Many additional questions are answered on our Terms and Conditions page, which you can access here.
Are these tours suitable for non-English speakers? Unfortunately not. We share a great deal of history and information throughout the duration of the tour and having to stop to allow for translation between every few sentences would greatly disrupt the flow of delivery and the experience for the others on the tour. Our scheduled are therefore for English speakers only. If you would like to book a non-English speaker and translator onto any of our tours then you would need to book a private tour and contact us to discuss this. We are unable to provide translation services ourselves.
Can I bring children on tour with me? Our scheduled Tours are for adults only aged 16 years or above
Can I book a private or custom tour with you? We are potentially available to offer custom or private tours when we are not already committed to our scheduled tour dates.
Do we work with Travel Agents or 3rd parties? We do not sell via OTAs or work directly with travel agents or third parties. We wish to build a great relationship and enjoy clear communication and a shared understanding with our tour clients. For this reason, if you are working with a travel agent who may be assisting you with flights or aspects of a wider tour agenda, we are happy to provide you with information to assist with this process. We do however, request that all communication goes through the lead tour guest who makes the booking and is attending the tour. This person is likely to communicate on behalf of others in their party.
What if I suffer with car/motion/travel sickness? We travel many narrow, undulating and winding roads on our Scheduled Tours.
- IMPORTANT: If you suffer with significant car/motion/travel sickness, then our Scheduled Tours are NOT suitable for you.
- We are unable to allocate a certain seat in the minibus to anyone for the duration of the scheduled tours to cater for car/motion/travel sickness.
- Just in case someone does feel sick, we do carry sick bags in the minibus. If you do suffer with mild travel/motion sickness, we ask that you ensure you take responsibility for taking motion sickness medication daily and doing all you can to prevent it. Please ensure you purchase your medication before the tour begins, as we won’t be near a pharmacy during most tour days.
Will we have access to toilets (restrooms) regularly? We will have access to toilets (restrooms) at most locations, however, over the duration of the Scheduled Tours, due to the remote locations, there will be occasions when we will have gaps of approximately two hours between toilet/restroom breaks. We travel through many remote Highland locations, so please be aware of this when booking.
I have special requirements – is this tour suitable for me? Our tours are designed for reasonably fit and mobile adults, so if you have special requirements in terms of mobility, balance, hearing impairment, travel sickness or anything else that is not listed here which may affect the tour, then it is essential that you discuss this with us before booking so that we can assess whether this tour is suitable for you.
- You will need to have a basic level of fitness and fairly good mobility to enjoy this tour. Many of the Outlander locations are old buildings with steep, spiral staircases, cobblestones and very uneven surfaces to walk on. Most of them do not have anything in the way of mobility aids or assistance.
- If any of the following apply to you, then our guided, scheduled tours are not suitable for you; instead you should consider a private tour which can be adapted to better cater to your needs:
- have difficulty with balance (especially on steps or uneven surfaces).
- have difficulty lifting yourself onto a step and into your seat e.g. on our minibus.
- are awaiting, or recently had, hip or knee replacements.
- The basic fitness and mobility requirements for you to join and enjoy our tour are as follows:
- fit enough to walk a mile non-stop at an average pace.
- able to walk unaided on uneven surfaces and cobblestones.
- walk up a steep (1 in 3) hill for 100 yards.
- manage 20 steep steps.
- able to manage 7,000 to 12,000 steps of walking per day, for the duration of the tour, and still find it enjoyable and not overly tiring.
- able to lift yourself up onto a step, duck down and easily. manoeuvre yourself into our minibus seats.
- The step up into the minibus is 14 inches high (35cm, see below).
- The gap between the step and the top of the door frame is 53″ (135cm); so, it requires you to duck down when you enter and exit e.g. lower your head 19″ (or 48cm) if you are 6ft tall or duck down 10″ (25cm) if you are 5ft 3″ tall.
What is the Touring vehicle like? You will be enjoying Scotland in a comfortable Mercedes Vito Tourer 8-seater Minibus featuring:
- Comfort suspension for a smooth ride (over Scotland’s sometimes bumpy roads).
- Wide passenger door with low (14″ off the ground) entry step.
- Extra-long wheelbase for more leg space and luggage storage in the trunk/boot.
