Grand Tour of Scotland by Train Traveller Reviews

Our train trip started in Glasgow in an extremely comfortable boutique hotel. We then caught trains and ferries from Glasgow to Edinburgh from Edinburgh to Aberdeen and the Shetland Islands and ending in Manchester. During this wonderful experience we rode the Harry Potter train, visited Skye, Orchney Islands, Balmoral Castle the Comedy Festival in Edinburgh and more highlights to numerous to mention. During this journey McKinnlay Kidd accommodated us in Manor Houses and boutique hotels who were always very attentive to our needs. They supplied top class tour guides and transfers from trains to accommodation. These were always on time and could not do enough to make our experience welcoming. We found travelling by train to be very relaxing and gave us an insight into Scotland that we had not enjoyed before as we have travelled by road on previous trips. The highlights of this extensive trip gave us a better understanding of the Scottish people as we travelled with them on country and commuter trains and communed with them in small country villages as well as the larger cities of course. Having done this trip this way we now have list of places that we would like to return to and of course the many photos and memories. Thank you McKinnley Kidd - John and Diane

As we are retired and travel extensively each year and quite often do our own research and bookings, we found Tom Hamilton of McKinnley Kidd to be one of the best and most attentive consultants we have come across. Our emails, phone calls and questions were always attended to promptly with insight to our particular needs and requests.

14 days of train, ferry, and boat travel with stays in eight wonderful places.

McKinlsy Kidd. Hands down the best tour operator in the UK.

The Grand Tour by train: West Coast, Skye, across to Inverness, up to the Orkneys, Caingorms, Pitlochry.

Courteous, friendly, attention to detail, faultless logistics, excellent choices of accommodation.......and they get you out of a hole when you leave your bag on the train!!

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We took a train tour of Scotland, with tickets, connections, accommodation and several day trips all included by McKinley Kidd.. It provided us with the advantages of touring individually without the stress of sorting out accommodation and planning the best places to visit.

Very competent, obviously highly knowledgeable regarding places to visit and to stay. They provided a faultless service.

My wife and I chose this tour because we wanted to visit some of the more remote locations of Scotland. We ended up staying at nine different properties and going on two organized tours in Skye and Orkney. The properties were amazing and the meals were gourmet quality. Our transportation, whether by train, ferry or taxi was well coordinated and reliable for the most part. The 15 day tour itself was self guided for the majority of the time, which gave us the freedom to explore our interests. Everything went like clockwork with very little issue. We came away feeling that we saw and experienced much of rural Scotland.

McKinlay Kidd is known for backing up their product and solving issues in an expedient manner. Their tours are well organized and coordinated with great itineraries. They research and select only the best and highly rated accommodations, tour operators and transportation services. I felt confident in receiving the best this company had to offer.

As I don't like being with a bus load of 40 plus tourists, I found the train tour suited our needs. The train stops were at a place of interest, the accommodation was 4 star, the hosts were welcoming, the food was great and the guides we had on day tours were very knowledgeable about their area.

Chris, our tour organiser, was very accommodating in organising our tour to suit the dates and time we requested to fit in with our other travel arrangements even though it meant rearranging the set itinerary. He kept us informed regularly.

Returning to my birthplace was was a great experience. Self guided tour with detailed times and trains made everything very simple. McKinley provided all tickets for trains and ferries with booked seats and chose excellent hotels.

Very helpful and approachable.

Our holiday was very well planned from beginning to end! McKinley Kidd was prompt in addressing all inquires ( and there were many)! And assisted in additional transportation needs. It was a lovely holiday, unforgettable experience. Scotland captured our hearts!

We had five excellent taxi/tour guides. They were very knowledgeable about all the history of the area we were visiting. They brought their own delightful personalities to the experience and captured our interest throughout the day.

It was 14 wonderful days/nights and every one was fabulous. We stayed at wonderful B&B's, guest houses, and a small hotel. We had excursions to Rum, Orkney & rode the Jacobite Steam Train, had a private driver on Skye and Orkney. From Glasgow to Spean Bridge, Arasaig, Skye, Inverness, Thurso, Orkney, Kingussie, Pitlochry, to Edinburg excellence every day. It was an incredible 2 weeks that passed much too quickly.

McKinlay Kidd provided excellent service, a well organized trip, all documents (tickets, vouchers, itinerary) necessary were provided. All questions prior to booking were answered in a timely manner. (We live in the USA). Communication was excellent. The properties we were booked into were vetted and were wonderful. A fantastic job by McKinlay Kidd and big thanks to Chris Stewart.

Our two and a half week tour through the Highlands of Scotland was by train, with boat trips out to the Isle of Rhum, and to the Orkneys. All bookings were made by McKinlay Kidd and were impeccably organised. This included accommodation in remarkable and well chosen historic homes, or small hotels.

Faultless organisation. They presented us with copious notes about what to look out for at each stage of the trip.