Glen Strathfarrar is our new ‘favourite place to go’ in the local area. If you’ve heard about Glen Affric but would like to avoid the rest of the tourists then you’ve got to come and join us up Glen Strathfarrar!

The scenery in Glen Strathfarrar is just stunning – with birch forests, remnants of the  ancient Caledonian pine forest, beautiful rivers and large lochs (damned for hydro power).   There is so much open space it is easy to think that you have the whole glen to yourself. Indeed – in the rare occasion you pass another car it comes to a bit of a shock to the system!  They limit the amount of people they let up the Glen (it’s a private road with a locked gate) – this helps keep others at bay.If you want to see great scenery plus visit a place where most tourists never venture, then join us on a fantastic trip to Glen Strathfarrar from Inverness!

Orkney 2 Day Tour from Inverness

We felt that there was something missing from our tour departures last year so we decided to launch a brand new tour from Inverness to Orkney! This is a fantastic tour full of amazing scenery, fascinating history and incredible wildlife.

You can choose to travel from as little as 2 days although you may wish to extend that to spend more time on the island (and to enjoy the some of the sights on the way up and down on). It is also possible to include a visit to Shetland on your tour as well if you have more time.

Fore more information on this fantastic tour to Orkney check out the tour description here – Inverness to Orkney tour description

Ok – we don’t like to hype things up too much but we think we’ve come up with a winner with this tour. We regularly get asked by our clients to do a 2 day trip to Edinburgh taking in all the main sights including Loch Ness, Eilean Donan Castle, Skye, Glenfinnan and Glencoe. Whilst this is (technically) possible, the amount of driving involved makes it unfeasible…..until now!

Here is how it works. You travel up in comfort on the early train from Edinburgh to Inverness. This a beautiful train journey passing through the Cairngorm National Park and there is lots to see en-route. After 3.5 relaxing hours we pick you up from the station in Inverness and we embark on a day trip to remember visiting Inverness, Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, Eilean Donan Castle, Skye (plus other places such as Culloden Battlefield and Clava Cairns if you so wish).

At the end of the day we drop you in Armadale where you catch the ferry over the seas from Skye to Mallaig where you spend the evening. Day 2 is a day of self-discovery, although as you will be on the train there is no chance of getting lost! The journey takes you through stunning scenery (it has been voted the best train journey in the world) including Glenfinnan and the world famous Glenfinnan Viaduct (as seen on Harry Potter!) , Rannoch Moor, Loch Lomond and Glencoe. There is also a chance to get off and explore Glasgow.

So if you really do want to see everything why not consider this amazing tour!

Get in touch for details.

Anyone who has been on a WOW Scotland tour will know how passionate I am about our native forests (especially if you’ve been on our Glen Affric trip). So when I was offered to chance to go and help out Trees for Life for a day I jumped at the chance. For those of you that aren’t familiar with Trees for Life, they are a conservation charity which is helping preserve and indeed regenerate out native forests (sadly most of the forests in Scotland consist of non-native conifers).

The day began at 9am in Inverness where I met Mick and Colin from Trees for Life and fellow volunteer Nicki from London. We drove up to Glen Affric (one of the last bastions of the once mighty Caledonian Pine Forest) where the task for the day was repairing fenced enclosures where aspen trees had been planted and protecting saplings that were growing elsewhere in the forest. This is important work as it helps the forest regenerate and stops hungry deer from munching on the trees or using them to mark their territory by scratching (and killing) them with their antlers.

Through my work as a tour guide and mountain leader I already had extensive knowledge about Glen Affric although I learned so much from Mick and Colin who had seemingly endless amounts of knowledge and I am looking forward to using this new information on my tours. In addition to the aspens, we also protected rowan, oak and hazel trees and learned about the evils of bracken (I am now an ardent bracken brasher – they prevent new trees from growing!). We even got to plant some trees and I am hopefully going to do more to help by popping in in summer during our hiking tours to check up on the enclosures and making sure they are clear of bracken.

If you want to find out more about the valuable work Trees for Life do check out their website. They rely heavily on donations for the work they do so if you don’t get a chance to go and help you could also give them a few pounds to help them with their work!

It’s not often that things get cheaper, but that is exactly what we’ve done here at WOW Scotland meaning our fantastic tours are now even better value!

We’ve kept our prices for summer the same as before, although for those booking at other times of the year you will save between £50 – £75 per tour meaning a full-day’s guided tour with one of Scotland’s top guides can be yours from only £220 per day. Why waste money renting car, filling up with petrol and getting lost when you can have an expert guide do all the work for  you!

This is just another little thing that will make you say ‘WOW’ when you book a tour with WOW Scotland!

If you are planning to come to the Scottish Highlands this year with your kids this year, you are in for a real treat! In this blog post I am going to outline some of the best ways to enjoy your time in the Highlands and ways in which we can help make your holiday even better.

1.Dont’ rely on Googlemaps!

Scotland is a small country although our narrow country roads often slow your average speed down to 30 mph or less. There are also so many places to stop en-route. This means that seemingly short distances can take much longer than anticipated, increasing the likelihood of kids moaning. For example, if you want to visit Loch Ness and Skye from Edinburgh, take a week to do so and stop everywhere en-route so you can enjoy your experience rather than having to constantly drive!

