1 Day Isle Of Skye And Scottish Highlands Tour

The cows were adorable staff was friendly and let us grab a coffee before they opened would definitely recommend

At the very first stop of my full-day Inverness-to-Isle-of-Skye tour, we got off the coach to take pictures of Urquhart Castle. The driver told us we had 10 minutes. I started a timer as I got off the bus. I returned to the parking area within that time. At approximately the 8–9 minute mark, I watched the coach leave. I ran after it waving my arms and was directly behind it as it turned onto the highway, but the driver did not see me. All of my belongings were still on the coach, including my wallet and warm clothing. There was essentially no mobile signal at Urquhart Castle, so my attempts to call and email the company did not successfully reach them. I waited in the rain until a public bus arrived and eventually made my own way back toward Inverness. What concerns me even more than being left behind is what happened afterward. Approximately six hours later, I finally received a message from the tour asking me to return to the coach. Until then, the tour had apparently continued through the Highlands and onto Skye without anyone realizing that one of its 11 passengers had been missing since the first stop. When I met the coach back in Inverness that evening to retrieve my belongings, the driver explained to me that he had mistakenly been counting for 10 passengers rather than 11. That apparently explains why subsequent passenger counts did not identify that I was missing. The company has since emphasized that it did not receive my attempts to contact them and says that, had it known, it could have tried to arrange transportation for me to rejoin the tour. I accept that poor mobile reception may explain why my initial communications failed. But I don't think that addresses the fundamental problem: a passenger should not have to alert a tour company that its coach has departed without them. Accounting for everyone before leaving a stop is supposed to prevent that situation in the first place. And by the time reliable communication was possible, the coach was already hours ahead. Rejoining it could not have restored much of the Skye tour I had already missed. To the company's credit, The Hairy Coo apologized and gave me a full refund. I subsequently asked whether they would consider any additional goodwill compensation for losing what was the centerpiece of my Highlands trip. They declined, saying the refund was all they were prepared to offer. I understand that the original mistake was human error, and I have nothing personally against the driver. But being left behind at the first stop of an all-day tour, with my belongings still aboard, followed by the tour continuing for approximately six hours without realizing that one of 11 passengers was missing, is something I think prospective customers should know about.

Was a great day on Isle of Skye! We had an opportunity to see a lot of different places. Our tour guide was friendly and had a lot of funny stories.

5* for the guide! 5* for the experience/the trip! 4* for the comfort on the bus. 3* for not having a bottle of water to the passengers. 3* for the price.

Skye is beautiful and the driver was pleasant, but lacked any knowledge of the area. There seemed to o be a lot of back tracking and a lot of time on the bus. We saw the features described, but this could be organized in a more efficient way, and stop at more viewpoints and break up the time on the bus.

It was a long day but well worth it. Our second tour with Hairy Coo company and did not disappoint. Comfortable seats each with charging plugs. Our great driver/guide Ross did a great job showing us the island with some really tricky roads to maneuver! Such beautiful scenery and great stops for refreshments and breaks! Highly recommended!

My daughter and I joined a group on a 3 day tour - we were there just for day 2 - the Driver/Guide John welcomed us (as did the others on the trip) - and off we went for a nearly 12 hour outing that, despite some messy weather, hit the exact mark for what we were hoping for - we learned a lot, John provided lots of context (and some humor), there was lots of time to just take in what we were seeing, and we still got 10k steps in at the various stops, plus a great meal in Portree - I can't recommend it enough, and I'd definitly do another tour w Hairy Coo next time I'm able!

saw a lot of the Isle of Skye and had a great time! Guide was very good and it added to our Scotland experience:)

Peter gave a great tour! Loved his music and stories. He was very funny and you can tell he knows a lot about Scotland! Would come back!

There were lots of issues with this tour. First, we didn't realize that we were joining on day 2 of a 3 day bus trip. We got on the bus early so we could get a good seat, but 2 minutes prior to the bus departing a family got on and wanted their seats from the day before. Secondly we wasted at least 50 minutes waiting for people throughout the day to get back on the bus after each stop. The bus driver should have nipped that in the bud the first time it happened. I have been on tours that people were left because they didn't show up back on the bus on time. This makes it very clear to everyone. Because of this we didn't get as much time on the second half of the trip to explore on our own where most of the beautiful scenery is located.

We booked a day tour and got so lucky with our guides Lucky and Craig! It was such a fun day and we got to see the beautiful highlands of Scotland. I’ve never had so much fun on a tour day and I’ve traveled all over the world!

Isle of Skye is beautiful and our driver Allen was super knowledgeable and friendly. A lot of things packed into a one day trip. On and off the bus frequently for quick stops- great if you are short on time. If you want to take your time with the views on isle of Skye do a longer trip!

Had a great time with my best friend! Allen was an amazing co-host, story-teller, and funny. We were able to get an unscheduled highland cow visit on the ride home! Fraser was a perfect co-host and absolutely amazing driver through the highlands and twisty narrow streets. Even had an impromptu sing-along to the Proclaimers, which granted my friend, myself and Fraser seemed to be the most excited and vocal about. If you can get these two on your tour, would highly recommend them! The views were incredible and I loved hearing about the history we were traveling alongside. Even on a cloudy, rainy day, Scotland is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Lucky was very informative. Fun. Stayed on schedule. Clean van. I would recommend this tour. Celebrated my Founder's Day and birthday! Solo trip!