Thank goodness I wasn’t the one doing the driving.
Our Globus motorcoach was winding alongside the banks of one of the vital lovely lakes on the earth, Scotland’s iconic Loch Lomond, providing me and 40 different vacationers on board beautiful views of the mountain-framed, island-dotted waterway.
But when I had been within the driver’s seat, I by no means would have gotten the possibility to see it.
The slim, curvy highway alongside these “bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond,” because the well-known line within the Scottish ballad goes — “bonnie” being the Scottish phrase for good-looking — was the kind the place a driver cannot look away for a second.
As I shortly found on the six-night Globus tour of Scotland that I used to be on, lots of the nation is like that.
From its hovering highlands to its rugged coasts, Scotland is a spot the place getting round usually means navigating fabulously twisty roadways with sharp bends, blind spots and steep inclines — all whereas driving on the left aspect of the highway.
For those who’re an American like me, used to driving on the precise and on extra-wide interstate highways, it is most likely not the type of motoring that you simply need to do. No less than, that was what saved popping into my head as our impressively regular driver, Kenny, masterfully maneuvered us via the mountainous glens and moors.
It is only one motive that, a bit to my shock, I quickly discovered myself loving this tour — my first group tour in years, not simply with Globus, however any tour firm.
A rigorously curated exploration
Let’s simply handle the elephant within the room immediately: Group excursions have … a sure popularity. Some folks, together with me till not too long ago, have considered them as being too structured or too jam-packed.
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However what I discovered with Globus was totally different. My guided tour consisted of thoughtfully designed days that allow me see extra with out the stress or exhaustion of going it alone.
After per week of crisscrossing Scotland with Globus, one of many world’s greatest tour operators, I’ve a brand new appreciation for group excursions. In actual fact, you may simply name me a fan. And that is a giant swap for me, as till this journey, I used to be firmly within the camp of group-tour skeptic.
It is not simply that I did not need to do any of the driving.
It had simply as a lot (or much more) to do with how a lot I acquired to see.
To be on a modern-day group tour, as I quickly realized — a minimum of, one with Globus — is to be on a visit meticulously crafted to maximise each second of your time within the vacation spot in a approach that may allow you to expertise extra and be taught greater than you’ll touring by yourself.
The primary full day of the journey, for example, included a morning tour of Glasgow, Scotland’s largest metropolis (the place we had spent the evening) and a ship journey on Loch Lomond (which is almost 50 miles to the north), plus a number of hours exploring Scotland’s iconic Stirling Fortress (one other 40 miles to the east) and a whisky tasting at a close-by distillery earlier than a 30-mile drive again to Glasgow.
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TPG’s Gene Sloan at Stirling Fortress in Scotland. GENE SLOAN/THE POINTS GUY
The second day of the journey was much more loaded with websites as we headed north into the mountainous splendor that’s the Scottish Highlands: the impossibly scenic Glen Coe valley (which famously served because the setting for James Bond’s property within the film “Skyfall”), the celebrated Isle of Skye and the fairy tale-like Eilean Donan Fortress, to call a couple of.
There isn’t any approach I might have executed all that in two days of touring by myself.
Actually, I could not even have conceived of doing all that by myself. And that is coming from somebody who travels for a residing.
The second day, which ended with an in a single day keep in “Outlander” filming location Inverness, concerned almost 260 miles of journey on a winding route that may have taken almost seven hours to drive with no stops. I undoubtedly would by no means have deliberate something like that by myself … a minimum of, not now, on the age of 56, with my stamina for lengthy stints behind the wheel beginning to wane. It could have been simply an excessive amount of driving.
However with our driver, Kenny, on the wheel and our educated information, Gavin, main the touring, it was one among my favourite days of the journey.
It was one among my favourite days, in no small half, as a result of Globus had seemingly thought via each minute upfront in nice element. It was crammed with completely timed stops that gave us simply sufficient time to see what we got here for with out feeling rushed — by no means too lengthy, by no means too quick.
At occasions, it was like watching a fantastic ballet. Each second choreographed to perfection.
That was definitely the case after we pulled as much as the ferry to get to the Isle of Skye proper because it was about to depart — not 10 minutes early, not 10 minutes late. Or, after we had simply sufficient time on the way in which to the ferry for a photograph cease at Glenfinnan, the lakeside website the place “the Younger Pretender,” Bonnie Prince Charlie, started the nice revolt of Scottish clans in 1745.
