Day Trip to Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park with Optional Stirling Castle Tour from Edinburgh
Description
Take a small-group day trip from Edinburgh to the beautiful Scottish Highlands and get to know Loch Lomond, Trossachs National Park and Stirling Castle. The remote region is home to spectacular natural scenery with picturesque dales, mountains and lochs as well as quaint villages. After visiting the banks of Loch Lomond and exploring the Trossachs National Park, continue to the city of Stirling. Discover Stirling Castle on a tour (entrance own expense), and then return to Edinburgh via a stop at the Kelpies.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We depart Edinburgh and head for the stunning Kelpies, the world's largest equine sculptures dedicated to the horse-powered heritage of Central Scotland, designed by Andy Scott. They also celebrate the mythological transforming beasts living in our lochs, rivers and streams, who possess the strength and endurance of 100 horses.
Head west through Scotland's central belt towards the ‘Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond’ where we take time at Balmaha to admire views of Ben Lomond. Here, you will have the opportunity to go on a woodland walk that will afford you great views of the loch. Standing on its bank you will understand why Loch Lomond has been immortalised in a world-famous song.
The afternoon is spent exploring Stirling. Take the chance to discover impressive Stirling Castle, one of Scotland’s most important structures both historically and architecturally. Many royals have been crowned at Stirling Castle, including Mary Queen of Scots, and it was central to William Wallace’s fight in the Wars of Independence. Alternatively, explore Stirling, geographically one of the most significant towns in Scottish history, before returning to Edinburgh.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children under 5 years old, including infants who do not require a seat, are not permitted to travel. We are unable to accommodate any child under the age of 5.
- It is recommended to book transport to the departure point in advance. Please also allow extra time to get to the departure point for check-in. We advise you arrive at least 15 minutes before the tour departure to allow time to check-in for the tour. Unfortunately, we are unable to hold the bus or refund for any late arrivals.
- Return times are approximate and subject to road conditions and weather. Please ensure you allocate sufficient time for any onward travel plans, allowing at least 3 hours after the scheduled return time for connections or activities.
- Due to vehicle availability, there may be instances where this tour runs on a bigger bus
- The tour may operate with our sister company, HAGGiS Adventures.
- The order of the itinerary route is subject to change.
- If downloading an audio guide, remember to bring your headset.
Reviews(672)
Alistair was a great guide. We went with our 5 year son and it was very comfortable for him as well.
Excellent trip . Fascinating & Ryan our guide was brilliant
Very nice excursion!! Torva was a very pleasant guide, with a lot of humor! Being French, there are certain subtleties that we could not understand, but the audio guide provided us with a lot of information even if it does not always synchronize at the right moment. We would have appreciated a bit more time at Loch Lomond, but it remains a very good activity :)
The day trip to Loch Lomond and especially Stirling Castle was excellent. Our guide Torva was informative and did a great job of providing histories and legends of the places and areas we visited.
My mother and I arrived outside the Tour operators office at 8:45 for the 1-Day Kelpies, Loch Lomond, and Stirling castle tour. We were shown to our bus where we met Graeme. It’s clear that Graeme enjoys his job as he was friendly, personable, knowledgeable, honest, and funny. He made our tour fascinating and pointed out so many great sights and sounds, including a stop at the Forth Bridges viewpoint before heading back to Edinburgh. He was also conscious of timing and comfort breaks too. We enjoyed his company and he drove us around very safely. There were a variety of different people on our tour, mainly couples, but also a family. It was quite intimate as there were only 14 people on our trip which was a manageable number. Would highly recommend this tour, as it covers Scotland’s history and mythical stories and folklore. A must for those who enjoy art, architecture, nature, and history.
A fantastic tour; Ryan, our guide, was very engaging, told us very interesting things, and showed us beautiful places. Totally recommended.
It was super beautiful and informative. The day flew by
The tour was great! I chose this tour because it gave us more time at Loch Lomond than the other tours I looked at. And even with the extra time, it still went by so fast, which made me glad I picked this one. I feel like the other tours would have been more about taking pictures than actually enjoying the nature. Our guide, Sophie, was great too! I loved her voice and her way of speaking.
Our guide Gravel was very interesting; our English is not very good, and we did not understand all the subtleties!
Excellent day trip from Edinburgh to see The Kelpies, Loch Lomond and Stirling Castle. Loved the small group. At all locations we were able to wander around. Graeme was a great guide telling us history and stories as we drove through the countryside. We had 3 hours in Stirling which was perfect. Plenty of time to eat and take the hour tour offered at the castle and still have time to wander yourself. Highly recommend.
