2-Day Loch Ness and Inverness Small Group Tour from Edinburgh

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Spend two days exploring Loch Ness and Inverness, past and present, on a small-group trip to the Scottish Highlands from Edinburgh. As you enjoy scenic drives and historic landmarks, your eyes will pop at the dramatically beautiful landscape. With a maximum group size of 16 passengers, this leisurely two-day excursion allows you to have a memorable and personal experience in two of Scotland's favorite locations.

This two-day trip from Edinburgh to Loch Ness and Inverness will show you the Scottish Highland's most beautiful scenery. The tour includes views of Stirling Castle and an optional boat ride on eerie Loch Ness, where you can look for the Loch Ness Monster.

You'll visit Glencoe, a wilderness steeped in grim history, where you can soak up the atmosphere during an afternoon walk. You'll take a walk in Glen Affric, featured in the 1970s BBC TV series The Last of the Mohicans. See the stronghold of Urquhart Castle. Admire the Grampian Mountains. And spend the night in Inverness, the capital of the Scottish Highlands.

The Scottish Highlands are Europe's last great wilderness! This personalized tour is as close as you can get to touring in your own car, with the added benefit of gaining intimate knowledge of Scotland. Traveling in a small group means you can take lots of stops and reach out-of-the-way places, giving you more time out of the van to discover the real Scotland.

See Itinerary section below for details on each day's activities.

USD $198.12

Traveler Reviews

Review by: Rose K	April 2012
It's been a superb short break for myself and my niece. We love it and would go again. Thanks to our tour guide Euan who had been so friendly and make this trip more colorful. Thanks again.

Review by: rasgui	April 2012
Excellent! I would highly recommend this tour. I had an enjoyable time in Scotland. Thanks, Rabbie’s (Viator’s Provider of the tour) for this special moment in my life. Just concluded if you don’t know the Highlands, you don’t know well Scotland. _br/_ Tour meeting point: it was in front of Rabbie’s store at the Royal Mile. Staff organized and friendly._br/_ Tour guide: Pete really nice-friendly gride-driver. He kept a good and funny environment during the tour. Always, he was caring about his “tour people”. He was caring about time-toilette, to keep everybody around to not lose themselves in the Forest, walkings, etc. He always giving us tips about the places (History, Geography, General Knowledge… linking with movies as well). He also gave us info about restaurants at the stops._br/_ Tour schedule/planning: good timing._br/_ Tour B and B (Ardross Guesthouse-B and B) : Lovely stay. I must confess I am a bit fussy about to sleep at clean places. It was my first experience in a B and B. I read a previous review they wrote B and Bs were a good option. So it really was better than I thought. Family B and B and so much better stay than many hotels, like Travelodge/ Ibis/Novotel/etc. Free with good signal wii fi. Great location few metres on walk to Inverness (3 min): town, old town, Ness walk, shoppings, Tescos, good pubs with food, restaurants, tourist spots as Inverness Castle, Church St Andrew. Bright room/Comfy bed. My room was as clean as “mother cleans our room”. Good smell. I felt like a friendly home room, not only an accommodation. Tasty and simple breakfast. _br/_ Ok, the Highlands weather was not great, but I still had one of most enjoyable times/trips (I have been travelled lots of places in our world! Im a well travelled person!)

