The tour goes to Urquhart castle AND Glen Ord distillery - home of the Singleton malt whisky. Our tours are specially put together after taking feedback from YOU. We have surveyed your desires and requests and put them together in our tours. Our guides will impart their knowledge of their local Highlands and answer any of your questions.
As a general rule tours leave 30 minutes to 1.5 hours after the arrival of the ship and return at least 45 minutes to 1 hour before ship departure time. Please check our website which has the exact tour departure and return times for every tour.
Tours offered based on Outlander and Castle themes as well as historic value. This tour includes a visit to a whisky distillery. Usual Glen Ord but on occasions it might be swapped to Balblair. It packs in a lot for one day and is very affordable and good value for money.
Please note in order to enter the distillery tour you must be 18 or over. Any children may wait in the shop area.
Posted By : Cindykruglak
We expected more information and guidance on the tour. It felt like it was an expensive taxi ride.
The tour guide , Chaz, was not very knowledgeable. He just dropped us at Inverness to be on our own for 1 1/2hours. He dropped us at castle ruins on our own again for 2 hours.
He was very sarcastic and rude to the point where if you asked a question, his response would ridicule the person.
We enjoyed the Distillary tour very much. The distillery tour guide was excellent. We were late getting to the distillery tour and he had to ask permission for us to join late.
And we were a bit late getting back to our cruise ship. Fortunately the ship was leaving later in the evening.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-06-26 13:15:59 
Posted By : Kenneth_A
To begin, Thistle Tours is so well organized!!! Walking out of port, they were prepared to meet and direct each of us to our assigned tours. On our specific tour, our guide, Lorraine, was very informative and was truly vested in the area. From Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness to Singleton Distillery and then to meet the Highland cows at Robertson’s in Beauly it was a perfect day.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-06-19 16:22:47
Posted By : Helga_M
Our guide Mo was very attentive to our needs and went out of her way to show us and tell us as much as possible. There were only four of us on the tour so it felt much like a private tour!
…An extra bonus for us was that the other couple who attended the tour had an even more memorable experience—he proposed to her at Urquhart Castle, and hired a bagpiper to make the event even more special! Mo & Thistle staff coordinated this event very nicely, and we felt lucky to be a part of the special day!
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-05-22 14:26:10
Posted By : wagg2018
We had a fun and educational day. The guide was very good. Recommended. Was our first Tripadvisor experience. Don't do anything else anymore
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-05-15 12:18:29 
Posted By : MaryE642
We had a wonderful day with Emma Macaulay and Thistle Excursions on our trip to Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness with stops for Scotch tasting and to visit the Highland cows and a local farm. I highly recommend this tour.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-05-04 17:24:52
Posted By : Marianne_B
Our tour was amazing. We did so much in so little time and never felt rushed. I highly recommend. Tour guide was amazing
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-05-02 10:51:45
Posted By : Karen_F
Our tour guide June from Thistle tours did an amazing job hosting our small group. Like other reviews, this is a “choose your own adventure” itinerary based on your groups needs and the time you have available. For example, we couldn’t fit in the black rock gorge trip because our cruise ran late to dock and our group prioritized whiskey tasting. Additionally, you don’t have time for all the whiskey distilleries on the list so don’t plan on hitting every single one. It’s just not possible to fit it all in one day.
Rating :
Posted On : 2023-09-14 02:51:14
Posted By : Debra_W
Whiskey Galore was not, only went to one distillery and the Whiskey lovers on the trip were disappointed, tour guide hijacked tour and we saw places not on our wish list or listed on itinerary.
Rating :
Posted On : 2023-09-05 02:11:12
Posted By : James_B
Where to start! I had booked this tour several months before arriving at Invergordon. It was supposed to be a semi private (i.e. maximum of 8 people) tour that went to different distilleries and include Harry Potter's Rock Gorge and Dunrobin Castle/Falcons. When I showed up for the tour we were to board on a bus with 32 persons and turned out to be a different tour with only 1 distillery visit at Ord plus Dunrobin Castle and Falcons. No Harry Potter Rock Gorge, no other distilleries. There had been no previous indication that the tour I had booked (and paid for) was not being provided. Maxine did give us a 15% refund but I have been left with a very sour taste and distrust of Thistle Excursions. Don't get me wrong, the distillery tour at Ord was excellent and Dunrobin Castle was worth the visit (although we could have used more time there). I had specifically booked a small tour to avoid an impersonal large group tour and the tedious time spent on a large bus.
Rating :
Posted On : 2023-08-26 11:26:14
Posted By : Tracey_C
June is an excellent tour guide. This was a fantastic tour. With the small group, we were able to have a more personalized experience.
Rating :
Posted On : 2023-08-11 09:25:58