- Leather feel ‘comfort’ seats with a generous 18.5 to 19 inch width (47-48cm) and 10 inches (25cm) of knee room in front of the seat.
- Tinted windows – so while you can see out clearly, no one can see you or any possessions left in the vehicle.
- Air-conditioning.
- PA system, so you will be able to hear us speaking with ease.
- A super sound system so we can enjoy some wonderful Scottish music.
- Top-quality Michelin Cross-Climate All-Season Tyres which provide excellent safety and performance all year round in Scotland’s varied conditions and roads.
- Most people find our minibus very comfortable. If you are very tall or have mobility issues, then you may prefer a larger, walk-on 16, 32 or 60-seater bus, as provided by some other tour companies.
How much luggage can the minibus can carry per person? On the Heart of the Highlands Ten Day Tour, we do not carry your main holiday luggage in the minibus at any point, so it is up to you and your airline limits as to how much luggage you bring. You are of course welcome to bring coats and small rucksacks or bags into the minibus each day of the tour.
Which Airport should I fly to? For our tours starting from Inverness, there are different options, including flights trains or coaches/buses. Flying into Edinburgh or Glasgow and then getting the train to Inverness is a good option. There are also flights into Inverness airport (INV) via international hub airports such as Aberdeen (ABZ), Manchester (MAN), London Gatwick (LGW), Heathrow (LHR) Belfast International (BFS), Dublin (DUB) or Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS). You can also catch a train or bus from Aberdeen to Inverness.
Once you have booked a tour with us, we will send you a detailed Information Pack, which provides more information on flights and transfer options. That said, (I) there are many online travel planning tools or (ii) you may be best to seek the help of a travel agent (which we are not).
If you book a hotel rather than an Airbnb, hotels in the UK do not generally provide:
- A safe for valuables.
- A telephone in the room.
- A fridge.
- Face flannels (not a UK thing, but you can buy them while you are here).
- Blankets (a duvet is provided with an undersheet, but not an oversheet).
- Air-conditioning (a fan is available on request).
What’s the weather like? In common with the rest of Scotland, Inverness has an oceanic climate. Its sheltered location makes it one of the driest areas in Scotland. That said, Scotland occupies the cooler northern section of Great Britain, so temperatures are generally lower than in the rest of the British Isles. Scotland’s climate is actually quite moderate and very changeable, although on occasion we get really hot or really cold weather. As the old Scottish saying goes, ‘there’s no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes!’
Use this link to view the average monthly weather conditions (i.e. temperature, rainfall and sunshine) throughout Scotland.
To check on the current weather conditions, click on the BBC Weather for Inverness.
Here is a link to our daylight hours through the various seasons – https://www.scotlandinfo.eu/daylight-hours-sunrise-and-sunset-times/
What clothes and shoes do I need to bring?
Shoes – ensure you bring comfortable, waterproof, sturdy walking shoes or light walking boots. During your tour, you will be walking on floors built from the 12th century onwards, through graveyards with hidden dips and long wet grass, and many of our locations such as Castle Leoch and Wentworth Prison have very uneven and rocky floors. So comfortable, waterproof walking shoes that fully support your feet and ankles are essential. Please do not wear sandals, plimsolls or wellington boots on tour.
Clothes – we cannot stress highly enough the importance of wearing several layers to keep warm. Bring more layers than you think you’ll need. You’ll be outdoors several times each day. The weather in Scotland is variable – it can be glorious sunshine, or there can be strong winds and rain making it feel extremely cold. You will also be walking up and down several spiral staircases with others behind or in front of you, so trousers would suit the tour better than a skirt. We advise to dress for comfort, so you can enjoy the most from the tour. In the Spring/Autumn (Fall) and Winter, or if you easily suffer from the cold then a hat and gloves is strongly advisable.
Coat – you will need a very warm waterproof and windproof coat, even in the summer. Please note that some of the places that we visit on the tour are high up and exposed. The winds there can be strong. You’ll be outside for up to an hour or more at some locations, so please don’t underestimate the warmth of the layers and coat you’ll need so you can enjoy the locations fully in comfort. Note: we provide several umbrellas as standard in the minibus in case of rain; however, these cannot be relied upon if it gets too windy.