Review by: rasgui	April 2012
Excellent! I would highly recommend this tour. Really, I had an enjoyable time in Scotland. Thanks Viator’s Provider of the tour for this special moment in my life. Just concluded if you don’t know the Highlands, you don’t know well Scotland. Tour meeting point: it was in front of Rabbie’s store at the Royal Mile/High Street. Staff really friendly in the reception. Tour vehicle: Rabbie’s Edinburgh - A mini bus Mercedes, comfortable for two days trip; Tour guide: really nice-friendly guy and good driver. He kept a good and funny environment during the tour. Always, he was caring about his “tour people”. He was caring about time-toilette, to keep everybody around to not lose themselves in the Forest, walkings, etc. He always giving us tips about the places (History, Geography, General Knowledge… linking with movies as well). He also gave us info about restaurants at the stops. Tour schedule/planning: perfect. In terms of knowledge, history you can learn lots with the tour guide-driver as well. Our guide always giving info about places, geography and history of the places. Kids may be bored at some point. But good for taking photos, enjoying the places. Tour B and B (Ardross Guesthouse-B and B): Lovely stay. I must confess I am a bit fussy about to sleep at clean places. It was my first experience in a B and B. I read a previous review they wrote B and Bs were a good option. So it really was better than I thought. Family B and B and so much better stay than many hotels. Free with good signal wii fi. Great location few metres on walk to Inverness (3 min): town, old town, Ness walk, shoppings, Tescos, good pubs with food, restaurants, tourist spots as Inverness Castle, Church St Andrew. Bright room/Comfy bed. My room was as clean as “mother cleans our room”. Good smell. I felt like a friendly home room, not only an accommodation. Tasty and simple breakfast (hot, drinks and cold options). Ok, the Highlands weather was not great, but I still had one of most enjoyable times/trips (I have been travelled lots of places in our world! I would describe myself as a well travelled person!)

Review by: Timothy B	April 2012
Our guide was brilliant. We had an awesome time.

Review by: Brian B	April 2012
Our tour guide Pete was excellent; very knowlegeable and answered any questions we had; he was very friendly and made our trip very enjoyable. The scenery was beautiful and we had wonderful weather the week we went!_br/_ Our hotel was very nice and the staff was very friendly it was in walking distance to the middle of Inverness. We wish we could have spent a little more time in this town because the shops were closed by the time we arrived and we had to leave early the next morning but we did enjoy a very good dinner that evening in Inverness. Some of the hiking the next day was a little off the road path and a steep hill I would have excluded this from the trip that day so we could have had more time in Inverness. We have a lot of wonderful pictures and fun memories of our trip; it truly is a beautiful place. The Rabbies group in Edinburgh were very organized!!! We had a very enjoyable experience. Thanks for organizing the trip!!! We will definitely use your guidance in future trips.

Review by: Rebecca C	March 2012
This was a great trip - I really feel like we had a special experience. There's no way I could have seen so much or such special things independently. Our trip was planned so well that we arrived at a Loch Ness beauty spot just in time for sunset. That, and the time in Glen Affric were truly stunning, unforgettable experiences. Many thanks to Barney too - you were great!

Review by: John R	January 2012
Loved every bit of our tour - except that it didn't go longer. We were in the worst storm for 100 years but the tour was adapted to take in conditions and we got to see more of the beautiful Cairngorms. The highlights were Eric's beautiful singing and the wonderful Atherstone B and B in Inverness.

Review by: Patricia J	December 2011
This was one of the best tours I've been on in terms of the knowledge, cheerfulness and fabulous good humour of our tour guide (who also doubled as our driver)...and I've been on lots! Despite typical cold and wet weather in the highlands, we managed to see everything, had all our questions answered about absolutely any topic and had great recommendations for local food and entertainment possibilities during our night over in Inverness. Way to go Audrey--you are one amazing tour guide! The scenery was spectacular and history abounds. This is definitely the way to see the countryside beyond Edinburgh for those who have limited time.

Review by: Cyndi	November 2011
This trip is incredibly beautiful, educational and fun. Emily was our guide and her knowledge of everything (except numbers, as she would tell you) is amazing. The 2-day trip just makes you wish you had 5 more days to enjoy the Highlands! Wish there had been a way to get to Pitlochery earlier since it is such a scenic place, but for all we saw, I would highly recommend this trip.

Review by: sweetjordee	October 2011
the tour was fantastic. George our guide was a wealth of information and was good fun to travel with. he made sure that there is plenty of photo opportunity and he welcome suggestion and special stops. thanks you George for a great 2 days

Review by: NATALIE C	October 2011
Great way to see the countryside and allowed me to see places I would not have travelled to being a solo traveller. Enjoyed the trip very much and met some lovely people. Petula was terrific - highly recommend!

Review by: Moira B	September 2011
Very good and brilliant tour guides

Review by: Jean Francois S	September 2011
Great 2 days with a knowledgeable organized. Funny guide (Bob). Everything went smoothly. Took a lot of pics and I would have wanted more because I liked it a lot. Congrats to all. We will pass the good word!!!

