Scotland Highlands, Isle of Skye and Outer Hebrides

Depart from the U.S. today on an overnight flight* to Glasgow International Airport. Your arrival time on September 21 will need to be 11am or prior, if any questions or concerns, please contact our office. Recommendations for airport hotels will be given if you would like to or need to arrive early. *PLEASE NOTE: International tickets will be issued multi-city, flights will be your home/GLA-Glasgow Scotland, and return flights being from Stornoway, Lewis SYY/Home.

Your guide and driver will meet you at the Glasgow Airport and depart for Glencoe. Your accommodations are set in the heart of Glencoe, surrounded by mountains. In the Highlands, the past is all around. Ancient cairns and stone settings, the later broch’s (defensive round towers), then the Picts with their mysterious carved symbol stones have all left their faint traces on the landscape. Although the old clan ways have vanished, the Highlands are a special place, enjoyed not only for their unspoiled environment, but also for their particular sense of the intertwining of past and present.

Signal Rock is a pleasant short walk from the inn, where in the past, bonfires were lit to warn of imminent danger. From Rannoch Moor there are distant views to the surrounding mountain ranges, Blackmount to the west, and the almost perfectly shaped mountain,

Buachaille Etive Mor, the subject of numerous well-known photographs.The Devils Staircase is a short uphill stretch of The West Highland Way, and there are even better views from higher viewpoints.  An eleven mile long sea loch, Loch Leven, takes us from Ballahullish in the west to Kinlochleven in the east. The loch is fringed to both north and south by steep sided mountains, giving some dramatic scenes. Overnight Glencoe (D; B; B).

The Trotternish Peninsula, which consists predominantly of a long basalt outcrop, gives rise to dramatic cliffs and mountain scenery. Driving around the “North End” of Trotternish, you will make a number of photo stops along the way. Photographing the strange and dramatic rock formations of the Quiraing is a highlight along with one of Skye’s best-known sights, The Old Man of Storr.  It is a pinnacle of rock, 160 feet high, visible from much of the east coast of Skye. Overnight Isle of Skye (B, D; B; B)

A trip across the peninsula will take you to the tiny village of Uig, where you will take a ferry to Tarbert on Harris. Your accommodations lie about fifty miles away from the port. Great Bernera is an island that has notable archaeological remains consisting of standing stones, and the Iron Age roundhouse Dun Baravat in Loch Bravat. At the southeast corner of Harris is a lovely little harbor still used by a few fishing boats, and best known for St. Clements Church, an impressive example of church architecture in the Hebrides.

The sea is always dramatic at the Butt of Lewis, as the waters of The Atlantic meet The Minch. Nearby is the Port of Ness, a small scenic fishing port. The Arnol Black House is a Scottish Heritage site where both ‘black houses’ and a ‘white house’ have been preserved as a small museum. Black houses were the traditional home for hundreds of years, where families lived in one space with a peat fire in the middle of the floor, while livestock were kept in another space.

Carloway is best known for the Carloway Broch, a once fortified impressive round stone structure. The world-famous standing stones of Callanish are just a few miles away from your lodge, where you will photograph in the twilight, as well as by day. Overnights Outer Hebrides (B, D; B; B; B)

Depart on a flight (suggested time to be announced) from Stornoway (SYY) to Glasgow and connect with flights home. Strabo cannot be responsible for flight delays, therefore depending on timing of your return flight home, and optional overnight at airport hotel may be necessary.

PLEASE NOTE: Your flights will be booked multi-city: Home/GLA; SYY/Home (likely connecting through Glasgow)

Note: This itinerary has been carefully constructed to assure participants the best Scotland has to offer; however, should events arise that are beyond our control, itinerary, activities and hotel arrangements are subject to change without notice.  Be assured that we will make substitutions that are as similar in quality and interest as possible.