Loch Ness Tour: Explore Highlands and Search for Nessie

Embark on a thrilling small group tour from Edinburgh to Loch Ness and the Highlands. Discover Scotland’s stunning landscapes, search for the legendary Loch Ness monster, and enjoy a boat cruise on the mysterious Loch Ness. Book now for an unforgettable twelve-hour adventure!

Duration: 12 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Linlithgow Palace - Catch a glimpse of Linlithgow Palace - birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots.
  • Stirling Castle - Pass by historic Stirling Castle on its rocky crags.
  • National Wallace Monument - The National Wallace Monument was built to honour our great Scottish hero - William Wallace.
  • Doune Castle - Doune Castle is famous for its…
What's Included
  • Local guide
  • Driver/guide
  • Transport by air-conditioned Mercedes mini-coach
  • Live commentary on board
  • Very small group tour - average group size of around 12 passengers
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks
  • Gratuities
  • Attraction Entrance Fees
Additional Information

Join this intimate group tour (with an average composition of about 12 individuals) for a traditional one day excursion to Loch Ness. Navigate through magnificent Highland vistas, this trip is the ideal choice to explore vast areas of Scotland and possibly spot the renowned Loch Ness monster. It features remarkable Glen Coe and a possible boat tour on…

Location
Waterloo Place
This tour departs from (and returns to) Bus Stand ZE, Waterloo Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3BQ (opposite Howie's Restaurant). Please arrive no later than 07.45
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(732 Ratings)
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So_she_goes
Dec 5, 2024
Callum captures all - Callum is a remarkable storyteller, is just brilliant. He’s insightful, knowledgeable and passionate about his beautiful country, Scotland. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 He was a wonderful guide, making frequent photo stops and pointing out all of the essentials and highlights with rich histories all along the way. This Lock Ness tour was my final tour of my holiday and it was a wonderful way to round it out. On the return back to Edinburgh we encountered significant weather changes and a fair bit of snow! Again, demonstrating his expertise and knowledge of the roads, he drove with caution and consideration, and got us back to Edinburgh safe and sound. This was my second tour with Heart of Scotland, the first being the 5-Day tour (which I highly recommend as well), and it will not be my last!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Q7246ktelizabetht
Nov 25, 2024
Excellent experience, highly recommended! - Absolutely excellent! We had two business visitors from China, and they both absolutely loved the tour! The company was very easy to organise through, and their administrative staff over the phone were incredibly helpful as well and helped us with making sure our guests didn't get lost in Edinburgh. We had an excellent experience, and I would highly recommend! Thank you very much!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
W6415qmjonathanw
Oct 28, 2024
A unforgettable experience travelling around Loch Ness and the Highlands with Euan from the Heart of scotland tours - For my first ever visit to Scotland I decided I wanted to explore as much of scotland as I could during my week visit that ended up being six truly breathtaking and fantastic days. I booked the heart of scotland tour day originally for a different day but got emailed asking if I could change the day and I'm so glad I did as not only did I have a fantastic and amazing tour guide as Euan, but he made my last full day in scotland one that I will always cherish and I'm already planning my next visit to Scotland. For those who are instrested I did the day tour of Loch Ness and the Highlands which were truly breathtaking and spectacular. Euan made everyone comfortable and nothing was too much trouble, he made sure we all were comfortable and saw as much of the different lochs and mountains as we could and explained all the history of every place we visited. I would whole heartily recommend Euan and the heart of scotland tour company as nothing was too much trouble and you get a real experience that you couldn't find anywhere else. Thank you again the heart of scotland tours and especially Euan you have definitely made this solo trip to Scotland one I will never forget
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rebeccac_w
Oct 22, 2024
Outstanding highland visit - Our guide/driver, Ashley, was awesome! She was very knowledgeable and shared so much information about Scotland and the sites we visited. We couldn’t have had a better guide! This trip was outstanding.
Review provided by Viator
Leerstevens
Oct 21, 2024
An unforgettable, eyeopening and heart rendering tour. - Having spent three days in Edinburgh my wife, her sister and I were very excited to be enjoying your beautiful country and what we have learned more importantly is your beautiful people. We then boarded our Wee Red Bus and under the guidance of Callum McGee began what turned out to be the best tour we've ever experienced in any country. Callum shared his love and history for and of his country using wonderful humor and incredible knowledge. His attention to every possible detail for our safety, comfort and enjoyment was deeply appreciated by all. Thank you Wee Red Bus Co. for providing us an experience we will never forget.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