Review by: Vee	August 2011
Instructions given easy to follow. Very friendly greeting from the tour guide Shelby was very cool!! This tour is highly recommended. Guide was very entertaining and informative. We saw some wonderful scenery and were given many photo opportunities by the guide. Overall totally enjoyable would do it again!

Review by: Robert D	August 2011
We thoroughly enjoyed our 2-day trip with Bob through the Highlands. He was courteous, professional, and gave just the right mix of history, information and folklore to maintain interest while we drove. Photo stops were well timed for scenic beauty and opportunity to stretch. The bed and breakfast was lovely! Our daughter and son-in-law were with us and enjoyed it as much as we did! Thank You!

Review by: Michael L	August 2011
Dear Viator and Robbie Tours -

Review by: Sari C	August 2011
Great trip! Öur tour guide/driver Audrey was fanatastic. She was funny and informative. I highly recommend the tour.

Review by: chrisav	August 2011
The tour was fantastic. Beautiful scenery, lakes, rivers, valleys, mountains. Our driver/guide Shelby was really great. She knew everything about the places we visited and always had a good sense of humour. The only thing I didn't like was the hotel they booked for us in Inverness. The location was convenient but the hotel room was really miserable. Small beds, dirty carpet, narrow shower and everything seemed old and tired in there!

Review by: Mark T	August 2011
Tour was very nice. Doug the tour guide was great. It would have been nice not to have as many stops along the way. More time in Inverness and at Loch Ness the following day would have been better.

Review by: Alvin G	July 2011
Very nice and interesting trip to the scottish highlands with a fantastic driver/guide Audrey whom she had a very good knowledge of the history of Scotland and also of the scottish highlands. I think without her it would have been less interesting. Thanks from Alvin + Lorna form Malta

Review by: Katherine S	May 2011
Really enjoyed the tour. Tour guides, Derek and James were great, very friendly and knowledgeable. Was a bit worried about the accommodation in Inverness as I only requested a 3 star, but it was excellent. Overall, I would highly recommend this tour, especially if you aren't really into the big tour thing, the small group was good.

Review by: Devashish Kumar D	May 2011
This is a very good tour for the first time travellers. I had opted for hotel accommodation while booking the tour. We were given Hotel Columba for the overnight stay at Inverness. The view from the hotel is excellent as it is exactly in front of River Ness. The Tour guide was very helpful and informative. She really knows the details about the place. I would like to go for a 4 day tour since there are lot of places to cover.

Review by: Yuyi Y	May 2011
Na

Review by: Juenessa W	April 2011
This tour is absolutely wonderful! Our tour guide, Ali, was enthusiastic and loved showing us the beautiful sites along the way. I loved Mrs. Molly and the B and B she owned in Inverness. Highly recommend this tour to anyone who wants to see beautiful Scotland!!!!!!

Review by: Karin K	February 2011
This was one of the best tours that I have been on! Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor. I learned so much from taking this tour and it far exceeded my expectations.

Review by: mbagherzadeh	November 2010
Loved all of it! The views were spectacular. The ride was very comfortable, lots of stops to stretch and enjoy the wonderful views. Very organized. Our tour guide Derrick was the best! Very entertaining and knowledegable.Would definitely recommend.

Review by: Joel H	November 2010
Great Tour! Knowledgeable Tour Guides! Comfortable Mercedes Van!

Review by: VenkateshSubram G	November 2010
It was good

Review by: Shelley L	October 2010
I loved this tour. Our guide Ali was very friendly and had alot of knowledge about all of the places we travelled to!! The scenery was beautiful and it was nice to meet new friend's on the trip I would definitely do another tour. Had so much fun.

