Rabbie's Trail Burners
A word from Rabbie’s Trail Burners:
Join one of our multi-award winning tours and we promise to get you in touch with the people, places, history and legends of our country and deliver you a unique and memorable experience to last you a lifetime.
Rabbie's Trail Burners was established in 1993 and was the first to develop a new model of small group mini-coach tours for independent travellers. Rabbie's has always been built on the principles inspired by Eric Schumacher's 'small is beautiful' with emphasis on sustainable development and conservation of the world's natural resources.
Supporting Communities
We restrict our tours to 16 passengers to give you a more personal experience, enabling us to get you off the beaten track and explore some of Scotland's hidden gems. Overnight tours offer you a choice of accommodation in small, remote communities where you will meet local people, eat local produce and have a truly authentic experience, while at the same time supporting local businesses.
Our Philosophy
We believe a small group tour with a maximum of 16 passengers really does make a big difference to your trip. It allows us to give you a more personal service. Touring with a maximum of 16 passengers you get more for your money, more personal attention, more time with the locals, more time off the bus, more time on the back-roads and just more of an authentic, friendly experience. The smaller groups allow you to meet people from all over the world and make friends for life.
Our Guides - Your Hosts
Our local guides are your hosts with each hand-picked for their pride and passion for the country. Chosen for their expertise, knowledge and ability to entertain, they will regale you with folklore, myths, history and legend.
Our Hospitality
Rabbie's is world renowned for going the extra mile for you and because we operate small group tours, we really can give you the personal attention you're looking for. That's why we invite you NOT to get lost in the crowd and allow us to do what we do best, and give you a memorable and enriching experience that lasts a lifetime.
Your Adventure
Our tours and mini-coaches are purpose built to show you the secrets of Scotland by getting off the beaten track and onto the back-roads where only smaller tours can go. Time off the bus is important and we pride ourselves on getting you out there for the authentic experience. And, of course, your comfort is paramount as you travel in our eco-friendly, low emission, modern Mercedes mini-coaches, with big panoramic windows (3 out of 4 seats are window seats), stereo systems, full sized reclining seats (with seatbelts) and more leg room than your average coach.
Legendary Friendliness
Established in 1993, and named after Scotland's best loved poet Robert Burns, we are Scotland's longest running small group tour company with a world-wide reputation for the friendliest tours on the planet.
Caring for our Environment
From the very beginning Rabbie's was built by valuing, managing and conserving our environment. We aim to leave the legacy of our beautiful landscape for future generations to enjoy. Our tours are as close as you can get to touring in your own car, but with the added benefit of reducing your carbon footprint by 66%*. We support local businesses and on our overnight tours you are given the choice of accommodation, allowing you to choose your budget, stay in smaller places and meet the locals. This way you help to sustain their communities and promote local cultures, environment and wildlife.
*Based on 2 persons travelling the same distance in their own car.
Giving Something Back
We take every effort to reduce our carbon footprint and since 2008 we have implemented a a self-imposed carbon tax and donate £10/tonne of carbon that we use operating our tours to environmental and charitable causes. Last year we taxed ourselves £4,300 to donate to various charities including Trees for Life, The National Trust For Scotland and Scottish Wildlife Trust. We also donated over £1,500 worth of tours to various charitable organisations including the Red Cross, Barnardos, Action for Children, Mountain Rescue and Maggie’s Cancer Care.
Multiple Awards for Excellence
Don’t take our word for it. You can read all about our tours from fellow travellers on the web and we are very proud that our commitment to environmental and customer service excellence has been recognised with a number of prestigious awards over the last few years:
2010 Winner SME Business of the Year - Scottish Business in the Community
2010 Winner Big Tick - Climate Change Award - Business in the Community
2009 Winner Extra Mile for Customer Care - Thistle Awards
2009 Winner Inspiration Award - Scottish Business in the Community Special Judges Award
2009 Winner Operator Programme of the Year - Thistle Awards
2009 Winner VIBES (Vision in Business for the Environment) Awards
2008 Winner People Development - Thistle Awards
2007 Winner Sustainable Tourism - Thistle Awards
5 Star Tour Company VisitScotland
GOLD Award - Green Tourism Business Scheme
Hospitality Assured
GOLD Award - Keep Edinburgh Clean
They have also been nominated in the 2010 Scottish Thistle Awards.
