Loch Lomond, Stirling Castle & the Kelpies Day Trip from Edinburgh
Description
Stirling, Loch Lomond and the Kelpies in one day, in a small group of no more than 16 passengers with a knowledgeable driver-guide.
Discover the heart of Scotland on this day trip from Edinburgh, beginning at Stirling, the historic city between the Highlands and Lowlands, and its royal castle.
We continue to the lochside village of Luss, on the banks of Loch Lomond, with the option of a cruise on the loch or a visit to the local distillery.
Before heading back, we stop at the Kelpies, the world's largest equine sculptures.
Tue, Thu and Sat at 9am
All year round. Duration: 9 hours 45 minutes.
Language: English
Spanish speakers: see our day trip in Spanish.
Departure: 1 Parliament Square
Next to St Giles' Cathedral on the Royal Mile. Open in Google Maps.
From £56
Concession (60+): £54 · Students: £54 · Child (3-15): £54.
Detailed route
We leave Edinburgh at 9 am and head to Stirling, where you have about 2 hours to explore the old town or visit the castle.
Next, we travel into Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park and spend about 3 hours in the village of Luss, with the option of a cruise on the loch or a visit to Luss Distillery.
On the way back, we stop for about 40 minutes at the Kelpies.
We arrive back in the centre of Edinburgh around 6.45 pm.
Departure from Edinburgh (9 am)
Stirling (2 hours)
Our first stop is Stirling, one of Scotland's most important historic cities, set between the Highlands and Lowlands. Wander the old streets and enjoy the views, or add entry to Stirling Castle as an optional extra. Once a royal residence of Scottish kings and queens, including Mary, Queen of Scots, it has a Great Hall, royal apartments and Chapel Royal, with wide views over the countryside.
Loch Lomond and Luss (3 hours)
We continue west into Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park and the village of Luss, with its stone cottages and lochside paths. Take a walk along the shore, browse the shops or stop for lunch.
Loch Lomond cruise (optional)
See the loch's mountains and islands from the water on an optional 90-minute cruise. The cruise is unavailable on 17 November, 1, 8 and 29 December, and from 5 January to 18 March.
Luss Distillery (optional)
Prefer a taste of Scotland? Visit the home of Ben Lomond Gin. Entry to the visitor centre is free, with gin or whisky tastings available at an additional cost.
The Kelpies (40 minutes)
Before returning to Edinburgh, we stop at The Kelpies, two 30-metre horse head sculptures by artist Andy Scott. The world's largest equine sculptures, they honour the horses that powered Scotland's industrial past and take their name from the mythical water horses of folklore. Stroll around them and take some photos.
Arrival in Edinburgh, 22 St Andrew Square (6.45 pm)
The order of the stops may change because of traffic, weather or opening times.
What’s included
What does the price include?
- Fully guided tour
- Transport
- Small group: maximum 16 passengers
Not included
- Food and drinks
- Gratuity
Optional tickets
- Stirling Castle: £18.50
- Loch Lomond cruise: £19 adults / £13 children
- Distillery tastings: from £15 to £20
Good to know
Free cancellation
Cancel up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund.
Check-in
Check in inside Caffè Nero, 192 High Street (Royal Mile), no later than 8.45 am.
Minimum age
Minimum age to travel: 3 years old.
Luggage
Maximum 15 kg per person and 55 x 40 x 20 cm.
Loch Lomond cruise in low season
The Loch Lomond cruise is not available on 17 November, 1, 8 and 29 December 2026, or from 5 January to 18 March 2027. On these dates you will have more time at the other stops, and you can still visit Luss Distillery and explore the village and the loch.
Drop-off
We finish at 22 St Andrew Square, in the New Town.
Optional extras
Before departure we will contact you with details of the Stirling Castle tickets, the Loch Lomond cruise and the whisky tastings.
Dress for Scotland
The weather changes fast: bring comfortable shoes and a warm, waterproof layer.
What our guests say
City Explorers has a 5.0 rating on Google from 27,127 reviews. Here is a selection of real reviews, updated every week. Tap any review to read it in full.
