Loch Ness, Glen Coe and Highlands Tour, Scotland

Duration: 11,5 hrs

Distance: 520 Kms

Stops and Highlights: 

• Loch Lomond
• Fort William
• Glen Coe
• Great Glen
• Loch Ness
• Inverness
• Spean Bridge
• Caimgorm National Park
• Pitlochry
• Stirling Castle

Price: 42 English Pounds

I've made a trip to Glasgow and being in Scotland i just simply could not miss the chance to visit Nessie up in Loch Ness. So i took this tour and let me tell you guys, besides the price and the huge amount of kilometers done in just one day, it was one of the coolest tours i've ever done and i strongly advise everyone that visits Scotland to do it.

The tour started in the very center of Glasgow were a bus was waiting for us and other 20 (approx) people. The bus driver/tour guide was absolutely fantastic. He was a human encyclopedia in what is related to Scotland. He started by explaining some history about Glasgow and through the way he kept giving us all the details and highlights about the places we were passing by. He also introduced us to some traditional Scottish music and some national Rock/Pop artists as well of his selection, giving a more personal touch to our journey.

In this tour you'll be able to see a lot of Scotland's country side, which is way different from the big cities such Edinburgh or Glasgow and also check some of the most well known historic places of Scotland such as the place of the Glen Coe massacre, the Stirling Castle where William Wallace once stayed, and of course the mysterious Loch Ness.

As you are passing through the Highlands and the country side, you'll most likely get the chance to see the famous Highland cows, with all their fur and a very friendly and peaceful image. It is one of the symbols of Scotland specially in the northern part.

In this parts you can see the old constructions made of stone, all the small villages in a very medieval style and people with a very warm Scottish welcome. It is wonderful as you can feel like coming back in time to a more simpler years. 

The tour is full of history as well, the tour guide will explain you all about Scotland's old legends or even the ones that actually happened such as the Glen Coe massacre where an entire family gave shelter to some soldiers that were planning their deaths, or the times when the great warrior William Wallace walked through the gates of Stirling Castle, one of the most famous in Scotland. It is very interesting and fun tour as at the same time you are passing through this places you are hearing some traditional songs that are actually talking about these historic moments and places.

And the most exciting stop of the tour is the Loch Ness. You can see hundreds of people trying to spot "Nessie" and you will too feel the great and mysterious atmosphere of this place. It is not included on the price of this tour but they give you the opportunity to make a cruise in the Loch Ness where you can hear the histories and myths about the Loch Ness monster, see all the new technologies used in the boats to search the bottom of the Loch Ness and also some nice histories about this place. In this boats you can enjoy an amazing view of the lake and also try some traditional Scottish whisky while trying to spot the monster.

It is a wonderful way to get more into the spirit of this location.

After you can get some Nessie and Loch Ness souvenirs on the several shops located in the village and bring some presents to the family. 

It is a very "heavy" tour as it takes you along 520 kilometers during 12 hours but it is definitely worth every minute and every penny of it. You will learn more than by just seeing some museum about the Highlands or Loch Ness and you'll find it very amusing and interactive. Again if you are in Scotland i STRONGLY advise you to take a day to do it, you won't be disappointed.

You can find this and several other tours in this website Scottish Tours, all the details of the journey and current prices.

I'll leave you with a couple more photos of my journey, hope you like it and try it out.

See you next time!!

Kilkenny, Ireland

Kilkenny is an Irish town located south of Dublin at about 130 km approx. from Ireland's capital. It is a lovely place to visit, with kind of a medieval spirit. The architecture, the streets, the monuments and churches spread out through the town center, it all makes you get back in time to a more medieval times. There is a very good connection between Dublin and Kilkenny, and although it takes around 2 hours to get from one place to the other, it is quite easy. There are several Bus companies that provide the service and there is also the train. I went with a group of friends and we took a bus from Dublin Airport straight to Kilkenny's city center, with the BusEirann company. It took us around two hours to get there but the buses are very comfortable and with wifi on board. Specially if you are traveling with friends, time will pass quickly and you can also enjoy the views. We paid 25 euros each for a return ticket but as i said it was an express service and there are many other options to get there.

