Highland Explorer Tours Reviews 

This was my sister’s dream experience on her 60th birthday trip. She had dreamed of visiting Bamburgh castle and our entire 2 week trip was designed around this visit from the United States. We purchased non-refundable tickets separately to get in the castle, it was the highlight of our UK adventure. The day before the trip, at 4:00pm we received a call from
HIGHLAND EXPLORER to CANCEL our trip. Nothing to do with anything extraordinary, simply the driver could not make it. Once we got to the office to get help, the employee at HIGHLAND EXPLORER LIED TO US TWICE. first by telling us she has tried to contact other tour operators to try to get us in their tour (we went to the offices of the people she said she had contacted) and second by telling us to go home because our refunds had been processed. Both lies.
We RARELY use get your guide, I have traveled to 76 countries mostly using another platform but with this experience we will NEVER EVER use Get your Guide or recommend it to any of our family or friends. Get your Guide needs to verify if their selected tour operators meet their standards and are responsible for the tour packages they offer and sell. HIGHLAND EXPLORER’s lack of professionalism RUINED our experience in Scotland and my sister’s special birthday. We spent hours trying to fix the problem they created, unforgivable!

We had the most wonderful, funny, entertaining, informative guide; Esme!!! She told stories, both personal and folklore, and even history. Such a bright personality, we couldn't help but have fun (even in the rain). Thank you Esme, for such a wonderful day.

Amazing views, super nice guide! Great experience overall

This is the tour company I went with ,not highland experience tours which my review was placed under
I had the privilege of doing 3 separate
Tours with this company
1st day was The Kelpies, Loch Lomond and Stirling castle
2nd day The Scottish highlands and Jacobite steam train tour
3rd The Outlander location tour
All three were amazing informative and fun
The tour guides 1Louise ,2Rich and day 3 Dave were all extremely professional knowledgeable and very helpful They made the day fun
Dave added in an extra brief 10min visit to The Abby ,In my opinion well worth the stop as The Bruce is a major part of Scotland history
I would highly recommend this company
My tour days were 23rd, 24th and 25th of June 2025

Do not book this trip, we were taken in by the Jacobite Stream Train calling itself the Hogwarts Express.

The journey from Mallaig station is a waste of time, money and effort.

We excitedly travelled five hours with a few toilet and gift shop breaks in between, to board a grubby worn out train and carriage.

Other than a few refreshments on a trolley there was not a smidgen of the beautiful vintage upholstery, lanterns, brass or mahogany wood depicted in JK Rowling’s books and movies.

Nothing was remotely enchanting about this train, notably advertised by many tour operators as the “Hogwarts Express” the experience did not demonstrate that. The trolley attendances and staff did not dress in character or role play scenes from the era.

Our coach driver Graeme was a great source of information, telling tales of Scotland, some jokes in between and the history of the Highlands.

But the train was a huge disappointment, no commentary to set the scene or announcements when we were about to approach the viaduct bridge or other places of interest.

To name this the Hogwarts Express is extremely misleading. We were treated as passengers on an ordinary train journey.

I can honestly say, there was nothing memorable about this experience. The train horn was never sounded, nor were we issued a “Hogwarts Express” ticket.

However the station shop was full of HP merchandise and memorabilia ready to sell to disappointed children.

This trip is simple not worth the money.

Our train from London into Edinburgh had more panache.

The Tour Guide Emily was excellent. We visited a lot of places, not too long, which suited me just fine. I will be signing up for another trip with Emily. This time Moray, which sounds exciting. Well done Emily, and the background Scottish music just captured everything about the Highlands and the wildlife. Look forward to seeing you again Emily. Enjoyed your company. 10 STARS.

Sonia exceeded my expectations for the Moray Coast tour. She interacted with the guests and went above and beyond in ensuring we had an amazing experience. **Sonia, the elusive unicorn in tartan evaded me. I searched every shop I passed by. The unicorn is a rare creature, but a warrior unicorn more so.**

J'ai effectué ma réservation Highland Lochness sur le website. J'ai reçu mon voucher par email confirmant ma réservation. Le matin de l'excursion, j'apprends au checkin que je ne suis pas enregistré suite à un bug dans la réception du paiement. Aucune place disponible, mon dernier jour à Edimbourg, seule alternative : trouver une place chez un autre opérateur (en 40min): rien en français, pas de repas, pas de cash pour payer les suppléments. Aucun geste commercial.