9 Day Tour of Iona, Mull, Skye & Orkney, Scotland

Day 1 Highlights include Loch Lomond National Park, Inveraray, seat of the Campbell clan, and the heart of the ancient Scots kingdom of Dalriada, before staying in the beautiful harbour town of Oban for 2 nights.

Day 2 is an island adventure exploring the dramatic southern coastlines of Hebridean Mull and the peace and tranquility of Iona - birthplace of Celtic Christianity and traditional burial ground of Scottish Kings. It also gives you the option to take a boat trip to Staffa.

Day 3 takes you north along the west coast, passing the impregnable Castle Stalker and visiting Glencoe. Then on to Fort William, and the dramatic mountain scenery of Glen Garry to Eilean Donan Castle (set of “Highlander”) and over the sea to Skye, where you stay in the picturesque harbour town of Portree for 2 nights.

Day 4 focuses on exploring Skye including the wild north of the island, the Old Man of Storr, the mountain pass of the Quiraing and Skye’s most westerly point at Neist.

Day 5 returns you through the Cuillin mountains to the mainland past the 5 Sisters of Kintail, on to eerie Loch Ness. At Loch Ness you will join up with the tour travelling to Orkney and the Far North. With your new crew you will continue north following the Great Glen travelling the entire 23 miles of the famous Loch passing by Urquhart castle and onwards to Inverness.

Day 6 takes you north through the Black Isle, past the imposing Dunrobin Castle, before crossing the Pentland Firth from near John o’ Groats to the Orkney Isles. You stay in the Viking town and capital of Orkney, Kirkwall for 2 nights.

Day 7 is your chance to explore this fantastic ancient island; a land of contrasts where fertile green pastures are fringed by shores of golden sands washed by waters of the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Highlights include a visit to Skara Brae, the mystical prehistoric stone circle at Brodgar, the standing stones of Stenness, and Maeshowe, where in the 12th century the Vikings left one of the largest collections of Norse runic inscriptions.

Day 8 takes you back across the water to the cliffs and sandy beaches of Scotland’s dramatic northern coastline, passing Ben Loyal, Ben Hope, Durness and Assynt with a visit to the 15th century Ardvreck Castle, and staying overnight in the whitewashed fishing village of Ullapool.

Day 9 your morning includes visits to Corrieshalloch Gorge, the ancient Clava Cairns and the more recent bloody history of the Culloden battlefield, before returning south through the grandeur of the Cairngorm National Park, the ancient Caledonian pine forest and Highland Perthshire to Edinburgh.