Glasgow Shore Excursion: Loch Lomond, The Trossachs and Stirling Castle

Our guide was Eric. Entertaining and knowledgeable. Ran a tight ship and kept the group moving. Hit all the promised spots. Stirling Castle was especially impressive with a tour by castle staff. Central to Scottish history for hundreds of years. However, toward the end we hit traffic and Eric was not sure if we would have time to make it to Lock Lomond. He took some short cuts, driving through beautiful country, and assured us we would have time. I was stunned when we pulled up to a small, modern shopping center, Loch Lomond Shores Mall. I could not even see the lake. As I walked around the corner of the mall, I found an aquarium and childrenʻs activities. This was all at one end of the loch and I could see it extend, quite beautifully, into the distance. But, we were in a tourist trap. I finally got over my surprise enough to take some video so I would know this was real. Was the driver getting a kickback to take us to this shopping area? No one on the tour with whom I spoke thought this stop was a good one. Eliminate this stop and I would give the tour 5 stars.

The attractions were very good although we only had a small view of Loch Lomond. Our guide, David and driver Nestor were excellent they made the trip very enjoyable.

This was a fabulous tour and our first stop in scenic Scotland. The scenery to each site was stunning and the information and commentary provided by our guide Stephen was exceptional. Stirling Castle is well worth a visit and was one of our favourite stops during our 2 week holidays. We had high expectations of Scotland and this tour and our friendly knowledgeable guide helped to exceed our expectations.

Excellent value - Guide and Driver - pleasant, informative, and very entertaining. Stirling Castle should not be missed. Coach has internet access. Loch Lomond a disappointment - not much to see in the time allotted, and very dependent on the weather.

This tour was very good. We were met at the port gate after disembarking from Crown Princess. David and James were very good and very entertaining and made everything as comfortable as possible since it was raining when we had this tour. I would recommend this tour.

The Tour guide and Driver were fantastic. We wished we could have had some time in Glasgow or at least a panoramic tour of the city. Loch Lomond and the Trossachs were not very good attractions for us. Not much to see or do, just a shopping stop, that's why only 4 *s.

The Castle was great but needed more time there as lots to see. Our Guide, Daniel was very nice and knowledgeable. We stopped at a small town for lunch but was disappointed with his suggestion. He should have given us more information and choices. Unfortunately we had a very rainy day so the visit to Loch Lomond was disappointing. Turned out to be just a bland shopping stop. Maybe the tour should have had another option for bad weather.

We arrived at the meeting point on time, but were amongst the last out of the tour group to arrive. As every seat on the bus was sold, we ended up squashed on the back seat of the bus. Not only was this uncomfortable, but we couldn't take any pictures on route as we weren't by a window - not a good start. We first headed for Stirling Castle, which we had pre-ordered tickets for. Although the castle setting was spectacular on top of a hill, and it was almost entirely preserved, the castle interiors were very sparsely furnished, which was a bit of a disappointment. Also, it would have been better if we had a quick photo stop, to get a shot of the castle from a distance - as we left we could see it behind us up on the hill, but we couldn't get a photo. We then stopped for an hour for lunch in a small village called Aberfoyle, which had the Scottish Wool Centre and a few restaurants. Next we drove through the spectacular Trossachs, but took no photos as we weren't by a window. We then had a short photo stop for a hotel that looked like a castle - The Trossachs Hotel?. We then continued on and the drove alongside Loch Lomond, before we arrived at the village of Luss, our only Loch Lomond stop. Here, we had 20 minutes to walk by the lake and explore the scenic village, which was not really enough time to appreciate it. We then went back to Greenock, arriving late in the afternoon. Although the excursion gave us a good appreciation of the area, it was disappointing due to our seating on the bus - a window seat would have given us a better experience. I know it's all about the money, but you should keep the back seat of the bus free.

We started the day with our guide, Paul dressed in Scottish clan clothing. He did an excellent job guiding the tour, relating history and keeping interest level high. Our first stop, Stirling Castle was very interesting and educational. We went from there to a drive through, The Trossachs, a national park of sorts... We saw a large variety of plants, floral and fauna on a very winding road. After a lunch stop in the village of Alberfoyle, and some shopping at the Woolen Mills, we then headed on a drive an eventual stop at Loch Lomond. The part seemed unnecessary. At one of our stops, our driver, demonstrated some native Scottish arms, and swords... There was interest in that.

This was our first visit to the area, so we were looking for a guide who was knowledgeable and thorough - and enjoyable. Eric was all of those things and more!! We saw everything we had hoped to see and more, including shaggy cows and Clydesdale horses in the fields. At the castle we learned so much about Scottish history; and we experienced all the beauty of the area on our drive through the national park and at the lake. I cannot rate this trip too highly!!