The most visited and well known attraction in Kilkenny is the Kilkenny Castle. You can enter and visit a part of it's chambers, and see how Kings, Queens, Dukes and so on used to live back in the days. It has a marvelous display of paintings as well and allows you to go into the gardens, a huge green field with wonderful views. The castle is next to the river which makes it a great place to get some cool photos if you cross one of the bridges close to it. It is a very interesting place due to its history and renovations as it started as a medieval castle and was remodeled several times through the ages making it very cool to do a tour as you can see the several different parts of the castle with different architectures and styles. There is also a showroom where you can see a video about the history of the castle and how and when it was reconstructed. The entrance costed us 7 euros and it is self guided. 

But Kilkenny it's not just the Castle. The town has a wide number of Churches and Cathedrals spread out through the streets and most of them worth a visit. The most common one between tourists is the St. Canice's Cathedral. It is 800 years old and it's architecture is something amazing. You can get inside for a fee and look at the medieval tombs of some of the town's most important names or look at the impressive stained glass windows. The Cathedral has also a tower that you can climb, not for the faint of heart i must say, as it has 110 very steep steps to climb where there can only pass one person at the time. But the outcome of that journey is amazing as you'll get an amazing view over the town and all it's touristic points. 

Unfortunately for us we didn't had the time to do everything that we had planned as we only went to Kilkenny for one day and came back the same afternoon, and one of the things we wanted to visit was the Smithwick's factory. This is an ale factory that produces one of Irelands famous ale and inside you'll get a tour and know how of the production process of this ale and the facilities where it is made. Also at the end you'll get a taste of the Smithwik's pint so you can enjoy all the knowledge you got through the tour.

Finally my last recommendation about Kilkenny is where to eat. This was an easy choice for us as most of us where Portuguese in the group and we heard wonderful things about this Portuguese restaurant in town. It is called the Algarve Grill and whatever you hear about this place... it is even better!! That was the main reason why we didn't had the time to visit everything in Kilkenny as we spent a lot of time in this restaurant where the food was simply delicious, the staff amazingly friendly and the prices very appealing. In there you can try the typical Portuguese cuisine from starters to deserts. Definitely worth a visit.

You can also try one of the traditional pubs where you can try typical Irish food and live music. One of the best places i was recommended to is the Tynan's Bridge House Bar just close to the River Nore.

So in conclusion what you should do and visit in Kilkenny is:

What to visit:

• St. Canice's Cathedral
• Kilkenny Castle
• Jerpoint Abbey
• St. Mary's Cathedral
• Church of St. John Evangelist

Where to eat:

• Algarve Grill Portuguese Restaurant
• Tynan's Bridge House Bar

How to get there:

• BusEirann Expressway
• JJ Kavanagh and Sons Bus
• Train Services from Dublin

Kilkenny is a wonderful town, full of people and an amazing medieval spirit surrounding it. It will definitely leave you surprised and marveled. If you are spending some time in Ireland this is a place where i strongly advise to visit.

Leave you with some more photos of my trip, hope you like it.

See you next time!!

Glasgow, Scotland

The second Scotish city, Glasgow is all directed to the people! 

As soon as we arrived into George Square in the city centre, we could see flags, posters, flyers and buildings painted with the city's moto - "People make Glasgow".

And indeed they do. Everywhere you enter, pubs, shops, museums, monuments, restaurants and so on, people are really, really nice and welcoming. They make you feel very comfortable straight away and even though it is hard to get the accent, you would feel the very warm welcome of the Scotish right away.

The best way to get to Glasgow is to fly to Glasgow International Airport, which is located only 20 mins driving from the city centre. There is also Glasgow Prestwick airport but is farther away.

Upon arrival into the airport you can either get a taxi or a bus to Glasgow. We took an express bus service called the Glasgow Airport Express which took us to George Square for 9 pounds return in a 25 min journey aprox. The bus is really comfortable, fast, has wifi on board and also USB entrances so you can charge your electrical devices during your journey. Pretty cool!

 

Glasgow has plenty of things to see, and as allways, my advice is that on the first day you do one of those sightseeing tours as the museums, monuments and places of interest are quite far from each other. This way you can hop on and offevery time you want and it gives you a better and faster way to access all the touristic points of the city. We paid 14 pounds for the one day ticket and there is also another option to add another day for only 2 pounds more.

