Iconic Scotland & Isle of Skye: lochs & lore
Starting and ending in Edinburgh, this 6-day guided tour of the Scottish Highlands’ and the Isle of Skye’s most extraordinary places will take your breath away.
£500 off - book by 13 July using code NLJULY500 for 2025 dates only
17th - 22nd September 2025
Prices from GBP £3,699 pp
6 days / 5 nights
Highlights
See some of the most iconic landscapes of the Scottish Highlands and Isle of Skye, including the Old Man of Storr, the Three Sisters of Glencoe, and the Glenfinnan Viaduct, which you might recognise from the Harry Potter movies.
Uncover the stories behind Scotland’s legendary castles, from the picture-perfect Eilean Donan Castle, set where three lochs meet, to the evocative ruins of Urquhart Castle on the banks of the mysterious Loch Ness.
Step back in time on the Island of Lismore, where a local resident, geologist and artist will share what it’s like to live on this remote island and reveal the secrets of its ancient rocks and rural life.
Take a scenic cruise across Loch Coruisk, a narrow, inky blue freshwater lake surrounded on three sides by the dramatic Cuillin Mountains. Keep your eyes open for seals as you sail – or perhaps a kelpie.
Stay in top-quality accommodation, including a loch-side hotel at Port Appin, a former hunting lodge on Skye and a splendid Georgian mansion in the Highlands. Dinner at your hotel is included each evening.
Group size 6 to 10.
Quiraing at sunset, Isle of Skye
Overview
Immerse yourself in the dramatic beauty of Scotland on this six-day, five-night adventure. Starting in Edinburgh or London, you’ll travel to the Highlands and the Isle of Skye, experiencing the region’s landscapes, culture, history and geology.
As part of a small group, you’ll see the most spectacular castles and famous sights of the Scottish Highlands and the Isle of Skye. Your Scottish Tour Leader, Ali Motion, breathes life into their history with her trove of stories and anecdotes, while our guest guide, Dr Noelle Odling – an artist and a geologist – spends a day showing you daily life on her home island of Lismore.
Your second expert guide, Phoebe Sleath will join you for two days on the Isle of Skye, bringing her irresistible blend of humour and enthusiasm.
As you hear their stories about the region’s deep-time origins and fascinating human influences, the sense of awe you feel is sure to intensify even more.
Scottish Highlands and Isle of Skye tour activities
Highlights of your Isle of Skye vacation package include boat trips to secluded lochs, short walks in sweeping glens with beautiful and atmospheric views, and explorations of iconic castles where history seeps from the thick stone walls. This is the Scotland everyone dreams about.
As you explore, our experts will layer the tour with fascinating stories rooted in the geographical, geological and human history of Scotland.
Accommodation on your Scotland & Isle of Skye vacation
Between outings, you’ll stay in comfort at three of GeoCultura’s favourite Good Hotel Guide-recommended hotels, all with excellent a la carte dinners, scenic locations and a warm welcome after a day’s touring.
Useful details about your Isle of Skye vacation package:
- Start / finish: Your tour starts and finishes in Edinburgh, Scotland. New for 2025, option to start from London with return rail travel to Edinburgh. See ‘Need to know’ section for details.
- Activity level: Leisurely to Moderate, with a range of walks and hikes across the Scottish landscape between 1 and 3 miles long, with a slightly longer optional hike on Day 3 (view our activity level definitions). This tour also includes boarding a boat via a ramped pier.
- Transport
- Getting there: The tour will start in Edinburgh.
- Getting around: Small comfortable coach, plus passenger boat trip on Day 2 and rail from Inverness to Edinburgh on final day.
- Weather: Generally cool to warm in September, but there can often be a risk of rain. Skye has changeable weather (there’s a good, weather-based reason it’s known as the Misty Isle) but we find that this often enhances its craggy landscape – and therefore your experience – and won’t affect our itinerary.
- Accommodation
- Two nights at The Pierhouse Hotel, Port Appin, a welcoming restaurant with rooms with exceptional views and a menu rich in local seafood options.
- Two nights at Cuillin Hills Hotel, Portree, on Skye, with one of the views of the island’s landscape and mountains.
- Final night at Coul House Hotel, Strathpeffer, a welcoming 18th-century mansion.
- A la carte dinner is included at the hotels on each night of the trip.
Where you will visit…
The tour starts in Edinburgh, then hits the open road on your Scottish tour. Your first stop is at the Great Moor of Rannoch, one of the few remaining wildernesses in Europe and full of lochans and dramatic views of the surrounding mountains.
