A Week in Scotland - Group size and Military Tattoo
My wife and I are about to book A Week In Scotland for July or August of 2025. I have a few questions for those of you who have been on this tour.
How is the Small Group experience different from the Classic group for this tour? What is the typical group size for each?
Everybody raves about the Military Tattoo and Fringe Festival held during August but we are concerned that the crowds will overwhelm the city and make it difficult to enjoy the city, it's attractions and restaurants. I'm sure we would enjoy the performances but, considering the crowds and the $1400 per person premium Tauck charges for the tours that include the Tattoo, we're not sure it is worth it. What is your experience?
The wonderful Balmoral Hotel is the normal hotel for this tour in Edinburgh but during the Tattoo most dates stay at the Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel. The Kimpton looks nice but not in as good a location and rooms appear to be less than half the cost of the Balmoral. If anyone has stayed at the Kimpton, how was it?
Comments
We lived in Scotland when we were first married many many years ago. Back then, the Tattoo was featured on the TV and of course when we were younger we thought it looked boring. We were last In Edinburgh just a few years ago during the Fringe snd the Tattoo. We really enjoyed the Tattoo and just a couple of days ago I came across my videos of it when I was sorting them. The tickets were cheap.
Yes, the streets are packed with people but the atmosphere is electric. We saw some great performances. The fun thing I remember was a guy dressed as Trump with bright pink tights below the waist. You will see all sorts of street performances like that as well as shows in small intimate venues.
We visited Holyrood house on a previous trip which is so interesting. I don’t think it is open in August as back then the Queen would be in residence. I don’t know if King Charles keeps up that tradition so people should check when it is open.
My other favorites are the Royal Yacht Britannia which is just outside Edinburgh in Leith and the Royal Botanical Gardens because we love gardens.
I can’t answer about hotels and we rarely spend the time in them apart from sleeping. Last trip. We were with a large group of friends who ranged from early twenties to seventies. So we stayed in the cheapest two hotels to accommodate those in the group who could only afford those prices. We stayed in the smaller of the two, very very small rooms but ergonomically perfect with great wifi which was not always the case in some hotels there. Our room also had a great view in the morning before we were out and about for the day. Funnily enough, one friend brought her husband along and they moaned about the hotels and yet they recommended OAT to us, we traveled with that company once and never again.
It’s your decision to decide which is most important to you as everyone has different priorities.
British, thanks for your comments. We have travelled with Elderhostel/Road Scholar for years. All have been wonderful programs that used a wide range of accommodations which served their purpose. Since Covid we have been travelling with Tauck and have become spoiled by the first class (4 & 5 star) hotels they use. (We looked at a 2 week long Road Scholar tour of Scotland but decided the one week Tauck tour would work well following a week in London we will be spending in London. We just watched a 90 minute BBC video of the 75th anniversary Tattoo in 2025 on YouTube. We are now leaning toward a tour date that would include the Tattoo but, like so many live events, we probably had better views in the BBC video than you could have in person, even from the best seats.
My internet is very slow this evening so better photos I had just won’t load. These two show how tiered the seats are so you do get a great view. Past forum comments are that Tauck get great seats and near the front. You may indeed get as good an idea of the Tattoo from a video. However, the Fringe is different, you certainly won’t get the ambiance and feel of that event from a video.
Because I’ve travels so much now, the content of the sites we see on a tour are a lot more important than top tier hotels to us. So we are going the opposite way to you. Our first experience of group travel was with Tauck over twenty years ago, hotels were mid quality then and there was little free time. These days, we look at the itineraries of the tours of the places we want to see, so do a mixture of Tauck and another company. Our upcoming tour is a Tauck one.
You can’t see Scotland on a one week tour. You have to go to the Highlands and Islands. There is nothing like standing by a loch with no one around and hearing complete silence.
Actually, I have stood by you in Arusha and experienced complete silence. (;-)
\we are doing the boat version scotland in 2027.
You don’t even know we have spoken in Arusha in about 2015
We have done both the Tauck/Ponant "Legendary Scottish Isles" and a "Week in Scotland". We did the "Week in Scotland " during the fringe and Military Tatoo. First - totally agree with British - Edinburgh is electric during the Military Tattoo and Fringe Festival. Yes, it is crowded, but that is part of the fun. The Tattoo is a once in a lifetime experience to see in person. If you love bagpipes (personally, i LOVE bagpipes), the roar of the entrance when they come marching in with the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle, is an unforgettable experience. There is nothing like it. It is awe inspiring.
Second - The Balmoral is fabulous - we were there during the "Week" tour. During the cruise, the group was split into two for Edinburgh. Half were at the George and half were at the Kimpton. We were in the George group. There was a revolt in the lobby because it was hot and they put us in the part of the hotel that didn't have air conditioning, so beware.( And, no it is not charming to live like a European when you are paying luxury-travel American Prices) People at the Kimpton were very happy. So, if you do the small group during the tattoo and are at the Kimpton, you should be fine. Do they have any classic tours during the tattoo which include the Balmoral? I think a small group is a mixed blessing. We were on a tour recently with 15 people, at least 9 of which we would have preferred to leave behind ( and we were a group of 4 traveling together.). The Cameron House, outside of Glasgow, is a magnificent resort hotel and one of my all time favorites. You will be happy there, but it is outside of town in the Trossachs on Loch Lomond. Magnificent is the only way to describe that resort.
We enjoyed both tours. But... before our "Week in Scotland" tour we traveled on our own to the Hebrides - Isle of Lewis and Harris and the Isle of Skye. That was a wonderful part of the our trip too. The Tauck cruise does cover those Islands as well as Shetland and Orkneys. No matter how you look at is - Scotland is a fabulous place to visit. If you can - do it while the Tattoo is on and just enjoy the experience. Don't focus on the crowds.
Thanks for your insights. We have two spots on hold for a Small Group tour during Tattoo but staying at the Kimpton including an extra night. We will probably switch that to a Classic group staying at the Balmoral with an extra night and actually save $1200. We are pretty social and usually prefer to travel as a single couple on group tours. Half the fun and memories are the interesting people you meet and get to know during the tour so the larger Classic groups have some advantages for us.
We actually looked at the tour around Scotland on the Ponant ship first but the only availability is a $40,000 suite. We were on one of the same Ponant Explorer class ships on the Great Lakes in September and loved it. Great service, food, unpack once and only 150 passengers. We may do that tour in the future.
Even when it isn't the tattoo or fringe, Edinburgh is pretty crowded. We did this one as a Classic sized tour with 39 guests. The size wasn't a problem though I'd say I didn't get to know the whole group as well as I might have if it had been smaller.