2.Local Knowledge is Key

Use forums such as TripAdvisor or WOW Scotland’s new forum to find out information from the locals. Also, when you are in Scotland, ask your hosts at your guest house or hotels for their opinion. Of course, you could always use a service such as WOW Scotland’s tour itinerary planning or take a custom built tour.

3.Do your research

Scotland is a fascinating country and a little bit of knowledge can help bring history to life. A pile of stones in the field might be an abandoned village, where 200 years ago the villagers were forced off the land; a historic building in Edinburgh may have been the inspiration for J.K Rowling while writing the Harry Potter series and a distant hill may have been the stronghold of a Pictish King. If you want help with this you could always get a self-guided itinerary or get a guided tour.

4.Keep it simple

Some of the most fun can be head by doing easy things! Stopping off at a beautiful river and throwing stones can keep kids occupied for a good hour as can playing hide and seek in a forest. These are the type of things we love including in tours!

5.Harry Potter

It doesn’t matter how old your kids are – the chances are they are going to love Harry Potter. So, if you are visiting Highlands of Scotland why not go on Harry Potter stream train as seen on the film?! Alternatively, you can go on the same line but pay considerably less by going on the regular Scotrail service. We run tours from Inverness to the Harry Potter steam train – get in touch for details!

Following the successful launch of our Inverness Walking tour last year, we are glad to announced that it’s going to be back in 2012! Our first tour of the year was today, and we had a very special guest in the form of an editor from the highly respected Food and Travel magazine. Hopefully she will add another article about our walking tour, to complement those we have already received from the Coast Magazine and the Inverness Courier.

The Inverness Walking tour is where I get to show you the city that I was born in from a locals perspective and take you back in time to discover what life was like in old Inverness. It is a fascinating glimpse into the heritage of the town and includes subjects such as the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden, the day’s of King Brude (King of the Picts) and of course a full low-down on the history of the Loch Ness monster!

The Inverness Walking tour is run on demand year round and costs just £8 per person (min 2). We have some great deals for groups and families – get in touch for details! To find out more about the tour – visit the Inverness Walking Tour page.

This blog give you tips about the tours offered from cruise ships at Invergordon, independent shore excursions and ways to ‘do it yourself’.

If you are lucky enough to be arriving at Invergordon this year from one of the many cruise ships that are docking here, you’ll probably be looking for ideas of what to do. Hopefully this blog will help you make an informed decision about how best to use your time!

Many passengers arriving at Invergordon decide to take one of the organised shore excursions. These have the benefit of showing all the top sights and they usually have knowledgeable guides on board to describe what you are seeing. The disadvantage of these tours is that you could be sharing with another 50 people so you don’t get a personalised service.

There are also a number of independent tour companies offering tours from Invergordon, such as WOW Scotland.  The benefit of using an independent company is that you will get a much higher level of personalisation and you will  have a lot more interaction with the guide. Here at WOW Scotland no two tours are the same, as we always make sure we tailor the tour to suit the exact needs of our clients, and even have the flexibility to change the itinerary mid-tour. We offer a variety of tours although most people opt for our Classic tour – this gives you a great mix of sights and scenery including Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness.

Depending on what cruise ship you are on, you may pay a small premium to go with an independent tour company, although you may well find it works out cheaper compared to some of the cruise ships own shore excursions. If you are looking for ways to cut down on costs, you could always look for other people to share you tour using sites like Cruise Critic. WOW Scotland also has its own tour share page where you can find fellow passengers.

Some of the cruise ships warn passengers to stay away from independent operators – citing the fact that if you don’t get back in time they won’t let you on the ship. This has never been a problem. Our tours never go further than an hour away from the port (it’s why we don’t offer trips to Skye and the NW Highlands from cruise ships)and as we always get back in plenty of time there is always a back-up in case a problem arises. In rare cases an accident may block the road, although this affects all tours, not just ours, and the boat won’t go if most of its passengers aren’t back!

Of course, for those that are looking to do it themselves, there is always the possibility of getting into Inverness by train or bus, which is a cheaper alternative. Some people choose to stay in Invergordon, and although it has a pretty centre, this won’t occupy more than 20 minutes of your time!

Inverness is a beautiful city although it is very small so you perhaps wouldn’t want to spend more than half a day there. From Inverness it is possible to use public transport to visit Culloden Battlefield although it is a little bit more difficult to get out to Loch Ness (you may consider using a taxi for this part of the trip).

If you are looking for something a bit more adventurous, you may consider renting a bike from Inverness and cycling out to Loch Ness (our tip – head to Dores). This is about a 18 mile return journey although requires good fitness as the road has many hills. However, the view at Dores is really worth the effort!

If you are interested in a DIY day out why not contact us for a self-guided tour itinerary? You let us know what you want to do and we work it out for you!

However, to get the ultimate Highland experience I really recommend booking a WOW Scotland tour – don’t just take our word for it – check out our TripAdvisor reviews as well!

Whatever way you decide to explore the Highlands – I’m sure you’ll have a great time as the Highlands are a fantastic place – enjoy!