Scotland for Solo Travelers: Highlands, Aberdeen & Edinburgh

Board your overnight flight to Glasgow today.

Welcome to Scotland! Settle in at your hotel, then meet your Tour Director and fellow group members at a mixer. Afterward, continue getting to know one another over an included dinner, served with either beer or wine.

Set out to explore Glasgow—Scotland’s second city and the U.K.’s cultural and creative capital—with a local as your guide.

• Drive past The Burrell Collection museum and admire the city’s university—founded in 1451, it’s the fourth-oldest in the English-speaking world and one of four Renaissance universities still operating in Scotland today.
• Visit the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. First opened in 1870 as Glasgow’s first municipal museum, it features substantial exhibitions of everything from European portraiture to Egyptian antiquities.
• Discover local highlights, including 18th-century George Square and the River Clyde.
• Stop outside the city’s medieval cathedral—the oldest building in all of Glasgow—for photos.

Spend a free afternoon in Glasgow or add an excursion.

Continue on through the famed Scottish Highlands, admiring winding lochs and pausing at two incredible spots as you make your way to Inverness.

• Drive through The Trossachs, one of Scotland’s two national parks, and pass by Loch Lomond—the largest on the island of Britain by surface area.
• Stop in Glencoe, a village of fewer than 400 people and the site of a 1692 massacre of a Scottish clan by members of government forces. Learn about the area and the infamous ambush, and why Clan MacDonald was attacked by the Scottish army in the first place.
• Stop for a photo at the medieval ruins of Urquhart Castle and take in panoramic views of Loch Ness—a freshwater lake whose depths are purportedly home to the mythical Nessie.

Continue to Inverness and enjoy an included dinner, served with either beer or wine, after settling into your hotel.

Spend a free day in Inverness or add an excursion.

Set out for Aberdeen, Scotland’s third-largest city, by way of the Malt Whisky Trail and get a good understanding of why the Speyside Region produces some of Scotland’s best pours.

• Take a tour of the Speyside Cooperage, the only working cooperage of its kind in the U.K., seeing firsthand how—and why—barrel makers exclusively make casks out of American Oak to age Speyside whiskies.
• Visit a distillery and sample the fruits of that labor: some of the region’s best Scotch whisky.

Continue on to Aberdeen and enjoy a free evening.

Meet up with a local guide this morning and get to know the “Granite City” on a guided tour.

• Pass through the campus of the University of Aberdeen, another of Scotland’s four ancient universities, and learn about its three ceremonial colleges: Christ’s College, King’s College, and Marischal College.
• Admire the 13th-century Brig o’ Balgownie, the oldest bridge in the country, and contemplate how it’s inspired poetry and folklore over the years.
• Visit Footdee (pronounced “fittie”), a beautifully preserved traditional fishing village marking the eastern end of Aberdeen Harbour.
• Take a short walk through Old Aberdeen—the historic heart of the city and home to its famed university’s King’s College—followed by free time to explore the area.

Enjoy an afternoon to yourself in Aberdeen or add an excursion.

Travel deeper into the Aberdeenshire council area to visit a working cattle farm and learn about Scotland’s agricultural pedigree.

• Meet up with your farm guide and set off on a walking tour of the grounds, including its barns and land.
• Learn about the history of the iconic Highland cow. Then, hear about the farm’s high standards for raising beef cattle, before sitting down to a tasting of some fine cuts produced on-site.
• Sit down for a delicious included lunch at the farm. (Vegetarian options will be available.)

Later, stop in St Andrews—the home of golf and of Scotland's oldest university.

• Walk by the grounds of the University of St Andrews, an institution of higher education that has existed since 1413. (Fun fact for our anglophiles: Prince William met Kate Middleton while studying there!)
• Join a local guide to enter the ruins of the town’s medieval cathedral—a 12th-century structure that, in its heyday, was the largest church ever built in Scotland. Then, make the short walk to St Andrews Castle, and marvel in the view of the North Sea.

Finally, make your way to Edinburgh and enjoy a free evening in the capital city.

Get to know Edinburgh in all its medieval beauty on a tour led by a local expert.

• Pass through a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the elegant New Town, before moving through another (the Old Town) to see the Royal Mile—a famous street that connects Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
• See the King George statue, Bute House (the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland), and the Sir Walter Scott monument.
• Enter Edinburgh Castle to view two timeless icons: the Scottish crown jewels and the Stone of Scone, a fixture at coronation ceremonies since at least the 13th century.

This evening, head to a private room at a local restaurant and meet a professional bagpipe player.

• Learn about the history of the bagpipe, Scotland’s national instrument, and listen to the musician play a few songs.
• Pick up your own bagpipe and follow along as they teach the group essential breathing techniques and share other playing tips.

Celebrate your trip, and your fellow travelers, over a farewell dinner served with beer or wine.

Transfer to the airport for your flight home or extend your stay to continue exploring Edinburgh.