Your Scottish tour continues as you take in magnificent mountains, the Three Sisters of Glencoe – an iconic view of the Scottish Highlands. This leg of your tour also includes the story of the Glencoe Massacre, a notorious event in Scottish history, which adds a certain poignancy to the area’s rugged beauty.
This unforgettable journey is part of a wider Isle of Skye vacation package, designed to showcase the best of the Highlands, islands, and everything in between.
Rounding off your first day in the Scottish Highlands, you’ll receive a warm welcome and a group dinner at The Pierhouse Hotel in Port Appin, where you can enjoy the view of Loch Linnhe on your doorstep.
- Check into The Pierhouse Hotel, Port Appin, for two nights
- A la carte group dinner
After breakfast enjoying views of the loch at The Pierhouse Hotel, you spend today on the Island of Lismore with one of its residents, Dr. Noelle Odling. Noelle returned to family home on the Island in 2014. She’s now Treasurer of the Lismore Gaelic Heritage Centre, and a fiddle player in the Lismore Dance Band.
Noelle will guide you through the fascinating island landscapes, history and geology, as well as share her first-hand account of life on the Island. As an artist and a geologist, Noelle is the perfect guide as you visit castles, brochs, a medieval church and the Heritage Centre.
The journey to Lismore involves a short drive (40 mins) to Oban and short ferry crossing to Achnacroish, a hamlet on Lismore, with views of the dramatic mountains on the Isle of Mull.
- Hotel: The Pierhouse Hotel, Port Appin
- A la carte group dinner and an optional after-dinner special whisky tasting with a local expert
Your first stop is the Glenfinnan Viaduct, made famous by the Harry Potter films. Here, you’ll enjoy a private tour of the Glenfinnan Monument dedicated to those who died in the Jacobite rising.
From Mallaig, you catch the ferry over the sea to the Isle of Skye Skye, where Phoebe Sleath, your additional expert guide, is excited to join you for the next two days. The voyage is the perfect place to start unravelling the story of continental collision and mountain building that underlies the dramatic scenery ahead of you.
You’ll receive a warm welcome at the Cuillins Hill Hotel, a four-star hotel overlooking the harbour town of Portree and the Cuillin Mountains.
- Check in at Cuillins Hill Hotel, Portree, for two nights.
- A la carte group dinner.
If you’ve spent the previous day admiring the Cuillin Mountains from a distance, you’re in luck! Today, we’ll head into the heart of the mountains to a secluded loch.
You’ll board a boat across the sea to Loch Coruisk, a scenic loch surrounded on three sides by the equally impressive and dramatic Cuillin Mountains. After time to admire the area and gain insights into the geology and formation of the mountains, you’ll boat back for a light lunch.
Next up is Talisker Bay, a secluded cove with plenty of photo opportunities, including a sea stack on one side of the bay and a waterfall on the other. The area also holds one of Skye’s two whisky distilleries; let us know if you’d like to tour the island’s oldest, Talisker, as an optional extra, and we’ll arrange it for you.
- Hotel: Cuillins Hill Hotel, Portree
- A la carte group dinner
If you thought Skye couldn’t possibly have any more to offer, you’re in for a treat – we’ve saved the best until last. Today is dedicated to the Trotternish Peninsula, home to several of Skye’s most recognisable landmarks.
First, you’ll see the Quiraing (pronounced ‘Kwirrang’), another famous Skye sight. This slow-motion landslip has a history stretching back to the opening of the Atlantic Ocean, and its incredible landscape of hills and jagged peaks has inspired artists for as long as landscape appreciation has existed. Now it’s your turn to unravel the earth history on venture beyond the landscape!
If time we will also visit the mysterious Fairy Glen – an unusual clearing-and-tower on Trotternish.
Next stop, the picture-perfect Eilean Donan Castle before you head to Loch Ness for a view of Urquhart Castle and an amazing geological story of faulting, earthquakes, and ice.
A warm welcome always awaits you at your final hotel of your Scotland and Isle of Skye vacation package: Coul House Hotel in Strathpeffer, a family-run Georgian mansion that’s an ideal base for your last night in the Highlands.
- Check into Coul House Hotel, Strathpeffer, for one night.
- A la carte group dinner
Savour breakfast at Coul House Hotel, then enjoy a taxi transfer to Inverness to board the mid-morning train back to Waverley Station in Edinburgh.
Note: If required for reasons beyond our control, GeoCultura reserves the right to substitute alternative accommodation of equal or higher quality or adapt the itinerary if required.
