Our Scottish Highlands Adventure

You can't see the Highlands in a day. But a small-group day tour from Glasgow can give you a taste of them, and in this episode we tell you what that taste looked like.

We spent about twelve hours in a van with our friends Chris and Sheila, a guide named Keshava, and two other travellers, covering Loch Lomond, Glencoe and the Three Sisters, Fort Augustus on the Caledonian Canal near Loch Ness, a view of Ben Nevis, and a stop to hand-feed Highland coos near Perth. We share what took our breath away (Glencoe in the mist), what we'd plan differently (lunch, lunch, lunch), and why we'd rather do this part of Scotland slowly, by car, over six or seven days.

If you're deciding whether a Highlands day tour is right for your trip, or how to make the most of one, this one's for you.

Timestamps00:00 Welcome and where we are now (Portugal, not Scotland)00:34 Why one day isn't enough for the Highlands01:34 Why we booked a day trip: five or six days in Scotland and a just-returned rental car02:17 The tour: a 12-hour small-group van trip with guide Keshava03:08 What we wanted from the tour: the Highlands, Loch Ness, and Highland coos04:33 Loch Lomond: tea cakes, the famous song, and Lola the dog07:13 Glencoe and the Three Sisters10:39 The most photographed house in Scotland11:41 How a good guide times the day (and dodges the big buses)12:57 Fort Augustus and the Caledonian Canal15:02 The Nessie boat cruise: to cruise or not to cruise16:12 The lunch scramble and Nessie's Monster Mash17:40 What we'd do differently: pack a picnic19:52 Overtourism, and why you should tip your servers20:12 What the boat-cruise passengers found21:23 Loch Leven, the Spean Bridge memorial, and Ben Nevis24:02 The Highland coos near Perth27:17 Our verdict on the tour and on Keshava29:24 Up next: the Glasgow-to-Belfast bus and ferry, and a possible guest30:57 Sign-off and what you'd like to hear aboutImportant Links

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InstagramFacebookTiktokYouTubeLooking for a tour guide in Portugal? I have a whole list!Blog post for this episode: Highlands Day TripHighlands Experience Tours–the tour group we used

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