Full disclosure: I, and most of my fellow tourgoers, spent most of our time at Glenfinnan snapping selfies on the close by practice viaduct made well-known within the movie “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and techniques.”
Whenever you’re in Scotland, there are priorities.
Talking of which, a brief cease alongside the banks of Loch Ness — the lake of Loch Ness Monster fame — was additionally artfully labored into the schedule that very same day. You’ll be able to’t go to Scotland with out gazing over Loch Ness.
Alas, there was no Nessie sighting.
5 minutes for that cease was all we wanted. There have been extra sights to see and expertise.
Guided by an skilled
One of many the explanation why we had been capable of see a lot on the tour was that our information, Gavin, set the scene with tales and historical past as we moved from place to put, so by the point we arrived at every vacation spot, we might dive proper in and join extra deeply with it.
On the highway to Loch Lomond, he regaled us with the story of the 2 Scottish rebels behind the centuries-old ballad that had made the lake so well-known — and performed the music for us — earlier than we arrived. On the way in which to Stirling Fortress, he recounted the dramatic exploits of William Wallace, who led the Scots to an epic victory over the English in 1297 on the river crossing slightly below it (for those who’ve seen the primary massive battle scene in Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart,” you understand what I am speaking about), in addition to the citadel’s most well-known resident, Mary Queen of Scots.
To journey via Scotland is to not solely expertise a number of the most lovely countryside you will discover anyplace on the earth — significantly within the little-populated highlands — however to be immersed in historical past. And Gavin, a self-described lover of historical past, expertly wove it into his commentary between stops every day in a approach that gave us a deeper understanding.
By the point we reached the well-known battlefield of Culloden on the third day of the journey, we knew all concerning the trials and tribulations of not simply Bonnie Prince Charlie — whose defeat on the website in 1746 modified the course of British historical past — however William Wallace, Mary Queen of Scots, Robert the Bruce and all the numerous kings named James whose exploits over the centuries led as much as that fateful day.
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Gavin provides an outline of the battle of Culloden. GENE SLOAN/THE POINTS GUY
For those who’re an aficionado of Scottish historical past — or simply an “Outlander” fan who made it to Season 3 — you already know all about Culloden, which is just like the Gettysburg of Scotland.
I used to be particularly wanting to see the positioning. Like many thousands and thousands of Individuals — from former President Barack Obama to Taylor Swift — I’ve Scottish ancestry, together with a seventh-great-grandfather who supposedly was on the battle. So, the story that Gavin wove of the horrible bloodbath of Scots that came about there was significantly poignant.
And simply the correct quantity. Gavin talked to us concerning the battle for only some minutes. However then he allow us to wander, giving me time to stroll throughout the as soon as blood-soaked moor and ponder what it will have been like for my ancestor to be there that day.
Straightforward journey
One of many knocks on group excursions, as famous above, is that you simply generally do not have lots of flexibility in what you do on any given day. The schedule has been set upfront, and also you generally do not have a lot selection however to tag alongside for no matter is deliberate, whether or not you need to or not — a minimum of, on the times when your motorcoach will likely be taking you from website to website on the way in which to a brand new lodge in a brand new location. Skip the tour, and also you’re skipping your transportation to your subsequent vacation spot.
That is all truthful to some extent. However there’s an necessary flip aspect to that — one thing you do not completely get till you attempt a tour. It is not limiting; it is liberating. With the whole lot dealt with, touring this fashion might be one of many best, most easy methods to journey.
It is easy since you mainly do not have to think about a factor. Any person else has considered all of the little (and large) particulars of the journey, from which websites are the must-sees in each place you are going to the place you will keep, the place you will eat and the way you will get in between all of it.
I cherished that every morning of our journey, I mainly simply needed to get myself up in time for the motorcoach’s departure. Gavin would take it from there.
The whole lot that we did and noticed for the remainder of the day was in his fingers.
After we stopped for lunch breaks — lunches weren’t included on the tour — Gavin at all times had suggestions on the place to go. No want for me to scramble to discover a place.
After we pulled into a brand new lodge — one thing we did 4 occasions over six days as we moved from Glasgow to Inverness to Aberdeen to Edinburgh — Gavin had the keys to our rooms ready on a desk within the foyer. There was no must verify in.
