Scotland Vacation Ideas

After 15 years of vacationing on small, live-aboard, scuba-diving ships around the world, we wanted our first land-based tour to be extraordinary. We sought a plan to include all drivers, transfers, and hotels, and an itinerary to include private walking and car tours of culturally significant sites and museums. Our goal was to cover, on our first trip to Scotland, the Scottish lowland and highlands, significant city centers, as well as the legendary palaces, lochs, castles, and museums. Moreover, my husband requested we focus on the Pict time period, especially the carved stones, swords, and other fighting devices used throughout the last 3,000 years of Scotland’s “recent” past.  

Our travel company was one of three firms we solicited for a proposal on a luxury vacation in Scotland. Only this Zicasso company hit these targets out of the box with a much better agenda than the competition and very competitive pricing. Moreover, their tour included a recommendation for a two-hour sword-fighting lesson, followed the next day by a visit to a private sword-fabricating forge!!

We returned home four days ago from our remarkable 13-day trip. The highlights of our trip are too exhaustive to even list. Three fantasy-fulfilling high points comprised three nights in a luxury castle bed and breakfast on the west coast, and visits to Inner Hebrides islands, including Iona, where I purchased two sterling Celtic penannular brooches. This was topped off with the commissioning of two swords from the forge, a Claymore and a basket hilt to be custom made using ancient techniques that will result in a pair of one-off customized designs including scabbard carvings and decorated multi-layer battle-ready blades.  

Overall, the tour used amazing guides, including two who wore kilts and full Scottish dress throughout their tours, provided a plethora of castles, and enough alone time to explore the local area and relax while eating the best meat and seafood imaginable, culminating end-to-end in the best vacation of our lives!!

Based on our experience, I cannot entreat you strongly enough to at least get an offer of services from this travel company. We submit you will not be disappointed in the offer or the fulfillment.

We had a wonderful trip. Everything went smoothly. We liked that we were always in contact through WhatsApp. That was very helpful and gave us a security blanket.

Our itinerary was planned through a Zicasso travel expert. The guides/drivers she chose were terrific. They were full of information and stories of each place we visited, and they answered all of our questions. One of a few outstanding ones was in Scotland. We had him on two occasions and enjoyed his knowledge and wit. The knowledge of our guide in Edinburgh was outstanding. The tour in Dublin was with a super guide. He is sending us a recap of our tour. In Ireland, for our tour of Connemara and Kylemore Abbey, our guide was wonderful with his knowledge of the area and his charm and wit. We had a great time with him. In Killarney, we had a guide for the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula. He gave us a map with both days highlighted so we would remember where we were. He took us to the most beautiful places and had so much information and charm. We had two days with him and they were wonderful. Our Kilkenny guide went out of his way to get us as close to the Rock of Cashel. He also had so much information as we traveled. All these tour guides/drivers were so good. Our travel specialist did such a fantastic job of choosing this guides!!

Zicasso’s tour planner did a wonderful job responding to us and tailoring our 8-day Scotland trip to our desires. At her recommendation, we utilized a driver rather than rent a car, and that maximized our experience and minimized driving anxiety. Our driver was fantastic! He moved us comfortably and smoothly through our itinerary with humor, local knowledge, and history.  Lodging and required entry tickets were prearranged and any questions that arose were speedily handled by our driver and agent.

Trip highlights to the central Highlands included garden and ground visits at Edinburgh, Glamis, Drummond, and Sterling castles, Scone Palace, Branklyn Gardens, Jupiter Artland, and The Kelpies. My wife wanted to include The Great Tapestry of Scotland in Galashiels, which is not a convenient spot to visit. By having our driver pick us at the Edinburgh airport upon our arrival, we were able to maximize our first day and include Abbotsford House. Our tour company was great.

Zicasso's trip planner worked with my family for the better part of a year planning our big family trip. She provided exceptional service and planned every detail of our trip. We have a large family, with lots of moving parts. There were many changes in the itinerary along the way and she rolled with all the many changes. She was always polite, courteous, and graceful in her many interactions with our family.

She listened carefully during our initial conversations to help us plan the best trip possible. Being a large family, with multiple generations, she really created the best possible experience, taking in everyone's wishes. Working with her was very relieving, knowing she was taking care of all the details.

Our family's trip took us from the States to Ireland, Scotland, and England. We traveled on planes, trains, ferry, and drove a car. Our trip planner arranged every detail meticulously. We stayed in lovely, quaint, boutique hotels, ate the most wonderful foods, saw the amazing sights, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites across all three countries. From the Cliffs of Moher to the Culloden Moor Memorial to Stonehenge to castles grand and desolate; from beautiful cathedrals to old abbey ruins; from little country pubs to Michelin-starred restaurants; and even spending a couple days in an actual 17th-century castle, every minute was amazing! Truly amazing!

Zicasso's tour planner and her associates at the travel company did an excellent job of putting together a long-awaited trip to the UK to explore our father's roots.

Starting in Edinburgh, Scotland, and extending down into London and on to our father's birthplace in mid-Wales, she and the company found us great accommodations centrally located within our areas of interest. Our various walking tour guides were excellent and our agent's recommendations for places to see were wonderful and fit within the timeframe and parameters of our travels.

Our wonderful Welsh guide was able to locate our father's childhood farm and even discovered some previously unknown family members still in residence there. We had a truly memorable trip and highly recommend our agent and her travel company!

The trip was fantastic. The personnel who took care of us were professional, kind, knowledgeable, and efficient, especially in Scotland. We felt our guide in Dublin was in a hurry and did not comply with our expectations.