Tour Guide Scotland

Absolutely terrific day with James today. We asked him to give us a tour that showed us the real Scotland. He delivered in a most inciteful and genuine way. From castles to distilleries to small homey spots to eat, we saw an amazing cross section of Scotland along with great humor and personality. Do yourself a favor and let James show you this country.

James planned and executed a perfect Scottish holiday for our group of 7. Going into it, we didn't really know what we wanted to see. And with our crazy schedules leading up to the vacation, we didn't have time to research. James just selected a nice balance of locations and experiences for us, and it was amazing! All we had to do was book our hotels (in cities he choose, making it VERY easy) and BOOM! it was done. Easiest trip planning ever!Now on to the trip portion. We were stunned at the natural beauty of Scotland. From lochs, mountains, seasides; Scotland has it all. The people were kind and helpful, while being full of personality and life! There were battlefields, distilleries, boat locks, coos, charming towns, and more. We enjoyed every moment of our time there and only wished we had more time to spend.We always aim to try new places, but this is a place we hope to return to. Soon. And we will definitely be using James again.

We enjoyed a one day distillery tour with Tour Guide Scotland in August of 2023. Our experience could not have gone better! From initial contact through the day of the tour, everything was great. Lesley picked us up at our hotel (3 couples) and led us on a day long tour through the lovely Scottish countryside. We toured several distilleries and had a nice lunch at a fine old country pub.Lesley was fun and informative at every turn. We enjoyed her company so much that we asked her to join us for lunch.I would highly recommend Tour Guide Scotland for your private tours.

We had an absolutely lovely whisky-tasting day trip from Glasgow with Lesley, for my husband's birthday. The booking process was easy, and Lesley was *extremely* patient with all of my questions, and on the day of, all of our tastings, our pick-up and drop-off, a quick stop for a snack, and even a visit with a highland cow had been arranged. The whisky was delicious, the countryside was beautiful, and Lesley's company and knowledge of everything Glaswegian and whisky-related (much less about Scotland at large--and we ask a LOT of questions) absolutely fantastic. I cannot recommend a tour with Lesley highly enough! We had a marvelous time and will absolutely book with Tour Guide Scotland again if the opportunity arises.

This was a perfect day. James was very entertaining and a joy to be around. He had a beautiful day planned for the 8 of us. In our opinion it was the best way to see the castle and distillery and spend the day. He threw in some fun spots and activities for us to see in our travels between the two chosen places. It was comfortable and just the right speed for us.Great day!! Thank you James!!Jody Burke (one of Kelly Burke’s party)

If 12 stars were an option I'd still wish for more! Touring Scotland with James was an amazing once in a life time experience that I hope we get to do again :). James guided a private tour for my family of 6 from our cruise port, through Inverary and the Trossachs. I really enjoyed the off the beaten path places we found along the way, such as our stop on Loch Lommond where we had the lake to ourselves and the non-touristy completely wonderful gift shop he found for us in Inverary. That along with the beautiful weather and amazing service would be enough for a 5 star review. But James treated us to authentic music that left us rolling in laughter, custom photographs...that I didn't even have to ask for, local short bread and whisky (which we passed on but he still had available). All just to make our trip nothing less that amazing. Thank you James, I hope we meet again!

We could not have had a more wonderful time. James built an incredibly special, customised tour for our family - even giving us a personalised walkthrough of Stirling Castle and introducing us to some Highland cows who came when he called them by name! In fact, he was friends with everyone we met - from the castle staff, to the people at Glengoyne distillery, to everyone working in the cafe where we stopped for lunch: everyone knows and loves him.And so did we. It was a personal, warm, informative tour — we laughed the whole time, and saw things we never would have been able to see otherwise. James also added some special touches that we’ll remember forever… but I won’t tell you about them and spoil the surprise! Thanks so much, James, for giving us such a perfect day!

I want to start off by saying how important writing this review is to me. We traveled to Scotland in August and I am writing this in October. Of course life and work has caught up to us but I feel it is super important to show my gratitude in this review. Sorry it took so long.My grandmother was from Scotland and she passed away 8 years ago. As a kid she would tell me about where she was from and where she wanted to go when she passed. I used to tell her I was going to take her back home to be with her parents who had passed away many years prior. I made good on that promise but I wasn’t able to do it alone. I had a small container of my grandmother’s ashes to leave her with her deceased parents. We live in the United States so the trip took a couple years of planning.Lesley Kennedy was the one who made that possible. Prior to my trip, I told her my plans and all the information I had and Lesley went to work. When I say she went above and beyond it is an understatement. I had minimal information of where my grandmother’s family was buried. She took the little bit of information I had and found the cemetery. I’m not sure how difficult that part was but it only got harder. We had no idea where the tombstones were located amongst the thousands that were in the cemetery. All we had was a map with little rectangles and numbers and my great-grandparents names.I traveled with my boyfriend, our son, brother, and his girlfriend. We had to take a ferry to get to the burial grounds and Lesley made that a smooth process. My grandmother must’ve had some sort of favor with the universe because the weather was perfect. It was sunny and warm. Prior to us getting there the weather called for rain. On the ferry ride over the scenery was beautiful along with the pods of dolphins enjoying the beautiful day with us.We arrive at the grave site and we fan out looking at each individual tombstone. Even though you probably weren’t wondering; after about 20-30 minutes; you guessed it! Lesley finds where they were buried. I can’t express all of the emotions I felt in that moment. It made my trip worth every penny.After we said our final good-byes to my grandmother and I got to see a portion of my family history, she took us on a journey through areas of Scotland. I don’t remember all of the names but the ride was amazing. She was knowledgeable on a variety of topics; from music, culture, the government, and just life in general. We traveled to the top of a mountain overlook and it looked like a postcard. It only gets better, she takes us to the trunk of her vehicle that was already loaded with snacks and water and proceeds to tell us there is whiskey. That takes this already wonderful trip to a whole other level.We travel around some more looking at just the beauty of nature. We got food at a local restaurant and it made me feel as if I belonged there. We stopped at, I believe it was Loch Lomond and the water looked like glass as it reflected the mountains that surrounded it. On the journey we are getting all kinds of history on the area and the people. Lesley truly made an unforgettable experience and I am very grateful to have found her. We will be coming back to Scotland because our trip was that great.Lesley was amazing and I definitely will give her an 11 out of 5 stars. Sorry Lesley that we didn’t write our review sooner but writing it was very important to us and we wish you the best. Continue being great.

How do make a delayed trip for two years" one the most memorable

Our group of four could not have been more happy with our new pal James Kennedy. He picked us up in style at our flat in Edinburgh and away we drove to Stirling Castle. Our experience there was indicative of our entire trip. James led us past all the other tourists and to the ticket window. He took us on our own private tour, making sure we saw and understood the good stuff. James is knowledgeable and tons of fun. It was definitely the way to go.Then off for a great breakfast and breathtaking sights on our way to the accommodations he’d arranged in the seaside town of Nairn.The next morning he arrived promptly and we hit all the points on our itinerary (and more) right on schedule. James was thoughtful, courteous, a joy to chat with. He shared music, stories and dining suggestions and we left him feeling as though we’d known him for a long time.I honestly feel it would have been a mistake to plan this trip with any other person.