking with beautiful hikes.”

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14.5 Day Islay Whisky Tour from Edinburgh

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 16 reviews · 5 days (approx.) · from $1,901

Spend five days touring Islay’s whisky country from Edinburgh, with visits to Oban, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila, Ardnahoe, Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Kilchoman, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, and Laphroaig. A driver-guide, four breakfasts, ferry crossings, and Islay accommodation are included.

“An excellent trip altogether. Moray, the driver is fun and very Scottish! I have never had better breakfasts than those at Bowmore House Hotel, especially with a dram being provided.”

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15.5 Day Orkney Islands and North Coast 500 Tour from Edinburgh

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 13 reviews · 5 days (approx.) · from $928

Travel with a maximum of 16 people from Edinburgh through the Cairngorms, Inverness, Orkney, John O’Groats, Loch Ness, Glencoe, and Loch Lomond. Guides Calum and Karen add local history and folklore, while ferries, short walks, and key Orkney sites are built into the five-day route.

“An absolutely wonderful experience from start to finish. The tour operator - Scotland's Wild - did a great job in every detail. We greatly appreciated both the planned itinerary and the opportunities to make changes as needed. The guides - Calum and Karen - were great company and really enhanced the trip with their knowledge of Scottish geography, history and lore. I particularly valued the many stops at ancient archaeological sites, especially on Orkney, and every stop on every day added a lot to the overall enjoyment of the trip.”

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