...on a private guided tour of the Highlands of Scotland with Munro Highland Tours
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Munro Highland Tours provides private guided tours of the Scottish Highlands for groups and individuals, operating from near the Highland capital of Inverness. We are completely flexible as to the pick up and end points for all trips.
World famous attractions like the Loch Ness monster or the Isle of Skye are just a small part of what the Scottish Highlands has to offer. We aim to create guided tours to meet your interests - let us know what they are:
To get some inspiration, browse these pages to discover a little more about the rich variety of trips we offer:
Alternatively, we have a wide selection of pre-designed tours you can pick from.
About usMunro Highland Tours is owned and operated by a native Highlander, George Munro, a member of the Clan Munro, and Honorary Treasurer of the Clan Munro Association.
George was born in Speyside and has spent his life living and working in the Highlands. His first career in local government took him across the whole region, including the western and northern isles, before he trained and qualified as a tour guide. Highland sceneryThe Highlands of Scotland – with its majestic lochs, mountains and coastline – is renowned as one of the most beautiful natural landscapes anywhere in the world. No words or pictures can really do the Highlands justice – you have to see it with your own eyes.
Munro Highland Tours can take you to the famous spots in the Highlands or alternatively glorious locations that you might not have read about in your guidebook. A private trip with your guide will also help you to understand the fascinating legacy that 6000 years of human activity on the Highland landscape. We offer a range of trips all across the region, including Loch Ness, Isle of Skye, Inverness, Glen Affric, The Black Isle, Easter Ross, Sutherland, Caithness, Lochaber, and Speyside. Tours can be arranged to meet your particular needs and interests – please get in touch to let us know what you require and we'll do our very best to make your Highland holiday a trip you'll never forget. Highland castlesThe Highlands has an abundance of dramatic castles, built on its land over the centuries. The state of these varies dramatically; some survive well-maintained while others are just ruins hinting at past glory.
Visiting castles with Munro Highland Tours with help you to understand the castles within the wider context of Scottish history, as well as appreciate their obvious aesthetic appeal at close quarters. If you'd like to visit a number of castles, some of those listed can be grouped together and visited in a single day, or combined with other sites or attractions. Examples of castles that we could visit include Urquhart, Eilean Donan, Clan Donald, Dunvegan, Stuart, Cawdor, Brodie, Rothes, Balvenie, Inverlochy, Tulloch, Foulis, Dunrobin, Dunbeath, Oldwick, Girnigoe Sinclair, Leod, Mey. Highland whiskyWhisky is arguably Scotland's most famous export.
Whether you're a connoisseur or know nothing about whisky, Munro Highland Tours can arrange a trip to suit. There are many distilleries across the region - Speyside, Ross-shire, Skye, etc - so regardless of where you're based we can build a visit to a distillery into your trip. These trips can also be combined with visits to breweries or cooperages - thus giving further insight into the distilling industry. However if your real interest is specifically whisky tasting we can build up a series of visits to different distilleries - just tell us your available time and any preferences and we will do the rest. Here's an example bespoke tour created for some whisky connoisseurs visiting Inverness from the USA: On day one, we visited the Glen Ord distillery. After enjoying the Glen Ord Tasting Experience, before travelling along the picasesque Cromarty Firth to the famed Dalmore Distillery. Day two was devoted to the delights of Speyside. We took in two of the world’s best known distilleries, Macallan and Glenfiddich. At the later we went on the Explorer Tour included both a 90 minute guided tour of the distillery as well as tasting 12, 15, 18 and 21 year old rich oak single malts. On the third day, we took in the fascinating “Managers Tour” at Tomatin Distillery, a unique experience; led by one of their managers, guests had an opportunity not only to discover the mysteries of whisky making and to question him on the process, but also to taste the complete range of Tomatin brands. Tours can be arranged to meet your particular needs and interests – please get in touch to let us know what you require and we'll do our very best to make your Highland holiday a trip you'll never forget. Highland wildlifeThe Highlands are known as the "Last Wilderness in Europe" and therefore are home to an abundance of wildlife.
While some of these creatures are only visible in the more remote locations, and thus only accessible by walking long distances in the hills, there are more easily accessible ways to enjoy wildlife attractions in Scotland. For example, we can arrange dolphin spotting in the Moray Firth or a bird watching trip in the Cairngorms. Highland clansIf you are one of the approximately 30 million people worldwide who claim Scottish descent, or simply have a desire to learn more about history, we will use our local knowledge of the Highlands and its clan system to help you find out more.
