Which Scotland tour - small ship or week in Scotland?

We want to see Scotland (first time) but can’t decide which tour. Any pros or cons? Seems one is interior and one sails around coasts with excursions (only 1 or 2) in ports.

Comments

  • Always the land or you will miss so much scenery

  • I can highly recommend the land tour, which we did this summer (cut short a couple of days due to COVID). I would have liked to see the islands featured on the cruise, but would have hated to miss the Highlands on the land tour. Doing the land tour with an added excursion to the islands would be ideal, IMHO. I suppose it could also be done in reverse, with the cruise and an add-on to the Highlands.

  • I also recommend the land tour. The advantage of a ship is that you don't have to pack and unpack, but you're limited to sights close to the ports (it takes to long to bus you to the interior).

    The advantage of a land tour is that you get to see more of the interior of a country, and often the most interesting things are in the interior. Tauck generally has a policy that you spend a minimum of two nights in a hotel so you're not packing and unpacking every night.

  • We're doing the land tour next summer but adding days at the end on our own to stay in Oban for a.few.days plus some extra nights in Glasgow for Edinburgh.

  • Here's another vote for the land tour. I went with friends last summer. You definitely should add a day or two at the beginning and end for time to explore Edinburgh and Glasgow. The tour doesn't include much in Glasgow. And if you can add a couple more days, you could get out to the islands. It is a great introduction to Scotland.

  • We have done both the land tour and the small ship cruise of Scotland with Tauck. We did the land tour in 2016 and were on the inaugural Eastbound Scottish Isles tour in 2019. I would have to choose the land tour as well and IMHO I would go when Tauck takes you to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. It was a wonderful experience and one of the highlights of the trip. It is an extravaganza. If you like bagpipes and pageantry, there is nothing like it. You can see whole past performances on Youtube if you are interested and to help guide your decision. Yes, in August there is the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh which makes it crowded, but it is just part of the experience. Definitely take extra time in Glasgow and Edinburgh. If you are OK with driving a stick shift car on the opposite side of the road, take a few extra days and go to the Hebrides. There is a great ferry system in Scotland and it is quite interesting to travel with the locals. We did Lewis and Harris and then Skye using the ferry system. Although it was not part of the tour, it was actually my favorite part of the trip. The Scottish Isles cruise was wonderful as well. I compared itineraries to when we went and it seems they cut out a day in Inverness when we went to Loch Ness and Urquart Castle. One of the Excursion choices for that day was actually Culloden Moor and Fort George. They have turned that into a "day at Sea". Wow. What a disappointment..... In addition, when we were on the cruise, while in Edinburgh they took us for a private tour of the Royal Yacht Brittania. I cannot find it on the itinerary anymore.

  • HooHeel? From NC but went to UVA? :D

  • Hi Alan! I went to both. UVA first, so I felt a bit like a traitor in Chapel Hill...

  • Thanks everyone. We scheduled the land and spending a couple of extra days in Inverness, Isle of Skye and hopefully see where our ancestors were.

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