This small-group day trip to St. Andrews starts in central Edinburgh, where you’re picked up in the personalized comfort of a top-of-the-range, 16-seat Mercedes mini-coach. Your guide narrates and makes plenty of stops, allowing for more intimate knowledge at each Scotland destination.
Traversing the Forth Road Bridge over the Firth of Forth, you’re treated to views of the Forth Rail Bridge, a cantilever railway bridge and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enter the peninsular Kingdom of Fife, surrounded by the Firth of Tay and the North Sea, and listen to anecdotes about the photogenic coastal villages of East Neuk.
Make a stop in the harbor-side town of Anstruther before descending upon St. Andrews, a medieval town and 1,000-year-old capital of the Scottish Church. You have free time to stroll around the University of St. Andrews—attended by Prince William and the country’s oldest university—and see where golf is played at the Old Course.
Use your complimentary discount card her at local restaurants, shopping, and attractions.
On the return drive to Edinburgh, head to Falkland, a village dominated by the imposing Falkland Palace once belonging to Scotland’s royal family. Cross the Lomond Hills and see where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned at Loch Leven.
Winner of the Inaugural Scottish Thistle Award for Sustainable Tourism, October 2007.