Definetly the best way to get to know the history of the city (as it is a audio guided tour in severall languages) and the location of all the points you wish to visit. In our case, we did the entire round of the bus, which takes aprox one hour and 50 mins (so you can see things are far from each other) and then hopped in again and enjoy the hop on hop off service to get to the attractions.

 

Two of the places i liked more to visit in Glasgow were the Riverside Museum and the Kelvingrove Museum. The first has a permanent exhibition about the world of transportation. From cars to motorbikes to boats, trains, trams, caravans and more, up to the Glen lee, or as they call it the Tall Ship who went around the world already 5 times. This last its also open for you to visit it's interiors and feel like you were a sailor back in the old days.

The Second one, shows you the Natural History of the planet with lots of stuffed anumals and plants, curiosities about the history and natural world and also an Egipcian exhibition with real mummy's as well. Also it is one of the most impressive and beautiful buildings you can see.

Two great options to take the family and spend the day or to satisfy personal curiosity.

Obviously something you cannot miss is the Glasgow Cathedral or the St. Mungo's Cathedral. With it's medieval looks it is a great example of the architecture in that time, in fact it was one of the few places that survived the church's "renovation" when they tear down most of the religious buildings in Scotland. 

Just behind this magnificent building there is the Necropolis, the city of the death!

It is the resting place of thousands of people, with some of the most famous names of the city burried there and full of magnificent tombs and mausoleos designed by the most well known artists in that time. It is located in a hill and from there you can get a magnificent view of the Cathedral and the city.

Should you love shopping, Glasgow is ideal for you. There is a street in the heart of the city which is called the "Style Mile" indeed due to it's famous brands of shooping. There you can find the most glamourous styles and some great shops either to buy clothing, souvenirs or whatever you might like.

Glasgow is also famous for its pubs and good reataurants, and if you visit these city you should definetly try out the environment of these amazing places. Some of the most famous pubs are the Scotia Bar, the Clutha and the Piper Whisky Bar. In this last one you can try out the Scotish Tapas where they give you some small portions of severall Scotish typical dishes so you can try out the cuisine and specialities of Scotland. Definetly worth a try as the staff are incredibly polite and funny and also the food is delicious. 

In terms of other museums and attractions, the Lighthouse is a good one and you can climb to the tower to get a breathtaking view over the city, and also the People's Palace museum were you can find some interesting pieces of Scottish history related to the war times and the way of life in the 30's 40's, 50's and so on. This museum is located in the Glasgow Green, a beautifull park were you can do some picnics and enjoy the quiet of nature in the middle of the city.

 There is also the Glasgow Science Centre with a planetarium, great for both adults and kids.

Another thing not to be missed either is the fabulous architecture of the show arenas located in Glasgow, the SSE Hydra and the Armadillo. These are impressive modern constructions designed specifically to host concerts or sports championships and some of the great names of the artistic world perform there often.

A great thing about Glasgow is that all of its museums are FREE!!!

We took the oportunity, since we were in Scotland, to do a tour to the Higlands and the Loch Ness, you can read it here through this link Loch Ness, Glen Coe and Highlands Tour

It was one of the most amazing tours we ever did, and we sincerely advise you to do it.

There are some other great tours available as well you can check them in here!

So as a resumee what you should do and visit in Glasgow is:

 What to visit: 

• St. Mungo's Cathedral
• Necropolis
• George Square
• Kelvingrove Museum
• Glasgow Science Centre
• People's Palace
• Glasgow Green
• Riverside Museum
• Glenlee
• SSE Hydro
• Armadillo

Where to eat:

•  The Piper Whisky Bar
• The Scotia Bar
• The Clutha
• La Vita Pizzeria

What to do:

• City Sightseeing tour (hop on hop off)
• Loch Ness, Glen Coe and Highlands Tour
• Shopping in the Style Mile

Glasgow is a great city, it has an amazing athmosphere and it will make you desire to stay longer. The history is fantastic, the food is great, the museums are very interesting and the shopping is adictive. It is indeed a wonderful place to visit.
I'll leave you a couple more photos from my trip, hope you like it and awakens your traveller spirit!
See you next time!