Our Scottish Highlands Adventure
32m | Oct 7, 2026You can't see the Highlands in a day. But a small-group day tour from Glasgow can give you a taste of them, and in this episode we tell you what that taste looked like.
We spent about twelve hours in a van with our friends Chris and Sheila, a guide named Keshava, and two other travellers, covering Loch Lomond, Glencoe and the Three Sisters, Fort Augustus on the Caledonian Canal near Loch Ness, a view of Ben Nevis, and a stop to hand-feed Highland coos near Perth. We share what took our breath away (Glencoe in the mist), what we'd plan differently (lunch, lunch, lunch), and why we'd rather do this part of Scotland slowly, by car, over six or seven days.
If you're deciding whether a Highlands day tour is right for your trip, or how to make the most of one, this one's for you.
Timestamps
- 00:00 Welcome and where we are now (Portugal, not Scotland)
- 00:34 Why one day isn't enough for the Highlands
- 01:34 Why we booked a day trip: five or six days in Scotland and a just-returned rental car
- 02:17 The tour: a 12-hour small-group van trip with guide Keshava
- 03:08 What we wanted from the tour: the Highlands, Loch Ness, and Highland coos
- 04:33 Loch Lomond: tea cakes, the famous song, and Lola the dog
- 07:13 Glencoe and the Three Sisters
- 10:39 The most photographed house in Scotland
- 11:41 How a good guide times the day (and dodges the big buses)
- 12:57 Fort Augustus and the Caledonian Canal
- 15:02 The Nessie boat cruise: to cruise or not to cruise
- 16:12 The lunch scramble and Nessie's Monster Mash
- 17:40 What we'd do differently: pack a picnic
- 19:52 Overtourism, and why you should tip your servers
- 20:12 What the boat-cruise passengers found
- 21:23 Loch Leven, the Spean Bridge memorial, and Ben Nevis
- 24:02 The Highland coos near Perth
- 27:17 Our verdict on the tour and on Keshava
- 29:24 Up next: the Glasgow-to-Belfast bus and ferry, and a possible guest
- 30:57 Sign-off and what you'd like to hear about
Important Links
To follow all of our antics and adventures, please visit our social media pages and our website at wwforus.com! You can send us a message at any of these places, and feel free to email us at wandering@wwforus.com
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- Tiktok
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- Looking for a tour guide in Portugal? I have a whole list!
- Blog post for this episode: Highlands Day Trip
- Highlands Experience Tours–the tour group we used
RESOURCES & LINKS
Looking to plan your next trip to Portugal? We can help! Check out our guides and Itineraries at wwforus.com
- Free Lisbon Itinerary
- Packing List
- Essentials for every trip
- Renting a car in Portugal
- Looking for a tour guide in Portugal? I have a whole list!
