The Scottish Isles – Island Hopping in the Hebrides

Start in Scotland's stylish city of culture

A former industrial powerhouse, Glasgow has reinvented itself as a cultural hot spot, packed with museums, galleries, and parks. Discover the splendid Art Nouveau architecture of Charles Rennie Mackintosh before your expedition cruise begins.

You'll embark your ship MS Spitsbergen in Fairlie, a small community outside of Glasgow. Lying on the shores of the Firth of Clyde and nestled against a backdrop of the North Ayrshire Hills, this area is known for coastal towns that boast both Viking heritage and scenic walks.

Get to know the ship before meeting the Expedition Team – your guides for the adventure ahead. Enjoy your first onboard dinner as we set sail.

Discover Arran's Grandeur

Welcome to Arran, an island cloaked in heather. Known as ‘Scotland in miniature', Arran's varied landscape is split by the Highland Boundary Fault, giving the island its distinctive highland peaks in the north and lush lowlands in the south.

You can try a hike with views of Goat Fell's craggy peaks and see if you can spot Scotland's ‘Big Five': the golden eagle, red deer, red squirrel, otter, and harbour seal, all of which can be found on Arran.

While here, discover the grandeur of Brodick Castle, and explore the gardens which will be brimming with spring life.

Fire up your spirit of discovery on “Whiskey Island”

Islay, the ‘Queen of the Hebrides', is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides. It's the proud home of world-famous peaty single malts, but that's far from the only reason to visit.

Enjoy the company of your fellow travellers and the Expedition Team as you explore the coastline on foot. From its sandy beaches, you can sometimes spot dolphins and basking sharks.

Join a local guide on a heritage walk, and of course, no trip to Islay is complete without a wee dram from one of the island's famous and historic whisky producers, such as Laphroaig or Ardbeg.

Discover a slice of paradise in the Hebrides

Our Scottish isles cruise continues to tiny Gigha (pronounced ‘Gee-a'), a sandy slice of paradise in the Hebrides. Community-owned since 2002, when it was bought by its 163 residents, the island has a strong sense of local stewardship and sustainability. It's well worth sampling the fresh local seafood, such as Gigha halibut and oysters.

At only seven miles long, the main way to get around Gigha is on foot or by renting a bike. Visit the woodland gardens of Achamore House and admire the colourful rhododendrons. Then explore white sandy coves and the turquoise waters along the coast.

Get ready for the dreamy beauty of the Sound of Mull

Brightly coloured Georgian houses line the waterfront in the picturesque fishing port of Tobermory, located on the Isle of Mull. As we explore, your local guide will bring the port to life with stories of its vibrant past and present.

Learn about the local heritage at the Mull Museum, try a dram of local whiskystroll the harbour, or walk along the wooded coastal path, with views across the Ardnamurchan Peninsula.

On a walk with the Expedition Team, watch for white-tailed eagles soaring above the coast. While here, you'll have the opportunity to visit one of the historic castles that guarded these waterways when the Lord of the Isles ruled the region in the 12th century.

Explore the tranquil islands of the Outer Hebrides

Today we plan to explore the Outer Hebrides, including a landing at one of the many tiny islands. Your Captain and Expedition Leader will choose the best landing site depending on the conditions of the day.

The mighty wind and waves of the Atlantic have carved sheltered harbours here, allowing settlements to arise as far back as the Neolithic period. Perhaps we'll visit a remote community and gain insight into their way of life, or land on a pristine white sand beach. We may also cruise along the coast on our Zodiacs, in search of wildlife, such as puffins, guillemots, kittiwakes, and seals.

Experience “Scotland's Stonehenge” and find your tweed

The next stop is Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides. We'll visit Gothic-style Lews Castle, with its trails and fantastic views. Lewis is also home to 'Scotland's Stonehenge', the 5,000-year-old Callanish Standing Stones, You'll also experience surviving legacies such as the art of crafting Harris Tweed.

We'll also cruise the wild and beautiful Shiant Isles, a tiny archipelago set in the Minch Strait. It's one of the most important breeding colonies for seabirds in Europe, so keep an eye out for European shags, common eiders, northern fulmars, and great skuas in the surrounding waters or on volcanic ledges.

Get close to dramatic scenery and wonderful wildlife on Skye and the Small Isles

We'll sail to Loch Scavaig on the Isle of Skye, where dramatic scenery surrounds us. “The wildest scene in the Highlands” is how the Victorian poet Lord Tennyson described Loch Coruisk and the surrounding craggy peaks of the Cuillin Mountains. We'll put on our hiking boots to explore the loch with the Expedition Team.

Our next stop is the remote Isle of Eigg, home to incredible wildlife. You might spot golden and white-tailed eagles, rred-throated divers, stonechats, seals, dolphins, and porpoises. Stroll along the white sands of Laig Bay to the quartz beach where the sand sings.

See Iona's sacred abbey and Fingal's Cave on Staffa

Your adventure continues to Iona, off the coast of Mull in the Inner Hebrides. You can visit the restored 6th century abbey, one of Scotland's oldest and most sacred Christian pilgrimage sites. Join the Expedition Team for a hike or enjoy a walk at your leisure to the aptly named ‘Bay at the Back of the Ocean'. This sweeping white sand bay faces the wild Atlantic Ocean head-on and is fringed with machair, a typical grassy vegetation of the Hebrides.

If conditions allow, we'll also sail to Staffa. We'll attempt to take our Zodiacs for a closer look at Fingal's Cave, marvelling at the hexagonal basalt columns, superb natural acoustics, and mesmerising, coloured waters.

Immerse yourself in unspoiled island beauty

Take a coastal walk on the Isle of Colonsay and enjoy breathtaking views from Kiloran Bay and Plaide Mhòr. If you're lucky enough to set off in a kayak, you may even catch sight of whales, porpoises, and dolphins.

Flora thrives on Colonsay, which features over 400 species of plants. You'll see some of them in the woodland gardens of Colonsay House. It's a birdwatcher's paradise; you can spot choughs, red northern divers, eagles, fulmars, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, shags, and more. Later in the spring, be sure to listen for the rattle of the elusive corncrake.

Your island-hopping odyssey comes to an end in Scotland's vibrant city

Your adventure to the wild Scottish Isles ends back in Glasgow (Fairlie).

Wander the small community of Fairlie before making your way back to vibrant Glasgow as the final stop of your island-hopping odyssey. Its impressive fishing and shipping heritage is manifest in the Victorian architecture of the west end of town. It's well worth exploring this area some more if you have time before you head home.