Get in touch and we can come up with a tour which meets your needs. For example, we can take you to your original Clan lands, castles, battle sites, churches, graveyards and musuems. We can also arrange a session with a professional genealogy expert. If you fancy something more hands on, how about weaving your own piece of tartan... Should food and drink are your thing, how about sampling such Scottish delicacies like haggis, lorne sausage, fresh mussels, shortbread or black bun, and a wee dram from a local distillery. If you're interested in one of the following clans, we can arrange a tour to suit: MUNRO, MACKENZIE, ROSS, SUTHERLAND, MACKAY, GUNN, SINCLAIR, FRASER, CHISHOLM, DAVIDSON, URQHUART, MACDONALD, MACLEOD. Pictish Highland sitesThe people who lived in the north and east of Scotland between the 3rd and 9th centuries were known as the Picts.
They have left no written records, but the legacy of their culture remains in their sculptures, jewellery and weapons. Munro Highland Tours can take you to visit these sites which are scattered throughout the region and on your journey your guide will tell your more about these mysterious ancestors of modern Highlanders. Highland gardensThe Highlands is probably most famous for it's rugged natural landscape, but visitors might be interested to learn that the Highlands contains many beautiful gardens.
In the west, a warm gulf stream allows gardens like Inverewe and Attadale to boast a remarkable range of plants not usually seen so far north. And over on the east coast gardens such as that at Cawdor Castle are fortunate to be positioned in an area christened the 'Riviera of the North'. Visiting these gardens can obviously be combined with other activities - and as with any journey in the Highlands, there's always the bonus of traveling through the beautiful countryside. Examples of the gardens that Munro Highland Tours can take you to visit include: Attadale, Balmacara, Inverewe, Beinn Eighe, Cawdor, Forres, Elgin, Speyside Heather Centre, Gruinard, Abriachan, Mey, Achiltibuie, Lecilmelm. Gentle Highland walksThe Highlands of Scotland are so named because they contain hundreds of mountains and hills - these attracts climbers and walkers from all round the world.
Munro Highland Tours appreciates, however, that not all visitors have the time, desire or ability to tackle some of the more difficult routes in the area. But we can take you on a number of more gentle walks in a variety of locations in the Inverness and Ross-shire areas. While these walks are accessible to most, they still offer the opportunity to gets some fresh air and exercise while enjoying some beautiful views. Depending on how much time you'd like to spend walking - it might be just an hour or a full day - Munro Highland Tours will be able to organise a trip to suit your needs. Examples of the walks we offer:
Highland railways and trainsThe Highlands are home to a number of railway journeys that are noted as some of the most spectacular in the world:
The Jacobite Steam TrainFor instance, we can take you to Fort William to board the Jacobite Steam Train – perhaps now better known as the “Hogwarts Express” after being used in the Harry Potter films. This journey of 42 miles takes in many spectacular sights including Britain's highest mountain - Ben Nevis - and the Glenfinnan viaduct before terminating in the fishing village of Mallaig.
Once in Mallaig we could continue on via a very short ferry journey to Isle of Skye to explore the many delights that this famous island has to offers. The Kyle lineThis route runs between Kyle of Lochalsh on the west coast to Inverness, the capital of the Highlands.
The route passes through Plockton - this picturesque village was famously used as the location in the TV series Hamish Macbeth as well as in the film The Wickerman. The journey passes through some spectacular secnery, such Loch Carron which has the Attadale Estate on its shore. It then heads to the fertile east coast via the Glens of Carron and Brahan, where deer roam freely, reaching Inverness via Dingwall and the Beauly Firth. Strathspey LineThis steam-powered train journeys from Aviemore to Broomhill. It's route through the Cairngorm National Park allows you to enjoy both the mountain range and the River Spey valley.
If you're a railway enthusiast who'd like to go on all three of these journeys or you would prefer to pick just one, contact Munro Highland Tours to arrange a trip to suit.
Highland art galleriesAround the inner Moray Firth area there are a number of well established art galleries and studios which offer a wide range of both traditional crafts and contemporary art.
There's a wide range of galleries and as such there's something for all tastes and price ranges. If you'd like to visit some galleries or studios as part of your trip, Munro Highland Tours can arrange something to suit. Examples of the galleries we could visit include Tore, Beauly, Kilmorack, Scottish Highland Art, and Invergordon Murals. The Brahan Seer (Coinneach Odhar)Highland history is full of fascinating characters and stories.