Single admission ticket to Talisker Distillery on Day 4 – £25pp
Double room for single occupancy is £750.
For an extra charge of £250 per person, we can arrange first-class return rail tickets between London and Edinburgh, at a time to suit each individual traveller. The price includes onboard meals with drinks, served at your table.
Your tour starts and finishes in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The activity level is rated as LEISURELY to MODERATE, requiring an average level of fitness (view our activity level definitions). The tour will involve walking in generally easy terrain but will require good walking boots (please note, some paths may be uneven and loose underfoot). Walks are 1-3 miles long. This tour also involves boarding a passenger boat to reach Loch Coruisk, from a ramped pier.
If walking is an issue, alternative arrangements can be made during the scheduled longer walks, so please let GeoCultura know in advance.
Transport will be by small comfortable coach, passenger boat and train from Inverness to Edinburgh on final day.
Average temperatures range from lows of 8° to highs of 15°C in September (46°F to 59°F).
Rain is always possible, so you should bring light waterproof clothing. Insect repellent is recommended, as Scotland’s infamous midges might be about!
The tour includes:
- The services of your expert Scottish guide who will be with the group throughout the tour, plus one geology specialist on Day 2 and another on Day 4 & Day 5.
- All transportation costs travelling from Edinburgh on the first day, and returning to Edinburgh.
- Entry fees, local guide fees and activity fees, where arranged as part of the tour.
- All accommodation costs for the nights stated, assuming two people sharing a double room. Single occupancy rooms are available for a surcharge. See Single Supplement in ‘Need to Know’ tab.
- Five breakfasts, five a la carte dinners.
- All service charges and most gratuities.
The tour excludes:
- Travel insurance. Guests should carry their own health and travel insurance.
- Extra or optional activities not described in the tour.
- Lunches not included.
- Personal expenditures, any alcoholic drinks with meals, and extras at hotels such as laundry bills.
- Transportation to and from Edinburgh Waverley railway station at the start and end of the tour.
- Passport and visa fees.
Our tour leaders are happy to provide suggestions for alternative activities for guests who prefer not to participate in certain parts of the tour walks or visits, or group dinners.
Nights 1 & 2: The Pierhouse Hotel, Port Appin
The former home of Port Appin’s Pier Master, The Pierhouse Hotel is ‘a lovely hotel with stylish bedrooms and a varied menu, long on fish’. Breakfasts and dinners are accompanied by exquisite views of Loch Linnhe and the distant mountains.
Nights 3 & 4: Cuillin Hills Hotel, Portree
With ‘arguably the best location in Portree’, the Cuillin Hills Hotel sits at a vantage point in the north of the town, providing exceptional views of Loch Portree, the Sound of Raasay and the distant Cuillin mountains. Know that you are in good hands as the hotel has been running for 25 years by staff who are known to ‘take pride in their work’. Shortlisted in the Good Hotel Guide (46th edition).
Nights 5: Coul House Hotel, Strathpeffer
A ‘stunning Georgian building with wonderful grounds’, this 1820s mansion has been run as a hotel by ‘lovely, friendly’ hosts Susannah and Stuart Macpherson since 2003 – Good Hotel Guide (46th edition)
Note: If required for reasons beyond our control, GeoCultura reserves the right to substitute alternative accommodation of equal or higher quality or adapt the itinerary if required.
Subject to availability, guests may request an upgrade to a sea view room or preferred view room at each hotel. Please call for details.
Deposit: A deposit of 10% of the tour price is due upon registration for a tour.
Final payment: Full payment is due 60 days before a tour begins, or upon registration if within the 60-day window.
Cancellation by participant: A participant may cancel a registration after securing a confirmed place on a tour for any reason. The following refund terms will apply:
- Greater than 60 days before tour begins: Any monies paid plus half of the deposit will be refunded
- 30 to 59 days before tour begins: 35% of tour price will be refunded
- 15 to 29 days before tour begins: 25% of tour price will be refunded
- Within 14 days of tour or during the tour: No monies will be refunded
Cancellation by GeoCultura: GeoCultura reserves the right to cancel any tour due to low enrolment, inability to run the tour or concerns about the safety, health or welfare of participants. If a tour is cancelled before it begins, all monies paid will be refunded (including any deposit).
Please refer to our Terms and Conditions page for additional details.
Your tour leaders
Ali Motion
Tour Guide
With a lifetime of working in the great outdoors and an enviable knowledge of the best places to visit in Scotland, Ali Motion understands her homeland like few others do.