142ameliaw
Sep 18, 2024
Great way to explore the Highlands if you are short on time - Our trip was not without its challenges, but overall we were happy we did it. Our tour guide, Andy, showed up about 10 minutes before our scheduled pickup time exactly where we expected him to be. We had some confusion remembering that this tour was with The Wee Red Bus because we booked through Trip Advisor, but the pictures on the TA website helped clear that up quickly. We departed on time. Pick up is earlier than most places in the local area are open for breakfast, but the tour does make a breakfast stop about an hour or so into the ride. We had a pretty significant traffic delay due to a police event, so our breakfast stop was more like a brunch stop by the time we arrived. The bus can get toasty - our was due to be replaced but in backlog for the last 6 months. Since it was an older bus it only had one window in the front and an emergency roof window that you could pop open for cross breeze. The bus had a fan system, but it made it harder for some of our group to hear the guide, so we didn’t use it for long. The breakfast stop was nice. We met three highland cows that you could purchase food for at £1 cash per small bag. Menu options are limited if you are vegetarian, but they offer toasties, breakfast wraps, sandwiches, and cakes. We took a few photo stops and passed some others to try and make up time on our way to Loch Ness. Andy was an amazing story teller who highlighted different historical events, landmarks, and different fun facts about Scotland as we made our way into the Inverness. He also politely made sure you were awake to see some of the prettier landscapes if you happened to nod off during the trip. Between stories, Andy would play Scottish-based music. Our favorite stop was the one shortly after the breakfast stop. Andy let us out onto the shore of a beautiful loch that, in our opinion, was nicer than the Loch Ness stop. Along the way you’ll be asked if you want to take a boat tour across Loch Ness. This was around £20 cash per person. We opted to explore around the area instead. If you go on the boat, there is a lunch stop just beforehand where you can grab a soup or sandwich. There is also a convenience store with hot dogs and assorted snacks. If you skip the boat tour of Loch Ness, there’s a small viewing point, but not much else to do around Fort Augustus. Since we dropped in late, most of the kitchens were closed. We grabbed food at The Lock Inn. I wouldn’t say it’s anything special, but it’s serviceable. After Loch Ness was a short stop by a small river. You aren’t able to do the hike because it’s 30-45 minutes around, but you get 10 minutes to take pictures of the river. The high road is prettier than the low road. Last stop is for restrooms. Andy gave us the option to stop just before town to avoid the crowds, but due to our schedule we were forced into town. Be prepared for a 50p fee to use the facilities there. At the end of the tour, Andy offered to drop us off closer to our final destinations vs. back at the original meeting point. Bottom line: if we could go back and do it all over again, we still would. No regrets.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kerriann_z
Sep 18, 2024
Highlands & Highlights - Andy was a great guide!! We covered a lot of ground, and learned a lot along the way!! Seeing Nessie was certainly a highlight!! LOL
Review provided by Viator
Dennis_f
Oct 21, 2024
Nice tour with a not needed boat cruise - Tour with Alan. Long driving tour (6 hours to Loch Ness), small stops to take nice photos in the Highlands. Alan is a nice and funny guide, has extensive knowledge about the country and the history. TOP! The boat cruise Loch Ness is waste of time and money, especially if you are sitting in the boat and not on top. I only would recommend to have a walk at Loch Ness.
Review provided by Viator
Kowodo
Nov 17, 2024
Great views, rushed tour, driver drove too fast - The views were awesome, classic locations. The tour felt quite rushed which given the distance covered was not too surprising. But the driver tended to drive quite fast and at times we felt unsafe especially when in heavy rain. We also had a large group of 12 other people on the tour leaving only the 2 of us and one other single person as the remaining passengers. Perhaps this group should have been allocated their own separate tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Beth_m
Oct 11, 2024
Good but rushed - The day was wonderful but very rushed and long. Our tour guide Andy was extremely knowledgeable and an excellent driver (which is important). Any one taking the tour should just know the stops are very fast and there’s time to hop out and take a couple pictures and that’s it except the lunch stop and lochness. We didn’t think the boat trip was worth the extra 20 pounds. Would have preferred to explore the town. Bring snacks and drinks and prepare for a long day. I wouldn’t personally do this tour again but only because I would have liked more time and some of the locations.
Review provided by Viator
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December 2024
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