Munro Highland Tours offers a unique trip which focuses on one particularly intriguing character - the Brahan Seer, a man also referred to as the Gaelic Nostradamus. Kenneth Mackenzie, known as Coinneach Odhar in Gaelic, is believed by many to have prophecised many significant events in history, such as the Battle of Culloden and the Second World War. It's believed he used an oval shaped stone with a hole through the centre, passed down to him by his mother in Western Isles, to predict the future destiny of mankind. The tour will take you to a number of locations of significance to the Brahan Seer and your guide will enlightens you about the life and death of this truly interesting figure. Extended tours of the Highland and IslandsAs the name suggests, Munro Highland Tours specialises in tours of the north of Scotland. But we are also happy to discuss trips beginning and ending in any destination in any part of the country, regardless of duration.
For instance, we are able to offer longer tours to the following areas:
Testimonials from clients"The people in the Inverness area all seem friendly, I think I chose the right place to stay and a lovely gentleman who showed me the sights what more could I have asked for." (Mary, USA)
"Thank you so much for a great trip - we really appreciated the time that you put into organising the itinerary and found the day most interesting." (June, England) "You were the catalyst in making the tour a success from the selection the bookings and the execution. Thank you so much. You did a splendid job, a sentiment shared by all. We enjoyed your company and are very grateful for all your efforts and detail that went into those three wonderful days." (Lou, Canada) "George Munro was wonderful! He was very accomodating to our wishes and gave us lots of information (printed and verbal) but not so overwhelming that it became boring. I had mentioned that I wanted to see a field of heather and he not only took us to one but sent me home (back to the ship) with a branch that I enjoyed until we left the ship. He was a big part of why we felt that Inverness was one of our favorite ports!" (Sylvia, USA) Excellent weather, Beautiful Place and the best of all is our tour guide - George Munro. We enjoyed our visit so much. A simple ‘thank you’ hardly seems good enough just now in light of all we have experienced with you. Thank you very much for taking such good care of us. We felt like touring the highlands with a member of our own family. It was truly beautiful and unique tour. You are a wonderful person, and I appreciate that you planned our tour to take advantage of good weather. We loved each and every place we saw from Inverness (Loc Ness) to Isle of Skye . It was altogether like seeing heaven on earth. I would definitely rate this as the best tour in my lifetime. (Siva, Soumya & Family, India) I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our trip to Loch Ness, Skye and Lochaber with you. From the moment you picked us up from the airport we were off to a great adventure. Your knowledge of the area and culture was quite amazing and you had a great way off making us feel like we were travelling with a long time friend. I can't help but feel we returned with a "Wee bit" of Scottish spirit in our souls. (Debora, USA) Your local knowledge is fantastic, one of the best guides we have ever had. I just wish you were available for the rest of our trip. Our Daughter is coming over here next year so we will advise her to contact you. (Ajit, India) "On our tour of malt whisky distilleries, George Munro was our tour guide, his knowledge of the area and of the distilleries he chose for us to visit was outstanding. He was punctual,nothing was too much trouble for him. I would thoroughly recommend this tour and guide." (Ian, Wales) “We both want to thank you for the great day we had with you. We speak about it so often since we have arrived home. We have already shared the bottle of Benromach we took home with our family and just wish we were back to get a refill and visit more distilleries”. (Mark, Boston, USA). My most favorite part of my trip were the Whisky tours I took with George Munro in the Spey Region of the Scottish Highlands... George was very knowledgable about whisky and the region, and we had a great interactive day! I really loved how excited he was about Scotch Whisky and, in turn, he passed that excitement on to me. I went in being quite a whisky novice, but came out knowing more than most of my whisky-loving friends. The combination of three Distilleries he chose enabled me to see every step of the process (since some producers protect certain parts of the process as being "trade secrets"). We learned about the four main types of Scotch Whisky and how the color and flavors are imparted. The tastings were wonderful! (Rick, Indianapolis, USA) You certainly enriched our short experience of Scotland. Best wishes to you and your whiskey tour business, we’ll be sure to look you up next time we’re in the area. (Ramond, USA) Many thanks also for yesterday which we enjoyed hugely. It was great for us to see the area with someone who knows it so well and is such excellent company. We'll certainly sing your praises to any one heading this way, and hope to be back ourselves before too long. (Gordon, Australia) We had a great time with you and sincerely appreciated your taking such good care of us—the ladies appreciated the shortbread and I must say Mickey and I ate our fair share as well. We will have to come back and let you take us around once again as we fell in love with the Highlands. (Lowell, New Mexico, USA) |