She’s a Blue Badge-accredited guide with the Scottish Tourist Guides Association and the holder of a Hill and Moorland Leader qualification, so she’s as at home leading you along remote Highland moors and beneath Shetland’s salt-sprayed cliffs as she is through Edinburgh’s ancient doorways.
Before guiding, Ali’s worked as Education Manager for the Royal Highland Education Trust, and ran the Discovery Centre at the Royal Highland Show, Scotland’s biggest annual agricultural show, welcoming thousands of visitors eager to learn about rural life.
Ali brings boundless enthusiasm, down-to-earth charm and a knack for knowing just where to go to uncover Scotland’s natural beauty, rich history and warm hospitality. Whether it’s spotting seabirds in Shetland or sipping whisky on Skye, you’re in very good hands.
Meet Ali Motion on our Shetland holiday: 6-day wildlife & geology tour of epic shores, the 6-day Iconic Scotland and Isle of Skye tour or join her on one of our two slightly longer exclusive tours: 7-day luxury Scotland vacation: Highlands and Isle of Skye or the 8-day Scotland travel tour: Highlands, Skye & Outer Hebrides.
Noelle Odling
Dr. Noelle Odling is a geologist and retired university lecturer. She worked in several research institutions in South Africa and Norway before moving to Leeds in 2000, where she was a member of staff (Associate Professor) at the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds and ran the MSc course in Hydrogeology.
In her research she used numerical modelling techniques to investigate the flow of water through fractured rocks and the transport of contaminants, an important topic for groundwater vulnerability. Noelle has also had a keen interest in the arts and participated in a number of projects at Leeds in which artists and scientists collaborated.
She moved to Lismore, a small island near Oban, on retirement from Leeds in 2014. There she became interested in the hydrogeology of the island which, unusually for the Highlands, is composed of fractured metamorphic limestone. In 2013 she started a program of borehole testing as a free service to islanders interested in improving water supply security. Noelle is also treasurer for the Lismore Gaelic Heritage Centre, makes Japanese woodblock prints and is a member of the Lismore Dance Band.
Meet Noelle on the 7-day luxury Scotland vacation and Scotland and Isle of Skye vacation. Visit our scheduled tours page for a full list of GeoCultura tours.
Phoebe Sleath
Phoebe Sleath is a Geology researcher and artist living in Aberdeen, studying how rocks deform as faults and folds in mountain belts. During her research she has developed a personal methodology of watercolour sketching in the field, inspired by the connection between geology and creativity that Scottish Victorian geologists, such as Hugh Miller, Ben Peach and Archibald Geikie, practiced in the 1700s and 1800s. Sketching helps us to observe better and feel a deep understanding with the landscape around us.
A published Creative with the Scottish Mountaineering Press, Phoebe took part in a panel discussion at the first Creatives Live event at the Fort William Mountain Festival in 2024. She has won grants to support her work from the John Muir Trust, the History of Geology Group and the Geologist’s Association. Artist-in-Residence at the Dundee Mountain Film Festival 2023, she has been featured by The Great Outdoors Magazine, Walk Highlands – Common Ground Series, and the Scottish Geology Trust.
Often found up in the hills and on the rocks of Scotland with her sketchbook and watercolour palette, she is a qualified Mountain Leader and training to be a rock-climbing instructor. Phoebe is looking forward to sharing her creative perspective and love of geology and landscape!
Meet Phoebe on the 8-day Scotland travel tour and visit our scheduled tours page for a full list of GeoCultura tours.
Stone bridge leading to the isolated Eilean Donan Castle, Highlands, Scotland.
The dining room at Pierhouse Hotel, Port Appin, Scotland.
Urquhart Castle on the shores Loch Ness, Scotland.
The Old Man of Storr, Isle of Skye.
Glenfinnan Viaduct, Highlands, Scotland.
Testimonials
Scotland and Isle of Skye | Gina & Dave B, June 2024
We had the absolutely best trip to the Highlands! We have been on many tours, and our guide, Ali, was one of the best ever! We would highly recommend this adventure!
Scottish Highlands, Scotland | Lisa H, September 2023
We thoroughly enjoyed the Highlands tour. Learned so much about the landscape, the history of the Clearances, the Clans and the Battle of Culloden. I got home and ordered a small selection of books for further reading! The company was great and the accommodation was excellent, especially the Coul House Hotel. Amazing hospitality there, beautiful grounds, walks from the doorstep, and great food.
Scottish Highlands, Scotland | Ron F, September 2022
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