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Tour price land only- - - -
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Included Features MALLAIG-ARMADALE Ferry across the Sound of Sleat to the Isle of Skye MEALS: 7 full Scottish breakfasts (FB); 5 three-course dinners (D) with choice of menus and coffee, including a welcome drink & dinner, and a farewell dinner in Glasgow INSIDE VISITS Inside visits and special features are shown in UPPERCASE in the tour description, including admission charges when applicable. Itinerary: Tour Bonnie Scotland Day 1 Board your overnight transatlantic flight. Day 2 Arrival in Glasgow, Scotland. Check into your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to relax in Scotland's largest city. Before tonight's welcome dinner join your Tour Director and traveling companions for a toast to happy touring with a congenial group. (D) Day 3 Glasgow-Isle of Skye. Your tour of Bonnie Scotland starts in earnest with a day full of spectacular scenery. Follow the "Bonnie Banks" of Loch Lomond and enter the Highlands. Wild Rannoch Moor; Glen Coe, where the MacDonald Clan was treacherously massacred by the Campbells; lovely Loch Linnhe; and Fort William beneath Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain, are on the morning's agenda. Then follow the "Road to the Isles" passing Glenfinnan, the scene of the raising of the Young Pretender's standard in 1745. At Mallaig board your ferry and sail across the Sound of Sleat to Armadale on the romantic Inner Hebridean Isle of Skye where Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald took refuge. (FB,D) Day 4 Isle of Skye-Inverness. Cross the bridge back to the mainland and drive further into the remote Highlands for another day of breathtaking Scottish scenery. Follow the shores of Loch Maree to INVEREWE GARDENS, with its subtropical plants encouraged by the warm Gulf Stream. Follow the trails created by Osgood Mackenzie more than 120 years ago. Loch Glascarnoch and Loch Ness, keeping a lookout for the mysterious monster, are final highlights on the way into Inverness, the Highland capital. (FB,D) Day 5 Inverness-Dundee. A leisurely day with a stop first at CULLODEN VISITOR CENTRE which sets the scene of the crushing Hanoverian victory over Bonnie Prince Charlie's Scottish clans. Continue through heather-clad moors for a visit to a WHISKY DISTILLERY, where your guide explains the ancient art of converting barley, water, and yeast into a heart-warming liquor. Follow the River Dee through the Grampian Mountains to the area where the Royal Family spends their summer holidays and pause for a stroll in pretty Braemar, home of the Royal Highland Games for over 900 years. Late afternoon arrival in the city of Dundee overlooking the picturesque Firth of Tay. (FB,D) Day 6 Dundee-Edinburgh. A leisurely start to the day with a drive across the Tay Bridge to St. Andrews, whose Royal and Ancient Golf Club, founded in 1754, has given us the rules of golfing. A fun inclusion is the opportunity to hit a few balls at the ST. ANDREWS GOLF PRACTICE CENTRE. Continue on to Perth and a special visit to SCONE PALACE, the stately home of the Earl and Countess of Mansfield. During your welcome over coffee and shortbread, hear about the crowning of Scottish Kings here, then join your guide on a private tour of the Murray family home. Plenty of time later to explore the palace grounds. Cross the mighty Forth Road Bridge to Edinburgh and tonight don't miss our optional Scottish evening with Highland dancers, bagpipers, and the Ceremony of the Haggis. (FB) Day 7 Edinburgh. Morning city sightseeing with a Local Guide introduces you to the 200-year-old "New Town" and famous scientists, inventors and novelists. In the "Old Town", drive up the narrow Royal Mile to EDINBURGH CASTLE to admire Scotland’s Crown Jewels. The afternoon is free to enjoy this "Prince of Cities" at your own pace. Later, a unique optional experience: board the former Royal Yacht Britannia, which for the Queen was once the perfect royal residence for glittering state visits and family holidays. Tour five decks and see how the Royal Family and crew of 240 lived and worked on board. Dinner rounds off this optional evening. For tour numbers 0729 through 0819 tickets are included for tonights performance of the world renowned MILITARY TATTOO: a vast spectacle of massed Scottish pipe bands, which takes place in an arena on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle. (FB) Day 8 Edinburgh-Glasgow. A fascinating visit this morning to NEW LANARK WORLD HERITAGE SITE, which by the late 1700's was already Britain's largest cotton mill complex. On arrival your specialist guide will orientate you with the history of the mill and tell you about the social pioneer owner. Then view the pretty Falls of Clyde whose water powered the mill wheels, see the massive looms in action, and wander around the village and imagine how people lived and worked here. Back in vibrant Glasgow a final orientation drive takes in the fine 12th-century cathedral, imposing university buildings, and elegant Georgian squares built by the wealthy tobacco barons. Tonight, raise a glass of wine to a successful tour at a private farewell dinner at your hotel. (FB,D) Day 9 Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (FB)
Quality Hotels GLASGOW Novotel (F) or Thistle (F), ISLE OF SKYE Dunollie (F) at Broadford, INVERNESS Thistle (F), DUNDEE Hilton (F), EDINBURGH Menzies Belford (SF), GLASGOW Radisson SAS (SF) Hotel Rating Abbreviations:
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Price varies based on the season of travel .
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