3cPlatform

You board your flight for the overnight journey to Edinburgh and the beginning of your Highland and Island exploration.

Upon arrival and customs formalities you are met by your driver who takes you on an orientation tour of the city on the way from the airport including a light lunch. Upon arriving at our hotel you have a chance to walk around the neighborhood or relax until dinner.

After breakfast, your guide will be ready to take you on a personalized tour of both the "old" and the "new" city of Edinburgh including Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood House, home to Mary Queen of Scots, The Royal Mile and the famous Princes Street. After lunch the rest of the afternoon is at leisure. This evening you have the chance to savor one of Edinburgh's fine restaurants.

Your driver will be waiting at the hotel to take you to your luxury estate near Fort William. You first head north along the banks of Loch Lomond taking time to stop in Luss to visit the Thistle kilt and bagpipe shop. Your next stop will be Loch Fyne where you have lunch at the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar. After lunch you continue to Ben Nevis which at 4,500 feet is the highest mountain in the United Kingdom. On the way you will pass through Kentallen and Ballacullish which not only provide spectacular views but were the setting for Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Scottish adventure "Kidnapped". Upon arrival at Ben Nevis, you take a gondola ride high up the mountain where there are some walking trails with spectacular views. For the less athletic there is a café. After an hour or so you will descend by the gondola and head for your hotel where you can relax before dinner

After breakfast you head for the pass of Glencoe site of the infamous 1692 massacre of the McDonalds by the Campbells. In more current times, this was the area where portions of the second Harry Potter film were shot. Next to Glencoe is Rannoch Moore which, unlike Glencoe's steep sided Glen is a wide open expanse of moor; you will enjoy the contrast before returning to the hotel for lunch and a leisurely afternoon.

Your journey today starts with a visit to Fort William one of the premier cities in the highlands and gateway to the Caledonian Canal. Passing though the town you head for Mallaig where you board the ferry for the short ride to Skye, the largest and most scenic of the Hebridean Islands. Upon landing you take a tour of the island including lunch before arriving at your hotel which has views overlooking the Sound of Sleat.

Your hotel has its own 42 foot yacht and today it will take you on a nautical tour of Skye and some of the other nearby islands. The owner of the hotel is a master mariner so you are in good hands and can enjoy being under sail and anchoring in a quiet bay to enjoy some fresh bread, various meats and cheeses and a glass or two of wine. You return to port and back to the hotel where a candlelit dinner ends your day on a high note.

You leave Skye and take the bridge over to the mainland. You tour the Loch Ness area before arriving at Speyside, home to almost half the whisky distillers in Scotland. Depending on your time and preference you can stop for a tasting at The Glenlivet where you can have lunch. You then head into the Cairngorm National Park for a walk in the Ancient Caledonian Pine Forest, the last remnants of the original forest. You have a wee dram at Dalwhinnie before arriving at your country house hotel

Your driver will be ready to drive you to the airport for your return flight to the US