One Day in the Scottish Highlands

When my parents came to visit us in England we had a quick four day trip up to Edinburgh, Scotland. We wanted to make the most of our time and see as much of the beautiful country of Scotland that we could, so we decided to go on a day trip into the Scottish Highlands with Highland Experience Tours.

Though our tour with Highland Experience Tours was complimentary, all photos and opinions in this article are my own.

Loch Ness, Glen Coe & The Highlands Day Tour from Edinburgh
Highland Experience Tours offers several different tours from Edinburgh as well as other cities like Glasgow and Inverness. We decided to do their most popular tour, and I am so glad we did! We got the opportunity to see the highlands, Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, and see some highland cows. Be prepared, it is a long day, but the views are worth it.
View our tour info HERE.
View other tours available HERE.

Taste Perthshire
I have to admit, one of my absolute favorite parts of the day was being able to feed the highland cows. At your very first stop you’ll have a chance to use the restroom, grab a snack or coffee, and see these cuties! My advice is to go inside the shop first*. Everyone else will head directly to the cows. You will go inside the shop and ask for food bags to feed them, they are €5. One is plenty! Then, everyone else will have headed inside and you can go feed the cows.

The worker told us to shake the bag so the cows could hear it and they came right over! You definitely want to put some food in your hands and hold them flat for the cows to eat it.

Our next stop was a photo op with the “Welcome to the Highlands” sign. Nessie has a bottle of Scotch in her mouth!

Loch Ness Cruise with Jacobite Cruises
This part of the tour is an additional expense but is optional! You can choose to do a tour on Loch Ness over to Urquhart Castle (which I highly recommend) or you can stay at the hotel/rest area while everyone else goes. This is the only part of your day which has an additional expense (besides food and drink of course). You can pay your tour guide directly on the bus, so no need to plan ahead.
Read more about the Loch Ness Cruise HERE.

The boat has restrooms and a small cafe on board. The ride over to Urquhart Castle is just thirty minutes so make sure to take advantage and snap some photos while onboard.

Before boarding we got to admire Loch Ness from the shore. This is the only place you will have access to the shoreline since the castle is up on a cliff side. The loch is truly beautiful, make sure to keep an eye out for Nessie!

Admission into Urquhart Castle is included with your boat cruise ticket! Much more ruins than castle, it is still breathtaking views of the loch and the stones are beautiful.
View more info about Urquhart Castle HERE.

Glen Coe
The views from the bus will get prettier and prettier! The next few stops are just photo stops but these are the best views of the highlands. I wish we’d had more time to walk around and explore in the Glen Coe area, so we plan to go back and explore on our next trip.
View more info about Glen Coe HERE.

At the end of our day we stopped at another cafe to feed some more cows, because we couldn’t get enough of their cute hairy faces! We also passed by Scotland’s huge metal sculptures called “The Kelpies”.

We had a fabulous day exploring the highlands of Scotland with Highland Experience Tours and I know you will too! View and book your tour through Scotland HERE.

Finding the fun everywhere life takes us!
Love, Olivia Michelle