As a Blue Badge qualified Scottish Tourist Guide, and traveller myself, I understand that visitors have different requirements based on the amount of time they have, budget, confidence (driving or travelling outwith organised groups) and many other factors.  Whilst I can offer driver guiding services, this is not for everyone and other options exist.

I have created a handy guide to provide you some options and useful links for further information.

Public transport

If you want flexibility Scotland has a really good system of public transport – by train, bus, ferry, tram so depending on the amount of time you have for your trip, it is a great option. 

Trains : When buying train tickets, I always suggest buying them from the official scotrail.co.uk site as they can refund / pay compensation directly if there are any problems with your ticket or train journey – and if you download the official Scotrail app and create an account, you can search and book journeys and keep all your digital tickets on your phone which becomes your ticket.

If you plan to use trains for most of your stay, it is worthwhile looking at the Scotrail travel passes.

Scotrail also offer “Kids for a Quid” tickets every day of the year when travelling with children aged 5-15 years old. This means you only pay £1 for each child when travelling with a fee paying adult. Under 5 year olds travel for free on Scotrail services.

There are a number of train companies that start their services in England and can go as far as Inverness, Aberdeen, Fort William as well as Glasgow and Edinburgh e.g. LNER, Lumo, Avanti West Coast – when buying tickets through these companies, please check which trains these tickets are valid on as there are often restrictions.

Underground / tram : Glasgow has the 3rd oldest subway in the world – a circular line that calls at 15 stations across almost 11 miles. It is a great way to get between city centre and West End for the university, museums, pubs and restaurants.

Edinburgh has a tram line that runs between the airport and the area called Leith, passing through the city centre. It is a great way to come in from Edinburgh airport to city centre or visit The Royal Yacht Britannia which is berthed in Leith.

Buses :  There are a number of companies that run buses across Scotland.  The main ones are Stagecoach, Citylink, Ember and Flixbus – sometimes a mixture of 2 gets you the best connection times.  I have used a mix of companies and transport hubs to get from the airport to the Highlands without having to go into the city centre. Many of these journeys you can book via their App or online up to 20 minutes before the service arrives. Full details of timetables, journey planning and current bus locations can also be found via their Apps or online.

Ferries

most of the ferries to Scottish Islands are managed by Caledonian MacBrayne.  You can find the route map on www.calmac.co.uk.  Tickets for the summer season usually go on sale sometime between December and late January and the most popular sailings, especially on weekend will sell out quickly.  If you are travelling with a vehicle, it is really important to book your tickets as far in advance as possible – even if you don’t know the car registration number.  There are sometimes limited numbers of “standby” tickets, but I would never rely on this as a means to get on an off islands with a vehicle.  Most island holiday cottage rentals run Saturday to Saturday hence the demand for ferries on a weekend.

Ferries to Shetland Islands leave from Aberdeen are run by Northlink Ferries and should also be booked as soon as you know your travel dates (they open for the summer season bookings in January of the same year).  Northlink also run ferries to Orkney out of Aberdeen.

Other ferries to Orkney Islands are run by Pentland Ferries out of Gills Bay in the north of Scotland.  You can book direct on their website which is linked above.

Both Orkney and Shetland have their own inter-island ferries that can be booked online.

There is a lovely Scottish travel blogger, The Chaotic Scot, who does not drive and does all of her exploring by public transport. Please check out her blog for inspiration on travelling by public transport.

Organised tours

There are lots of organised tours you can join, which last from from 1 day to 14 days or more.  The size, mix of nationalities and age profile of the group will vary depending on which company you book with. When booking a coach tour, decide how sociable you are feeling and if the detailed timetable is something you are happy with.

Some home grown UK companies include Rabbie’s, Discover Scotland Tours, Timberbush, Viajar por Escocia (tours in Spanish and Italian) Haggis Adventures, Highland Explorer and many more.  Some of these companies have a maximum of 18 people on mini coaches, though some are using larger coaches for their Loch Ness day tours from Edinburgh due to the high demand.  Most of the tours they run are 1-5 days but you could sign up for different ones, especially if you are using Edinburgh or Glasgow as a base and prefer to stay in the same place. Some of these companies also have tours starting in Aberdeen or Inverness.

You will probably see many tour companies advertised in your home country e.g. if you are in USA, you will see CIE Tours, Tauck, Odysseys Unlimited, Colette and many more and from Australia and Canada many of these plus Trafalgar.  These have all been designed to enable you to maximise your time in Scotland and often come with qualified local guides who will tell stories about the area you are in.  Each company sets a limit on how many people are on each tour (it could be 24 or a full coach load) and usually run with 42 seater coaches or larger.  

If adventure tourism is more your thing, take a look at Wilderness Scotland or Beyond Adventure who organise multiple day walking, biking, kayaking trips.

Private tailored tours

This is where I put my hat in the ring ! This is the most flexible type of travel for your party, though not necessarily the cheapest.  

I work with private groups, anything from 2-14 people to deliver bespoke tailored tours of Scotland. If it is 2-4 people, I can hire a vehicle and act as your driver and guide. For groups of 5 or more, I prefer to work with some lovely owner-operators of 16-18 seater mini-coaches – this ensures that you get my undivided attention and there is plenty space for your luggage and purchases whilst on tour!  

Working together on creating your tour

Most of my work is booked through agents who determine the itinerary with the client, book the accommodation, entrance tickets etc, but I also love working with direct clients. For direct bookings, I work with you to understand your requirements and craft an itinerary that you are happy with. Once you are happy with the itinerary, I ask you to book your accommodation (we will discuss options) and any entrance tickets that we need to buy in advance. I like to leave a certain amount of flexibility to the itinerary so we can make the most of the weather and opportunities as they arise – and sometimes guests decide they want a day off touring, which can also be accommodated. I can only book my own services as I am not an insured travel agent, hence why you will need to be involved in some bookings.

Now that you have read a bit about the various options open to you, which will you go with ? Please get in touch if I can support you in planning and/or delivering your trip to Scotland.