CIE Tours: 2012 - 5 Day Taste Of Scotland Tour (GB-SCA-12-5D)

CIE Tours: Highlights

• Scottish Highland Evening
• Edinburgh Dinner & Ghost Tour
• Loch Ness Cruise 
• Culloden Battlefield
• Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Season

Superior First Class Hotels:
Stay at the following or similar:

• Glasgow Thistle Hotel , Glasgow (1 night)
• Newton Hotel , Nairn (1 night)
• Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel , Edinburgh (2 nights)

• Airport transfers at start and end of tour
• Sightseeing by luxury coach
• Professional tour director
• 4 nights in hotels listed below
• Full breakfast daily except on day 1 (B)
• 3 dinners (D) including:
    - Scottish Highland Evening 
    - Edinburgh restaurant dinner
    - 1 table d'hote dinner
• Welcome get-together drink
• Tours of Glasgow and Edinburgh
• Scenic cruise of Loch Ness
• Blair Athol Distillery tour and tasting
• Evening walking tour of Edinburgh
• Edinburgh Military Tattoo on July 31 to August 21 departures
• Visits and admissions to Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, Spean Bridge Woollen Mill, Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre and Edinburgh Castle
• Deluxe carry-on backpack, ticket wallet, luggage tags & strap
• All local taxes, hotel service charges & porterage for one suitcase per person

5 Day Taste of Scotland Tour CIE Tour: Itinerary

Day 1 : Glasgow Highlights
Start your tour at Glasgow Airport with a group transfer to your hotel, departing at 8:00 am, 10:00 am or 12:00 noon. If you arrive later than noon, transfer to the hotel at your own expense. At 2:30 pm discover the main attractions of Glasgow as you drive around George Square with its ornate City Chambers and nearby Glasgow Cathedral. Visit extensive collections in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, originally opened in 1901. Join your tour director for a welcome drink before dinner. (D)

Day 2 : Loch Lomond & Loch Ness Cruise
Depart Glasgow and travel alongside the famous Loch Lomond, renowned for its unsurpassed beauty. Travel through the deep valley of Glen Coe, notorious for the Campbell massacre of the Clan Macdonald in 1692. Continue through Fort William and stop at the Spean Bridge Woollen Mill, which offers quality Scottish goods. At Fort Augustus embark on a short cruise on Loch Ness to admire enchanting views and keep an eye out for “Nessie.” Continue to Nairn where your hotel was a favorite summer residence of Charlie Chaplin. A Scottish Highland evening will feature haggis and other traditional foods with bagpipe music and dance. (B, D)

Day 3 : Culloden Battlefield & Whisky Tasting
Visit the Culloden Visitor Centre to learn about the Battle of Culloden where Bonnie Prince Charlie was defeated by the British army in 1746, changing the traditional way of Highland clan life forever. Drive through the Grampian Mountains to visit Blair Athol Distillery in Pitlochry to see how whisky is distilled and sample some. Continue south to Edinburgh and check in to your hotel, a few miles from the city and set in lovely grounds. Head into Edinburgh to a popular restaurant for dinner which is followed by a fun walking tour with a local guide to discover the haunts of Edinburgh's eccentric characters in the narrow streets and alleys of the medieval city. (B, D)

Day 4 : Edinburgh Castle & City Tour
This morning an Edinburgh city guide will point out the principal sights as you drive along the bustling Princes Street and through the wide streets of the 200-year-old Georgian New Town. See the compact medieval section along the Royal Mile where some houses reach 11 floors tall. Visit Edinburgh Castle, which dominates the city and contains the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Scone. The balance of the day is free. On July 31 to August 21 departures, seats are reserved for the Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle. (B)

Day 5 : Tour Ends Edinburgh Airport
Your tour ends with a transfer to Edinburgh Airport to check in for flights home. (B)

B: Breakfast; D: Dinner