A Scottish railway holiday experience has been crowned the "top tour operator itinerary" in the world.
Travel website Wanderlust has shared their top picks for tour operators’ itineraries by train all over the globe, and Scotland’s West Highland Railway line has come in at number one.
Beating out routes in countries such as South Africa, Peru, and Mexico, the Scottish rail journey was praised for capturing "the imagination of visitors for over a century". Linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban in the Highlands to Glasgow, it has long been considered one of the top rail journeys in the world.
According to Wanderlust, the Slowly Along the West Highland Line by McKinlay Kidd is the best way to experience the route. The nine-night trip "affords the time to soak it all in", while the experience also includes boat trips to the Hebridean Islands and a private tour of the Isle of Skye.
Among the highlights on the trip are Rannoch Moor — "one of the last great wildernesses left in Europe" — and the historic Glenfinnan Viaduct that featured in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, as well as a private tour of Highland Perthshire.
The Wanderlust website states: "McKinlay Kidd’s Slowly Along the West Highland Line trip affords the time to soak it all in as you inch the tracks between Glasgow and Oban on the Scottish west coast, before taking boat trips to the Hebridean Islands and the Knoydart peninsula – one of the UK’s remotest and quietest spots. A private tour of the Isle of Skye completes the experience."
While the trip can be undertaken all around the year, Wanderlust recommends taking the journey between April and October. According to the site, the nine-night experience costs £1,745 per person, including ferry travel.
More information can be found on the Wanderlust website.
Nine of the world's top tour operator itineraries by rail
- West Highland Railway, Scotland
- Western Cape & Wilderness, South Africa
- Belmond Andean Sleeper, Peru
- To Spain by Train and Return by Plane, Spain
- Historic Trains of Colorado, USA
- Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, Europe
- El Chepe Express, Mexico
- Magnificent Norwegian Fjords by Rail, Scandinavia
- Essential South Korea, South Korea
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