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We had a great tour with Graham. He gave us all the important/historical information and also shared some entertaining tidbits. The two hours flew by.
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SJ was awesome!! She was lovely and she’s a great storyteller, you can tell she puts a lot of effort into these tours!! :)
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Graham was a great tour guide, there was a good mix of facts and humour. He worked well with the group. I would recommend him to anyone visiting Edinburgh.
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Rory was absolutely fantastic. What a great way of learning about the history of Edinburgh. The time absolutely flew. 12/10 would recommend
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Absolutely incredible tour by Cobin! Enjoyed every part of it, the history of Edinburgh is so interesting and Cobin’s way of storytelling is absolutely gripping and funny at the same time. Highly recommend!
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Graeme was a wonderful guide! Full of interesting facts and history, and even his dad jokes were appreciated and made the tour very fun! Highly recommended.
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What a fun tour!! Graham was absolutely lovely and gave us so many useful insights into Edinburgh and made us laugh so much! Truly recommend
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Glen was a fantastic guide - enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and gracious. Great tour would recommend for your first time in Edinburgh!
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Dan was such a great guide, would definitely recommend for others and future self when visiting Edinburgh again. Lots of good humor and theatrical expressions!
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I learned a lot from this tour. It was interesting and fun but Colan made it more even fun and light. He also was funny which made it more delightful.
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We had an amazing tour with Kenny! He was very friendly, knowledgeable and very funny! Would go on another tour with him any day :)
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SJ was our tour guide last night, she was a great storyteller who was really animated and entertaining! We would highly recommend!
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Great experience with our guide Coben. Funny, interesting and we got a different view on the City of Edinburgh.
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Wonderful insights, stories and navigation. Got us to all the highlights and more but routed to avoid/minimize the interaction with other tours. Some of the side bar stories were the best.
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Cobin is amazingly good with a hint of fun story teller! He made a boring history particularly very very very interesting and easy to remember! Highly and exceptionally recommended!! If you don’t, you’ll miss half the adventure of your life!!
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Cobin was a great tour guide!! Lovely humor and a lot of fun facts. Would definitely recommend to friends and family:)
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I had fun listening to the stories our guide shared. He was totally entertaining, built the atmosphere and hooked us into the experience.
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Rory was a very cool and charming tour Guide. The storys were very nice and for us from germany very good understandble. And it was nice to learn so much about the dark history of scotland and edinburgh
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Dr Rory can tell a story! I couldn't believe how quickly the tour ended. When I looked at my watch and hour and a half had passed! Get a tour, get it with Rory !
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Griem was a fantastic tour guide ! He was very helpful, showed a great amount of knowledge about the city, and I loved his sense of humour:))
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Great tour, got all the major sights and lots of history. Kenny, our guide, was very knowledgeable and eloquent he made the tour very interesting and fun at the same time.
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I highly recommend this tour! Rory’s gory stories were amazing, you can really tell he loves the job and makes the tour feel very special!
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Had a wonderful tour through Edinburgh. Cobin is a very funny guy with great knowledge about the city and entertaining storytelling
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Cobin was an awesome guide. We got a lot of interesting information on our tour. He was clever and very engaging. He paced the tour so we could all follow along and he was very careful that we were all with him and safe. Thanks Cobin for an interesting morning!
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Cobin was very entertaining and informative. The pacing and humor of the tour was well balanced and enjoyable
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Graeme was a fantastic tour guide with many interesting stories and so much knowledge. Highly recommend this tour and guide
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Our guide was Kenny. He was very knowledgeable and informative and had a really good sense of humour! Fantastic tour. Highly recommend
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Kenny was entertaining and knowledgeable. He was happy to answer all of our questions and gave us a brilliant tour
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Absolute riveting. Our tour guide Dan was a gem and a really fantastic storyteller. He has great knowledge and even had some extra facts. Highly recommend.
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We had a great experience with Cobin! He was very friendly and made the tour really enjoyable. We had a wonderful time. Highly recommend!
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Selected real reviews from Google · Updated November 2026