Review by: Phyllis D	September 2010
WOW!!! This was my 5th trip to Scotland and my 3rd Viator tour. I truly thought that there would be no more to see,but I was wrong. Our energetic, enthusiastic guide encouraged us (mostly 50 yr +s) to go past our comfort zone and to experience new levels of excitement, AND WE DID! The wilderness hike at Loch Affric was breathtaking, literally and scenically. The fresh air was refreshing to our lungs. While the moutains, flowing waters, heather, and cairn were endless. Our tour also benefited from the immmense volume of historical as well as present day information provided entertainingly by our guide. Everyone appeared to be pleased with the photo opportunities, especially when the bus stopped along the roadside and we all found ourselves focusing our cameras on a highland bull being flaged our way by our,yet again, dedicated guide. Now, in closure, my very first experience in a B&B has to be ranked a 10. A peaceful room with a castle view provided by wonderful people. What more could be asked for?

Review by: Bernadette H, Ireland	May 2010
Excellent tour, plenty of time to enjoy various stop offs, tour guide Ally was fantastic, funny, helpful and informative. You havent experienced the real Scotland unless you take the time out to do this 2 day tour.

Review by: Beryle B, Australia	May 2010
tour guide excellant the only thing I would have liked to do bit more shopping.But this would not deter me from my rating.

Review by: KIM P, United States of America	October 2009
Our trip was absolutely wonderful!! Beautiful country!!! Our guide was awesome! He was so gracious and kind. Wish we could have stayed longer!

Review by: ANNTIPPIA S, United States of America	October 2009
We really enjoyed the fact that the group was small and that allowed for a bit of flexibility. We saw a lot without being terribly rushed. Our guide was knowledgeable and relaxed and helped everyone feel at ease. Our guest house in Inverness was lovely and we enjoyed the local culture there as well.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	October 2009
Excellent tour guide made this experience even more enjoyable. The B & B in Inverness was especially lovely.

Review by: Callie E, United States of America	August 2009
It was a great tour! Our driver did a fine job narrarating and maneuvering that van on those narrow roads. The accommodations were fine, and we enjoyed the beautiful scenery "off the beaten path." Good job!

Review by: Anthony S, Australia	July 2009
The small group tour and an excellent and knowledgeable guide/driver made this a wonderful 2 days.

Review by: Ellen H, Australia	June 2009
Very efficient service. Friendly and genuine staff. Would highly recommend them to anyone.

Review by: Sanjay P, United Kingdom	May 2009
This is the best tour I have ever been on. It was great, and my guide was the best guy. He gave a 24-hour running commentary on each and every place and even on villages passing by. He explained everything beautifully, and we travelled each and every place and even some more listed in tour package. It was a great tour.

Review by: Robert S, Canada	April 2009
Great driver-guide, flexible program, good accommodation, all in all an excellent program.

Review by: Daniel C, United States of America	November 2008
This was a splendid tour, and we enjoyed the smaller group vehicle format compared to typical coach tours. The tour guide was knowledgeable, very friendly, and full of historical facts and stories about the region. The B&B accommodation was great and conveniently located to the sites and nightlife of the beautiful city of Inverness. This was the first time in Scotland for both of us and we were awed by the natural scenery and the history and culture of the cities and villages. y travel companion says she left her heart in the highlands. As such, this tour is highly recommended.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	October 2008
The trip was delightful. Driver/guide made it most interesting. Varied routes, North and South, were good. Stops were well timed and of interest. Accommodations in Inverness were excellent. Would like to make the trip again.

Review by: Adina R, United States of America	October 2008
Our tour guide was fantastic. Knew everything about everything! I would definitely do this again!

Review by: Amy W, United States of America	August 2008
Great tour! Our tour guide was wonderful. He was very informative and repeated all information numerous times which was great. I feel like I learned a lot about Scotland while on the tour. My only complaint was that the other tourists were usually not on time and caused us to get behind schedule so we did not have time to opt for the Loch Ness boat tour.

Review by: Anonymous, Luxembourg	August 2008
We are extremely happy with the tour. The guide made personal contact with everyone and made us feel very comfortable. Our guide told us stories, history, etc.

Review by: Laura L, Australia	July 2008
Great tour. Tour guide was very informative and funny. 2 days was just enough to get a taste of Scotland when you don't have much time to spare. Can't wait to go back.

Review by: Jill D, United States of America	June 2008
Our guide was FANTASTIC! The pace was excellent, the accommodations in Iverness was great. Overall - super!