The verdict
The best Highlands tour from Edinburgh: one pick for each kind of visitor
There is no single best tour, because the twelve listings on this page are not doing the same job. Here is one recommendation each for the first-timer, the returner, the person who hates coaches, the family, and the person with three days.
Quick answer
For a first visit with one free day, book the Loch Ness, Glencoe and Highlands tour from $57. For a shorter, easier day, take Loch Lomond, Stirling and the Kelpies at $73. If you have already seen Loch Ness, go west to the Glenfinnan viaduct from $57. If you have three days, the Isle of Skye trip at $229 is better value than three separate day tours.
Our picks
- First visit, one day
- Loch Ness & Glencoefrom $57
- Most reviewed anywhere
- The classic$74 · 20,368 reviews
- Highest rated day trip
- Glenfinnan & Glencoe$57 · 4.8
- Shortest day
- Outlander with entry$116 · 8 hours
- Best with children
- Loch Lomond & Kelpies$73 · 9 hours
- Cheapest full day
- The Outlander day$47
- If you want the coos
- Loch Ness & coos$70
- If you want the train
- The viaduct toursJune to late October
- Three days or more
- The Isle of Skye$229 · 4.8
- Every tour
- Free cancellationup to 24 hours before
The picks
Five visitors, five bookings
One booking each, and the reasoning behind it.
You have one day and have never been to Scotland. Book the Loch Ness and Glencoe day, from $57. It is long, it is a lot of road, and it delivers the two things you came for. The version at $74 carries 20,368 reviews, which means the operation is as predictable as this kind of day gets.
You have been to Loch Ness already. Go west instead. The Glenfinnan viaduct day from $57 is rated 4.8 — the highest score of any day trip here — and between June and late October it times the stop for the steam train.
Twelve hours on a coach sounds unbearable. Two good options. The Outlander day with entry included at $116 is eight hours, rated 4.8, and puts you inside real castles rather than beside a road. Loch Lomond, Stirling and the Kelpies at $73 is nine hours and the gentlest day on this site.
You are travelling with children or with older parents. The Loch Lomond day, without much hesitation. Nine hours, a castle you walk around, a loch, and two thirty-metre steel horse heads that stop everybody in their tracks.
You have three days. Take the Skye tour at $229. It is rated 4.8 across 2,936 reviews, and its route covers Glencoe, Fort William, the viaduct and Loch Ness as well as the island — which is most of the day trips on this page, done properly.
Every trip, current fare
Every tour, ranked by cost per hour
The same twelve listings with the arithmetic done. Cost per hour is not the whole story — a long day is long because of the distance — but it does show which tours are dense and which are mostly road.
| Tour | Length | Price | Loch Ness | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Outlander ExperienceThe Outlander locations, and the cheapest day | 10 h | $47 | No | $4.70 | 4.6 · 2,285 |
| Glenfinnan Viaduct, Glencoe & Fort WilliamThe viaduct and Fort William, rated 4.8 | 12 h | $57 | No | $4.75 | 4.8 · 4,281 |
| Loch Ness, Glencoe & The HighlandsLoch Ness and Glencoe in twelve and a half hours | 12.5 h | $57 | Yes | $4.56 | 4.7 · 2,459 |
| Glenfinnan Viaduct, Glencoe & HighlandsThe viaduct, with the steam train timed in | 12 h | $60 | No | $5.00 | 4.7 · 4,383 |
| Loch Ness, Glencoe & Scottish HighlandsLoch Ness and Glencoe, heavily reviewed | 12.5 h | $62 | Yes | $4.96 | 4.7 · 12,284 |
| Loch Ness, Glencoe, Coos & the HighlandsThe northern route with a stop for the cows | 12.5 h | $70 | Yes | $5.60 | 4.5 · 2,725 |
| Loch Lomond, Stirling Castle & the KelpiesLoch Lomond and the Kelpies in nine hours | 9 h | $73 | No | $8.11 | 4.6 · 2,670 |
| Glenfinnan Viaduct, Glencoe & Highlands DayThe viaduct and Glencoe, 9,171 reviews | 12 h | $73 | No | $6.08 | 4.6 · 9,171 |
| Loch Ness, Glencoe & the Scottish HighlandsThe classic route north, most booked anywhere | 12.5 h | $74 | Yes | $5.92 | 4.6 · 20,368 |
| Outlander Filming Locations ExplorerThe Outlander locations, properly explored | 9 h | $85 | No | $9.44 | 4.7 · 1,560 |
| Outlander Adventure Day with EntryOutlander with the entry tickets included | 8 h | $116 | No | $14.50 | 4.8 · 1,459 |
| 3-Day Isle of Skye and the HighlandsThree days, and the Highlands with time in them | 3 days | $229 | On the way | $7.63 | 4.8 · 2,936 |
Avoid
Five ways people book the wrong Highlands tour
Every one of these is avoidable in thirty seconds on the listing page.
- Booking a ‘Highlands’ tour that never reaches the Highlands
The Outlander and Loch Lomond days are excellent and they are Lowland and southern Highland days. If you want Glencoe and Loch Ness, check those two names appear in the itinerary.
- Assuming the cruise and the castle are included
They are extras almost everywhere: about £20–£25 and £14. Two people doing both add roughly £70 to the day.
- Booking a twelve-hour day in December
It is dark from half past three. You will do a third of the tour in darkness. Take a southern loop in midwinter, or accept it knowingly.
- Expecting a walk
These are driving days with photo stops. The Glencoe stop is twenty minutes at a viewpoint. Hill walking in the Highlands needs a night up there.
- Chasing the cheapest listing without reading the hours
The cheapest full day here is ten hours; one of the most expensive is eight. Divide the price by the hours and by what is included before deciding anything.
Common questions
The best Highlands tour, answered
What is the best Highlands tour from Edinburgh?
For a first visit, the Loch Ness, Glencoe and Highlands day from $57. It covers the landmark and the best scenery in one twelve-and-a-half-hour day.
Which Highlands tour is highest rated?
The Glenfinnan viaduct and Glencoe day and the Outlander day with entry are both rated 4.8, as is the three-day Skye tour. Among the very large samples, the classic Loch Ness route holds 4.6 across 20,368 reviews.
Which tour is best if I hate long coach days?
The Outlander day with entry included at $116 is eight hours, or Loch Lomond, Stirling and the Kelpies at $73 is nine.
Which Highlands tour is best with children?
Loch Lomond, Stirling Castle and the Kelpies. Nine hours, a castle to walk around and sculptures that impress everybody, without a four-hundred-mile day.
Is it better to book a small group tour?
A sixteen-seat minibus reaches places a full coach cannot park at, moves through stops faster and lets the guide actually talk to you. It costs more, and both kinds are listed here.
Should I book more than one Highlands tour?
If you have two free days, yes — north to Loch Ness on one and either the viaduct or the Outlander sites on the other. Three days, and the Skye trip replaces all of it.
Can I change my mind after booking?
Yes. Every tour on this page cancels free up to 24 hours before departure.
Go deeper
More on the Scottish Highlands
The classic day trip
Twenty thousand reviews, and what the twelve hours contain.
Loch NessLoch Ness tours
What the loch is, and what the cruise costs on the day.
GlencoeGlencoe
The valley every tour stops at, and why the road is the point.
The viaductThe Glenfinnan viaduct
Twenty-one arches, a steam train and the 1745 rising.
All day tripsDay tours from Edinburgh
Every direction, compared, from nine hours to three days.
SkyeIsle of Skye
Three days, two nights, and why a day trip cannot do it.
