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 the Isle of Arran with its heather-cloaked landscapes. 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.

Why not try a hike with views of the craggy peaks of Goat Fell 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” and the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides, has rugged uplands and coastline. The island is the proud home of world-famous peaty single malts—but that's far from the only reason to visit.

A haven for wildlife, Islay is home to over 200 species of birds, including oystercatchers, gannets, and golden eagles. From its sandy beaches, you can sometimes spot dolphins and basking sharks.

You can 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 whiskey producers, including Laphroaig and Ardbeg.

Discover a slice of paradise in the Hebrides

Our Scottish isles cruise continues to tiny Gigha (pronounced “Gee-a”), which is a little sandy slice of paradise in the Hebrides. Bought by its 163 residents in 2002, the island is community-owned and has a sustainable local economy. Try some of the seafood, such as Gigha halibut and oysters.

At only seven miles long, the only 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, such as the Bàgh Rubha Ruaidh and Bàgh na Dòirlinne beaches.

Get ready for the dreamy beauty of the Sound of Mull

Brightly colored Georgian houses line the waterfront in the picturesque fishing port of Tobermory 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 local heritage at the Mull Museum, try a dram of local whisky, stroll around the loch in Aros Park, or soak up the views across the Ardnamurchan Peninsula on a walk along the wooded coastal path.

The Isle of Mull is birder heaven. It has the highest breeding density of golden eagles in Europe, and white-tailed eagles can often be seen soaring above the coast. While here, you have the opportunity to visit one of the historic castles which 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 and attempt 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 harbors here, allowing settlements to arise as far back as the Neolithic period. Perhaps we'll visit a remote community and get a sense of their way of life, or head to a pristine white sand beach for a nature landing. We may also take our small expedition boats for some coastal cruising in search of wildlife such as puffins, guillemots, kittiwakes and seals.

Experience “Scotland's Stonehenge” and find your tweed

Next we'll travel to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides—home of the famous Harris Tweed cloth. 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, and Dùn Carloway, the best-preserved Iron Age broch in Scotland.

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” – that's 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 one of the remote Small Isles. This small archipelago with Gaelic-named isles Eigg, Canna, Muck, and Rum, is home to incredible wildlife and scenery. You might spot Golden and White-Tailed Eagles, Red Throated Divers, stonechats, seals, dolphins and porpoises. Stroll along white sandy beaches, quiet byways, or rugged coastal paths and cliffs.

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

Your adventure continues to Iona, which is off the coast of Mull in the Inner Hebrides. Visit the restored sixth-century abbey; it's 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 small boats for a closer look at Fingal's Cave, marveling at the hexagonal basalt columns, superb natural acoustics, and mesmerizing, colored 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.