Scottish tours operators
 

Can anyone recommend a good operator for small group tours in Scotland? I am looking to do an organized/not self driven tour towards end of July-beginning of August, about a week long, starting or ending in Edinburgh as I have tickets for the Military Tattoo.

I had been looking at this operator https://www.rabbies.com/ and while I love their itineraries, I do not like the way their accommodation arrangements work, I would prefer a tour where accommodation is included.

The only two companies I can think of that do coach tours are National Express and Wallace Arnold and I'm not 100% sure they do tours of Scotland.

Some years ago my parents were looking at a coach tour and asked me to look up the included hotel at the destination. There reviews were very mixed - 1/2 loved the hotel on one trip and 1/2 hated / loathed it.

Turned out the hotel had two wings - one for 'normal' visitors and the other for coach parties. You can guess which group got which wing.

So having to book your own accommodation may be a good thing.

We ran a B&B in Glasgow until recently; according to our guests Rabbies is highly recommended as a tour operator.

It depends on your interests but look at their website for longer tours like this which includes accommodation.

PS: I have no connection with Rabbies. Suggest you phone them - they are very helpful

There is a certain type of hotel associated with 'coach tour', not just in Scotland but the breed is prevalent here.

Long ago, when economic conditions were perhaps different, the original nondescript building will have been massively, and cheaply, extended. Nothing much will have changed since then. The decades-old brown decor will remind you, subtly, under the modern overlay of damp and carpet cleaner, of the time before the smoking ban. The fact that the mattress is the cheapest foam abomination available does not mean that it will have been renewed, ever.

You know what the meals will be like. They will be edible ....-ish ... and predictable, particularly the Scottish breakfast. Meal timings will probably be to suit the hotel, not you. Seeking alternatives may be challenging even if not uneconomic as the hotel may well be on the edge of, or outside, town.

I really would arrange accommodation myself, if I could.

Thanks everyone!

I work in the hotel business, I could write a book on what to expect when staying at a hotel with a coach tour group, lol. I have no rose tinted glasses on and I perfectly know what I will get.
I don't want the bother of dealing with hotel reservations, that is part of the vacation to me.

Thanks farci for the pointer, unfortunately it looks like the only two tours with accommodation included are the whisky trail one (and while I love whisky, peaty ones make me sick) and the Outlander themed one (no thanks).

Will keep looking

Lochs and Glens are another operator, their Artgarten hotel won best hotel in Scotland last year on Tripadvisor. However, they're aimed at customers starting in England and they're not small groups.
I think what you want is quite specialist - and Rabbies is the nearest to your specification.