After we had free time, Gavin made positive it was significant, pointing us towards the perfect outlets for tartan scarves or whiskies so we did not waste a minute.
Maybe extra importantly, Gavin additionally dealt with all of the logistics of moving into the websites that we visited, together with particular entry, in some circumstances. At Scone Palace close to Perth, the place Scottish kings had been topped for hundreds of years, he led us to a again entrance for a personal tea in one of many palace rooms earlier than a guided tour. Throughout a go to to St Andrews, the enduring golf mecca, he took us to the driving vary at one of many city’s well-known programs to whack a couple of balls. Baskets of balls and drivers had been ready for us alongside a row of tee bins.
And it was Gavin — and Globus — that acquired us quick access to what might have been the spotlight of the journey: a night on the Royal Edinburgh Navy Tattoo.
The world-famous extravaganza of army band and drill crew performances on the base of Edinburgh Fortress — full with extra bagpipers than you might think about — was each bit as sensational as I used to be anticipating. I imply, who does not love bagpipers? However I am unsure I might have gone via the trouble of getting tickets if I had been by myself.
If I had, I am fairly positive I would not have snagged seats within the eighth row, like those that Gavin had for us.
As famous above, our journey was notably filled with numerous actions, and that generally required early begins to the day. However that was the trade-off for becoming in Scotland’s massive highlights in a short while.
For the document, Globus additionally provides lots of journeys that unfold at a a lot slower tempo, with extra free time in every vacation spot. As a brief tour of Scotland, my six-night journey was marked by frequent transfers between cities and lodges. The thought was to see all of the nation’s highlights in just some days — and on that observe, the tour delivered mightily — however the model additionally provides longer explorations of Scotland (and different locations) that carry fewer strikes between lodges and extra time by yourself. Globus provides journeys that embrace extra selection in actions, with a number of choices for outings on some days, too.
The thought is that you would be able to decide the fashion of journey that matches the way you wish to journey.
A largely inclusive getaway
On the floor, the price of guided excursions with Globus may appear excessive, however whenever you take a look at all that is included within the costs, they will provide lots of worth.
Offseason departures of the six-night “Bonnie Scotland” itinerary that I did begin at $2,399 per individual, based mostly on two folks staying in a room. In different phrases, you will pay a minimum of $800 a day per couple.
Excessive-season departures for such journeys might be much more. Beginning charges for departures of the identical itinerary in August, after I did the tour, begin at $3,079 per individual — or about $1,000 per day, per couple.
However the charges bundle lots of issues that you simply’d sometimes pay for individually for those who had been reserving a visit like this by yourself. Along with a lodge room every evening, the pricing for my journey folded in fairly a couple of meals (breakfast every day, plus dinner on three of the six nights), transportation from place to put (no want for a rental automotive or for paying the exorbitant charges for gasoline in Europe) and, maybe most notably, an intensive quantity of guided touring with all admission prices coated.
The latter is not any small factor, given how a lot the price of admission to castles, palaces and exhibits just like the Royal Edinburgh Navy Tattoo alone can add up on a visit like this. The seats that we had on the Edinburgh Tattoo that had been included in our tour would have price us about $115 apiece if we had booked them on our personal, for example.
However to me, the worth was even deeper than all of that. One of many massive financial savings from signing up for a tour like this, to me, was in the price of my time. What number of hours would I’ve spent attempting to rearrange a visit with so many transferring components by myself? What’s my time value? And, provided that I am no skilled within the historical past and websites of Scotland, nor its transportation system or lodging choices, what are the percentages that I might have gotten it proper? There isn’t any exhausting greenback quantity on that, however it’s one thing massive.
Backside line
After this Globus tour of Scotland, I can see why so many individuals develop into followers of guided group excursions.
As I noticed on the journey, there’s something fantastic about simply sitting again and letting another person take cost of the whole lot associated to a visit, from route planning and lodge reserving to buying timed tickets for websites and arranging transportation and guides.
As common readers know, I’ve spent a lot of my profession as a journey author centered on cruise journey, which, at its core, is group journey in one other kind. However whilst I’ve traveled the world on ships, I’ve at all times prided myself on making my very own preparations when on the land portion of my journeys. A lot of my private journey has been by myself.
I’ll admit to being shocked by how a lot I loved letting another person fear concerning the particulars on this Scotland journey. And for those who join one thing comparable, you simply could be, too.
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