Heart Of Scotland Tours

This company only cares about profits. They are heartless and uncaring. The day before our trip my wife fell and fractured her elbow on the Royal Mile. We literally called Heart of Scotland from the Infirmary’s emergency room (the same day and within hours of the accident) to cancel our trip. This company could have cared less. Regardless of the medical records we had, they kept our full payment and refused to give us any sort of refund citing their policy. They said they might be able to give a refund if they could resell our tickets, but big surprise, they couldn’t. After many discussions, they finally said if we were ever back in Scotland they would give us a whopping 50% off if we booked another trip. The injury was so bad we had to spend the night in the infirmary and then fly back to Florida where my wife had a total elbow replacement. Pray you don’t get injured or have to cancel for any reason within 24 hours if you have tickets with this company because they won’t care. There are many good touring companies in Edinburgh and I suggest you use one of them.
Since we were unable to respond to their untruths on trip advisor I would like to address that here, below is a quote from the manager of heart of Scotland tours, in response to our review, he is telling a flat out lie… Quote from manager at heart of Scotland tours «In spite of the customers comments to the contrary, we were naturally very sympathetic to the unfortunate circumstances of the cancellation and to imply the company has applied dishonest business practices is disingenuous to say the least. In the lead up to departure day we turned away several customers because the tour was fully booked…»
This is what really happened… We booked our tickets online Monday April 6 around 10 o’clock in the evening. My wife fell at about 8:30 AM on Tuesday, April 7, We called the company about 9:50 AM (April 7^th) from the Royal infirmary emergency room. So it had not even been 24 hours since we booked those tickets. The company told us that they would refund us if they could really sell the tickets, which «of course» they did not. The tour was scheduled for Wednesday, April 8. So for the manager to say that they turned away several customers in the day before is a straight out lie, if there were that many customers clamoring for the tickets he then doesn’t it stand to reason that he could resell our tickets? Manager lies and company is very uncaring and only cares about their profits.
Please when you visit Edinburg do not use this company there are plenty other reputable establishments to use.

We took Tour 2 (Monarchs, Mountains, & Malt) and it was pretty good. Our tour guide Angela was really fantastic — great attitude & humor and full of interesting information about Scotland past & present. The vehicle was comfortable as well. I just didn’t love the timing of the tour, with the price factored in. We got to Stirling Castle at in-​between times of their tours (and the Heart of Scotland guide doesn’t come with you) so we missed out on their (free with admission) guided tours. I know it was a fantastic tour because we were able to do the first 20 minutes before having to leave to go back to the bus. The castle is beautiful, but walking around on your own just doesn’t give you the appreciation and information that their guided tour can do. Then we spent a forced 30 minutes visiting a tourist trap with Hamish the hairy cow, which could have been done much more quickly. Everyone loses interest after 5 minutes and you’re basically forced into the only other thing in the area, which is a souvenir shop. The real shame is that the lunch stop at Loch Lomond is only 1.5 hours. While that sounds like a lot, lunch took a little over an hour at the only option available (and we ate quickly! just slow service and lots of other tourists on tours at the same time) which left us with a little bit of time to see Loch Lomond. We barely had time to find the walking path (don’t go down to the pier whose path is right next to the lunch place) and up to the viewing point. I was really looking forward to strolling the banks of the bonnie Loch Lomond, but turns out where they stop, there is no option to stroll on/​near it… it’s a road and than a path that takes you up & away to a view point.
My suggestion is that if you aren’t totally attached to visiting a scotch distillery (we were), take the free tour that does all the same stops except the distillery. If this tour was less expensive I’d probably feel more okay with the feeling of being «cheated» of my time/​experience. If you are attached to visiting the distillery (which was very cool and I think a great addition to the experience), then pack your own lunch if you’re into getting to see Loch Lomond. I also wish there could have been some photo stops because the Scottish landscape is something out of a dream (and the sheep are way cuter than in Ireland!).

My parents, Aunt, Uncle and I had a wonderful time on Tour 1 to Loch Ness and the Highlands. We went last month with a few others in the van which made the trip more flexible. Matt, our tour guide, was fabulous throughout the trip and had such a wealth of knowledge about Scotland. Our tour involved a long car ride however Matt was able to tell us all about the love of his country and also share some good Scottish music.
At the end of the trip, Matt was gracious enough to drop all of us to our respective places which was handy as it was cold and windy that evening.
I would definitely go on another Heart of Scotland tour again in the future!

I’m going to be honest, the tour was good, the tour guide was funny and a joy to listen to. We started our day for a coffee stop, the Trossachs Woolen Mills (you can see my review on that), then it was off to the Glen Coe Pass, a beautiful expanse of the highlands, with a bloody history. We stopped for lunch in Onich at the Onich Hotel (also reviewed) then off to Fort Augstus for a cruise on the Loch Ness (reviewed). And once those were out of the way, we stopped shortly to look and photograph the massive Ben Nevis. The only problem I felt is that we were rushed, especially toward the end of the tour when we were supposed to have the option to have dinner in the town of Pitlochry, and instead we only had 30 minutes. The day tour was supposed to last from 8am — 8pm, and we arrived back in Edinburgh at 7.15pm. I don’t know if the guide had something better to do that evening, but as soon as we were out of the van he was outta there like he was on fire.
I would do another tour with this company to compare them, and I would make sure to maybe pick it out with more time in the places we stop at.

Appropriately enough, I [heart] Heart of Scotland Tours.
On our last day in town, we wanted a good parting view of the surrounding area. And so, we went on Heart of Scotland’s Monarchs, Mountains and Malt Tour. The tour was a day-​long and included Stirling Castle, the Trossachs, a distillery, Loch Lohmond (bonus: I got to drive my friend crazy while repeatedly singing about meeting up by the Loch’s bonnie, bonnie banks), and a stop to visit Hamish, the Highland Cow. Overall, an excellent mix of historical sites and natural beauty.
It was a day well spent. We had a small, personable group from all around the globe and quickly made tour-​friends. Our tour guide, Bill was knowledgeable, interesting, and full of wit. He painted a glorious picture of local history and was an all-​around keen guy who seemed genuinely pleased to both enlighten and entertain.
As an added bonus, our tour guide dropped my friend and I off at the airport. That’s right, airport drop-​off service, baby! Although I had already confirmed, that given our tight schedule that day, that we would be able to bring and leave our luggage on the flight, the most I had hoped for was that the driver would be so kind as to drop of us nearer the train station than the original rendezvous point. Expecting a negotiation, I asked for more than I had hoped, as to give room to bargain down. So, imagine my surprise when Bill responded that he’d be happy to drop us off a the airport, given that the rest of the bus didn’t mind. *Swoon* That is the zenith of customer service. My mind is still boggled.
I fell in love with Edinburgh while there and will return. When I do, I will gladly take another Heart of Scotland Tour, the next one up to Loch Ness. Maybe if I ask nicely enough, they’ll permit me a glimpse of Nessie.