Background For Thanksgiving break 2024, our family visited England and Scotland! Last Christmas, we visited Germany and Austria and loved the long train rides through the countryside. We decided that the Scottish Highlands would be the perfect adventure for our next trip to Europe. We spent a few days in Edinburgh, took a bus tour to the Highlands, and wrapped up our trip in busy and historic London. This post covers our experience with Hairy Coo’s 3-day Isle of Skye, Inverness and Highlands Tour  For more on our United Kingdom trip, see our posts here England and Scotland with Kids Winter 2024: Flights and Logistics 2 Days in Edinburgh, Scotland: Itinerary with Kids Our Family’s 3-Day Tour of the Scottish Highlands 3 days in London, England: A Family Itinerary Benefits of a Bus Tour We did not feel comfortable driving in the Scottish Highlands, but knew we wanted to visit the area.  A bus tour of the Scottish Highlands offers numerous benefits, making it an excellent option for  travelers. We chose to take a multi-day tour so we could see as much as possible without backtracking. Our bus was a 16 passenger bus and filled with several other couples and solo travelers. Here are some benefits of a bus tour through the highlands: No Driving Required: Navigating the narrow, winding roads of the Highlands can be challenging, especially for those unfamiliar with driving on the left.  Knowledgeable tour guide Our guide shared great context and history of the area we were exploring.  Reasonable prices: When adding in the cost of the car rental, and insurance, it was reasonable. And there’s also the benefit of having a pre-determined itinerary of highlights Reduced Carbon Footprint: Shared transportation is more eco-friendly compared to individual car travel. Uninterrupted Views: Without the stress of trying to direct us, we could enjoy the views and point things out as we were driving. Hotel in Inverness Our tour required us to make our own accommodations in Inverness. We found a cheap family suite apartment above a bar and it was perfect for our needs as it had a separate kids room with bunk beds! We actually didn’t spend a lot of time in Inverness but the main city area was very small and all very walkable.  Our 3 day itinerary in the Highlands Day 1: Kelpies, Glencoe, Glenfinnan, Inverness Of course, because we were on a guided tour, we didn’t get a say in our stops but I believe we hit a lot of great highlights in a quick trip. Many other tours make very similar stops along the way. We always saw other small busses at the parking lots where we stopped. Our tour met in Edinburgh at 8am and we drove in hour to 2 hour blocks over the next 3 days to see lots of great sights. Our first stop was in Falkirk, where we visited a giant art horse sculpture. The Kelpies are 30-meter-tall steel sculptures of two horse heads. They are the largest equine sculptures in the world and are named after “kelpies,” shape-shifting water spirits from Scottish folklore. Carter actually had encountered them in several YA fantasy books including The Menagerie. The visitor center also had some cute Highlands items and a little cafe. We always took advantage of every potty break. Our youngest was 7 and we were a little worried about being on a group tour with her little bladder but we ran into no issues as stops were never more than 2 hours apart.   We continued our drive and stopped for a quick lunch in the town of Callendar. This was a very little (20 shops) main street that I’m sure is busier in the high season. We also had the chance to take some pics with some cutie Hairy Coos. (A hairy coo is a nickname for the Highland cow.) Our next section was a lot of driving, but with some beautiful scenery and our guide sharing some history of the Clan history of the areas We were also excited that the tour included a stop to see the Glenfinnan Viaduct area. This area is in the Harry Potter 2 movie and I’ve read that sometimes tours can actually see the train go across! The views were a little foggy but still really gorgeous! There was a also a cafe and informational visitor center here. After this stop we did one more potty break at a little souvenir shop area before arriving in Inverness. We actually didn’t get to spend much time in the city during daylight hours. We found a pizza and brewery spot to enjoy dinner and then went to bed early.  Day 2: Isle of Skye Tour: Portee, Kilt Rock, Quiraing Isle of Skye It was important that we visit the Isle of Skye on our Highlands tour, even though we only hit some of the highlights. This area would be great to explore in warmer months with tons of amazing dramatic landscapes and scenic hikes. This was definitely a highlight of our trip We made several short picture stops along the way including of Eilean Donan Castle, and gorgeous lakes and mountain landscapes. We stopped for a grocery/bathroom break right before the Isle of Skye bridge and found some of our favorite snacks, millionaire shortbread (caramel chocolate sweetness), and 60 pence pancakes! Portee and the Trotternish Peninsula We had lunch in the cute seaside town of Portree. As we visited in November, many of the spots were closed. There were ads for boat tours and nature adventures. I definitely think if we visited in the warmer months, it would be great to base ourselves in Portree for a longer stay. There was so much beauty to see in the area with gorgeous backgrounds and amazing views of cliffs, waterfalls, and rivers. The tour made sure to make several stops at picture perfect spots along the way,  The Quiraing stop was definitely my favorite. We stayed here for a longer period of time and