Will I be given a paper copy of the Tour Itinerary? On the first day of each scheduled tour, we will provide you with a folder detailing a printed copy of the itinerary for each day of the tour. This will include maps showing the route you’ll be traveling each day as well as all the locations you’ll be visiting.
Does each location have a set time for visiting? Every day of the tour is packed full of adventures from beginning to end. Every location has been carefully planned and timed to ensure the whole group gains the most from every place we visit during the location opening times. We will personally be guiding you around all of the locations, but there may be times when you decide to go it alone. All we ask is that you return to the minibus at the time specified on arrival so that we can set off on time, allowing the remainder of the day to keep to the planned itinerary. Please note that we will be sharing a great deal of information with you at each location, so if you do decide not to remain with the group, you will be missing that part of the tour which we won’t have time to repeat.
Is lunch included on tour? Lunch is not included on your tour. On come tour days, a sit down lunch at a restaurant will be arranged for you (cost not included). On other days, we will ask you to bring lunch, which we can store in a large cool bag in the minibus during the day. If you have chosen an Airbnb with a fully fitted kitchen, then storing and preparing your own lunches for the tour can be done with ease.
Do you provide hot drinks on tour? We most certainly do. We supply a large selection of teas and coffee. We supply a large flask of hot water as standard in the minibus along with sugar and milk and wooden disposable stirring sticks. If you have any special teabags that you particularly like, do feel free to bring them and we can add the hot water. We supply mugs for our hot drinks, but do feel free to bring your own cup to drink from if you prefer (please ensure it has a thermal leakproof drinking mug, with a splash-proof lid and closable sip-hole if you’d like to drink it while traveling).
We also supply plenty of shortbread, which our clients absolutely love!
Do you supply water on tour? Yes, we most certainly do. Please bring an easily identifiable refillable water bottle with you. We will refill your water bottle as required throughout the touring day.
Are Admission Fees included? Your admission fees to all locations are included on the Heart of the Highlands Ten Day Tour, along with the gin-tasting experience.
Can I charge my phone in the minibus? Yes, you certainly can. Please bring your charging cable with USB connector and you can plug in and charge while we travel between locations. We have enough USB connectors to charge everyone’s phone.
Do I need travel insurance? YES. It is up to you to ensure that you are fully covered in the event that you need to cancel your tour, or leave the tour early, due to unforeseen circumstances. It is recommended that you purchase travel insurance ‘ASAB‘ – As Soon As Your Tour Is Booked. Please read more on our Terms and Conditions page.
Can I do laundry on the tour? It’s best to choose an Airbnb with a fully fitted kitchen and laundry facilities, so you can do your laundry when it suits. Alternatively, there are some laundry facilities in Inverness itself, which we can discuss with you once you have chosen your accommodation.
Can I have a Traditional Celtic Handfasting Ceremony on your tour? Yes, you most certainly can. This is NOT a religious or legal ceremony, so we offer it free of charge but only to married couples who wish to renew their Wedding Vows and be Handfast whilst in the Highlands. We send you instructions on how to make your Handfasting Cord well in advance, so you can bring this with you on holiday. I also send you the Ceremony in advance so you can make any alternations you wish to. This takes place in front of the other tour members and you may ask one of them to film it on your phone if you wish.
Where does the tour start and finish? We will collect you from your chosen accommodation in Inverness each morning, and drop you off there each evening of The Heart of the Highlands Ten Day Tour. The tour begins between 8am and 9am (we will advise you the night prior when we’ll pick you up each morning) and finishes at around 5pm each evening.
What happens if someone is very negative on the tour? Our aim is to ensure that everyone on the tour (6 guests max) have a fantastic experience in Scotland. We want everyone to have fun, to laugh a lot, to learn loads about Scotland and Scottish history and to enjoy stunning scenery on the journey. For most people coming on this tour it is the holiday of a lifetime and a very special experience. For this reason, we ask that conversation with other tour guests is kept on a positive, fun and light note so that everyone can enjoy the tour as they intended to when they booked. If one or more guests begin to dominate conversation with negative or depressing topics, then we will have no alternative other than to privately ask them to stop. We never intend to upset guests, however, it is our responsibility to ensure that everyone can enjoy the experience they have paid for. We will therefore rely on our tour guests to advise us privately if they are experiencing negativity when we’re not around, so that we can resolve the issue privately and without implicating any other tour guest.